I worked out the other week (from around the start of July) that I'd actually been away 5 times in the space of around 12 months which sounds mad! I managed to get away 3 times last year to Thailand, Barcelona and Brussels, and I've been away twice so far this year to Venice and the Costa Del Sol - which is the most I've ever been away in that amount of time!
You may be wondering how I manage to whisk off on holiday so often and how I manage to afford it. Truth is, I'm not rich, in fact no where near, I'm just a very savvy shopper - especially when it comes to holidays. People are often suprised when I tell them how much I paid for flights! I'm going to share a few tips on how I manage to travel on a budget..
Be open minded
Usually, I don't have a particular destination in mind when it comes to holidaying, which is key to getting a bargain. In terms of European breaks, you can grab return flights for as little as £19.99 with Ryan Air (yep, I've paid that!) and you just can't let that price slip. Keeping yourself flexible in terms of time and destination will open up plenty of cheap deals for you. Search tools which allow you to browse 'Everywhere' like on Skyscanner are really useful as you can list the results in price order to see what you have to work with. Keep a note down of prices and possible destinations (I find this so handy) and check them regularly as they will fluctuate. You may notice a pattern of which days the prices are at their lowest, and if you think it's not going to lower anymore - book it! It's a bit of a gamble this method but it's worked for me.
Do your research
If you think that I can just book spontaneous trips anywhere without reading about them first - then you're very wrong! Once you've narrowed down your possible destinations you want to do a little bit of research on what to do and where to go. You want the holiday to suit your needs as well as your budget so just choosing a city at random is a big risk. Things such as best areas to stay, average prices of food and drink as well as travel expenses are important to know if you're limited on money. Sites such as TripAdvisor and Rough Guides will give you a general idea of somewhere with honest and real reviews. This will also help you to decide which budget-friendly destination appeals to you the most.
Compare prices
This is a bit of a no-brainer for booking anything from flights to hotels, but as mentioned earlier, being lenient with dates in terms of searching for a hotel can be the difference of a fair few quid too. Make sure to adjust your dates and check if going a day earlier works out better value for money. I always use the website Booking.com for hotel browsing as it shows everything for the best price - I always find other comparison websites leading back to it anyway. I use the same method used for checking flights daily and noting down prices for hotels too, as you will find that one week it will cost more and the next less. It's all about waiting for the right time!
I hope this post has been of some use into how I manage to get some amazing deals and I hope you find one of your own very soon! Do let me know if you have any of your own tips in the comments below.
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