There is no escaping the fact that the world is getting ‘smaller’. Whether you want to go to some far-flung destination, visit Mickey Mouse or lie on a beach in the Balearics, you really are spoiled for choice.

According to the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), during the weekend of 21-24 July 2006 (the start of the school summer holidays) an estimated 2.1 million UK holidaymakers set off overseas.

While the five favourite holiday destinations for Brits abroad in 2005 were Spain, France, Greece, the USA and Italy, ABTA believes that a whole host of other destinations will see an influx in 2006. It names Brazil, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Malaysia, Africa, Egypt and Thailand as ones to watch.

The great getaway doesn’t come without a cost, however. According to ABTA, the average cost of a holiday per person in 2005 was £490, and that’s just getting there. The average amount of money spent was also £490. So that’s £980 per person. Now imagine if that’s two adults and two children – and all of a sudden that dream holiday might seem a little out of reach!

One way of getting away would be to take a personal loan with Direct Line. We have loans from £2,000 to £25,000, there’s no arrangement fee and a choice of payment protection policies. And there’s also our great loan rate of 7.7% APR Typical (from £7,500 to £14,999).

Of course, you can take out a loan with Direct Line for a whole host of things, such as home improvements or to buy a new car. But if you do use it for a holiday then you might also want to take out our great value travel insurance – you can get either single or annual cover at really competitive prices – so the world really can be your oyster.