By Ian SG Smith
If you are interested enough to read this article I must assume that you enjoy travel. It's the cost that is getting you down, with the amount it costs for you to have a hard earned vacation. Well the good news is that this can all change if you are prepared to do a few things which by the way are perfectly legitimate.
Let's be honest, travel is amazing, seeing new things, in new places, and learning about people in different parts of the world. You just wish it didn't cost so much. Lying on a tropical beach drinking a rum punch is not the time to be worrying about how much it is costing and whether your flexible friend is flexible enough. That thought can spoil a perfect holiday.
It is quite sickening to discover the family on the next sun bed has paid a lot less than you to stay in the same hotel, use the same facilities, and even flew on the same flight. This kind of thing is happening all the time, even if you weren't aware of it. By a lot less I mean hundreds if not sometimes thousands of dollars, depending on where you are.
What you need to do is to get up to speed with all the angles that intelligent travellers use to book their flights and holidays. The good news is that it isn't rocket science, but it is something your local travel agent is not very keen on you discovering. Imagine being able to look at the family on the next sun lounger, and know for certainty you paid a lot less than they did.
There are secrets, and there are places to find them out. But just give this a thought, and then answer the question. What is probably the most expensive part of your vacation? Yes you were right first time, it is the cost of your flight. Well it might shock you to know that you can get such unbelievable discounts on flights if you know where to look. As a quick tip, the earlier you book the cheaper it is, and the ability to change you holiday dates by one day could save you £1000.
Just to whet your appetite for research, you could save between 10% and 50% on the price you just paid for your holiday flight. I'm not talking about using a 'no frills' airline, I'm talking about the flight you were on and will return on. As another quick tip, avoid flying at the weekends, it can be a lot more expensive.
It should come as no surprise that the very same people were negotiating room discounts, even upgrades. On occasions savings of 50% are not unknown.
If this staggers you, then it should because you need to be able to take advantage. The good news is you can, and you need to. As an example a quick phone call to a Malaysian Agency found online saved us £600 in a 5* hotel in Penang a few years ago
Whilst we are on the subject of savings then it would be only fair to mention holiday insurance, car rental, meals, ski passes, tours from your hotel. The list is endless, well almost, and you need to be joining in. Another quick tip here, is avoid school holidays and times like Christmas and Easter, because all costs associated with travel go up enormously then.
After all what would you be able to do with all the money you saved. I know what I would do, and that is buy a better holiday at the price I was going to pay anyway, but the choice is yours. How great could that be.
Ian writes about travel, gardening, human relationships, and loves cooking with cheese, when not doing that he likes nothing better than getting a bargain when he books his holidays, and regularly beats the brochure price for some pretty smart hotels. He uses the principles outlined in Best Vacation Deals and Cheap Package Holiday
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