With the summer break well and truly underway, it is no surprise that many students will be itching to fulfil long-awaited trips abroad and enjoy the summer sun post-lockdown.
However, due to restrictions on travel over the last couple of years, it is no wonder that holiday prices have soared during the summer season. This has made getting those last-minute bargains on a student budget near impossible. But with the urge to escape England’s unpredictable weather, here are some of the best suggestions for bagging the ultimate holiday deals as the summer months come to a close.
Simple do’s and don’ts if saving money is at the top of your priority list
Number 1: DON’T book during the national school holidays. I am sure everyone will remember parents and family complaining about the holiday prices that often doubled when restricted to the school term times. So bear this in mind when planning your own trip as you will often see a huge price drop if you can wait until schools go back for the new year.
Number 2: DO travel as light as possible. Preferably hand luggage only if the thought of travelling without numerous outfit changes does not scare you too much! Ask yourself whether those extra pairs of shoes are worth the £50+ it will cost to add an extra bag to your flight price. It may seem like paying extra for bags is not going to be the biggest money saver, but you will be thanking yourself later when that extra cash can go towards a nice meal or day trip out.
Number 3: DON’T leave packing to the last minute. If anything, pre-pack if you are going to be booking a holiday and flying all within the space of 24 hours. This will save you time, stress, and money with those few remaining seats on the plane plummeting in price. And it will also stop you from randomly packing things that you do not need whilst forgetting the necessities in the panic to get to the airport on time.
Number 4: DO take advantage of any packing tricks you have seen online. Vacuum-packing outfits with the help of a hair dryer to name one. If the thought of not having multiple outfit options is your worst nightmare, then this is a great way to take advantage of limited baggage space. Another ingeniously sneaky way to cheat the airport allowance restriction is with the help of a trusty pillowcase. Make sure it zips up – this is important- because instead of using a normal cushion, you are going to fill it with all the clothes or extra jumpers that you could not get into your case. This way you can carry them straight onto the plane without anyone batting an eyelid!
Making it out of the group chat- Avoidable booking mistakes:
Pick the right time to book. Weekends are often the most popular and easiest time for people to book holidays so prices may be higher. If anything, do your research on the weekends, find a holiday that you want and add it to your basket but DO NOT check out. Instead, fill in your email and leave it sat there. Especially with package holidays, you will find that they might email offering a discount on your incomplete booking. Similarly, prices on package holidays are usually lowered on Monday and Tuesday for this reason, therefore booking on these days is definitely your best option.
Cross-reference EVERYTHING! Different companies often advertise the same holiday for different prices so do your research. Last-minute holiday websites that boast cheaper prices often are not any less than other websites so do not be fooled by advertising. Yes, the idea of trawling through multiple holiday sites may seem like a bit of a military operation, but it is usually worth the effort in the end.
If you are planning to book flights and hotels separately then look for comparison flight websites like Skyscanner to find the cheapest deals. Similarly, Google Flights will often show you the cheapest time to fly to a certain destination. Another option is to cut down by a day. Holidays are usually advertised at 7 or 10 days, but by reducing your booking to six days instead of seven then you may find that offers on hotels drop in price. If you find your dream hotel, then go directly to their website. Hotels will offer rooms at a fraction of the price compared to sites like booking.com which add on a premium to gain profit.
Do not think package holidays are not your friend. In fact, I would recommend them over individual bookings. They will make your life so much easier and sometimes booking extras, like all-inclusive and baggage allowance, are included in the standard price. I recommend filtering high prices first and working your way down, as you may find some five-star all-inclusive offers that are only £60 more than totalling up the cost of booking everything individually.
Jet-setting 101:
Fly from, and back, to different airports if possible. This is usually a way to save money on return flights and if you have access to multiple airports or do not mind the additional journey time at the beginning of your holiday then this is one way of saving. If you are really dedicated to saving as much as you can, then consider flying from Scotland at the end of August. Their school term starts before the rest of the UK so prices of flights from the country usually drop.
If you have time to kill and are travelling long haul, then shop around with your flight schedule. Direct is not always cheaper. You will find that flying to Europe and then onto your desired holiday destination may work out cheaper than going directly from the UK. This also gives you the added bonus of seeing an extra city or two along the way, depending on how long you are going to be waiting.
An alternative way of securing the cheapest flights is to use a VPN when booking or turn on private browsing when doing research. Travel prices are influenced by the hidden data collected by search engines like google. If you are monitoring the price of a flight on a specific website, then this activity is shared between your web browser and the search service. Therefore, increased activity will mean that they increase the price gradually in order to pressure you into buying the flight sooner rather than later. This is where Private browsing will ensure that your data and browser history are not shared with travel sites and will not affect the price of flights.
Other things to consider:Do not think you have to fly. Could you get to your destination by train? This can often be significantly cheaper than direct flights from major airports. The Eurostar is perfect for getting to Europe and you can usually pick up cheap tickets and then only have to worry about getting a hotel at the other end.
Look for alternative stays to hotels. Hostels are not what they used to be, and some are as good as high-end hotels but for the fraction of the price, especially in big backpacking of interrailing destinations. Look for opportunities to complete work abroad, volunteer, or housesit. Websites like Worldpacker offer opportunities from volunteering with NGOs to working at surf camps. They usually feed and house you for your entire stay, you just have to get there! These offer amazing alternatives to your usual week away and give you the opportunity to gain work and voluntary experience at the same time.
With all this in mind, you are hopefully ready to go and find yourself the best deals out there. Get searching and be ready to take the next flight to catch the last of the warm weather before term starts up again in September.