Collaborative Post
Many of us are watching the pennies right now, but at the same time, many of us are dying to get away from a relaxing family break, which is why I’ve put together these simple tips to help you save money on your next family holiday…
Look for free kids’ places
Many holiday companies are eager to attract families, which is why they often offer free places for children under a certain age when accompanied by two adults. If you can find one such deal, it’s obvious to see how you can save a significant amount of money while ensuring that you all have a great family holiday. First Choice’s Free Kids’ Place Finder is an excellent tool for finding free kids’ places, but it is not the only one, so be sure to shop around for the best deals.
Consider staying in non-holiday accommodation
Holiday accommodation almost always comes at a premium, especially in the school holidays when more families are likely to be travelling. So, it can be a good idea to look to alternative forms of accommodation such as University halls of residence that have been abandoned for the holidays, or maybe even by asking around to see if any landlords are between tenants and would be willing to let you rent their place for a week or two.
Thanks to periodic tenancies, this is becoming more common. What is a periodic tenancy? It just means the tenant has no fixed contract, paying monthly to secure the tenancy for that month, It offers more flexibility for both parties, but it does mean landlords sometimes have empty properties for longer than they would like, That can be good news for you.
Go a bit further afield
Many people think that staying close to home is a good way to keep family holiday costs down because flights to places like Portugal and Spain are obviously a lot cheaper and many cater to the family market with very affordable all-inclusive packages. However, if you go even just a little bit further afield to places like Turkey and Marrakech you will often find that everything from food and accommodation to activities are even cheaper, which means even if the flight costs more, it is often possible to have a cheaper holiday overall. Basically, keep your options open and consider as many possible destinations if you want to keep costs down.
Book as soon as possible
Common wisdom is that you should leave booking a holiday as long as possible so that you can snap up some of that great last-minute deals. However, when you have a family, this doesn’t always work out to be the best deal due to the fact that you can’t always be truly flexible when you have jobs and children to consider. If that is the case, you will probably find that booking well in advance is also an excellent way to access some good deals that might not be available a little closer to the time.
Bring your own car seat
If you’re planning to rent a car when you are on holiday and you have children who will need car seats to keep them safe, see if you are allowed to bring them on the flight with you. Doing so is often a fair bit cheaper than hiring them at your destination, but as always, try to do the sums before you make your decision because it can vary a lot from place to place and airline to airline.
Buy destination cards
Destination cards and city passes are usually better value for money when you are travelling with a family of four. They will often entitle you to use public transport and access many of the locations top attractions at no additional costs, which means you can fully enjoy your break without having to worry too much about your wallet, but once again do the sums before you make a purchase.
Pack a lunch
If you aren’t going all-inclusive, a really easy way to save money is to pack lunches for the family when you’re spending the day at the beach or the local museum or whatever because eating out is always going to cost you more, and actually packing a lunch is a great way to sample the local cuisine without spending a fortune – you don’t have to stick to the usual ham sandwiches you’d have at home.
I hope this has given you a few good ideas about what you can do to save money on your next family holiday wherever you may be thinking of heading, and I hope you have an amazing time when you get there. We all deserve a break right now!