Twenty-one travel hacks to transform your holiday: From the trick to getting a hotel upgrade to the cheapest days to book flights, expert advice from the Mail’s experts
Everyone has a cunning ‘travel tip’ or two up their sleeves – from putting ‘fragile’ stickers on luggage in the hope they will appear on the baggage carousel first, to eating chocolate to reduce the effects of jetlag and dressing smartly in the hope of an upgrade at check-in.
All well and good (if they actually work). But the bottom line for most is: how can I save money on my holiday?
We’ve consulted travel experts across the industry to bring you 21 hacks that every traveller should know about.
Choose the local currency for payments
When paying by card, you should always opt for the local currency rather than pounds – thus avoiding potentially unfavourable currency conversions made by retailers. The automatic system of converting to pounds used by retailers abroad is known as Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) and can cost you an extra 5-7 per cent on purchases.
By opting to pay in the local currency, the transaction will be made according to the standard daily rates set by Visa or MasterCard.
Likewise, if withdrawing currency from a foreign ATM, always select the local currency to avoid paying DCC, which is effectively a way to squeeze more cash out of unwitting customers.
From travel insurance to car hire tips and how to get the best exchange rate, our top insider travel hacks will make sure you make the most of your holiday
Book your hotel direct
Most hotels prefer if you book directly rather than via a third-party website. The Daily Mail’s Inspector hotel reviewer says ‘it almost always pays’ to call and say you have seen a price that is lower than on the hotel’s website elsewhere. ‘Quite often you will get a lower rate, or an upgrade or a complimentary bottle in your room or a voucher for a drink at the bar,’ our undercover reporter says.
At the Milestone Hotel, Kensington, in London the direct website price for a ‘double king room’ for a Friday and Saturday night in late September was £1,156 room-only, although on Booking.com the price was £936 with breakfast included. We called the hotel and were immediately told: ‘Most certainly sir, we can match that.’ We were also offered a ‘possible complimentary upgrade’ depending on whether a room was available on arrival and well as a potential free late check-out.
Likewise, at the Queensberry Hotel in Bath – where the Booking.com price for two nights in a deluxe room was £647 while the hotel’s website price was £752 – a member of staff said: ‘I’m happy to honour that.’ She also reduced the breakfast price from £25 to £20.
Midweek flights are cheapest
Flights booked midweek, especially from Monday to Wednesday, are consistently around 20-30 per cent less than at the weekend. For example, when comparing flight to Malaga in Spain from London for the end of the summer we found that return fares were £293 Saturday to Saturday (to/from Luton, easyJet), whereas a Wednesday to Wednesday fare was £206 (to/from Gatwick, Wizz Air). This works out as a 30 per cent saving.
Generally, the cheapest time to buy flights is six-12 weeks before travel, according to flight expert Jack Sheldon of Jacksflightclub.com
Meanwhile, a similar check from Manchester to Alicante in Spain for late summer brought up £259 return fare for Saturday to Saturday (Ryanair), while the Wenesday to Wednesday fare was £193 (Ryanair) – a 25 per cent saving.
The ‘sweet spot’ for flights
Generally, the cheapest time to buy flights is six-12 weeks before travel, according to flight expert Jack Sheldon of Jacksflightclub.com. Running a spot-check on this for flights to Orlando in Florida, we found the lowest price for a week-long break was bought precisely six weeks in advance: £288 return from London Gatwick with Norse (flynorse.com).
These flights bought a week in advance would have been £803, two weeks in advance £403, three weeks £374, four weeks £359, five weeks £312, seven weeks £363, eight weeks £363, nine weeks £374, ten weeks £546, 11 weeks £469 and 12 weeks £463. So the ‘sweet spot’ of six weeks was early in the usual six-12 range.
Opt for annual travel insurance
Rather than fork out for insurance each time you travel, annual multi-trip policies can save you a fortune, and they usually only cost marginally more than the price of policies covering a fortnight away.
For example, a two-week basic travel insurance policy for destinations such as the United States, Canada, Thailand and the Caribbean is from £76 for a 50-year-old traveller with no pre-existing health conditions booked through Post Office Insurance. But an annual policy allowing multiple trips with an individual trip limit of 31 days is £111 – only £35 more. When comparing the Post Office’s basic cover for a two-week trip in Spain with an annual multi-trip policy, the prices respectively came to £46 and £55 – so just £9 extra. Those with pre-existing medical conditions should consider trying AllClear (allcleartravel.co.uk).
Buy your own car hire ‘excess cover’
‘Excess cover’ is an insurance taken out so you are exempt from paying ‘excess’ damage to a car regardless of who is to blame. Avoid hard sells and eye-watering prices at the car hire desk for ‘excess cover’ insurance. Instead, buy in advance for less from the likes of Cover4rentals.com, Worldwideinsure.com or Reducemyexcess.co.uk.
Avoid hard sells and eye-watering prices at the car hire desk for ‘excess cover’ insurance. Instead, buy in advance for less
A week-long excess cover policy is from £15.99 for a week with Cover4rentals in Europe – easily booked online in advance. Compare this to the cost of SuperCover Insurance offered by Hertz, which came to an additional £209 for a week for a Fiat 500 (with a week’s rental price of £166) from Malaga.
Never refuel at airport petrol stations
Returning your hire car with the petrol tank full will save you money as car hire companies regularly hike up refuelling prices above the market rate.
But save even more by not using petrol stations adjoining airports, where prices tend to be steeper too. Instead, find a petrol station used by locals a bit further out, perhaps one next to a supermarket, and you will be fine to drive to the airport as long as the fuel gauge does not drop below full – which it is unlikely to for dozens of miles.
Stay on a Sunday
Hotel rates on Sundays can be substantially lower. At Limewood hotel in the New Forest in Hampshire, for example, the price of a ‘Forest Suite’ Sunday night in September is from £495 while the cheapest Saturday night is £845, or 70% more expensive (limewoodhotel.co.uk).
Buy an eSim card
Overseas roaming charges can cost an arm and a leg, as anyone who has failed to switch off roaming when travelling to countries such as America would know.
A new generation of digital eSims now allows you to override the physical Sim card in your phone (connected to your provider) meaning you pay a lesser roaming rate and avoid the faff of having to find and install a Sim on arrival
One way round this has always been to purchase a physical local Sim card to put in your phone. However, a new generation of digital eSims now allows you to override the physical Sim card in your phone (connected to your provider) meaning you pay a lesser roaming rate and avoid the faff of having to find and install a Sim on arrival. So instead of £5 a day or more when visiting the US, you could pay as little as £10 for 30 days (breezesim.com). See also simoptions.com and ‘What is an eSim?’ at moneysavingexpert.com.
Never change currency at airports
A recent study by Eurochange.co.uk found that travellers could save £167 on average when exchanging 1,000 euros at high street bureaux de change compared to doing do at Edinburgh, Birmingham, Luton, Stansted and Heathrow airports. The saving on a $1,000 transaction was £157. This is true of airports around the world, as operators offering rates know they have a captive audience. Always change money elsewhere. M&S Bank, Travelex and the Post Office offer good exchange rates.
Don’t take the Gatwick or Heathrow Express
Think again when catching the Gatwick or Heathow Express; the cost of the Gatwick Express is £23, taking 31 minutes to London Victoria. However the cost of a direct Southern service takes 31-34 minutes costing £14.60 (trainline.com). Meanwhile, the Heathrow Express is £25 for its 15-minute journey to London Paddington, while the cost on the Elizabeth line taking 34 minutes is £12.20, or a journey on the Piccadilly line is 49 minutes costing £5.60.
Pick the right card to avoid transaction fees
A new generation of debit cards such as Monzo, Starling and First Direct 1st Account do not add fees and mark-ups on purchases made abroad. The majority of debit and credit cards do: typically charging 2.99 per cent. For credit cards, see ‘Best travel credit cards 2024’ at which.co.uk.
Organise your own cruise excursions
Arranging your own onshore trips can save you hundreds on cruise ship and be more interesting than being herded about on official excursions. Savings can be as much as 75 per cent, according to Daily Mail cruise expert Lesley Bellew.
For example, Princess Cruises offers £85 ‘Edinburgh on Your Own’ excursions from South Queensferry – offering a lift each way and a city map. But it’s a pleasant 20-minute stroll to Dalmeny station and a £12 return train ticket into the city centre. With the same cruise line, a three-hour tour of Oslo is £100, or just wander from the docks to see the wonderful Fram, Kon-Tiki & Maritime museums – entry £10 each.
Choose a ‘repositioning cruise’
These cruises are offered when ships are being taken from one place to another, often over a long distance, so they are in the right location for a new season in another part of the world. Because they do not stop at so many ports and include multiple days at sea they’re as much as 50 per cent cheaper than normal cruises.
For example, a 14-night transatlantic cruise from Barcelona via Valencia, Cadiz and Lisbon to Tampa in Florida is from £719pp departing on 7 November, or a 12-night cruise from Fort Lauderdale in Florida via Bermuda and Azores from £732. Both with Celebritycruises.com. See also Repositioningcruise.com and ‘Repositioning offers’ at iglucruise.com.
Take a February half-tem city break
While the lure of sunshine or skiing may be too much for some, February half-term (17-21 February next year for most schools) is a great time for an ‘educational’ but fun family city break – with especially low prices if booked in advance.
A four-night getaway in Rome with Gatwick flights for a family of four staying at Rome Garden hotel (room only) – in a lovely old converted villa in the city centre close to the Colosseum and other sights – is from £1,396 with (easyjetholidays.com). Or a four-night stay at Novotel Madrid City Las Ventas (room only) in Spain’s capital is from £1,691 with Heathrow flights for a family of four (britishairways.com).
Late summer holidays
One way to get a cheaper summer sunshine holiday is to go at the end of August as prices can be around 20 per cent cheaper than in early July when families are raring to go: it’s a simple matter of supply and demand. Another is not to go in the summer at all, and instead get your fix of the sun in October in Greece during the half-term holiday (28 October to 1 November this year for most schools).
It’s still warm then in Crete, for example, with average daily highs of 24C. A week at Grand Leoniki Residence By Grecotel in Rethymnon, Crete is from £2,969 B&B for a family of four with flights from Manchester departing on Sunday October 27 (tui.co.uk). Or a five-night getaway departing from Stansted on October 26 to Crete, staying at the Yiannis Manos Hotel Resort (room only) in Malia, is from £2,504 (jet2.com). See Sunvil.co.uk for tailor-made trips across Greece.
Go ‘DIY’ and book an appartment
If you always automatically book hotels via a tour operator, think again. Going ‘DIY’ by booking your own cheap flights – check Skyscanner.net and Google Flights – using an apartment website such as Airbnb.com or Vrbo.com can save you hundreds, and also introduce you to local neighbourhoods away from the tourist hordes. For example, a superb ‘Loft for 4 in the centre of Seville’ is from £456 for a week in October (airbnb.co.uk), or seven nights at Studio Amy in Dubrovnik, sleeping two, is from £445 for a week, also in October (vrbo.com).
How about a ‘house swap’?
Companies offering ‘house swaps’ where you exchange your houses with someone in a place you would like to visit on holiday have been around for a while. To give it a try, you need to first sign up to a house-exchange website such as homexchange.com, homelink.org or holidayswap.com (with an annual fee of about £115 to £180). Then you upload your details and a whole world of places to stay opens up, often in lovely homes in sunny locales. It takes a leap of faith, but as Daily Mail reporter Joanna Tweedy found on a stay with her family on a house swap in France’s Loire Valley, it’s a ‘winning’ formula.
Book trains direct
Fees on third-party websites for train fares in the UK can be up to £2.79. So book direct with rail operators such as Great Western Railway (gwr.com) or Avanti West Coast (avantiwestcoast.co.uk). ‘Beware Trainline’s booking fees,’ says Moneysavingexpert.com. However, do check Trainline’s fares too – just to be sure – as sometimes its ‘split fares’ offer enticing savings.
Best train deals 12 weeks ahead
Expect cheapest fares about eight-12 weeks before travel – with the very cheapest usually 12 weeks away, when most rail operators release timetables. Some rail operators issue them even earlier, as much as 24 weeks beforehand, including London North Eastern Railway and Great Western Railway. To check exactly when to pounce – which is absolutely key if you want the best deals – see ‘Advance ticket booking window’ at Thetrainline.com.
Sign up to train newsletters
Go to your regular rail operators’ website, register and sign up to receive ‘newsletters’ that will send you the latest deals. These are worth pouring over as great prices can lurk within and possibly save you hundreds, with half-price discounts and great prices on ‘rover’ tickets that offer unlimited travel within a specified area and time period.
