airport lounges

With economic climates being as they are recreation is now something that people are scrimping on and finding key aspects such as cheap airport parking. Where as exotic holidays used to be a yearly event I can now only take the family away every 2 years if I am lucky. So how do some people still get away on a fair bit of holidays? There are a few tricks we can utilize to get a decent break.

Prior planning is key to finding a great holiday or break, planning well ahead gives you the best chance of getting a cheap break. A great example is my Eurostar trip in 2008. My wife and I decided to go away to Eurodisney in November, we planned several months ahead and searched various travel agents, all coming out at £600+ for 2 days and 3 nights, we discovered (as many of you probably know) booking directly with Eurostar was far cheaper, we booked a Train from St Pancras to Eurodisney (with return) and 3 nights at the Vienna International Dream Castle, all for £420 including park tickets. A great saving, so it pays to look at providers direct. Another example can be found by a quick search, look at Virgin or British Airways sites, Search flights+Hotels in New York for 3 nights, look at the prices, now look at the same package through a tour operator, bit of a difference isn't there....

With holidays there are many other factors to look at, Booking those little extras way beforehand can also save a lot of money. Car Parking goes up at an alarming rate the closer you get to your holiday, companies know you need it so bump the prices up. You can find cheap airport parking through the link at a great priced website. If you are flying early in the morning it can also be very beneficial to book a hotel too. These are known as 'Park and Fly' packages, these really can save you a lot of money. Most Hotels near airport offer these deals. You can find these at the link 'cheap airport parking'. As I have said the key is booking early! As soon as you book a holiday, book cheap airport parking, cheap airport lounges or cheap airport hotels.

Travel money is very competitive these days, everyone is jumping on the bandwagon, including supermarkets. This is actually a good thing, they are fighting for your custom so you have a large field to look round, don't use people like 'moneysupermarket', 'gosimply' etc, your best bet is places such as Tesco, The Post Office and even your travel agent who can offer you good deals with your holiday. Pre-paid cards are also largely available nowadays, again all the big providers offer them, some free, some not, The Post Office offers them free with currency exchange. I use them abroad, It is a safe way to keep money, the only draw back is if you lost the card so make sure you have some cash. I would strongly recommend you DO NOT use your current account bank card or Credit card abroad, you never know who may pick up your details and by the time you get home it may be a shock to your balance. Plus the banks have decided that it is a nice little money maker to charge you to use YOUR card abroad.

Travel Insurance is a MUST. You only need to watch TV series like 'Airline' or 'Sun, Sea and A&E' to see the consequences and financial bills of not having valid travel insurance. One memorable 'Airline' episode is that of a young man who broke his leg and needed an operation, he had no travel insurance and his parents had to re-mortgage the house to pay Hospital bills and flights. Travel Insurance isn't expensive and worth every penny should anything go wrong. It is essential you ensure that you enter the correct area you are going to in quotes! And don't forget your EHIC card if travelling in Europe!

Holidays and breaks should be enjoyable, always plan ahead and plan for the unexpected. Don't forget important toiletries such as sun tan lotion and after sun. They can be expensive in your resort. My best bit of advice on Mosquito/Insect repellent is to buy the local stuff! In Cancun on honeymoon we bought expensive UK stuff, it might have well as been water we put on, it didn't deter anything, a waiter in the resort told us to buy the local stuff, we weren't bugged (sorry for the pun) for the rest of the holiday.

Happy Holidaying and I hope you found cheap airport parking!