A holiday can get expensive but it doesn’t have to be. In fact, there are LOADS of super simple ways for you to still get away without breaking the bank. I promise! And my top tips for booking a cheap holiday will make your money go a LOT further.
Whether you can stretch to a day trip, weekend break or a full blown family holiday, don’t even think about booking a thing until you’ve read this page from top to bottom.
Coming up this guide
Before You Go
1. Choose a cheap country
It’s easy to be tempted by cheap flights or accommodation, but your daily costs are an area where your holiday spend can really mount up. I use numbeo which is the world’s largest cost of living database to find out the average cost for things like meals out, coffees and beer. Some of the lowest cost European countries are Montenegro, Croatia and Portugal.
2. Opt for less popular spots
If you’ve got your heart set on a particular country because you just love the culture, then why not stay in a location that’s a bit undiscovered? Visit a second city rather than the capital, or stay inland instead of by the coast.
If you can be swayed, then you can often find places with a similar vibe in alternative countries. Itching for a slice of Tuscany? Try Croatia’s Istria region instead. Want stunning waterfront architecture in Copenhagen? Check out Gdansk in Poland for a similar feel with a much lower cost.
3. Check price comparison websites before booking your flights
I always check the price of flights direct and then with several comparison websitese, be that Skyscanner, Kayak or Google Flights. You may be surprised how much the price can change!
The one thing to flag is that whoever you book with is who your contract is with. So when booking with someone like Skyscanner, you may find they direct you to an Online Travel Agent (OTA) rather than booking direct. This can be a great way to save money, but make sure you check the OTA’s reviews first as it’s them you’ll be dealing with if you have to make any changes.
I’ve got a bumper guide to all the different ways you can get flights for cheap, just click the link below.
4. Take an indirect flight
I know it makes no sense, but sometimes it’s cheaper to take two flights rather than one. If you aren’t pushed for time or travelling with small kids, then this is a hack that cuts down on the price of your flight.
5. Think about your overall flight cost
When it comes to flight prices you really need to factor in the broader costs, like getting to the airport (which might cost more or less depending on the time of day) and checked baggage. Both of these things can make a cheap flight not so cheap, so it could be better value to book a more expensive flight instead.
6. Pay only for what you need
Many airline websites will try to direct you straightaway to choose premium packages that include extra luggage, seat reservations and priority boarding. However it’s often cheaper to add these separately further on in the booking process.
7. Check Business Class prices
It sounds wild but I once saved £40 by flying home from Rome in Business Class over Economy so it’s definitely worth a try! Good luck!
8. Sign up for cashback
I always say don’t book just because of a good cashback deal (sometimes they don’t come through!) but if the option you were going to book anyway is the same price when clicking through from a cashback site, you may as well earn some extra money!
Don’t just stop at hotels and flights – you can save on travel insurance, car hire and a whole host of different areas as well. I mostly use Quidco and TopCashback in the last year, I’ve earned a few hundred quid by doing absolutely nothing extra!
9. Check for error flights
An error flight is when some wally who works for head office messes up and posts a flight for a much cheaper than it’s supposed to be. Or sometimes it’s down to a technical glitch.
Airlines can refuse the flight and refund you your money, but now and again they will honour them. Now, just happening on one of these bad boys is a bit like finding a needle in a haystack, but websites like Secret Flying, Jack’s Flight Club and Holiday Pirates are all on it for you! Sign up to their Facebook pages for updates and other holiday bargains in your social feeds.
10. Get hold of voucher codes
Always check to see if there are any voucher codes floating around the internet before you book. For example, if you were booking through hotels.com, I’d search ‘hotels.com voucher codes’ and ‘hotels.com promo code’ on both Google and X. It doesn’t always pay off but when it does, it sure feels sweet!
You may find that browser extensions like Honey are helpful for automatically scouring the web for codes when you’re at checkout.
11. Plan to be spontaneous
I know, this sounds like a contradiction! What I mean is – when you see a great deal, you often don’t have much time to leap on it. So, it definitely won’t hurt to know who you’d like to go away with, when they’re able to get time off and have their passport details to hand so you can jump on a deal when it comes your way.
Accommodation
12. Explore accommodation options
If you’re jetting off abroad, your accommodation will probably cost more than your flights, so check prices for both before you commit to a destination. Some websites like Airbnb and booking.com even let you search whole countries or continents, then you can use the filters to pinpoint the perfect place that’s in budget.
13. Find the cheapest night
Search for a specific hotel on Google Hotels, click ‘view prices’ and then click on the check-in date to see a calendar view with ‘per night’ rates. I’ve got a guide that takes you through this step-by-step, just follow the link below.
14. Check direct for the best price
If you’ve found a good price thanks to comparison websites, it’s worth contacting the hotel directly to see if they’ll match it, or even better, give you a better price.
When the price is the same, ask if they can throw in anything extra to sway you to book with them. You may get an upgrade or a free breakfast out of it!
15. Bag a cheeky upgrade
You know what they say – if you don’t ask, you don’t get. Some of you will know this is one of my go-to hacks; I ALWAYS email the hotel once when booking and again a few days before arriving to tell them how excited I am to stay and to let them know it’s a special occasion.
Don’t feel comfortable with lying? You’re not. A holiday IS a special occasion and don’t you ever forget that! This trick has worked pretty often for me, the best one was being upgraded on a work trip from the smallest room in the hotel to a suite! Use my template below to help you score your own upgrade!
16. Track your hotel costs
Some companies price match, so if you find your accommodation for cheaper later on, you may be able to get credit or even money back. If you’ve booked somewhere with free cancellation, there’s a clever website called Pruvo which keeps track of the price for you and prompts you to rebook if it goes down.
17. Choose an apartment, house or villa
Holiday rentals can help you make huge savings on accommodation and enjoy perks like more space, no fixed mealtimes and even your own pool. These sites do charge fees for service or cleaning, but even with these included, it can be a MUCH cheaper stay.
There are lots of sites around, my favourites are Wimdu, vrbo and Homestay. And HomeToGo is a great site that searches several of these for you at once!
18. Book a room-only stay
Airbnb lets you book a room instead of a whole property and this can be a great way to save. Plus you can probably stay somewhere a bit nicer than your budget would normally stretch to, since you’re just paying for a room.
Remember to read the description carefully to check practical things like whether you’ll share a bathroom and which communal areas you’ll have access to. Another benefit is your host can make you local recommendations of things to see and do during your stay!
19. Housesit for free
Housesitting lets you stay for free in exchange for looking after someone’s home, garden or pets. I did this once in Paris, and stayed in a gorgeous apartment looking after a sweet little cat called Biscotte. Yes it’s a bit of added responsibility, but you also get a nice contented feeling that comes with staying in someone’s home.
Trusted Housesitters and Nomador are popular sites. There is an annual membership fee for both (around what you might pay for one night at a cheap hotel) but if you want to test it out, Nomador lets you sign up for three months for €29.
20. Swap your home
No, it’s not just for the movies – house swapping is a real thing! homeexchange and Kindred are websites that can help facilitate this.
21. Stay Sunday night
Sunday is often the cheapest night at a hotel, so nudge your minibreak to Saturday to Monday (instead of Friday to Sunday) to save.
One of my favourite Sunday night deals can be found at UK hotel chain Malmaison where you can book a room from just £50 as long as you spend £50 at their bar or restaurant!
22. Hit the road
For all you road-trippers out there! You’ll know that the great thing about a road trip is you get your accommodation and travel in one. When holidaymakers make a journey from one place to another, it means a lonely campervan is left miles away from home with no way of getting back. This is where you come in!
Wickedcampers and Spaceships Rentals are amongst the companies that offer relocation deals where you could bag a vehicle from just £1 a day as long as you return it to where it belongs. Heading to the US or New Zealand? Try imoova or jucy.
Daily Costs
23. Get a debit or prepaid travel card to avoid fees and ATM charges
It’s so easy to sort yourself a debit or travel card that won’t charge you huge fees to withdraw cash or pay on card these days. We’ve done a summary on the best cards there are on the market at the moment.
24. Always pay in the local currency
Some card machines and ATMs will ask if you want to be charged in GBP or the local currency. You should always pick the local currency rather than pounds to avoid additional charges.
25. Get cash in advance
Don’t get cash at the airport, they typically have the worst rates. Order it in advance and use a comparison site like moneysupermarket to compare exchange rates.
26. Download a taxi app in advance
Check whether companies like Uber, Bolt and FREE NOW operate in your destination, as they are frequently cheaper than standard taxis, especially when your journey involves an airport or train station. Or you could ask your hotel or host to recommend a local firm who won’t charge you over the odds.
27. Check data roaming costs
If you want to use roaming, check how much data will cost when you’re away. Now that the UK is no longer in the EU, providers will not necessarily include EU roaming in your data plan.
Some providers will let you set a spend cap on your account, so if you accidentally use roaming where you shouldn’t, you won’t run up huge charges. Others still include it for free – hurrah!
If you’re travelling outside of the EU, compare the price of what it would cost to buy a sim when you arrive versus the cost of activating an eSIM on your phone.
An eSIM is a digital SIM card that’s already built into most smartphones – and there are many providers that will offer you data plans for cheap based on the country you’re going to.
I’ve tested Airalo, Nomad and Holafy before and I thought they all worked really well! It often just comes down to what package works best for your upcoming trip. Read our guide to eSIMs for more info.
28. Eat for cheap
Too Good To Go is an app that connects customers with restaurants and cafes with unsold surplus food, and it’s available in 18 countries. It’s cheap and it helps avoid food waste!
29. Take food essentials in travel minis
When I’m in self catering accommodation, I fill stackable makeup pots with salt, pepper, herbs and sugar, and fill a travel shampoo bottle with olive oil for my liquids bag. It saves so much versus having to buy them full size, and stops any wastage too.
30. Book a free walking tour
Get your bearings by booking a free walking tour early on in your trip. It’s a great way to get a feel for the place you’re visiting, and you can also ask your guide for recommendations – there’s nothing like getting a tip from a local!
There are lots of free tours out there, sites like getyourguide and viator are a good place to start. Bear in mind these tours are marketed as free, but take some cash along with you, as it’s expected you’ll tip at the end with an amount that feels right to you.
Use My Top Tips for Booking Your Next Cheap Holiday!
So those are my top tips – I hope they bring you as much holiday booking luck as they have me! If you use any of these to bag a bargain, I’d love to hear about it. Drop me a DM.
