How to get a cheap holiday!

One of the things I get asked often is 'How did you book that holiday for so little money?' It is true that with a lot of hard research and time, I have saved Michael and I A LOT of wonga on trips abroad. We have been to Morocco for a week for just over £200 each, Rome for under £400 and Barcelona for about £250 each for example. Over the past 5 years I have seen flight and hotel prices steadily increase but I always manage to get us a good deal and save a significant amount. So how do I do it? Here are some of my tips for spending as little as possible on holidays...

Be prepared to research

Such a simple tip but be prepared to do lots of internet research, you need a lot of patience and willingness to trawl through websites for the best prices. I do recommend using comparison websites but more often than not they don't show me the deals I really want. Google is your best friend-you may need to spend a few hours properly searching but you will get there.

 

Don't go for the first price you see

It's tempting just to book the first deal/holiday package you see because you think it's pretty good value. DON'T DO IT. I have always found the cheapest flights/hotels after a couple of searches. 

 

Be willing to book FAR in advance 

Yes you can get some amazing holidays deals 'last minute' but if you are like me and like to have things planned out in advance then it's always important to be willing to start early. For our summer holidays, I usually book in Jan/Feb time and watch over the coming months how flight and hotel prices start to increase. If you are willing to commit to a date early on, there are lots of holiday savings to be had.

If you book far in advance, always check first

By this I mean, check the date is right for you. For example, you need to make sure you are not working (obvious), that the attractions you want to visit will be open and you have no other important events on. It's really tricky to re-book flights although easier with hotels if you book on websites such as Venere or Booking.com

 

Don't be afraid to use cheaper airlines

All the good deals I have got on flights have been from airlines such as EasyJet-they have been a fantastic, low budget option for us and I can't recommend them highly enough especially now you can select your own seats in advance (the scrum to get the best seats on the plane was always a bit annoying) and if you can book a few months in advance, there are some bargains. Saying that, British Airways also have some good prices depending on where you go. Often you need to compare and check where they fly from-how much will you spend getting to and from the airport? It's worth mentioning however that EasyJet charge extra for their luggage (currently about £22 per item) so add that onto the price you see. As far as I know with BA, the price you see is the price you pay.

 

Consider booking now, paying later

This has its benefits and its drawbacks but it's an option I always chose when booking hotels. On websites such as Venere and Booking.com, you can reserve your hotel in advance and pay when you check out. This can be great because you can save up money between when you book and when you go however if the currency you are buying in changes in value, you may end up spending slightly more. However I am lucky this hasn't happened to us yet!

Don't go for a 'package holiday'

I may be in the minority but I really don't think package holidays are good value and 90% of the time I spend less by doing a bit of research and booking the flights/hotel seperately. Also with package holidays you are not normally given much choice with hotels and flight times are always tricky and you end up having to pay more to get the better times.

xoxo