GET A HOLIDAY BARGAIN
From working holidays to home swaps and even staycations, here’s how you can get away for less
FOR those suffering the winter blues now is an ideal time to search for a cure – by booking a holiday. Whether an exotic adventure in a far-flung destination or relaxing closer to home, The Mail on Sunday explores the best ways to track down a fabulous holiday escape without breaking the bank.
HUNT ONLINE
THE internet has transformed the way we hunt down holiday bargains – with an explosion of comparison websites helping travellers search out the best prices.
Among travel-friendly sites are those offering ‘secret hotel’ deals where customers pay half price if willing to gamble on not knowing where they are going to stay.
The benefit for the hotels is that they are able to fill empty rooms while maintaining their top price cachet – because spare spaces are sold anonymously on websites such as Hotwire and lastminute’s Top Secret Hotels. Only once the booking has been paid for do you find out where you will stay.
Sabu Mehdi, 32, from Kensington, West London, booked a weekend in Paris last Easter with her husband and their son Ilhan, two, after using website Hotwire to search for a bargain. Sabu, a housewife, says: ‘It is a bit of a mystery, but not a total lucky dip as you know the quality of the hotel and the part of the city you will be staying in.
‘It enabled us to enjoy a luxurious five-star break at three-star prices – we paid £175 for a twonight stay.’
They ended up at the five-star Westin Paris Vendome that has a view of the Tuileries Gardens and is close to the Eiffel Tower.
Unfortunately, travel costs are not included in such ‘secret hotel’ deals, but the internet can also help here by trawling airlines in search of the cheapest flights.
Flight comparison websites such as momondo, Skyscanner and Kayak shop around on your behalf. Website Rome2Rio also searches for cheapest ways to travel – train, plane or automobile.
Bargain hunters can also visit websites such as Wowcher, Groupon and Wahanda, which cut prices by using their bargaining power of getting hundreds of people to sign up to a deal for a group discount.
The group deal providers typically email you several times a week with discounted offers, with no obligation to accept. There is usually a deadline for when a deal must be taken. Offers can be withdrawn if not enough buyers are found.
Websites such as Quidco, MyVoucherCodes, TopCashBack and VoucherCodes allow customers to buy goods and holidays and later claim money back through their websites. Any cashback is typically paid as a percentage of the holiday cost and you must wait up to four months for the money.
PLAN WELL AHEAD
THE best deals tend to get snapped up early on in the year – so now is the time to book if you want to bag a bargain.
Those flexible about when they might travel – or even where they are willing to go – can make the biggest savings. By preparing beforehand you can also cut the cost of all those holiday extras, such as airport baggage charges and the price of a local hotel.
Brooke Nye, 30, from Farringdon, City of London, has been bitten by the travel bug and already booked half a dozen bargain trips this year.
The Australian marketing manager, who is originally from Melbourne in Victoria, says: ‘The more you save on sleeping, the more you can spend on doing – and by planning ahead and being flexible you can usually find the best value holiday of all.’
Brooke often starts her planning by trawling through flight comparison website Skyscanner and typing ‘Everywhere’ in the ‘To’ search box after putting ‘United Kingdom’ in the ‘From’ window. If dates are not an issue, customers can also put ‘Whole year’ in the ‘Depart’ box. This throws up some of the best flight deals right across the world.
She adds: ‘The secret is having a list of places you would like to visit – and then letting the bargain deals decide where you are going. I only book a hotel for the first night. You can rent a room in a place where you are staying that costs less than half the price of a hotel using an accommodation search website such as Airbnb.
‘Through careful packing you can also travel light without heavy suitcases that are charged for by budget airlines.’
Brooke has booked a ten-day break in Morocco this Easter costing just £190 return by using two separate airlines for the trip – Ryanair there and Royal Air Moroc back. Other trips she has already booked on a shoestring budget this year include visiting Lapland in Finland, Lake Bled in Slovenia, the Isle of Skye and Cinque Terre in Italy.
SWAP YOUR HOME FOR A HOLIDAY
HOME exchange holidays can offer fantastic value for money – particularly for families – as once you arrive at your destination accommodation is free.
To get involved you join a house swap club. These typically cost from £60 a year and you choose from hundreds of other properties across the world that you might like to stay in for a holiday.
The concept is built on trust because in return for being able to stay at someone else’s house for a holiday, you must allow the owners and their family to come to your home.
Flexibility on where and when you might take a vacation is key as it usually relies on someone else willing to share the same swapping dates with you.
Travel is the biggest expense with home swapping, but costs such as transport are often included in the trading deal – though you must sort out insurance beforehand for you to drive their car. There may also be bikes, toys and electrical gadgets that can be used when you make a swap.
Visitors to Britain are often keen on picturesque rural retreats or properties well connected to city attractions, particularly with links to central London.
Most swappers share the same values and are proud of their homes so look after the swap property well and will clean up when they go. Swappers often also throw in the costs of phone and heating in the deal, but any damage or breakages must be paid for and agreements are written down on con-