How to fight the end-of-summer holiday blues

Now that the summer holidays are over and the kids are all heading back to school this week, it's time to fight the back-to-work blues as well. The best way to do that is of course to start thinking about your next trip, your next adventure. Here are our tips on where you should go and when. We all know that having short trips on the horizon are the best way to stay focused on the future and forget about the pain and agony of going back to the office after enjoying the summer holidays.

City breaks are best-enjoyed in the fall

Weekend city breaks are where Ryanair and other low cost airlines like EasyJet come in. They provide VERY cheap links between London and other great European cities, great for visiting for just a weekend. Grab a half-day off on Friday and come back Sunday night. Skip checking luggage and just take a carry-on bag to make your trip even cheaper. It's a lot cheaper to fly in September, October and November than during the summer and cities are less crowded since most of the tourists have gone home. Paris, Prague, Budapest, Madrid, Barcelona, Amsterdam are all great choices for this fall. Barcelona especially since the sun is still strong and you can enjoy a few days at the beach even before winter settles in.

Central-eastern Europe has a lot of gems that often get left out. Berlin for example is a great place to check out cool design, great galleries and an impressive art scene that throws even better parties. Budapest has a ton of thermal spas in historic bath houses which cost anywhere from £5-10 for a day ticket. By night, check out the Jewish District for some cool ruin bars. For something totally different, try Porto, the capital of Portuguese wine. There's a wealth of cute boutique hotels and classy wine bars... the perfect recipe for a romantic weekend away.

Get in step with winter

Why escape the cold and snow during winter for summer sun? Embrace the changing seasons and head where winter is done best... Norway or Sweden. Take a trip to the far-north and see the Northern Lights with your own eyes. The lights are supposed to be especially brilliant during the next three winters so now is the time to finally sleep in an ice hotel, feed reindeer and see the lights in action, dancing across the northern skies.

Plan next summer's trip

We know summer just ended but that doesn't mean that it's not already time to at least get started in thinking about next year's summer adventure. Will you be staying in Europe or will you go further afield to countries like Thailand, Vietnam, Japan or off the beaten track to Mongolia. Currency rates have put Australia, New Zealand and the Caribbean off the "good deal" list this year but heading east will guarauntee cultural adventure at a great deal. For the first time ever there will be non-stop flights between the UK and Vietnam this year, starting in December. Flights are operated by Vietnam Airlines and will depart from London Gatwick.

What kind of trips are in your plans?

Image: Alex E. Proimos, Image Editor, imke.stahlmann / Flickr cc.