Booking a holiday on a budget is easier than you think. When you book a holiday through a travel agency, you end up paying fees on top of the holiday. So then it makes the cost go higher for you and your family. But it is actually really easy to do it all alone and cut out the middle man. You can book a holiday on a budget, just by surfing the internet.
Booking Flights
I use Skyscanner to book my flights, it is easy to fill the form out and choose your dates. Then it finds you the cheapest flights. You do need to play around with the filters to make sure that you get direct flights and you can play about with the dates to get cheaper flights. Skyscanner finds you the cheapest flights and directs you to the website to buy your tickets. As well as Skyscanner, there are other websites like Google flights.
If you search for flights, make sure you do it incognito, flight companies tend to inflate flights if they know you are looking for something in particular. Something that is fun to do is to find the cheapest flight and just book it. Sometimes you can go somewhere for a fiver. Then book your hotel room.
If you are checking in straight away, don’t pay to book seats on budget flights. You will be allocated some when you check-in, so you might as well save some money. Booking on a Wednesday always seems to be cheaper to book a flight somewhere, so look at midweek. Only take hand luggage to save some money, if you are only away for a few days you won’t need much.
Booking Hotels
Look around for hotels, you might find a cheap hotel but it has really bad reports on Tripadvisor. Booking.com are good, they let you cancel most of the rooms free of charge and they have been really good with Covid bookings recently. When you book a room through Booking.com, you can choose a cheaper room to stay in, that is non-refundable if you cancel. But if you pay more, you can usually cancel the rooms.
Look on Instagram for hotels to stay in, you get real photo’s from holidaymakers and you get their genuine opinion. Many cities have really good hotels for a budget price, and others have special offers.
You can also look for budget hotels like Travelodge, Ibis and Premier Inn if you are travelling in the UK. You can often get rooms really cheap and less than £30 for a family. Youth hostels, Uni accommodation are also good options for places to stay.
Follow Blogs And Travel Websites
Signing up to travel blogs will give you tips on how to book cheaper holidays and show you what destinations look like. If they offer a newsletter, it’s worth signing up for them because you will get tips for cheap holidays. If they have a Facebook group or a Twitter account, follow them to keep up with the news and offers. These websites are more than happy to help you find a holiday.
Alternative To Hotels
There are always alternatives to hotels. You can book an Air BnB which will be cheaper than a hotel and you often get to stay with a family. It is a good way to help local people to support their families when you visit somewhere abroad. Another alternative is going to a caravan or camping site. Obviously, think about the country that you are visiting to see if it is safe.
If you have an early flight, don’t bother booking a hotel at an airport. Just arrive at the airport late and spend the night there. It is free and you get to meet so many other travellers with stories to tell. Travelling overnight by bus, train or plane also saves the cost of a hotel too. That is money that you can spend elsewhere on your holiday.
Take some food and drinks
We always take food with us on holiday, especially if it is a trip to Disneyland or an alternative theme park. You can save a lot this way. You cannot take drinks through the airport, but you can still buy them before you board the plane and they are cheaper than on a plane. There is also Boots at most UK airports, you can buy a meal deal for half the price of what a meal will cost on a plane.