Flying money saving
One of the great things about living in Europe is that you can hop on a cheap flight and be in another country in a couple of hours, making it the ideal place to live if you just want a short break.
The wealth of websites offering package deals, hotels and flights is sometimes bewildering, and what can turn into a bit of fun deciding where to go turns into a nightmare. One thing you notice with the main online holiday/travel companies is they practically all have the same hotels and holiday packages, and there is very little difference in the prices.
My firm favourites are.
Opodo – great website very easy to use and navigate
Expedia – great website again very easy to use and navigate
Kelkoo – travel, hotel and holiday search engine.
One good thing to note with these travel companies is they don’t have any hidden charges or booking fees, so the price you see is what you will end up paying at the checkout.
Hotels.com is another excellent online travel company they they sell more than just hotel room, also flights and holiday packages. One thing to note is that Hotel.com do charge a booking fee at the checkout.
Our golden rule is always, always shop around, don’t just settle on the first thing you see, you never know the exact same offer maybe on another travel website and be slightly cheaper!
If you are just looking for a European hotel room then Accor Hotels offer a whole range of different hotels in there portfolio, with prices ranging from very cheap to very expensive. Having stayed in various Accor Hotels before they are all very clean and modern.
If you don’t mind flying with a no-frills airline then there are a multitude to choose from check our budget airline article out our budget airline article, easy jet even have a no frills cruise liner now. (td)
Also if you don’t mind not having a bit of luxury then consider a hostel, Hostel Bookers and read my blog on India on a shoestring for some tips and advice.
If you are being green and thinking about your carbon footprint, then don’t fly to Europe take the Eurostar instead with travel time from London to the heart of Paris in three hours its hard to beat and it takes about two thirds less fuel to get you there than if you fly.
Other tips to make things a bit lighter on your wallet are.
- If you have the option, book off peak and out of season, the prices of hotels and flights are considerably cheaper than during peak season.
- Never, never buy your food and drink at the airport or on the flight it is a rip-off! Instead buy your sandwiches and snacks before hand in the supermarket and take them with you.
- If you know roughly when you fancy travelling then book far in advance when the price will be cheaper, the nearer you leave it to the time you want to go away the more expensive it can become.
- Sometimes it can work the other way thought and booking at the last minute can net you some bargains, try Lastminute.com and good old teletext.
- Always try and book online it cheaper than a high street travel agent and you have the time to browse different deals at your leisure without feeling pressured into anything
- If you do decide to book through a travel agent, then don’t buy their own travel insurance it is almost always more expensive. Read our article on travel insurance for more info.
- If you want a bit of luxury on a budget then consider buying a priority pass. This is a one off payment that allows you access to the club lounges in most European and international airport lounge. this can sometime pay for itself if you have a few hours to spend in the airport as the lounges are luxurious, the alcoholic drink is free, there are free snacks and lots of all the latest newspapers and magazines for free. Sometime by the time you have bought some drinks in the airport and some magazines you would have paid for the 1 year priority pass subscription.
