Holiday smartly in 2023
Travel tips for cutting the cost of your holiday before it’s even begun…
Thrifty travelling
Thanks to numerous websites and schemes dedicated to helping people save money, it’s never been easier to holiday on a budget. Here are some of the best places to find discounts…
Rail reductions
Train tickets can be expensive, so check your options online, especially if you can be flexible with journey times. South Western Railway (southwestern railway.com) and London North Eastern Railway (lner.co.uk) both offer tickets all around the UK and neither charge booking fees.
Reward schemes
Points earned through loyalty programmes can help with holiday savings. For example, Nectar points and Tesco Clubcard points can be put towards the cost of hotels, railcards and even holiday packages, like narrowboat trips or woodland cottage escapes.
Money saving expert
This popular portal (moneysavingexpert.com/ travel) covers everything from the best websites to pick up cheap hotel deals to tips on buying cheap petrol if you’re planning on driving to your destination.
Budget hacks
Save more money on your trip by following a few simple but often overlooked tactics beloved of seasoned savvy travellers…
Go low
Low season, that is. Keeping your trip dates away from things like school holidays and Christmas can drastically reduce accommodation rates and help avoid queues at popular attractions. Check prices online over the year for the best deals – even different days of the week can mean additional savings.
Embrace the remote
Staying in a remote location not only means peace and quiet, but also less chance to spend money. Book somewhere beautiful and isolated and take a few good books and supplies to keep you going. Bliss!
Self-cater
Apart from travel and accommodation, the biggest expense on most trips will usually be eating out. Eliminate some – or even all – of that cost by booking self-catering accommodation and taking charge of your own meals.
Mastering an itinerary
Not everyone likes to plan out their holiday, but even some basic advance arrangements can come in handy for utilising time and saving money…
Plan in advance
When planning your trip, try to do it as far in advance as possible. This will help keep down prices of accommodation and any train fares you might need – and it will increase the chances of securing tickets for popular sights and attractions.
Let someone else do the hard work
Wherever you’re going in the UK, someone will have been there and created an itinerary to help you get the most out of your trip. The simplest online search will uncover plenty of suggestions.
Map it out
Though it may sound a little tedious, using an online map – pre-trip – to sketch out the logistics of parts of your days (such as travelling from one attraction to the next, or estimating how long that hike will take) can prove invaluable and make those days of leisure flow a lot more smoothly.
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