I've come to the conclusion that the vast majority of people are pretty normal, but that some of us appear to see the world through a different lens. When did I begin to appreciate that this was the case? I think it may have been when I started describing my vacation rules to friends.

I don't know how you go about booking a vacation, but it's clear to me that some elements are more important than others. As a result, I make decisions that are often based on fairly specific selection criteria. At this point, it's only right that I should indicate that vacations are extremely important to me. I want them to be just right and I dread having a negative experience.

As you might imagine, this means that I attach considerable importance to the planning process. After all, I simply can't allow things to go wrong. I'm always prepared to set aside a reasonable amount of money too, since I appreciate that a vacation should be one of the highlights of the year.

With that background in mind, you may have a greater understanding of the sort of decisions that I tend to take. You may also begin to understand why it is that I can't simply select a package tour from a brochure. For me, the planning process is almost as important as the vacation itself. There really is no room for error.

So what are these rules that I was talking about earlier? One of them is that any destination has to be exclusive. I'm realistic about this and I do appreciate that it's unlikely that I'll find a location where nobody else has decided to visit. That's probably an option that would even be beyond my own budget. But I simply don't like the thought of heading to the same place as thousands of other people.

Why should this be the case? To me, the idea of sharing a vacation in that way is just a bit boring. It's not that I want to boast about my trip to friends and family. It's more the case that I want to have a unique experience and one where I'm able to relax in a manner that's right for me. I guess I'm saying that I like to have an individual, personal experience. It's hard to find that on a typical European beach vacation.

What this means is that I do spend a lot of time planning trips. I don't tend to rush into making a booking and I do find that I ignore mainstream travel agents. By definition, they are attempting to sell to thousands of other people. As a result, it can be said that they are not really offering an experience that I'm looking for.

How do you feel when you read this? You may find that you agree with parts of it. When you come to making your own plans for a luxury vacation, you may want to consider some of my own thoughts. It's likely that you'll be spending a lot of money. You may well look forward to the experience for a long time. It's really important that it should go according to plan.