Saving Money on Your Summer Holidays
We all look forward to the summer season – the glorious sunshine (not so much in the UK!), barbecues in the garden and of course, that beach holiday we’ve booked for this year. However, being able to afford a summer holiday can be difficult nowadays, but after a long year of hard work, it’s impossible to resist jetting off somewhere beautiful. Fear not, there are ways that you can save pounds and pounds on your summer holiday, without even changing much of it!
- Research car hire
Don’t fall into the trap of ‘renting a car when you get there’, since prices at the airport and the hotel will be astronomically high. Instead, book in advance and choose a reputable company which offers a good deal. If you’re under the age of 25, don’t even bother hiring a car, and settle for public transport or quad bikes in some countries. Prices are practically unaffordable before you hit 25, but after that, you can save money by looking for voucher codes, researching well and trying to get some good deals out of your travel agent.
- Forget about parking your car at the airport
While this might seem cheaper at first, you’ll be surprised at how expensive it can be to park your car at the airport. You could be looking at hundreds of pounds just for a two-week holiday, so it’s much better off to book a taxi or have somebody else take you to the airport. There’s always the risk of getting your car stolen or broken into at the airport car park, depending on how good the staff are, and with some many rumours of people coming back to find their car gone, you might feel a lot better about leaving it at home.
- Change your money when the time is right
If you’re planning a holiday months in advance, keep an eye on the exchange rates, and never leave it until you get to the airport or to your destination country. Rates will always be much higher at the airport, since they know that unorganised people will pay anything in order to get some cash before flying. When you feel like the exchange rate is good, go and change some money. If you think it might get even better and you’re willing to take a risk, you can always change half now and then the rest of your spending money in another couple of weeks.
