Archive for Saving Money on 2009 Holidays
If you’ve left it a bit late to book your summer holiday, you may start feeling very smug when you see some of the late holiday bargains that are currently on offer.
Holiday with Family or Friends
For a late getaway with family and or friends, how about a recently converted barn with six bedrooms, and six ensuite bath or shower-rooms (sleeps 12). Described as ‘very roomy and comfy’, with lovely views across miles of countryside, the barn has its own enclosed, lawned garden, a games/ laundry room and two ponds for a spot of fishing. Late availability: 25% reduction for the week of 21-28 August 2009. Was £2308, now £1731, from Helpful Holidays, ref. G40.
Holiday Villa in Menorca
Save over 40% with this newly built 3 bedroom villa (sleeps 6/8) with private heated pool terraces garden and BBQ, located near Cala Canutells. Late availability: £710 reduction for the week of 31 July -7 August 2009. Was £1700, now £990, from Owners Direct, ref. B3437.
Activity Holiday in Croatia
Combine sea-kayaking around the Croatian islands, coastal walks, mountain biking with local food and wine, mid-day naps and snorkelling. Late availability: 20% discount for remaining rooms due to cancellations for 25 July - 1 August 2009 (double room available) and 1 - 8 August 2009 (double room available). Was £760, now £608 per person, excludes flights, from Responsible Travel, ref. Croatia holiday, activity week.
If you’d like to some help researching more late holiday bargains, please contact me at www.go2research.com/contact_Go2.php.
Filed under: Cottages, Destinations, Europe, Responsible Tourism, Saving Money on 2009 Holidays | Late Holiday Bargains|No Comments
Your Travel Planner says: Check out car hire excess insurance from standalone providers and save some money.
Comparing car hire quotes for your holiday isn’t always as straightforward as you may think.
In the UK and most other countries apart from the USA, car rental companies include Collision Damage Waiver, Theft and Third Party insurance cover in their rental price. However, amount of excess you’d have to pay if your hire car got damaged, can be surprisingly high.
For example, a quick check today shows the excess for a medium compact car in Italy this summer with Avis is 850 EUR for Vehicle Damage and 1000 EUR for Vehicle Theft.
Car rental companies always offer an opportunity to cover your excess when you pick up your car, but this can sometimes cost a hefty £9 per day, which is a huge proportion of the cost of the hire itself.
So here’s a travel tip from Your Travel Planner: look into getting this additional insurance from separate standalone providers and save some money.
You can get additional excess cover from as little as £1.90 per day (for Europe) from insurers such as insurance4carhire, Car Hire Excess and Worldwide Insure. Check out the terms and conditions to see which policy suits your requirements.
For longer trips or if you book car hire more than once in a year, annual policies are available from £39 per year for Europe. Again, check the terms and conditions for suitability, but the same insurers mentioned above also offer these annual policies.
These policies also cover you for damage to the vehicle’s windows, tyres, the under-carriage and the roof, which are often not covered by insurance bought through the car hire company.
Filed under: Saving Money on 2009 Holidays, Travel Tips | Car Hire Excess Insurance|1 Comment
Taking a holiday in the eurozone this year may be cheaper than you think, according to the annual Holiday Costs Barometer from Post Office Travel Services.
The Post Office Holiday Costs Barometer provides prices for a basket of 10 goods typically bought by holidaymakers - including meals and drinks - from 18 holiday destinations.
Bulgaria, Turkey and Croatia are Europe’s best buys, but Spain and Portugal are two countries in the eurozone that have made it to the top 10.
Sarah Munro, Post Office head of travel services said: “The eurozone has taken a bashing this year but our survey suggests that tourist outlets in many resorts are taking dramatic steps to encourage tourists. Despite the weak pound, this means that UK tourists who shop carefully could find that they get more than expected for their money.”
Your Travel Planner says, “This is great news for people who are still considering a holiday in the more traditional European destinations. If you can book your transportation and accommodation in Pounds, eurozone countries could still be a viable option for people on strict budgets.”
To read more on this story, see the announcement from the Post Office or the article on the Guardian website.
Filed under: Destinations, Europe, Saving Money on 2009 Holidays, Travel News | Europe, Eurozone, Holiday in Europe|No Comments
This year, it’s even more important to make your holiday money go further. Your Travel Planner has been exploring this and outlines 5 ways to get the most of you holiday money and make it work harder while you’re on holiday:
- For cash, it’s best to pre-order rather than exchange at the airport. I checked for US dollars today and both Thomas Global Exchange and the Post Office offer 0% commission and competitive exchange rates. Both offer an online service and you can opt to collect at a branch or have your currency delivered to your door (charges apply).
- If you like the convenience of picking up your currency at the airport, it’s still better to pre-order and collect from one of the exchange bureaus at the airport rather than buying it on the day.
- You can pay heavily for making purchases with your credit card overseas. The benefit though is that credit cards do offer some consumer protection for purchases over £100. At the moment, credit cards from the Post Office and Nationwide offer 0% commission on purchases overseas. However, from 6 May 2009, Nationwide will charge 0.84% and then 1% from 1 July 2009. This is still better than the 2.75% that most other credit cards charge.
- Using your credit card to withdraw cash while you are abroad is one of the most expensive ways to buy currency. Better to have a Nationwide Flexaccount; their Visa Debit card has 0% commission on withdrawals and no ATM fees. However, from 1 June 2009, Nationwide will charge 0.84% and then 1% from 1 July 2009. Checking the Visa exchange rate before you withdraw your cash could also save you pounds.
- Another cheaper alternative for withdrawing cash oveerseas is to use a Prepaid card. You load your card with a set amount of money, and use it just like a credit or debit card. Cash withdrawals from an ATM are normally cheaper than most credit or debit cards. Exchange rates are competitive too. CaxtonFX have had a lot of press or try FairFX for more details.
The starting point for Your Travel Planner’s research on “Ways to save holiday money” was Martin Lewis’ fantastic website www.moneysavingexpert.com. It’s full of ideas on how to save money on absolutely anything, including holiday and travel money.
Filed under: Saving Money on 2009 Holidays, Travel Tips, Uncategorized | Savings on holiday money|No Comments
Virgin Atlantic’s “Offer of the Week” is a Sale Fare from £225 for London to New York return.
I know I talked about Virgin only yesterday (Virgin Atlantic launches Round the World ticket), but I think this is a great deal. The terms are:
- Applies to departure dates of 26 Feb - 02 Apr 09 and 10 Apr - 31 May 09
- Includes all taxes, fees and surcharges
- Additional credit card charges and weekend travel supplements apply
- Book from 26 February to 10pm on 04 March 09
This offer is part of Virgin’s 25th birthday promotions. There’s a different offer each week until the big birthday on 22nd June. Check their website for regular updates.
If you decide to go and need help planning your trip, please feel free to contact me. I’d be happy to help.
Filed under: Destinations, North America, Saving Money on 2009 Holidays, Travel Tips | New York, New York flight offer, Saving Money on 2009 Holidays, Virgin Atlantic|No Comments
It’s surprising how many people get their travel insurance from the agent they booked their holiday with.
However, a little bit of time and research would show them just how much they could save on travel insurance. Here are Your Travel Planner’s travel insurance tips:
1. Are you already covered?
One way to save on your travel insurance is to make sure that you’re not already covered. Check your home insurance policy. Many have clauses that already cover personal belongings outside the home. Also, check your private medical insurance policy, if you have one. It may already cover the cost of treatment incurred abroad.
2. Obtain a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)
This has replaced the old E111 forms and gives you reduced-cost or free medical treatment in EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The EHIC is free from ehic.org.uk or ask at your local Post Office.
It’s not a substitute for travel insurance as only treatment provided under the state scheme is covered. Nor will it cover repatriation costs or lost money, baggage or cancellation, but the EHIC has been useful to me in the past. Remember to have the card with you though.
3. Buy an annual policy
The biggest tip on how to save money on travel insurance has got be: buy an annual policy. Annual worldwide multi-trip policies always make sense if you go on more than one trip a year. Remember, a ‘trip’ can usually include two or more consecutive nights away in the UK at prepaid accommodation.
A quick search today on one of the comparison sites (www.moneysupermarket.com/travelinsurance is the one I use most) shows annual multi-trip policies for a family of 4 starting from £33, compared to £16 for a single trip to Italy.
Obviously, you need to decide what level of cover you want as your circumstances will determine what level is cheapest and best for you.
4. Buy joint or family cover
Joint cover or family insurance policies are generally cheaper than individually covering all your family members.
5. Buy European only if Worldwide is not required
If you are unlikely to travel outside of Europe, a Europe only policy is often much cheaper than worldwide cover. Look out for Europe only policies that can be extended to give you future flexibility.
6. Shop around
Save on travel insurance by shopping around. Travel insurance from the agent you book your holiday with is often not the best deal. It does pay to shop around and with the good comparison sites online, there really isn’t any reason to pay more than you need to.
Which comparison sites do you use? Do you have any travel insurance tips? Share them with us at Your Travel Planner by posting a comment.
Filed under: Saving Money on 2009 Holidays, Travel Tips | EHIC European Health Insurance Card, Save money on travel insurance, travel insurance comparison sites, Your Travel Planner|1 Comment
Despite shrinking budgets, it seems Britain was still able to make the best of Christmas 2008 and enjoy the break.
And even in a recession, a break is something we will need during 2009. The question is: what are the hot holiday destinations with a weak UK Pound? Which destinations will ensure our money goes further?
Some of the places I’ve been researching include:
Staying in Britain - Holidays in Britain are sure to be on the rise this year…and if you’re thinking of doing this, especially to the most popular destinations of Devon, Cornwall and Lake District, my advice is to book early to get the best accommodation choices. See Saving Money on 2009 Holidays: Cottage in UK.
Cottages are very popular, but you might also consider a leisure hotel break in the UK. I visited The Grove over Christmas and it was a real retreat. I stayed 4 nights but it seemed more like 10! See my review of The Grove.
Mid-haul outside the euro-zone: Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt and Middle East destinations such as Dubai.
Non-euro Europe: If you want to stay in Europe, Turkey is set to top the list this year. Other countries to consider include Hungary and Bulgaria.
Long-haul destinations include South Africa and Australia: Like the UK pound, the Australian dollar and the Rand are both weak, making them two of the few destinations where Brits can take time out relatively cheaply.
North America: Although the pound is also struggling against the dollar, you are still getting $1.5 to the pound which is where it was before the heady heights of $2 for every pound. According to data released by ebookers.com, holiday bookings to the US are still looking strong as Brits continue to choose North America as their top long-haul holiday destination.
For help with 2009 holiday research and planning, please contact me to arrange a FREE initial consultation. www.go2research.com/contact_Go2.php.
Filed under: Destinations, Saving Money on 2009 Holidays | holiday research and planning, holidays in Britain, hot holiday destinations, hot holiday destinations weak pound, leisure hotel break in the UK, the grove resort hotel hertfordshire|No Comments
With the credit crunch in our news every day, many people will be looking at ways to save money on next year’s holiday.
Unfortunately the pound is not so good against the euro, so bookings for British holidays look certain to rise in 2009 and taking a UK cottage holiday will be an option for many families.
The UK weather this summer was summed up by many people as disastrous and I did hear of people coming home early because they were too wet! My advice to combat similar weather in 2009 would be to look for a cottage with an indoor pool and indoor activities such as a games room.
For example, Heart of the Lakes are one of the few self catering accommodation agents in the Lake District to offer the benefit of FREE Leisure Club Membership with all holiday home bookings. Or search for a cottage with shared facilities.
If you want to stay in popular areas such as Devon, Cornwall and Dorset, I suggest you do BOOK EARLY and, as ridiculous as it sounds, BEFORE CHRISTMAS is not too early. This way, you can be sure of decent accommodation, with a good choice of areas and good facilities.
Some places are already booked up for the school summer holidays; all family accommodation at Red Doors Farm in Devon is booked, although they still have availability for their couples accommodation. A quick check on Heart of the Lakes this morning shows good availability so start searching!
Want some help with finding a UK cottage for summer? Then get in touch and we can arrange a FREE initial consultation.
www.go2research.com/contact_Go2.php
Filed under: Cottages, Destinations, Saving Money on 2009 Holidays, UK & Ireland | cottage with shared facilities, heartofthelakes, luxury cottage games room, luxury cottage indoor pool, luxury cottages in devon, luxury cottages in lake district, reddoorsfarm, self catering accommodation lake district, UK cottage|No Comments
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