Meticulous holiday planning can actually amp up holiday stress – and this is why

“I doubt too many people write in to let you know that they’ve had a lovely time,” said Joel Dimmock, The Independent’s Voices deputy editor. He was commissioning me to write about the most frequent travel issues I deal with from readers.

Sometimes I get positive messages. Phil, for example, emailed from Tbilisi on Saturday morning to thank me for some advice I had provided on the former Soviet republic of Georgia. “A family fed us, entertained us, and put us up for the night, but refused to take any money,” he reports.

Usually, though, the electronic mailbox is full of problems. I hope by running through the most common I might avert some.

Two perennials compete for first place: baggage that is checked in but does not turn up, and poor service from online travel agents.

To avoid losing your checked luggage: don’t check it in. British Airways and some US airlines have extremely generous cabin baggage allowances. But if you must consign some of your possessions to the tender care of baggage handlers, then assume you will never see any of the contents again and pack accordingly.

You can increase the chance of seeing your suitcase again if you fly nonstop rather than changing planes in Amsterdam, Paris or Dubai. And if it does go off on a journey of its own, your bag is more likely to return if you put your contact details inside (baggage labels are often torn off in the handling process).

Online travel agents are, in theory, a marvellous consequence of the internet, competing ferociously to provide good value. Some deliver great service, but many do not. Before you click through from a fare-comparison site to buy a bargain London-New York trip, search online for the name of the agent plus “review” – to see what others have experienced. Have a look at where the company is based, too. And ask yourself whether an agent based in the Netherlands or Sweden will be best placed to help you out if something goes awry with your Anglo-American trip.

One final pre-emptive recommendation before you head back to the beach: book late to avoid disappointment. Much misery is generated by committing to expensive arrangements that lose their appeal: a changed cruise itinerary, a looming strike, or a domestic or professional reason why you cannot travel.

In the middle of a stressful summer, spontaneity has many virtues.

Yours,

Simon Calder

Travel correspondent