Bargain Travellers Share Their Tricks For £3.99 Flights & £9.50 Holidays
- Winter is the perfect time to book a cheap holiday in advance
- Bargain hunters share their tricks to saving £100s on getaways
- Tricks include finding flights for £3.99 and eating for under £10
Many of us are looking forward to 2022 as the year when travel abroad will hopefully be much easier. The winter months can be brightened up by planning a getaway in advance, which is something bargain hunters from the money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk know all too well.
Co-Founder of the money-saving Black Friday app Tom Church said: ‘By keeping an eye out for special offers, knowing your way around tools such as Google Flights and being open to travelling last minute to places you may not have considered before, you can easily visit loads of exciting locations for just a few pounds. Plus, once you’re there it’s easy to save on food with the tricks our savvy community members have. Here are some of the best tips for making some impressive savings on your next trip.’
Use Vouchers and Coupons - Grab £150 Off
The first thing many bargain hunters will look for before shopping for holidays is vouchers or coupons they can make the most of. Rachel Pollard advised: ‘Use vouchers and coupons, and check locally for deals.’ April Dykes had a tip for shorter city stays: ‘Utilise deals on sites like Wowcher and Groupon when doing trips to London.’
Melissa Foort advised fellow scrimpers to pre-book everything. ‘Use comparison sites to make sure you get the best deals.’ Tom added: ‘Holidays are one of the many areas we cover at Latest Deals, and there are always discounts to be found if you are planning for a trip away. For example, at the moment we have £150 off holiday bookings at First Choice and £25 off a Venice holiday. Just check out the Holidays tag for the most recent offers.’
Avoid Peak Times - Find Flights For £10
Everyone wants to escape to a beach during the summer months, so why not avoid peak times and enjoy the discounts you’ll receive by doing so? Tina Leggitt recommended: ‘Avoid school holidays - which is easy if you don’t have kids or work in a school. Similarly, Sally Smith commented: ‘Go out of season and go to the cheapest place - don’t have your heart set on a specific location. If you’ve not been there you don’t know that you won’t like it [so why not try it?]
‘If you want to try camping, winter is the best time to buy some kit. People will be looking to get rid of stuff at the end of the summer. My daughter and I have done weekends away, walking and sleeping in the back of a car on a foam mattress.’ Tom added: ‘If you want some help with finding out when the best time is to book a holiday, look out for our flight deal roundups - we often find flights as cheap as £10. Alternatively, Hopper is a free app which uses artificial intelligence to tell you when the best time to book a flight is. Better for long-haul flights to make sure you’re not over spending.’
Plan Ahead - Get Four Nights Away For £130
Every bargain hunter will know the value of doing some planning and research before spending money, and preparing for a holiday is no different. Sinead Kelly advised: ‘Shop around! I got a great deal for next summer, and in summer 2019 we got to France for £462 for seven nights and two nights on the ferry.’ Angela Sloan shared her trick: ‘Book a year in advance, and look for a code for money off.’
Jenn Robertson also ensures she books well ahead of time to save cash. ‘Book a year in advance as it always works out cheaper! I am going to Haggerston for the Easter holiday next year for £130 for four nights.’ Brenda De Costa revealed she is smart about how she books. ‘I always find it cheaper to book flights, transfers and accommodation separately. We also don’t usually stay in hotels, we use Airbnb.’
Explore Locations You Haven’t Considered - Go On Holiday For £9.50
If you’re not picky about where you go, there are plenty of options to explore on a budget. April Dykes said: ‘I have grown up doing Sun Holidays for £9.50, travelling as cheaply as possible by coach. I have to be savvy with the money I have and so use the teaching from my parents.’ Similarly, Laydee Donaldson commented: ‘I used to do the Sun newspaper static holidays for short, cheap breaks!
‘In the past when our son was young we always used to look for a last minute deal. We weren’t fussy as to where it was as long as it was sunny and cheap!’ Emma Capser has a similar approach: ‘If you’re not fussed about where you go abroad, go to the airport and just see what last minute flights or packages they have. Often it’s people who have not turned up or cancelled last minute, so you get their holiday super cheap. Planes never like to fly on empty seats.’ Tom added: ‘CheekyWeekend is a free tool that automatically finds you cheap flights and Airbnbs for a budget weekend holiday. It specialises in Friday to Sunday trips so you don’t have to take time off work. I spend hours on this site watching for the best deals.’
Look For Unpopular Flights - Go Abroad For £3.99
If you’re willing to get up super early, come back in the small hours or deal with a layover, you may be able to save a lot of money. Jack Boardman said: ‘Adjust flight times to earlier or later, when it’s less busy. You can save hundreds this way.’ Antonia Yocova thinks in a similar way: ‘Buy airplane tickets on or just before Christmas. Very few people are buying at this time.’
Christine Pyle does her research when booking online. ‘I find booking flights and accommodation separately works out cheaper. Also, don’t book return flights, book them separately. I find that airlines charge extra if you pay for seats together as a family, but they will put a child or minor with at least one adult anyway. I also book flights for each individual, rather than a group of four or five. You can check the price for one person against four and see if it increases. Tom added: ‘Ryanair does flight sales once every three months from £3.99. You can often get a return flight for a tenner. I’ve been to France, Italy and Portugal all for less than £20. Subscribe to their newsletter and you’ll get notified when there’s a big flight sale.’
Save Money On Food - Buy 25p Bread & 78p Milk
Going abroad doesn’t have to mean racking up a huge bill in restaurants every night. Anna Hicks said: ‘If I am staying somewhere like a Premier Inn and having breakfast I usually make up an egg or bacon sandwich (or two) to take out with me for my lunch rather than buying a lunch out. I also track down a shop near the hotel where I can buy drinks and snacks for cheaper than the hotel vending machine. Also I have made meals for my friend and I using pot pasta, cocktail sausages, tinned sweetcorn, sliced peppers and grated cheese. Alternatively, you can make BBQ pulled pork wraps using tinned pulled pork, peppers, sweetcorn, tomatoes and salad. Very filling and much cheaper than eating out.’
Julie Smith also looks for bargain buys where possible: ‘When we stayed for two nights in a Premier Inn, the food cost us less than £10. I bought two reduced loaves of bread for 25p each, three different sandwich fillers (cheese and onion, coronation chicken and tuna & sweetcorn) that were reduced to 35p each and a jar of strawberry jam for 39p. I also got two cartons of fresh milk, two litres each, reduced to 78p per carton, and a tub of margarine for 59p. For breakfast we had bread and jam, for dinner we had tuna & sweetcorn sandwiches, back at the Premier Inn we had a coronation chicken sandwich and a buttered scone, then for supper we had bread and jam. To keep the milk fresh it was left in the hand basin in cold water.’
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