Five ways to save money on your summer holiday!

Looking for ways to cut the cost of your summer holiday this year? Just follow these simple tips...

Ahh, I love summer holidays. There's nothing better than relaxing on a sunny beach, palm trees waving gently in the breeze as you bury your toes in the warm sand and slowly sip a cocktail...

But there's just one problem with this scenario: holidays cost money. And money is something few of us have in abundance right now.

So I've come up with five simple ways to help ensure you can go on a summer holiday this year - but keep the costs down at the same time...

1) Choose your accommodation wisely

You don't need to splurge on an ultra expensive hotel to enjoy yourself on holiday.

Thanks to the recession, more and more of us are now braving the outdoors and going camping or caravanning. Not only does this work out to be far cheaper than a hotel, but it can also be a lot of fun, particularly if you have kids.

However, if camping really doesn't appeal, another cheap option is to stay at a youth hostel. And don't panic - you don't have to be a young backpacker to do this - many hostels provide rooms suitable for families and couples - as well as traditional dormitory-style accommodation.

The Youth Hostel Association (YHA) website is definitely worth a look - did you know you can find rooms in youth hostels abroad via their website?.

On the other hand, you could always go self-catering and rent out a villa or a cottage. In fact, now is the perfect time to pick up a bargain as many owners are being forced to lower their prices. What's more, because you'll have your own cooking facilities, you won't need to eat out every day and as a result, you'll pocket plenty of extra pennies. Try Holiday-rentals.co.uk for self-catering accommodation.

Alternatively, if you're feeling adventurous, why not opt for a secret hotel? If you use sites like Hotwire.com or lastminute.com's Top Secret, you can get hotel rooms at deep discounts, but crucially, you won't know which hotel you’re booking until after you’ve confirmed and paid. Read How To Get A Bargain Hotel Room to find out how it works.

Finally, if you fancy trying something new, why not house swap? You can read more on this in Property Swap Shop.

2) Book early - or book late

If you book your holiday several months early, you're more likely to be able to snap up some cheap deals before they all go.

That said, if you're fairly flexible about when and where you want to go, you can also pick up some brilliant bargains at the last minute by using websites such as Lastminute.com or Teletext Holidays.

3) Cheaper flights

Shop around when you're booking flights to make sure you're getting the best possible deal. You're likely to find that the more flexible you are with timings, the better the deal. For example, you might have to fly late at night or very early in the morning. It might also work out cheaper to fly midweek, instead of at weekends.

It's also worth remembering that budget carriers aren't always cheaper, so do ensure you shop around fully.

4) Travel money

If you're planning to take some spending money with you, don't leave it until the last minute.

Exchange rates can vary considerably from place to place, with airports, hotels and high street banks offering much less competitive rates than those from currency specialists. So it's really important to shop around rather than plumping for whatever you can get last minute at the airport.

That said, many high street banks will exchange currency commission-free, and will also buy back any un-used currency once your holiday is over - also commission-free. But although this is convenient and tempting, keep in mind that it doesn't necessarily mean you're getting the best deal.

You can read more on this in Five ways to get the most holiday cash.

It's also worth noting that if you're planning to use your debit card to withdraw cash abroad or make purchases, most cards will charge you every time you carry out a transaction.

For that reason, the Nationwide FlexAccount offers the best value debit card. Up until June, this card had been completely fee-free. But unfortunately conversion and retail conversion fees of 0.84% have since been introduced - both of which will rise to 1% from 1 July.

That said, these fees are much lower than most other cards charge and they don't apply in the EU and certain other countries. You can check whether they'll apply to your holiday destination by using this A-Z tool.

For more advice read The best way to withdraw cash abroad.

Alternatively, you might prefer to use a pre-paid currency card, such as the Travelex Cash Passport or the Caxton FX Mastercard. You can usually buy these free of charge and all you need to do is pre-load the card with foreign currency - at no additional cost. You can find more information about this in our recent video.

5) Car hire

Car hire can work out to be expensive if you don't do a bit of research first and don't book in advance. Websites such as carhiremarket.com and carrentals.co.uk allow you to compare the cost of car hire abroad and are well worth a look.

If you book your car hire at the same time as booking your hotel or flights, you may also find you can get a great deal as part of a package - for example with Lastminute.com or Expedia.

It's also a good idea to take out excess reimbursement insurance before you travel. That way 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.

Taking out your own insurance will work out much cheaper and will cover your excess if you damage the hire car. Carhireexcess.com offers comprehensive cover from as little as £1.99 per day in Europe, while insurance4carhire.com offers an annual European policy for £49.

A final word

Don't forget that if you're paying for any big purchases (such as flights and hotels) by credit card, your rights will be protected under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act - providing you spend over £100.

It's also a good idea to use a 0% on new purchases credit card if you know you won't be able to pay off your credit card bill in full - that way, you could have up to a year to pay back your debt, interest-free!

Alternatively, if you're positive you'll be able to pay off your credit card balance in full, why not be rewarded for your spending by using a cashback credit card or a rewards card that offers airmiles?

Happy holidays!

More: Top new card for holiday spending has a big catch | What you are entitled to when your airline messes up