Grab an ultra cheap holiday!

Winter is fast approaching, so if you fancy cheering yourself up with a holiday, here's how to grab a bargain...

The nights are drawing in, the days are getting colder, and winter is most certainly on its way. So if you’re planning to escape the UK and jet off somewhere for a much-needed break, here are some top ways to grab a bargain!

Be flexible

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the more flexible you are when it comes to booking your holiday, the more likely you are to get a good deal.

If you’re flying, try to avoid booking a flight for a Friday, Saturday or Sunday because prices will be higher. For example, a flight from London to Rome departing on Friday 5 November and returning on Saturday 13 November would cost you £150.84 with easyJet, according to Expedia. However, if you flew out on Thursday 4 November and returned on Wednesday 10 November, you’d only have to pay £113.84, a saving of £37 per person.

Similarly, if you can avoid travelling during the school holidays, you will also save money. I checked out how much an easyJet flight would cost to Rome this Wednesday (27 October and half term week), flying back on Sunday 31 October and discovered it would cost £375.84 – so considerably more.

You’re also likely to get a better deal if you’re flexible about the time of day you travel. Early morning flights are generally cheaper.

Free flights

Is it really possible to get a free flight? Well, yes it is, providing you use a rewards credit card that allows you to earn airmiles – such as the Lloyds TSB Airmiles Duo Credit Cards.

If you apply for the Lloyds Duo cards, you’ll be given an American Express card and a Mastercard (as American Express isn’t accepted everywhere). You’ll then earn one airmile for every £10 you spend on your American Express card and for every £50 you spend on the Mastercard. You’ll also collect double airmiles when you spend on your card abroad. And once you’ve collected enough airmiles, you can redeem them on flights to a wide range of destinations (flights include airline taxes, fees and surcharges)!

You can work out exactly how many miles you can get for your typical monthly spend with this nifty calculator. And you can find out more about the Lloyds Duo Credit Cards and other rewards cards in Bag a free holiday with your credit card.

Stay online

Taking the time to search for deals online is well worth it. Take a look at websites such as Yahoo Travel, Expedia, Travelzoo and Kayak to hunt out the best deals. It’s also a good idea to sign up to any email services they offer as these will allow you to hear about the best deals first.

Lastminute.com and Teletext Holidays are also worth a browse for last minute deals. For example, Teletext is offering a seven night self-catering stay in the Algarve, Portugal, flying from Stansted on 4 November for just £45 per person! Or you can enjoy a seven night all inclusive stay in Majorca for just £199 per person, providing you fly out from Gatwick in November or December (based on two people sharing).

Ditch the big hotels

Why not try ditching the big hotels and opting for alternative accommodation?

One option is to stay at a youth hostel. And don’t worry, this doesn’t mean you have to share your room with 10 other people. Many hostels provide rooms suitable for families and couples, as well as traditional dormitory-style accommodation. Take a look at the Youth Hostel Association (YHA) website and if you’re travelling abroad, click here. 

Opting for a self-catering holiday will also help to save the pennies, particularly if there’s a group of you as you usually pay per week rather than per person. What’s more, because you’ll have your own cooking facilities, you won’t need to eat out every night so you’ll save even more money.

Take a look at websites such as Holiday-rentals.co.uk for self-catering accommodation. A week’s stay in this beautiful 2 bedroom apartment in Salzburg, Austria, for example, would cost you €390 per week in early November (or around £339) or €58 (around £50) per night. That works out at £12.50 per person per night if you go with another couple!

If, however, you still want to book a hotel, consider booking cheap hotel chains such as Travelodge or Holiday Inn Express – most of these chains now have hotels overseas.

Think outside the box

If you don’t mind taking a bit of a gamble, one way to save on your accommodation is to opt for a secret hotel.

If you use sites such as Hotwire.com or lastminute.com's Top Secret, you can get hotel rooms at deep discounts. Just be warned that if you sign up to this scheme, you won’t know which hotel you’re booking until after you’ve confirmed and paid. That said, once you’ve got the location and description of the hotel, it’s not terribly difficult to work out which hotel it is.

Read How to get a bargain hotel room to find out how it works.

Alternatively, why not house swap? There are stacks of websites out there that allow you to swap homes with those abroad. Take a look at Homelink and Geenee to get you started. Geenee is free to join, Homelink charges from £115 a year.

You can find out more about house swapping in Property swap shop.

Cheaper car hire

If you’re planning to hire a car, be careful. Car hire can add significant costs to the price of your holiday, so consider whether a car really is a necessity. If it is, make sure you use websites such as carhiremarket.com and carrentals.co.uk which allow you to compare the cost of car hire abroad.

It's also worth taking out excess reimbursement insurance before you travel. This means you can side-step the excess-waiver you'll be offered by your car hire company, which can cost as much as £10 a day. Take a look at websites such as Carhireexcess.com which offers comprehensive cover from as little as £1.99 per day in Europe. And read Five ways to cut the cost of car hire for more tips.

Plan ahead

Before you jet off on your holiday, make sure you’ve planned ahead. For a start, think about how you’re going to get to the airport if you’re flying. Avoid using services such as Gatwick Express and Heathrow Express if you can – you will find it cheaper to simply use national rail services and the tube.

For example, a family of four travelling from Battersea in south west London to Heathrow would have to pay £96 return on the Heathrow Express, plus the train fare to Paddington which would add on an extra £21 or so – taking the total to around £117.

However, if you simply took national rail services and the tube, you’d only spend £41.40 return – a saving of more than £75!

Of course, the downside to this is that it can take a lot longer and if you have a lot of luggage, travelling on the tube can be a nightmare. So it’s also worth considering taking a pre-booked taxi. Using the above example, a family of four could get door to door service for £82.50 return with premierairportcarrs.com. This is more expensive than travelling by train, but it’s still far cheaper than getting the Heathrow Express.

Alternatively, consider taking the coach, such as National Express. You can get some great deals if you book in advance.

And if you’re driving, check out websites such as Purple Parking, parking4less and aph.com which help you to search for the best priced parking spaces near the airport.

You should also think about getting your foreign currency well in advance. Don’t leave changing up foreign currency to the last minute as you’ll end up paying far too much at the airport. It may also be worth taking a prepaid currency card with you. Find out more in The best cards for spending abroad.

Finally...

Don’t forget your travel insurance and if you’re planning to take part in winter sports, make sure your policy covers you!

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