Budget Travel Tips: How To Save Money At Every Stage Of Planning Your Holiday

Airplane taking off from a runway during a budget travel and holiday planning feature about saving money while travelling.


Going on holiday can be expensive, but it doesn’t have to break the bank. Whether you want to go on a short weekend break or a long all-inclusive retreat, the secret to making your holiday more affordable isn’t just luck, but rather knowing how and where you can save and still have an enjoyable trip.
 

Deciding When To Travel

When it comes to making your holiday more affordable, often timing can make more of a difference than destination. During school holidays or peak season, there's a much higher demand for flights and hotels, so prices skyrocket. In order to make your holiday more affordable, you should try to be as flexible as you can and avoid going during these times. Not only will you be able to fly and stay somewhere a lot cheaper, but the whole experience will be calmer and more enjoyable with fewer people bustling around.

If you aren’t very flexible and have to go during peak times, then aim to take flights mid-week rather than on weekends. They’re slightly less popular, even during school holidays, so the prices are slightly better during the high season.

Going Ahead And Booking The Flights

Airlines are notorious for trying to charge you for every little thing. What can start off as a seemingly good price, once you add everything you need like luggage, food, or even wanting to pick a seat next to someone you’re flying with, it can end up costing you a fortune. Try to utilise comparison sites that will compare different flight prices, just make sure you put in all the details you need beforehand to get the price you will actually be paying.
 

Look At Car Parking Options

You got the flights, you know where you’re going, but now you have to worry about the cost of getting there. A train might be your first thought, but with rail fares as high as they are, you might be surprised by how much extra it’ll add on, especially the more of you there are. That leaves you with taking your car. It's much more convenient; you don’t have to worry about cancellations, you just have to find someone for it to be parked. This is where you can save a decent amount of money.

Often people will just pick the first car parking available, but actually, if you compare airport parking, you can find yourself a good deal. If you consider parking slightly further away, it might be considerably cheaper than the parking next door to the airport. You might not even have to walk very far, with many car parks offering free shuttle buses to get you to the airport swiftly. You might also be able to use vouchers or find discount codes across the internet, which you can again use a comparison site to find for you and bag yourself a bargain.

Avoiding Airport Spending

The money saving shouldn’t just stop at flights and hotel bookings - you should still be mindful of what you’re spending even when the holiday is just beginning. A lot of us fall into the trap of, “well, we’re on holiday now, I can spend whatever”, but all that's going to result in is all your previous savings being rendered pointless and a very empty bank account. The easiest place to start thoughtlessly spending is at the airport, even before leaving the country.

If there's something you want or need or have even forgotten to bring with you, now you can find it at the airport, but for a much higher price than you’d pay anywhere else. The same goes for food and drinks you might buy at a food outlet. Think of it as a convenience premium. It's all there, everything you could possibly need for a holiday,  just at a much higher price than normal.

To get around that, make sure you’re well prepared. Triple check before leaving, you have everything with you that you need for your whole trip to avoid buying it at the airport. When it comes to food, remember you can still bring your own. Yes, you might not be able to bring drinks through, but you can bring an empty reusable bottle and fill it at a fountain later.

Travel can still be enjoyable even if you're on a tight budget. You just have to be smart with your choices, prioritise what actually matters and think about all the little cost cuts you can make that can result in saving yourself a fortune, then you can travel more often for less.


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