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Looking for that essential Summer Holiday? This month, our Marketing Director, Emma Healey, helps you to reduce costs and helps with your search for cheap holidays by sharing some quick tips below:

1) Find a bargain

That the travel industry has been suffering for the last few months is an understatement; the ash cloud, riots in Greece, BA strikes and the World Cup have all had an impact on the likelihood of people booking a holiday not to mention the general economic situation and the value of the pound. 

So, in response to the falling numbers of holidaymakers, in the past few months hotels in many of the traditionally popular UK tourist destinations such as Greece, Majorca, Turkey, Spain and Egypt have started cutting prices. 

If you are looking for last minute holidays and are prepared to jump on a plane at short notice it is particularly easy to get a bargain right now, as holiday companies reduce their prices to clear last minute stock.  Compare prices between different agents (holidayholiday.co.uk is ideal for this!) and you’ll find some great last minute savings!

2) Avoid those extra charges

Avoid paying more than you need to on ‘hidden’ or ancillary services such as in flight meals, baggage charges, charges for printing out your boarding pass and travel insurance.

Weigh your luggage before you leave to make sure it’s not over the weight limit and wear your heaviest clothes to board the airplane, they can always be taken off once aboard.

You may also be able to save money by checking in online. And here’s a tip if you want extra legroom – check out seating plans of the aircraft you are flying on by using sites such as seatguru and then pick the best seat possible during your online check in.

3) Pre-order your holiday money

Don’t buy your money at the airport, you will usually get much less for your hard earned cash.  Instead pre-order online for collection at the airport or, if you have time, ask for it to be delivered to your home.  Check delivery charges, fees and also bank fees before you buy and use the best method of purchasing currency.

I recently bought currency for a holiday but withdrew cash from the ATM to pay for it, if I’d used my debit card to buy the currency directly my bank would have charged me an extra £10 on top of the payment! 

Try to budget ahead and take the right amount of currency with you as withdrawing money abroad is often very expensive, unless you use a pre-paid currency card.

4) Book an all-inclusive package

Haven’t booked all inclusive before? Why not give it a try? All-inclusive holidays have seen a surge in popularity over the last 6 months or so as they allow holidaymakers to budget for their holiday upfront. 

If you’re on a small budget, going all inclusive can help you to stick to it, so you don’t need to worry about spending more than you planned once you get there. If you haven’t booked as all inclusive, but you find your hotel offers it once you arrive, then why not upgrade whilst there?  This may even work out more cost effective, depending on exchange rates and whether the hotel discounts the upgrade offer directly.

5) Look after your holiday finances

Make sure you are financially protected. The collapse of various holiday companies, the ash cloud and other factors during the past couple of years has led holidaymakers to question how and who they should book their holiday with to avoid being stranded if something goes wrong. 

To reduce the financial risk and emotional stress these issues can bring ensure you book with a reputable holiday company from a trusted holiday site.  Making sure the agent you book with is ATOL bonded or booking a package holiday will help to give you financial peace of mind.  Double check what you are covered for when you book.  Paying part or all of the holiday by credit card can also help financially secure your holiday purchase.

At HolidayHoliday.co.uk we pride ourselves on only advertising deals from ATOL bonded agents, to help you ensure that your holiday is protected.

Search Millions of cheap holidays live on the HolidayHoliday.co.uk website now!

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Filed under: travel tips