Tips and tricks when booking holdiays
Since I published this post I have been asked lots of times for any money saving tips and tricks I have for taking the family to Lapland on a budget. I thought I’d set out some of those which helped us anyway!
Source: Pixabay
Money, Money, Money
I know this is old fashioned but what we tend to do when we book a holiday is keep a jar of our loose change and convert it the week before we head away. For example, we had 8 months of saving for Toronto and had a nice sum of coins saved which converted into CAD$225. Along the same vein and I know this sounds a bit crazy myself and my husband put aside a small amount each month and covert it that month to the currency of our destination this meant another CAD$470 to add to the pot.
Deals, Deals Deals
I am the queen of the deal! I just love a good deal. I scour the internet for good deals in our chosen destination. Groupon is your friend. For example we had pancakes for lunch one of the days at Krepesz, that was pancakes for 4 and drinks for CAD$50. While in Niagara Falls I booked the Captain Jacks Fun Zone tickets which the kids thoroughly enjoyed and I saved 70% off the normal price. There are so many options in these places so by buying in advance (the kids and the adults) know what included and we have a set amount of tokens each. There are also lots of hotel options on Groupon too with great saving or added extras. A couple we spoke to at breakfast had got a great deal at the Sheraton on the Falls via Groupon with a Falls view room.
Shop around especially for accommodation
There are a myriad of hotel booking options with varying rates of discounts.
Source: Pixabay
One of my personal favourites is booking.com. Also check out Expedia or hotels.com or as mentioned above Groupon hotel deals. Sign up for alerts for these site to keep up to date on the latest deals and offerings. It can also be a good option to call the hotel direct as I have found that some will match the rates found elsewhere.
Another great option is booking via Airbnb. One of the key things to remember about Airbnb is to read the reviews of the property and look for hosts with good feedback. Secondly good Airbnb etiquette will help ensure good feedback is left for you in return as that’s the cornerstone of the community.
Flights
Source: Pixabay
This one is bit more tricky and sometime can just be down to the fact that the stars align and sales and timing of your trip work out. But failing that some things you can do include:
- Settting up Sky Scanner alerts – im a big fan of this. You get emails relating to prices changes for the flight you are considering.
- Timing – some times of the year are simply cheaper than others so do your research and look for the off peak times in the destinations you plan on visiting. The more research you can do the better as there are some fantastic resources to help you with best time to book flights
- Avios, this is currency of a number of airlines and you can collect point by purchasing flights or with the airline or any of its partners. For example you can convert you SuperValu real rewards to Avios points. I had a quick look and its around 8,000 points for a return European flight. Not too bad!
Has anybody any other good holiday saving tips they have feel free to add them in the comments.
