As you no doubt know, the best way to save money on a holiday is to identify last minute travel deals. There are a number of ways you can find the best fares and save cash – all far better than staring in the windows of high street travel agents.
In fact the high street windows often offer the worst value – they look good in theory until you find that the unbeatable flight to Jakarta, as one example, takes off at 1am on Christmas Day. In a way it’s just a ruse to get you into the shop, and it works.
So, what are the alternatives?
Nowadays, airlines don’t just organise your flights, but also offer various services like holiday packages, deals and discounts. Remember that travelling Tuesday through Thursday is generally cheaper compared to the other days of the week. A good airline will offer a variety of deals, from fare reductions, vacation packages, hotels, airlines, cruises and car rentals. Our advice: phone them up and ask what deals are available. Other advice: don’t book a car rental through your airline because when the plane lands, the queue at the chosen airline’s car rental partner will be ten people deep – stick with an alternate provider or else have plenty of reading material available..
Travel Agents often have inside sources and can let you know about fantastic deals that are available. They can advise you on your choice of destination, and guide you so that you get good discounts on airline tickets, hotels, all-inclusive resorts, car rentals, or vacation rentals. Our advice: phone them, don’t go into the shop in person. It’s far easier to put the phone down than saying ‘no’ to a deal in person.
There are many discount travel websites that cater to the needs of travellers. Websites like Expedia, CheapTickets, Travelocity or Priceline help you compare costs of travel, including airlines, hotels/ car rentals, travel packages, etc. Complete packages help you save more money, compared to individual lodging arrangements. Our advice? Boutique websites such as Preferred Boutique offer a fantastic range of select holidays which you would normally never come across.
I saved the best for last. A holiday portal, like Holiday You, helps with all of the above, and more! These are essentially gateways to the best holiday offers on the Web. Holiday portals do all the research and hard work for you, and identify the best deals available anywhere on the Internet.
On top of that, they negotiate special prices for their members and bring you offers and savings, including flights, hotels, holidays and insurance, that can bring down your costs substantially.
Warning: Once you know how to search for the best available options, you may often change your original travel destination. Don’t worry, it’s quite natural!
Hotel Kumbo, Gambia - paradise!
