Times are tough, but there are ways to cut your travel costs.
Make your money go further this summer with Skyscanner’s top tips for saving money on your holiday.
1. Home Swapping
Hotels can be expensive so consider a home swap. More and more people are opting for this way of holidaying which drastically reduces your costs and also means you can often get better and bigger accommodation. There are now many companies that act as intermediaries to ensure that your house swap goes smoothly – read our 10 house swapping tips for more.
2. Be flexible on where you go
The best bargains can be found if you don’t mind where you go. Use Skyscanner to find all the cheap flights from your local airport, do a little research and book your flights. Currently, you can fly to eight countries for under £100 from Heathrow, Birmingham and Edinburgh.
3. Travel Mid-week
To really save on your flights, try and travel mid-week rather than on Fridays or weekends. Use Skyscanner’s nifty price graph to compare flights across the entire month and see which days are best for bargains. For example: fly from Gatwick to Berlin Saturday to Saturday and it will cost you £107, yet fly Tuesday to Tuesday and it will cost just £70 – a saving of £37 which can be spent on an extra beer or two.
4. Go local
Even though you are a tourist, it pays to behave more like a local if you want to save money. By all means enjoy the major attractions that a destination has to offer, but when it comes to eating, drinking and shopping in general, get away from the main tourist zones, and seek out the places where the locals play. Not only will your money go further here, but you’re also likely to find higher quality goods and food, and you’re also more likely to meet real live locals. For example, a dram of Glenmorangie whisky in the famous Balmoral hotel bar in Edinburgh will cost £4.50, yet the same drink in the slightly less glamorous Waterloo bar (which is just one minute away), costs considerably less.
5. Go Chic on the Cheap
Luxury doesn’t have to be expensive. For those that have the taste of royalty, but not the crown jewels to spend, what you need is ‘chic on the cheap’. There are plenty of options for excellent though very reasonably priced hotels which mean you don’t have to opt for a youth hostel. For example, rooms at the quirky cinema-themed Parisian property – Hotel du 7e Art Read – cost just £90 a night for a double. Or try the Dar One in Marrakesh for £80 a night – read more in our article on budget boutique hotels for some great low priced luxury ideas. www.skyscanner.net
