Fuel costs have risen, trains are not cheap and holiday makers are heavily taxed. You need to be savvy when it comes to hotel and travel costs. There are lots of tips and advise around so here are our tips based on personal experience.
Hotels and Accommodation
- Look out for special deals from hoteliers. Travel lodge have regular sales and discounted hotel offers.
- Sign up for Lastminute.com, Travel supermarket and other web portals
- Compare prices on the web as this will almost always save money particularly where top-end hotels are concerned.
- Deal direct with the hotel and ask for discounts or cheaper deals.
- Visit in the quiet season do not expect a good deal in Cheltenham during the races.
- Try camping or Youth Hostels or cheap hotel chains.
- Check that breakfast is included or eat out of the hotel
- Pay in advance for a discount if you are sure you will make the date.
- Other web sites venere.com, holidayhotels.com and lowcostbeds.com.
Other Money Saving Tips
- Making your own food for lunch and long train journeys can save a lot of money. It will probably taste much better than the stale cheese sandwiches which pass for food on British trains.
- Buy your plane tickets from low cost airlines well in advance.
- You could save money on holiday by taking part in holiday exchange CouchSurfing.com Also enables you to experience the real local culture rather than a sanitized hotel experience
- Get travel insurance as part of a bank account. If you travel a lot get annual multi trip insurance. Travel insurance is highly recommended given how expensive foreign medical treatment could be.
- For the regular commuter it will be advisable to get a season ticket which will offer big savings. Note it is possible to get a loan specifically for a season ticket. It may still be cheaper even with interest payments.
- Book in advance. The savings on a train ticket can be quite considerable for booking 12 weeks in advance. Airflights may vary depending on demand; but are usually cheaper if bought in advance.
- Book Late. The next best alternative to booking a long time in advance is booking last minute and having a degree of flexibility in when and where you travel.
- Buy Packages. Often it is cheaper if you buy a package holiday and bundle all the car hire e.t.c onto the same deal. Buying things separately will make things alot more expensive.
- Sign up for email special offers. If you are a frequent flyer, it is definitely advisable to sign up for email updates. It makes it much easier to find out when airlines are offering special deals. This can often save me £100 on a flight to New York. I get regular emails from Virgin, American and British Airways; it is surprising how one company is usually offering a special deal when I want to fly.
- Search Online for all the cheapest deals. Make sure you make the most of price comparison sites; but don’t just limit your searches to one company.
- Try Haggling for lower prices. If you arrange your own holiday, try asking for a price reduction. You can do this by email. If you book in advance and have various options you may be able to save 10-20% per nights.
- Don’t get ripped off by local taxi firms. On landing at a foreign airport make sure you don’t get into the first taxi that comes along. Before travelling agree on a price, if you leave it to the end of a journey you could face a nasty shock.
- Travel at Unsociable Hours. Prices of airflights will vary enourmously depending on when you travel. Saturdays and Fridays will be more expensive. If you travel in the evening or morning or come back on a monday morning you will save alot of money.
Local Travel Tips
- Travel off the beaten path to find non touristy places and restaurants which don’t charge a tourist premium.
- Walking followed by the bike are the cheapest and most efficient modes of transport, especially for short journeys, you can also avoid parking charges and park wherever you want (within reason of course)
- Look to share car journeys with others. Splitting the cost will make a big saving given the price of petrol.
- Drive Slower. Cutting speed when driving can save petrol because the engine is more efficient. The AA reckon that travelling at 70mph rather than 80mph can get an extra 20 miles from the car.
- Look at The Beauty in Your Own country. My fellow countrymen always seem keen to fly off to distant parts of the world. But, they often ignore the chance to visit beautiful places in their own country. True, we might have just a little bit more rain in England, the weather isn’t quite as hot as the Caribbean; but, you will be saving money on your airfares
- Look for special deals in newspapers and magazines
- Go on a walking holiday with tent. Your only cost will be food.
- Join the Youth Hostel Association
