Sunday, August 23, 2009

Tips for Cheap Family Holidays

Nearly everyone is feeling the pinch in the current economic climate and unfortunately holidays and short breaks are one area that families are cutting corners with. Whether it is not going on holiday at all or staying in the UK.

Using Online Codes
Many travel websites where you book things like hotels and flights on the internet have boxes on their forms that allow you to put in promotional codes or loyalty/membership codes. There is a whole new generation of websites like hotukdeals and vouchercodes.co.uk who keep track off these offers and let their readers know about them. So before you book anything online, it is worth having a browse and seeing if there are any promotional codes you can use.

Staying in the UK
This seems like an obvious tip and one you may have heard many times before, but there are a lot of great budget places you can visit in the UK which are just as good as overseas destinations. Places like North Devon and Cornwall are great for families who love beaches and coastlines. Granted the weather may not be as good as Spain, but there are some really stunning places to visit all around the UK.

Be sensible with your travel money
A lot of credit cards and banks will charge you a fee if you withdraw cash when overseas. But there are some exceptions to this as not everyone wants to take large quantities of money with them. Nationwide offer commission free money withdrawals with both its debit card and credit card. The post office also office a commission free withdrawal credit card.

Cheaper Flights with Supermarkets
Loyalty schemes such as the Tesco Clubcard allows you to convert points into British Airways air miles. So all that shopping you have been doing in the year can help you pay for your flights when the family head off on holiday

It's Business Time
There are a lot of hotels that solely cater for business clients so at weekends and in quiet periods like Christmas they end up reducing their rates to fill the rooms. This also works in some cities that rely on business customers like Berlin and Frankfurt, you can sometimes get five star accommodation for bargain prices.