TIPS on how to have a BUDGET/CHEAP Holiday abroad

Ponkle22

For those who want a holiday abroad and see standard prices realising they can't afford it, there are cheaper ways of holidaying - its just 'being in the know'. Obviously I realise it still costs money and it might still be out of people's budget, but I thought it would be helpful for people 'in the know' to post their BUDGET HOLIDAY TIPS in one thread (hopefully it will become a STICKY thread).

So this thread is for people to help others by posting their Tips on BUDGET/CHEAP holidays.

Suggestions for ideas are:

When its cheapest to book flights
When its cheapest to book Eurostar
When its cheapest to book holidays
Cheaper Destinations/resorts
Cheap campsites
Cheaper Hotels
Cheaper accommodation (Hostels, B&B, Self-Catering, etc)
How to review resorts and accommodation (so you know what you are getting for your money)
Eating out - cheaper areas to eat out
Pitfalls of buying cheap individual flights and accommodation vs. buying a package
How to obtain E111 cards (and avoid the scam-rip off company on the web)


This is for BUDGET end wanna-be travellers, so please share your tips.

Ponkle22

How to buy cheap European train tickets:

http://www.seat61.com/Europe-train-tickets.htm

Seat61.com is also your best starting place to research train travel throughout Europe.

Ponkle22

ROME can be expensive to stay in the centre of town - but if you don't mind a strict 11pm curfew and basic accommodation, then a hostel run by Nuns might be for you - Casa Il Rosario (do a search). I believe its around Euro 38 a night - but don't quote me on that. I think it also has single and double rooms with shared bathrooms.

There is this website for hostels all over the world: http://www.hostelworld.com/

markandkate

Eat the set mel at lunch time in restaurants. Find supermarkets and markets and buy stuff for picnics. You can also get beer and wine from supermarkets and it will be cheaper than in your hotel which is great if you have go an apartment with a fridge but a bit sad if you are going to sit in all night just to save money! Always look at public transport and the inclusive museum/transport cards but assess what you are likely to want to see as sometimes these cards include obscure museums and not the main ones

As a general rule if you are booking schedule flights the sooner the better https://www.kayak.com and https://www.skyscanner.net are two good sites for flights You can chose your hotel and then run it through a comparison site such as travelsupermarket.com both hostel bookers and hostelworld offer good rates on hotels nad both offer cashback via quidco.

Finally register withteh Lonely Planet Thorn tree forum where real travellers exchange tips on specific countries or areas

Ponkle22

Thanks for sharing your top tips Mark and Kate.

Rachie_B

We go to France and keep the costs down by

* using Tesco clubcard deals for Eurotunnel ( have also used airmiles for Eurostar one time,and for Disneyland paris tickets twice,other daytrips etc in Europe & UK payable with deals )
* booking accomodation with the SUN £9.50 / £15 holidays ( also to other countries not just France)
* packing up the car with bikes / scooters / food / drink etc


We can only go during school holidays and so have saved a fortune over the years!

Another website we have used for cheaper campsites in Europe is www.selectcamp.co.uk ( we stayed in Lake Garda last year,and the price was almost half of the bigger companies accomodation)

We also camp in the UK and this forum is fab for info / reviews / campsite search etc : http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/chatter/default.asp
( there are lots of threads on budget / cheap sites and cheap camping meals etc )

I always use www.tripadvisor.com for reviews

£9 / £19 / £29 hotel rooms Travelodge & Premier Inn then using Tesco deals for days out ,can make for a cheapish weekend somewhere
Also this year Hilton were doing the 50% off so we took advantage of that too !

That's all I can think of at the moment!

getmore4less

Depends how low you need to go,

For flights(if needed),accomodation and food at around £50pppd look at cruises

Plenty hit this target and include entertaiment

lynzpower

Sign up to quidco- but watch out! My recent flight was 400 on the website then 420 when tracked through quido.

On scheduled flights flight centre will always beat your price, even by £1.

Sign up to the likes of kayak, expedia, hotels.com etc who often send 10/20 % off codes for booking rooms online.

rapunzelz86

The best advice i could give is RESEARCH the local area
Typing in the name of the place you are going will often bring up sites that have forums occupied by ex-pats, who can give masses of advice on public transport instead of hefty transfer costs, cheapest supermarkets, and cheapest restaurants.

otel.com ( a sister site of hotel.com) give cashback on bookings (in the form of money off your next trip) and they are very cheap on hotels. My £210 hotel booking last year has earned me £11 off this years booking :j

Above all, become a regular visitor to these forums, as it it here that i learned all my moneysaving and this site has saved me a fortune over the years.

stephb34

Now is a good time to go on holiday, in between the 2 bank holidays there are some real bargain packages to be had at your local travel agents without DIY. Especially this week as its SATS week at schools in our local area and children are not allowed out of school this week. December is also a pretty reasonable time as lots of people are too busy getting organised for christmas, obviously i mean the first 3 weeks in december and not the school hols.