A family holiday is a massive expense that can take months or even years to save up for.
So here are 10 money-saving hacks to help you cut down the cost of travel.
- Fly indirect
Choosing a flight with a stopover, or flying to a city that’s close to your end destination and commuting the rest of the way by ground transport, can often work out cheaper than flying direct.
Read this post here on how to save money when buying plane tickets.
- Do free stuff
Most destinations have free activities such as walking tours. A lot of museums have free entry too. However, if you’re struggling to find free stuff to do, download the GPSmyCity app – it has thousands of walking tours that encompass your destination hotspots.
- Pack smart
The added costs that come with taking checked luggage aren’t pretty. But if you’re travelling for more than a few days, hand luggage is rarely a viable option. To minimise the number of checked bags you need to take a space saver bags, pack smart, for example by rolling your clothes instead of folding them
- Pre-book parking
If you’re driving to the airport, pre-booking your parking is sure fire way to save some pennies. Rather than book through your airport, it’s worth using a price comparison site like Looking4.com to find the best rates for UK airports such as Gatwick and Heathrow.
- Book at the right time
Flight and accommodation prices go up and down more times than a roller coaster at Alton Towers, which makes deciding when to book super difficult. However, if you use a price checker site such as Hopper, you’ll receive a notification when the best time to buy is.
- Book a rental home
You often get a lot more for your money by choosing a holiday home as accommodation rather than a hotel, because you’ll have additional facilities such as a kitchen where you can prep your own healthy, inexpensive meals.
- Use ATMs
Nine times out of ten, your bank will offer you the best exchange rate. So instead of heading to the currency office, withdraw your money from ATMs. And to avoid a mountain of transaction fees, you should take out large sums less regularly.
- Get free travel insurance
If you purchase your holiday with your credit card, you might be eligible for free travel insurance – check with your provider to find out. There are a number of insurance providers who offer gratis travel insurance for children too.
- Stay in the outskirts
By staying in the outskirts, everything from your food to your accommodation will be cheaper. Plus, you’ll be surrounded by locals who can advise you on the best (and cheapest) things to do during your holiday.
- Use the lunch menu
Many restaurants often have a lunch menu where the portion sizes are similar to or the same as those on the main menu but at a lower cost. So on those days where you fancy a restaurant meal, make lunch your main meal.
With 10 handy hacks to hand, travel money worries will be a thing of the past.
What are you money-saving hacks for travel? Share them in the comments section.
This is a collaborative post.