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Top Tips for Cheap Med Holidays

Cheap flights

Shop around for cheap flights as much as possible and always be looking out for hidden costs. Budget airlines often neglect to include taxes, booking fees and baggage fees in their advertised costs. Also take note of the airport you’re flying to. If it is miles outside the city you want to get to the cost of a transfer or taxi often cancels out the saving on the flight.

Car rental

Renting a car seems like an added expense but in the long run it saves you money. Renting a car gives you the freedom to find the cheapest airport to fly to without the inconvenience of public transport of airport transfers. Renting also makes it much easier to buy food in bulk at supermarkets rather than eat out all the time, which brings us to my next point…

Self-catered accommodation

Cooking for yourself is always much cheaper than eating out or eating at a hotel. Eating out everyday quickly becomes very expensive and unless you stay at an all inclusive resort, half or full board will mean you still spend money on extra drinks as the sun makes keeping hydrated imperative.

All inclusive resorts

If you don’t want to go self-catered, then all inclusive resorts are usually the best option. In the scheme of things they aren’t that much more than full board, and the extra money you’d spend on drinks will usually be more than the extra cost of going all inclusive.

Locations

Holidays in Spain are consistently the cheapest if you’re looking for some summer sun. There are lots of cheap flight options and a variety of accommodation to suit almost any budget and board basis. Holidays to Benidorm are especially good in Spain as the sheer number of apartments, hotels, villas and campsites mean the cost of accommodation is kept relatively low, especially in the off-season.

Off-season

If you don’t have kids aren’t limited to the school holiday period, book your summer holiday in April, May, September or October. It might not technically be a “summer holiday” but with the temperatures still in the 30’s in those months you’ll barely notice the difference. With beautiful, historic locations and scenery, holidays to Malta are especially worthwhile in the off-season.

Post office currency exchange

The post office doesn’t charge commission on currency exchanges, making it vastly cheaper than doing it at the airport or while you’re abroad. Also take more cash than you need, if you have to use your credit or debit card while abroad you’ll get charged high exchange rates by your bank.

Go as a group

lmost all of the points above can be made even cheaper if you go as a group of four or more. That way the costs are split between more people and you almost always get an incremental increase in value e.g. shopping at a supermarket works out cheaper between four than between two because of the savings you make buying in bulk. Travel companies also consistently reserve the best deals for large, early bookings.