Holidays are wonderful, we get a chance to relax and leave the world of work, school and routine behind for a week or two, and indulge in relaxation and fun that we don’t normally get a chance to do. If you spend the whole holiday stressed about how much money you’re spending however, then you’re not likely to relax and enjoy yourself. Here are some tips on how to find cheaper options for travel, flights and hotels, to help you keep the stress levels to a minimum:
Can you be flexible?
If you can be flexible about things such as when you travel, where you go, or how you get there, you might find you can reduce your costs quite substantially. Travelling at peak times of day or during peak season, you’ll pay more than you will if you travel at less sociable times of the day (or night), and if you travel out of season. The same applies to your destination. If you choose a popular resort then you’ll pay a premium for this, whereas a less popular one just slightly further from the beach may be cheaper. It is worth checking out websites like netflights.com who provide cheap flights to many worldwide destinations as well as checking tripadvisor.com to gauge what different resorts in your preferred destination are like.
Search the web
Lots of websites are available these days which sell reduced cost holidays, accommodation or flights, and by hunting around you may well find you can cut some costs. Sites reduce the costs for different reasons, it can be because it’s a last minute deal or because it’s an early deal, and either option can cost you less. Compare different sites as well, some places may add a higher premium for selling something than others do.
Try the direct approach
It sometimes pays to try talking directly to the airline or hotel that you want to use. This can be especially useful if you’re looking for a last minute deal because it’s more cost effective for the company to sell all the spaces than it is for them to have some empty seats/rooms.
Look in the papers
If you’re looking for a cheap holiday, keep your eye on local and national newspapers (Telegraph, Mail etc) as many of these will offer holiday deals here in the UK or abroad. Generally the idea is that you have to buy the paper over a number of days or weeks to get a certain amount of differently numbered coupons to be allowed to partake in the deal. This is great for the newspaper as it’s their way of getting people to buy the paper regularly. For you it can mean a nice cheap holiday. One of the more popular ones over recent years has been the Sun’s £10 holiday scheme.
Fly ‘no frills’
Airlines such as Ryanair offer no frills flying. What this means is that you’re restricted on the amount of luggage you can take, and if you want things like food or drinks on the flight you’ll have to pay extra for them. As long as you’re careful however, and take your own packed lunch with you, and go for lighter luggage you can keep the costs to a bare minimum.
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