How to save money when booking your holiday

Forget the staycation: this year more than 80% of us will be going on holiday, and 20% plan to spend more on it than we did last year. But wait. There's no need to blow the budget on a break. We have ten tips which will save you money on booking a holiday.

1. Research your destination

The more flexible you can be about where you go, the better a deal you stand to get. An online search will help you identify the countries and resorts which offer consistently good value for holidaymakers. So, for example, you may find Bulgaria is a less fashionable option than Greece, and should therefore be cheaper.

2. Don't forget to factor in the costs when you get there

A recent survey by the Post Office suggested that Bulgaria is the cheapest destination for Brits, followed by Turkey, the Costa Del Sol, the Costa Blanca, the Algarve in Portugal and Cyprus. Prices in these destinations can be less than a fifth of those in more expensive locations such as Paris or New York - and that's before you factor in the cost of getting there.

3. Consider the best way of booking

If you are planning a trip to an out-of-the-way destination or a city break, then you may be able to get a better deal by booking the flights and hotel separately, and shopping around for the best deal. If you want a traditional summer holiday in a popular spot, the best prices tend to be available through package deals. However, it's worth exploring the options, because there are always exceptions to the rule.

4. Use comparison tools

If you are booking separately, there are some great flight websites which amalgamate flights from across the web in order to locate the best deals - such as Kayak.co.uk or skyscanner.net, which can save you hours trawling the sites of each flights company. Likewise, there are several hotel comparison sites which can save you a small fortune. These include the 'secret' hotels - where all you know before you book is the quality of the hotel and the location - which can cost less than half the normal price. Specialists in this area include Hotwire.com/uk and lastminute.com.

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5. Think about when you book

There are two times to get a great deal - either early or late. If you book around nine months in advance you can take advantage of the early bird deals, which can give you hundreds of pounds off the standard package deal. If you are happy taking a bit more of a gamble, you can start looking eight weeks before your travel date, when the tour operators start discounting trips. If you can leave it until a week before you travel you can get an even better deal.

6. Avoid peak times

If you don't teach or have school-age children, then this is going to be your best way to save. Travelling the week before the schools break up will give you a break at a fraction of the cost with roughly the same weather conditions. If you have to stick with the school holidays then the last two weeks of the summer holiday tend to be the least popular, so it's worth searching for prices around that point.
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7. Do an online search of travel agents

There are several holiday search engines nowadays, from travelsupermarket.com to icelolly.com. These will help you track down the cheapest prices on offer from online agents. You will need to set aside some time to investigate these deals, because sometimes when you click through to book you will discover the deal is no longer available and you have to start again. However, if you have the patience, there are some great bargains to be found.

8. Consider a specialist agent

It may seem old-school, but if you are hunting down a deal and the internet isn't proving fruitful, you should try a specialist. They often have access to the best deals because they book so many. They will also know the techniques to use to reduce costs for a specific destination (such as flying to an alternative airport) or the times of the week or day when the deals become available.

9. Shop around

If there are a few specialists, you can call them in turn, let them know the best price you have been quoted online, and see if they can beat it. It's not a particularly generous thing to do to the agents - who may put aside an hour or more to find you a deal - but it could save you significant sums.

10. Ask for extras

During the haggling process, if your agent won't budget on price, don't forget that one option is to ask for them to throw in some of the optional extras for free. This could include things like car hire, transfers, or airport parking.

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