I am sure that most of us have our travel bucket lists, and that often means having to fly long haul. However, flying long haul isn't always the cheapest option meaning that it isn't always accessible to everyone.
One place that I would love to visit is Mauritius. From the picture perfect beaches to the amazing festivals held on the islands, it is somewhere that I am hoping we get to visit soon. A holiday to Mauritius isn't cheap though, so here are 5 ways to save money when you travel long haul.
Get the best deal on your flights
The internet is full of flight comparison websites to ensure that you get the best deal on your flight. I usually pick up my flights in Virgin Atlantic's Easter sale. When you are comparing the prices of flights be sure to take into account what is and isn't included. A bargain flight isn't such a bargain if you need to pay for drinks, luggage or even to choose your seat.
Be flexible with your dates
When you are looking at flights or complete holidays, try to search for the whole month rather than a specific date. If you can't search for the whole month you can usually search for +/- 7 days, and you will be surprised at the difference in prices. Even if you are limited to travelling during school holidays then you should still be able to find a cheaper price with a little bit of flexibility.
Buy your currency before you get to the airport
Airports know that they can offer an appalling exchange rate to their customers because they are often in a bind. Get organised and find the best value currency before you travel. You can sometimes even pre-order your currency for collection at the airport, meaning you get a much better exchange rate.
Research attractions before you go
When we eventually get to Mauritius there is so much I want to do, from visiting Champ De Mars Racecourse to visiting the historic Places D'Armes. Researching where you want to visit when you get to your destination means that you can also look for bargains or money off codes. You can usually get a discount for booking online too, and these discounts aren't usually available once you get to the attraction.
Book car hire before you get there
If you are planning on hiring a car for your holiday then don't leave it til you get to your destination to book your car. Not only does it mean that you can rent the car you want, but it saves you from paying inflated prices at the airport. Make sure that your package has everything you need, and see if there are cheaper alternatives to renting out the GPS. If you use Three as your mobile phone provider then they offer Feel At Home which means you can use your data allowance in a participating country, meaning that you can use your phone as your GPS provider.
Get your free 1% at a time printable
This simple trick helped us to clear £15,000 worth of credit card debt. Simply take your savings goal and divide it by 100 to get your 1% at a time. Once you have saved or earned 1%, cross it off. Download this free printable to keep you on track.
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3 responses
My favourite holiday destination 😀 We’re going for 10 days in September and it’s costing us £1,727 for both of us, as compared to well over £3,000 for 7 days with Virgin for our honeymoon in 2011 (same hotel!). The two biggest savings were (a) changing our Clubcard vouchers into Avios, meaning we only paid for the taxes on the flights and (b) booking the hotel through a low-cost holiday website (though still cover by ATOL) that saved us about 30% on the prices had we booked direct. The main mobile network on the island is Orange, so EE customers will work fine there, anyone else may struggle a bit to get coverage.
Oh wow, you’re going to have the best time!!! Thanks for the tips!
Aaaaaaand guess which low-cost holiday website we booked with that’s just gone into administration?? Not so money-saving after all – we’ve lost the £1,100 we paid for the hotel, as it appears on reading the small print on my travel insurance that financial failure cover was an optional extra and I don’t have it, and I paid on a debit card to avoid extra credit card charges, so no Section 75 cover. I’ve registered myself as a creditor with the company and am trying a debit card chargeback, but am not hopeful! On the bright side, we’re very fortunate that (a) we can afford to rebook the hotel and still go and (b) the hotel had one room left (which might well have been my just-cancelled original reservation, as it fills up very fast!)