It was just hours before I was to leave for my holiday and I couldn't wait. I was soon heading out for a well deserved, quiet peaceful, warm and sunny beach holiday. I was just checking I had my tickets and passport when the radio caught my attention. The train I was to take to the airport had derailed and there would be delays. I couldn't believe it - this had never happened at this train station before.

No time to worry or wonder at the probability of something like that happening, I quickly called a taxi and arranged to be driven to the airport. Was that an omen I wondered? No, of course not - I'm an optimist, not a pessimist!

And sure enough, my airport check-in went smoothly, the flight departed and arrived on time and my suitcase was one of the first pieces to arrive on the conveyer belt. Soon I was on the transfer coach and heading for the hotel. "See," I told myself - "the derailed train wasn't a bad omen after all."

And then things started to go wrong.

I was holidaying in Menorca, not a very big island. But what should have been a 40 minute drive from the airport turned into two hours, and it was past midnight when I was finally dropped at the hotel entrance. I was exhausted. All I now wanted to do was crawl into my bed for a good night's sleep and wake up to the sunshine.

But finding my room was another chore. It was dark outside, neither the pool area nor the pathways lit, and there wasn't a soul around. It was beginning to feel quite eerie.

When I found my room - eventually - there was no sign of a pool view, I was facing onto an empty field. "I'll deal with it tomorrow," I thought and quickly fell asleep.

Early next morning I was awakened by a crying child in the room next door. Sleepily I pulled back the curtains to open the French doors and let in some sunshine only to find a cloudy dull sky. "Could be worse," I thought, determined to stay positive, "at least it's not raining like it was when I left England".

I dressed and headed for breakfast in the main building. As I approached the dining hall the noise of screaming, crying and squealing children hit me like a ton of bricks!

The room had fantastic acoustics - it acted as an echo for every noise that was made! The only place it was quiet was outside on the balcony and I soon found out that meals were not served outside. Oh no! Having ordered an all inclusive holiday I was going to be stuck with this noise two to three times a day for the next 9 days. It was beginning to dawn on me that this was not going to be the peaceful and quiet holiday I had hoped for.

Did things get worse? Well, I won't go into the thunderstorm that the island experienced, leaving me locked in my flooded room for a day keeping towels by the windows and doors to absorb the rain that was pouring in, nor the supposed ‘modern gym' with very little equipment, half of which wasn't working, the other half over-run by unsupervised children in wet swimsuits,nor the dodgy air conditioning that meant wakeful nights in a hot and musky room.

I had plenty of time to ponder the mistakes I made in organizing this solo holiday so let me share my five top tips for planning the perfect holiday.

Five Top Tips for the Perfect Holiday Break

1. Make sure you are in the right mood state when you book your holiday

• I was feeling exhausted, booking at the last minute and probably too willing to go just about anywhere there was a bit of sunshine.
• My ‘mental filters' probably were not fine tuned enough and I was not filtering in clues and information I should have been paying attention to

2. Be clear about the kind of holiday you want

• It sounds logical, but the more clear and specific you are about your requirements, the more likely you will get what you want. Wanting a 4-5* resort in the sunshine isn't specific enough as I found out.
• Your requirements will act as a compass in terms of questions you might want to ask and the information you will seek out. Do you want to be able to eat your meals outdoors on a balcony, for example? Do you want to know the ratio of families, couples and singles staying in your resort?

3. Use a company you are happy with or others recommend - Do your homework

• Word of mouth is always the best recommendation • If you do use a new company, be clear about what you want and ask questions
• Go to a website like www.tripadvisor.com and check out client reviews

4. Have a backup plan

• Some things, like lightning storms are out of our control. It's good to have some back ups - books, ipods. I ended up playing a long chess match, something I haven't done for years (I did lose in the end, but not without a good fight!).

• Go through a couple of travel books so you have an idea of alternative activities. If it's not a great sun-bathing day, rent a car and do some sight seeing - places you have already researched and marked out on a map.

5. Try to make the best out of even a bad situation - get creative. As they say, if life gives you lemons, make lemonade

• At the least, take the learning from your experience - and apply it to your next trip! As they say - "it can only get better."

As a solo traveler, it is really important to be able to enjoy your break without worrying about how you will manage on your own if things go wrong. Of course my holiday wasn't all bad. I found beautiful unspoiled child-free beaches. The hotel food was tasty and varied. The staff and people I met were helpful and friendly. It could have been even better though if I had taken a little time and planned it all more carefully. I'll certainly be following my own top tips next time I travel.