Holidaymakers across the globe may think they know all the tricks of the trade, but there's a whole wealth of well-kept travel secrets waiting to be unearthed. From accessing the best perks to money-saving tips, our 30 insider hacks will help you get the best-value vacation ever, whether you're booking online or in store.
We all want a summer holiday – regardless whether we have school-age kids or not – so consider a late-August break: the last fortnight of the month is nearly always cheaper than the first two weeks. Book for next summer asap too, as you’ll beat the hordes and find that prices are a lot cheaper far in advance.
Initially, always book the best room you can afford, but it's always worth asking your agent for an upgrade nearer to your departure time –or schmooze the front desk when you arrive at the hotel. Flag any special occasions such as honeymoons, anniversaries and birthdays and there may be a bottle of fizz eagerly awaiting your arrival. See our full guide to bagging a hotel room upgrade here.
We all want the cheapest deal possible, but what travel agents want even more is your business – they don’t want you to trade with their competitors. The initial price they give you is rarely the lowest rate on their system as suppliers alter their rates almost daily for a variety of reasons. Tell the agent you’ve found it cheaper further afield; it’s likely they can and will sweeten the deal.
You don’t always have to visit your local travel agent’s branch – instead you can give them a run for their money over the phone. You’re more likely to play hard ball and secure worthwhile savings if you’re not face-to-face with somebody.
When haggling, it’s more effective to settle price-per-person than the overall cost, making the discount appear less than it is. For example, asking for £50/$50 per head to be knocked off your bill for a family of four is more appealing than proposing a £200/$200 reduction in the total price.
Many holiday providers will offer you a price promise, where they’ll match a competitor’s quote for a package holiday with the same dates, board and room type. This is where there are a few loopholes designed to catch the consumer out. Grades of hotel rooms are often called different things: one agent may call it a 'Superior' room, another will label it 'Deluxe'. Visit the hotel's main website or give them a call and you may find both rooms are exactly the same and you can bag the cheaper-priced deal after all.
Yes, it's geeky, we know, but double checking flight codes can mean you can get the same flight at a much lower price. Some flights have multiple flight numbers thanks to ‘codesharing’, where airlines assign their own flight numbers to a flight flown by another company. We found on one flight from London to New York – operated by British Airways but shared by American Airways and Iberia – that it cost £1,788.20 ($2,303.33) to fly with BA or AA and £981.94 ($1,264.76) to fly with Iberia. Same economy flight, just a £806.26 ($1,038.57) price difference...
It may seem obvious, but flying at off-peak times of the year, week and even the day can mean the difference of hundreds of pounds. Be flexible with your flying availability, and consider options which may mean you fly at an ungodly hour in the middle of the week. Furthermore, FareCompare claims that customers tend to get the best deals if they book on a Tuesday afternoon.
If you're in the UK most travel agents (whether high street or online) offer reputable protection by being members of ATOL or ABTA. Check your company of choice is a member, especially if they’re small and independent, as these schemes offer financial protection should the company or hotel go bust or your flights get cancelled. Unfortunately, similar schemes are not in place in the US, but you can seek professional and impartial advice from ASTA. On both sides of the Atlantic, paying with a credit card offers you better protection when circumstances are out of your hands.
With the motto ‘If it looks like a package, it should come with package-holiday cover’, the Package Travel Directive, which came into force in July 2018, is designed to ensure everyone is protected if a company goes bust. Consumers who select a travel service from different suppliers via a single website, call centre or shop, are now entitled to protective privileges, obliging the vendor to take responsibility for any problems.
Just like with car insurance, there are plenty of price comparison sites for holidays, with our top picks including Travel Supermarket, Holiday Pirates and Ice Lolly, which will save you time and money as you scourer for the best cruises, flights, hotels and package deals. (All holidays advertised are ATOL protected for UK travellers too.)
Sign up for handy newsletters from sites like fly4free, Scott’s Cheap Flights and Jack’s Flight Club UK who scan the web in search of hiccups and blips in booking systems that make usually extortionate flights much more affordable. Although you can’t always directly select a particular destination, the deals they find are just too good to refuse. US West Coast to Beijing for £284 ($369)? Or Manchester to the Azores islands for an unbelievable £39.98 ($53)? Yes, please!
Brits: you’ve tried price comparison sites, but have you tried agents on the other side of the Atlantic? Brits can often get more lucrative deals when booking with US companies. Cruises especially are often much less expensive stateside: check the operator will accept a UK credit card, calculate any international fees charged by your bank and examine the current exchange rate. If, after all this, you’re good to go, you may end up saving a small fortune.
For travel on an international carrier, visit their foreign website – britishairways.fr instead of britishairways.com, for example – and compare the price. As well as conversion, factor in a potential non-home-currency transaction fee and you may find it’s still cheaper.
If purchasing travel insurance directly from a travel agent, ensure your policy covers everything you need – it’s no use having insurance that only covers you in Europe if you’re going to India – and it's your responsibility to check. Furthermore, a family package will be equally useless for a couple’s retreat and, for most, a plan that doesn’t cover medical emergencies abroad is not a plan worth having.
Deals can often appear too good to be true, and if you have a sly feeling something isn’t as it should be, ask for a breakdown of everything you will be paying for to dodge hidden fees and avoidable costs. If you want all-inclusive, make sure it’s actually all-inclusive and you’re not paying extra to use the sauna in the spa for example.
While tours and day trips are an incredible way to explore foreign lands, it’s always best to book them locally and not through your tour operator. Agents want to beef up their bookings, and these tourist traps will be extortionately priced and maybe not the best or most knowledgeable that your destination has to offer. Plus, it’s likely that local tours will show you unconventional spots away from the beaten track.
Many passengers feel obliged to tag along with the company-organised tours when boarding a cruise. However, these tours are often not inclusive and will have you paying through the nose, when you can hop off the boat and do your own thing instead. If a tour is really what you’re after, most ports will have a whole range of tour operators selling their services for half the price. See our guide about what you need to know before going on a cruise here.
When booking through agents, be wary of any ‘all flights are non-refundable’ policies and check with the airline and hotels themselves if you need to cancel. Agents want to protect their commission, and so non-refundable clauses mean some companies can pocket the excess of any costs you’ve paid.
For group excursions, double-check the would-be price of each individual traveller if booked separately as you should be getting a discounted rate as you are giving the company more business. If you find you’re actually paying the same price or more for a group holiday in comparison to individual travel, negotiate a lower rate with your agent.
We would always recommend the unique experience of travelling alone, but it can sometimes total to much more than you might expect. If you’re opting for an organised tour and not willing to share a room with your fellow travellers, it’s likely you’ll be charged extra for this luxury. However, tour operators are astute to current trends and more and more fixed dates are cropping up with solo explorers in mind. Often, they’re not advertised and are likely to be limited, so ask your agent for more information and they’ll help you find the best price.
You can purchase individual one-way trips on separate airlines, which can sometimes work out to be cheaper than a return flight - just compare the difference! However, if you’re travelling across international borders, both check-in and border control require proof of return, so bring all the required documentation with you on your journey.
There’s a theory that airlines – as with any other website you’ve been browsing – can use cookies to track your searching habits and hike up the prices because they know you’re interested. It's still not clear the extent to which companies use this information, so it’s always worth habitually clearing your cookies and history through your browser’s settings before you book.
Racked up a whole load of points on your credit card and don’t know what to do with them? A huge range of companies’ reward programmes, such as American Express Membership Rewards and Citibank ThankYou, can be redeemed in exchange for air travel and hotel stays across the globe. Your loyalty towards your credit card could pay for your next city break!
For those inclined to online shopping, you’ll be no stranger to scrolling Google in search of valid discount codes. Sites like Groupon, Voucher Codes and vouchercloud can often have loads of hidden deals to trim a few pounds off the final price.
If you're booking a package with a big name operator it's worth checking there aren't other companies within the same group offering the same holiday at a lower price. A good example of this in the UK is First Choice and TUI. They're two brands owned by the same company and regularly have the same hotels in their repertoire but at slightly different prices. It's worth checking both websites as you can often shave some cash off the total price of your holiday.
Is your vacation a family affair? Some operators can get you a free child’s place for every two full-paying adults, all you have to do is ask!
Sometimes it’s worth booking a package deal, even if you don’t want to use the hotel. There are success stories detailing experiences where people have booked flights and a hotel room, and it’s cost less than just booking the flights on their own. Worth a shot...
Travel agents across the globe are usually only paid a basic wage, so they make most of their money from sales commission. Don’t want a £10,000 package deal to a luxury Bali resort? Sadly if you don’t make your budget and preferences clear from the start, some may try and hard-sell an unwanted holiday to you. Write down on paper your expectations and a rough budget which you can keep referring back to.