Money saving tips for family summer holidays
From me to you; money saving tips for family summer holidays abroad. I’ve always been put off by the huge cost of package holidays during the summer holidays, I remember looking in previous years and seeing holidays for thousands of pounds so we ended up going to Cornwall. This year we are going abroad, not sure where at the moment as its is being organised for us…more details coming soon. There are many things to organise for a summer holiday abroad, here are many ways on how to save.
Where to start
First things first you need, before any online shopping, a cash back account. Everything you purchase online will get an extra discount if you buy it through your cash back account. I always use Topcashback and will highly recommend them. Quidco is another one but I normally find Topcashback pays higher % rates of cash back.
How to get there & where to stay?
Have a look at package versus booking flights and accommodation separately. Expedia always offer great prices on package holidays. I used Expedia for the last 2 holidays I booked with groups of friends, you can also get cashback with Expedia, so not only was it the best price on the market but I also get around 3-4% cash back. I paid for everyone and they paid me back and I have banked £260 in cashback savings for the groups so far.
You could book your flights and accommodation separately.
In the past we have gone for separate flights and accommodation for our Spanish holiday. Firstly the flights, Skyscanner consistently gives you the best prices for flights. I’ve compared a few comparison engines and these guys are simple and accurate and they have a great mobile app that remembers what you last searched for! Timing wise I got this a little bit wrong, in April the flight cost for August is at its cheapest. I hung around waiting or the prices to drop, they didn’t, they went up from £200 each to £230 so I snapped them up in May.
We flew Monarch on the way out and Easyjet on the way home. Flying on a Wednesday and returning on a Monday reduced the flight costs as non-weekend. Then add on luggage charges and seat reservation changes and I got to £260 each for the flights * 2 adults and 3 children over 2 = £1300. Bit of a shocker, but this was literally the best price I could find!!
The flights were booked direct with Monarch and Easyjet. Unfortunately no cashback available for these Aug flights but they often do, so you must check. Monarch flights can also be paid for using clubcard vouchers..but again not for August flights:-(
Accomodation
The accommodation prices were much better. We stayed for 12 nights with the priority being near to our friends villa and to have a pool, air con and wifi. Holiday Lettings is a good website as is Baby Friendly Bolt Holes to search through for accommodation. I found a few villas via holiday lettings but the quotes were coming through at £100 per day so I kept searching. I ended up finding a company called San Juan Holidays. A quick telephone call to the letting agency who knew each property inside out and helped me to decide which one to go for. We went for a three-bedroom property in a complex with 3 pools and nice gardens, 10 mins away from our friends for the bargain price of £620. And the payment was due one month before we went on holiday.
Car hire
Next is the car hire and I always do the same with car hire. I save up my Clubcard vouchers. I save them all year to use each summer holidays. Affordable car hire gives triple the value for in car hire vouchers for the clubcard vouchers. In my previous holiday the car hire was £300, costing £100 worth of my built up clubcard vouchers.
Passports
I had to renew both Dylans age 10 and Jack’s age 5 passports. I did this online before the price increase at the end of March. Very simple and easy and the passports were back with us within one week. Great communication from the passport office as well when they would be arriving back.
Holiday money
I’ve already got a Halifax clarity card. This is a perfect card for travelling abroad. You can withdraw cash for no fee and any spending on the card abroad gets a brilliant exchange rate. So much better than any currency exchange bureau in the UK. If you need to get cash I would hop on over to Holiday Currency Exchange to compare either pick up collections or home delivery.
Holiday insurance
The way forward has to be an annual policy. Particularly if go away for any long weekends. My hubby has a boys holiday in May which was covered and I will be fitting in a little girls weekend in October so it’s good value and only cost me £30 for the whole year for all 5 of us! I used the holiday insurance comparison site on the topcashback website and got myself a few pounds back too!
SO there you have it….my top 7 money saving tips for family summer holidays
Have a brilliant time, stay safe and enjoy 🙂
