The DIY Holidaymaker does not have the services of a Rep. Many people on Package Holidays never avail of the services of the Rep but like to know they are there in an emergency. The Reps main functions are as follows:
Get you from the airport to your accommodation
Organise trips and activities
Answer queries and provide information
Receive complaints about the holiday/accomodation/travel etc
First point of call in an emergency
Airport Transfer
DIY Holidaymakers don't need a Rep to get from the airport to the hotel. They get a taxi. Its more comfortable, convenient, and quicker than the coach. In Spain its worth agreeing a price with the driver before you get into the car, this saves a lot of haggling later. At holiday airports in Spain the taxi drivers will all speak sufficient English, don't worry. The alternative to a taxi is to hire a car at the airport. Use a local car hire company, it will almost certainly be cheaper than a big name firm (see Chapter 8).
Trips and Excursions
As a DIY Holidaymaker you will want to organise your own trips and excursions. Or perhaps you have decided that a week by the pool is all you require. If you do want a trip or excursion it is easy to organise. Decide where you want to go. This can be done in advance before you leave home if you spend a little time reading up some guide books. Visit the local Tourist Information Office when you arrive at your destination. All the main Spanish resorts will have one (see Chapter 11). There you will get copious free leaflets, timetables and information. Public transport in Spain is cheap and efficient. Find out about bus routes and timetables from the Tourist Information Office, bus station, or at the reception of your hotel or apartment complex. Consider taking a taxi if there are several of you travelling. It will be more convenient and probably not much more expensive. If you are going for the day you may want to take a packed lunch (made from food bought in the local supermarket). The total cost of your excursion is likely to be less than those organised by the Tour Reps and you will have the freedom of deciding exactly when and where you go!
Queries and Information
In is a common misconception that Reps know everything there is to know about the resort and the local area, and that there is really no other source of information. In actual fact Reps generally know little more than you could find out by reading a good guidebook, by searching the internet, by getting leaflets from the Tourist Office, or by asking at your hotel reception. Another point to remember is that Reps are more likely to recommend trips and activities that earn them commission.
Find out as much as you can before you go
Bring a guidebook
Ask at reception. Not necessarily your reception, any hotel will do. Most Spanish people who work in the holiday business speak English and are friendly and eager to help.
Go to, or telephone, the local tourist office
Complaints
Most complaints received by Reps are concerned with the standards provided by the Travel Agent or Tour Operator or their sub-contractors. As a DIY Holidaymaker you won't have these problems as you didn't book through a Travel Agent or Tour Operator. You booked your own travel and accommodation and you will know (or should know) exactly what to expect. You will not have had your expectations raised unrealistically by a glossy brochure. If you find the conditions of your accommodation really do fall below acceptable standards you should complain politely but firmly to the manager of the accomodation. You should ask for the problem to be rectified and if necessary ask to be moved to another room. Many independant travellers book hotel rooms and pay on leaving when they check out. A guest who hasn't yet paid will focus the mind of the manager and you are likely to get preferential treatment over your Package Tour neighbours if there is a problem.
Emergencies
Even holidaymakers who don't go on excursions, trips, or join in organised activities like the security of knowing there is a Rep available in an emergency. The local volcano erupts! An earthquake (measuring 5.2 on the richter scale) occurs! A military coup wrests power from the democratically elected local government! Apart from the fact that these almost never happen, if they were to, the Rep is unlikely to know what to do any more than you would. In any of these circumstances DIY Travellers jump in a taxi and head for the airport, secure in the knowledge that they will be there long before the Package Tour coach has even finished picking up guests from the various hotels along the way. If you have a medical emergency or become ill, phone a doctor. Numbers are often displayed in hotel receptions, or you can ask at reception, telephone the Tourist Office, look in a local phone book, or ask at a nearby restaurant or bar. Spanish people are naturally friendly and helpful and will be only too happy to help you.
Note:
See the chapter on Insurance and in particular the section on Form E111. If you lose your passport you will need to contact the British Consulate or Embassy immediately (contact details at the end of this book), as well as the local police. You will not get home without it but the Consulate will issue you with an emergency document to enable you to get home. However there is a fee for this service. You should also inform your travel company (eg the airline or the company that sold you the tickets). Similarly, you should contact the British Consulate or Embassy if you have serious financial problems. In this case however the Consulate will help you only as a last resort and if you can satisfy them that you have no-one else to help you. They can make you a loan to enable your repatriation to Britain. It is worth telephoning the Consulate before you go there. It is not only Spanish weather and scenery that differs from ours, their laws and customs vary also. You should know and respect local laws, in particular, if you are driving, those relating to roads and traffic. If you do get into difficulty with the police and are arrested insist on contacting the British Consul or a member of his or her staff. The Consulate can contact a friend or relative for you and provide a list of local lawyers. Any other problems and emergencies should be able to be solved by asking advice locally, for example at the reception of a nearby hotel, at a restaurant or bar, from the local Tourist Office, or by asking advice from other English-speaking tourists.