Saving money on family holidays

We are delighted to have another guest post from our friends at Moneysupermarket.com, so grab a cuppa and sit down to see how you can save money on your holiday plans!

Saving Money on Family Holidays

Money can be tight around this time of year, the over spend at Christmas can often lead to a miserable January of budgeting and being frugal with finances but if there is one thing a miserable January almost always evokes is the longing for a holiday in the sun. However research by TravelSupermarket.com has found that despite our lack of funds us Brits are still putting a high precedence on going on holiday, with 96% planning on taking at least one break this year. Other findings of the research showed that the price of the holiday will be the number one consideration for us when booking a holiday, overriding other factors such as accommodation and weather.

When you factor in a whole family to pay for then costs can really escalate. Here are some tips on how to get the most for your money on your family holiday:

Choosing the right destination

One of the best ways to save money is to choose wisely when it comes to your destination, if you pick the right destination you could end up saving hundreds off the total price of your holiday. For families with young children Spain and the Canary Islands have always been a popular choice due to the short flight times from the UK and these will continue to offer great value for money during 2012. Greece will also be offering its visitors plenty of tempting offers in an attempt to attract tourists to boost its suffering economy. For those who fancy a long haul beach break, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and the Mexican coast around Cancun are all offering great all inclusive package deals during 2012.

Be savvy with your spending money

When it comes to planning the budget for your holiday, many people fail to include their holiday spending money. Doing your research before you go can end up saving you money, never change your money at the Bureau de Change at the airport as they can often cost you a lot more than if you purchase your money online in advance.

Another great way to make the most of your holiday spending money is to take out a pre-paid card, you load as much money as you need on to it before you go and use it as you would any other debit or credit card. The benefit of doing this is that you won’t be faced with the charges so often caused by overseas transactions. You also have the added security over carrying cash with you which could be stolen; whilst of course your card could be stolen you will need a pin number to make any transactions.

All Inclusive vs. Self Catering

Deciding whether all inclusive or self catering is the most cost effective for your family depends on the type of holiday you intend to have. If you’re the type of family who enjoy long lazy days by the pool and don’t mind not venturing to far from your hotel then all inclusive could well be the most cost effective for you. If however you enjoy long days out where you might require a packed lunch going all inclusive may not be the best option – you don’t want to end up paying for food at the hotel and spend all of your time buying meals whilst you’re out and about.

When you do go self catering it can be easy to over spend on meals and snacks out, decide on your budget before you leave and stick to it, otherwise you could end up spending a lot more than if you were to go all inclusive.

Travel Insurance Options

When it comes to saving money on your holiday don’t be tempted to cut costs with your travel insurance, while it might be tempting to not pay that initial out lay of cash it could end up costing you thousands in the long run if anything were to go wrong whilst you’re away.

When travelling with your family, a family travel insurance policy can be the most cost effective, usually the policy with consist of cover for two adults and up to 4 children (although this will vary from insurer to insurer.)

Purchasing individual policies for each family member can become costly particularly when buying it straight from the tour operator, shop around on price comparison sites such as MoneySupermarket.com for the best deals and you can find you can get it considerably cheaper online, freeing up money to spend on enjoying yourself whilst you are away.