30 ways to save money on holiday

Summer holidays may have begun, but it’s not too late to avoid high costs.

If you’re a regular traveller, you’ll already know the more obvious money-saving tips for keeping travel costs down: steer clear of tourist traps, look out for discounts and say no to the hotel minibar. 

But did you also know that you should never get a train ticket at a ticket machine, pay overseas in pounds or accept car hire insurance at the rental desk?

The same goes for booking a trip – savvy holidaymakers know to travel off-peak, set a budget and stick to it, but how many know why you should never book a hotel on a laptop and why it pays to opt for a seat on the right of the plane?

Experts at Which? Travel, carry out detailed research and undercover investigations, and test out money-saving hacks to ensure you aren’t ripped off on holiday.

From the cheapest destinations for 2025 to tricks to secure cheaper car hire abroad and how to get cheap Eurostar tickets in the sale, these tips could save you hundreds of pounds on your next holiday.

Whether you're budgeting for a summer holiday this year or planning ahead for your next getaway, we share our tried-and-tested ways to cut costs — without compromising on experience. 

To get our latest new research and unbiased ratings and reviews of holiday services first, subscribe to Which? Travel

Which? Travel trusted travel advice

Who to book with, how to get the best deals and inspiring destination ideas from the experts. £4.99 a month, or £49 annually

Join Which? Travel

Cancel anytime.

1. Pack light for your low-cost flight – or fly with a better-rated airline

It’s easy to panic and add extra bags to your booking, especially when you’re packing. But ask yourself: do I really need a carry-on or checked case? Adding extra bags to your booking can more than quadruple the cost of your flight. We found so-called ‘ultra-cheap’ flights with no-frills airlines ended up costing a family of four hundreds of pounds extra if they wanted to check in luggage. If you can manage travelling with just an under-the-seat bag, max out the space without going over (it'll cost you if you do). 

Ryanair's allowance for instance is just 40cm x 20cm x 25cm so search for a bag that fits these exact dimensions. If you really do need extra baggage allowance, book with a better airline, like British Airways or Jet2. Both allow a personal item and a larger cabin case as standard with their tickets – we found this works out cheaper every time.

Always check cabin bag rules ahead of time. And if you need to fit more into your bag, don't believe the hype about packing cubes. We’ve tested them. 

2. Don’t pay extra to sit together on the plane

Apart from a couple of exceptions, paying for a seat next to your companion is usually unnecessary. If you booked seats at the same time, most airlines will seat you together for free anyway.

Which airlines let families sit together for free? In our most recent airline survey, 93% of BA passengers who didn't pay extra told us they were seated together anyway, and the airline guarantees that children will be seated with at least one adult family member. That was also the case for 90% of both Jet2 and easyJet passengers who didn’t pay. Jet2 and easyJet told us that they will try to seat families together, and that each child under 12 will be seated close to an accompanying adult, but easyJet advises checking in as soon as possible to increase the likelihood of sitting with your group.

 Only Wizz Air and Ryanair passengers need to be concerned. 61% of Wizz Air passengers were seated separately unless they paid for reserved seats, while 62% of Ryanair passengers faced the same separation unless they paid to sit together. 

Surprisingly, there is no rule that forces airlines to seat parents next to even the smallest children. Ryanair expects adults accompanying children under 12 to buy a seat reservation.

3. Bag more legroom by sitting on the right

Another temptation that arises before you even arrive at your destination is to pay for more legroom. But you don't have to spend more to get more space. Just book a seat on the right of the plane with the letters D, E or F (as opposed to A, B or C). Our research shows standard seats on the right-hand side of many aeroplanes (including Ryanair) can offer anywhere between an extra half-inch to an inch of legroom compared to those on the left.

Find out your model flight number on Google Flights, then type it into AeroLOPA to find out if this trick will work for your next flight. Seats in front of a bulkhead or at the tail-end of the plane are also generally a little more generous.

4. Don’t overspend on a suitcase

Skip the pricey, legacy brands. We asked more than 1,300 Which? members about the suitcases and cabin bags they've owned, and they told us that Tripp was as good, if not better than Samsonite, despite its bags costing a third less on average. For a more stylish, long-lasting option, Eastpak came out on top with an 82% customer rating, although you’ll pay a bit more for its durability and design.

Find a good-quality suitcase that costs less via our survey of the best suitcases in 2025

5. Book parking in advance – even by just two hours

You’re likely to make staggering savings on airport parking if you book ahead, as prices have soared since 2019. Heathrow’s short-stay car parks cost £616 per week at the turn-up price, but when we checked, that’s reduced to £202.60 even if you book just a week in advance. A saving of £413.40. Some providers allow you to pre-book even as little as two hours in advance and still pay less than the turn-up price. 

Shop around for parking options. We’ve found that third-party providers that operate outside the boundaries of the airport almost always offer better value than their on-site equivalent, but pick your provider carefully. We recently caught rogue operators stealing from cars, speeding and dumping vehicles. Find out which car parks are safest – and cheapest – in our review of the best airport car parks. 

All our Which? Recommended Providers (Sentinel, APH, Cophall and I Love Meet and Greet) also offer sign-up and promotional codes of 10-15% for those who book directly via their websites. 

6. Never book an airport lounge direct

Pay-as-you-go airport lounges — where everybody’s welcome to enjoy food, drink, magazines and an escape from the crowds — are now more expensive than ever. Lounges that cost £29 on average in 2020 cost £40 this year – an increase of 37%. And despite this, when our inspectors visited lounges at every major UK airport, they found only two of the 25 airport lounges they checked that were worth the cost.

Several other lounges in our survey received decent marks, but you should only visit them if you can get a deal. When we checked, the cheapest price was never when booking through the lounge operator, and only sometimes when booking via the airport. Comparison sites such as Holiday Extras often provide the cheapest price on airport lounges. Get extra value for your visit by planning ahead to eat your main meal there and checking the menu online first to see if you’ll be able to enjoy a drink or two as part of the package (some lounges now charge premium fees for certain drinks).

Are airport lounges worth it?  Read what our undercover inspectors had to say.

7. Don't waste money on fast-track security

If you’ve ever found yourself caught up in airport chaos, you might be tempted to splurge on fast-track. But don’t assume paying your way to the front of the queue will always be quicker. According to data from the CAA and individual airports, the average wait time at UK airport security is only between five and seven-and-a-half minutes. This increases to eight to 10 minutes at the busiest times, but many airports don't even guarantee that fast-track queues will be quicker.

When we analysed queue data from 7,000 passengers, we also found that fast-track airport security is generally a waste of money, with the average wait time at Gatwick, Heathrow and Edinburgh being around 15 minutes, with many airports even faster. So, unless you’re travelling at peak time (between 4am and 9am), or through airports that our survey respondents have told us have longer queues (like Manchester or Birmingham), it’s probably not worth it.

Read more: Is fast track worth it at the airport

8. Get better travel insurance for less

Decent cover doesn’t have to cost the earth. Choose a plan that fits your travel style and needs rather than automatically opting for the most expensive one. Saga, Barclays and Holidaysafe ranked highest in our latest rigorous research into the best travel insurance. 

Check what your bank has to offer, too. Some of the best-rated policies in our survey, like Barclays and Nationwide, come bundled with bank accounts and offer extensive coverage at a lower cost, especially if you’re travelling with family, as they include partners and children for free. Remember to always read the policy documents to ensure you’re covered for every eventuality.

Read our guide on what to look for in a good travel insurance policy.

9. Try our magic trick to book hire cars for less

Hiring a car abroad? Brits are often charged a premium when booking car hire online. But by using another country’s website, you could make reasonable savings. For example, we found that hiring the same car through Hertz’s US site (hertz.com) rather than Hertz.co.uk saved us £347.

The best part? You don’t need a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to book cheaper holidays. Just a simple tweak to the URL will do the trick. 

Find the best car hire companies in 2025

10. Never buy insurance from your car rental provider

Car hire companies have a number of ways to part you with your cash, and time and time again, we’ve found you’ll pay over the odds for insurance if bought through the car rental provider – up to £183 more per week than specialist insurance bought online. 

Not only are policies from independent insurers up to 10 times cheaper, but they also provide better coverage for common issues such as scratches and punctures.

Learn more about ERI and find our best-rated car hire insurance providers.

11. Pay in local currency with the right card

When using your card abroad, there are two golden rules to avoid hidden fees:

• Never pay in pounds. Instead, pay in the local currency to avoid foreign transaction fees of up to 3% (a charge from your bank for the conversion).
• Use a fee-free card to dodge charges of up to 3% on cash withdrawals and spending abroad. The Halifax Clarity and Barclaycard Rewards are the best travel credit cards, and Which? Recommended Providers Starling Bank and First Direct offer the best debit cards for travel.

If you can’t, or don’t want to, take out a dedicated bank account or credit card for travel, and prefer not to carry large amounts of cash on your trip, another option is to use a prepaid debit card, but do so with caution, as these can come with fees that add up quickly. In our guide to the cheapest way to spend money abroad

12. Know where cash is king

ATM fees and withdrawal fees can add up. Checking in advance whether card or cash payments are more popular in your country can help you estimate how much cash you’ll need for your trip, and could prevent you from having to nip to overpriced ATMs if a shop or restaurant refuses to take your card unexpectedly.

Habits are different across Europe. In Portugal and Spain, cash is used for more than 50% of transactions, whereas in places like the Netherlands and Belgium, card payments are more common. Our guide to spending money abroad lists the top countries where you’re more likely to need cash, plus the cheapest way to take out cash abroad.

13. Tip appropriately

Ever found yourself puzzling over what to give a waiter or tour guide? The social custom of tipping varies so much from country to country that even seasoned travellers can find themselves scratching their heads.

If you leave a tip after your meal in Japan, you’ll likely be chased by your waitress trying to return your ‘lost money’ – while in Poland, saying ‘thank you’ to your waiter before receiving your change signals you’re happy for them to keep it all (potentially an expensive mistake). In many European countries, 10% of your restaurant bill is a respectable tip – but in the States, that’s an insult. You’ll need to fork out at least 20% in tourist areas.

From the taxi driver in Athens to your safari guide in South Africa, see our guide to tipping overseas.

14. Families should consider taking the train

Rail travel isn’t just more sustainable: it could potentially save families hundreds of pounds on trips to Europe, if you don't mind a night on a sleeper train. Flights might seem a lot cheaper until you factor in the cost of baggage.

By taking a sleeper train, we found a family of four could save nearly £100, while a larger family could pocket more than £250.

15. UK holiday? Don’t buy train tickets at ticket machines

Instead, book online. Our mystery shoppers checked ticket machines up and down the UK and found that they charge up to 154% more than buying online. Many hide cheaper ticket options, like advance fares, or don't ever offer them. For example, a one-way fare from Northampton to Cardiff was £107 at a machine but just £43 online.

 Read more: how to get cheaper train tickets

16. See UK attractions in September, when they are often free 

Every September, several heritage open days take place in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. On these days, you can get into some of the UK’s top tourist attractions for free, from Edinburgh’s Abbey Strand to Penrhyn Castle in Wales.

There’s also the London Open House Festival, where you can gain free entry to tourist sights and historic attractions. You’ll need to check when each attraction is free and whether advance booking is required.

17. Get a free National Trust pass  

Around once per season, the National Trust gives away attraction passes which are worth up to £50, and give you access to a historic house, castle or garden. They’re popular, so you’ll need to act fast when they go on offer. 

To find out more, read our guide on how to get a free National Trust Pass in 2025.

18. Eat out early and get 50% off meals out in the UK

Use the First Table website to get cheap restaurant deals on breakfast, lunch and dinner at hundreds of restaurants across the UK (including many top-rated cities) by using the website First Table. 

Using the site, you can book tables in restaurants at off-peak times and get a 50% discount on food. You’ll just need to pay a fee of £4-£8 for the table, but it’s usually worth the savings you’ll make on the food bill.

How to save on booking holidays

By making wise choices at the booking stage, you can save even more on your holiday. Follow these tips next time you’re planning a trip.

19. Don’t book holidays last minute

When we tracked the price of 24,000 short-haul package holidays from Jet2holidays and Tui – the UK’s biggest tour operators - over nearly a year, we found prices were usually cheapest when booked in advance.

Increased demand for holidays in recent years has made last-minute deals few and far between. Six of the 10 countries our experts tracked came out as cheaper when booked in advance, including Portugal, Italy, Croatia, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands and mainland Spain. There were better last-minute deals to be had for destinations such as Bulgaria and Cyprus. You can still find deals if you are completely flexible on both your dates of travel and destination. 

Browse the Jet2holidays last-minute deals page or the Tui last-minute deals page for more offers – top tip: last-minute holidays from September onwards are much cheaper.

Are last-minute holidays ever cheaper?

20. Book flights at least two months in advance

The same is true of flights. To save money on flights, you should book early.

Research by Skyscanner found you generally get the best prices between two and six months in advance. You can set up a price alert on either Skyscanner or Google so that you'll get an email when the price drops. Set it up at least six months in advance and book when the price is reduced. 

Learn seven ways to make your flight with Ryanair cheaper

21. Never book a hotel using your laptop

Avoid paying over the odds on hotel stays by booking via a smartphone rather than a computer. We found that Booking.com, Expedia, and Hotels.com often offer mobile-only discounts, with savings of up to 40% on select listings.

We were able to save hundreds on some hotel stays just by booking on our mobile rather than a computer.  And don't skip checking directly with the hotel — sometimes they’ll match or beat booking platform prices, possibly adding perks such as breakfast or room upgrades (see below).

Read more: Why is it cheaper to book a hotel via phone?

22. Always pick up the phone to get the cheapest hotel deal

With so many travel comparison websites, it can be hard to know which genuinely has the best deal and if you should book with them. This begs the question: once you’ve found a deal online, is it better to book a hotel directly or with a travel comparison site?

Every time we price check popular hotel booking and comparison websites, we find that booking directly with the hotel is most frequently the cheapest way to get the best room rate. Hotels are often tied into contracts with booking platforms, which means they can't offer a lower price on their own website. But they can offer a cheaper deal when customers deal with them directly. 

In other words, pick up the phone and give the hotel a call to get the best deals.

Read our other money-saving tips for hotel bookings

23. An Airbnb will probably be more expensive 

These days, you’re more likely to make savings – sometimes hundreds of pounds – by staying in a hotel, depending on the country you’re visiting. 

In 38 out of 50 destinations we collected prices for (including every capital city), we found a hotel room was around £67 cheaper than a one-bedroom holiday let, and that’s before counting their service fees. Take Santorini, where a one-bed rental is £84 per night more expensive than a hotel room on the Greek island on average – that’s £588 extra for a week-long stay.

24. Travelling solo? Dodge the single supplement

Solo travellers often pay more, according to a Which? Travel investigation, even when booking a single occupancy hotel room or cruise cabin. So, if you’re travelling by yourself, pick a company that won’t charge you for single supplements.

According to our research, the best holiday providers for solo travellers include Which? Recommended Providers One Traveller and Jet2 Holidays, along with Co-op Holidays and British Airways Holidays.

25. Always book your Eurostar tickets in the sales

Grabbing £27 Eurostar sale tickets may sound too good to be true, but our research shows that these sale prices are genuine and among the lowest fares available. We consistently find that booking during these flash sales or well in advance offers the best savings, especially if you can travel midweek or at off-peak times. We’ve even found weekend tickets at these low prices.

To get cheap Eurostar tickets, head to Eurostar's website and choose between the destination tabs at the top of the page, depending on where you want to visit. Pick a date on the calendar indicating that fares start at £27. Finally, hit 'check train times' to find which travel times have cheap fares available.

26. Let your weekly shop pay for your holiday

Our grocery shop is costing more than ever, but those extra pounds could convert to a UK hotel break, a Eurostar ticket or even a flight to a Caribbean island.

We compared popular schemes from Avios, Nectar, Tesco Clubcard and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and found that points collected for every pound spent – in supermarkets, online and for fuel — can be redeemed for holidays. When it comes to booking your trip, Avois can be used with many airlines, like British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus and Qatar Airways. Nectar points can also be converted into Avios points.

Boost your Avois balance by using an Avios credit card. Which? Recommended Provider American Express offers 20,000 Nectar points (worth 12,500 Avios) if you spend £2,000 in the first three months—just be sure to pay off your card in full to avoid interest charges.

The British Airways American Express credit card also allows you to earn one point per £1 spent, and if you spend more than £15,000 in a year, you can also get a companion voucher, which gets you a second seat for a friend or family member travelling on the same flight and cabin as you, in economy class. 

Read more on the best air mile credit cards in 2025

27. Consider all-inclusive that is really all-inclusive

Choosing an all-inclusive package holiday will most likely save you money compared to doing it yourself, especially if you plan to spend plenty of time at the resort. Our research found that all-inclusive beach holidays are cheaper than DIY holidays in seven out of 10 popular destinations. 

But pick that all-inclusive wisely, or you could end up splashing out on sneaky in-resort extras. Our research shows that all-inclusive holidaymakers spend an average of £119pp per week on things such as snacks and cocktails, despite everything being supposedly ‘included’.

Avoid budget online travel agents which will offer cheap deals upfront but leave you paying through the nose onsite for things that aren't actually included. Instead, invest a little more in a top value all-inclusive provider upfront, and enjoy a holiday without unexpected costly add-ons.

28. Cape Town is where your pound will go furthest

A Cape Town holiday is still an excellent choice for a long-haul trip in 2025. Not only was it rated one of the best cities in the world by 2,000 visitors rating long-haul city breaks, but it’s also a cost-effective destination. Even though prices have risen since 2024, research shows it’s still the long-haul destination where your money will go furthest. Plus, new direct flights by Norse Airlines make it easier than ever to reach.

If you prefer short haul, look to the Algarve, Portugal, which was rated the cheapest destination overall, even above Cape Town, thanks to its low-cost meals and drinks.

If you’re heading abroad, you can make big savings by being a little more original with your destination. We’ve done the legwork for you, from finding out the cheapest Greek island to discovering the 10 countries where your money will stretch further. You can also explore the best-value Caribbean islands and discover some of Europe’s cheapest summer stays.

29. Pricey destination? Pick a lesser-known town nearby

If you’re holidaying in the UK, you can often visit bucket-list destinations for less by staying in a less-obvious location nearby. For example, those looking for a waterfront retreat in Devon can skip pricey Salcombe and look for accommodation in Dartmouth, just 11 miles down the road – we found you could save £59 a night doing so.

Or, if you’re desperate to see the sights of Somerset, pick Wells over Bath to save up to £53. Sometimes the value-saving destination is even closer. Those visiting the Pembrokeshire coast could save £301 over a week if they stay in top-rated town Tenby instead of Saundersfoot, just three miles away. The logic also applies to city breaks. For example, swapping St Andrews for Dundee saves an average of £57 a night – that’s £399 per week.

30. Don’t wait for the January sales

Is Black Friday a good time to book a trip? Or is it best to book a holiday in January? 

Between all the sales, things can get confusing. Our research shows there’s a good chance of getting a deal on Black Friday, but it's not guaranteed, and some fares and prices were only a few pounds cheaper. When we tracked the prices of 140 flights and holidays on Black Friday, and then two weeks later, and again in January. 

We found 73% of the deals were cheaper on Black Friday than two weeks after the sales ended.  If you can be flexible with your destination and dates, you’ll get a good deal by setting up price alerts to tell you when airfares drop in price.

Read more: Black Friday holiday deals