Which is the greatest type of holiday for you?
When you plan a holiday, there is a lot to consider. However finances is the most important issue for most people. Once youve made your choice, you just have to work out how to get the most for your money. If youre like most vacationers, youll begin your search online. The Internet certainly gives you the ability to shop from home. The downside is there is an abundance of travel specials available the world over. In this article we will look at how to narrow this huge range to help you find the ideal travel special for you.
Air fare deals
If you havent travelled internationally before, you might think that the air fare will be the most expensive part of the holiday. Thats not automatically so.
For example, there is now intense competition on air routes to Europe which has lead to a large drop in rates to the point where a return trip can cost less than a weeks accommodation in a 2-star hotel.
If youre part of a particular frequent flyer program then there really isnt an option. If that isnt the case, you have lots of options. Agressive rivalry is seeing fares fall to extraordinarily low levels, and there are plenty of Internet travel agents plugging special air deals globally almost daily.
Of course the time of year you wish to fly will influence the pricing. Keep away from peak-season dates and you stand to save hundreds of dollars.
Another way of obtaining worthwhile air deals is to buy your fare in conjunction with land arrangements. Tour firms, like European coach operators, negotiate very significant volume-buying discounts with airlines and can offer incredible fare levels in conjunction with their tours.
Car hire deals
On the surface, it would seem that renting a car is relatively simple. Self-driving trips provide you with the greatest independence and allow you to make changes to your schedule.
Its often cheaper than travelling by rail or plane. If there are several people travelling together, it will cost less to share a car then to travel the same distance by plane, train or coach.
Some countries, such as France, offer car rental which can help to reduce your costs. European carmakers including Citroen, Peugeot and Renault have a rental system that gets you a tax-free vehicle for as little as $30 a day. These deals also include up to a weeks complimentary driving (more for previous customers) and inexpensive pick-up and drop-off fees.
Another way to get a special deal is to check when car hire firms slash prices in order to move many cars from one part of a country to the other after a period of heavy use in one locality. Seasonal movements in the US between Florida and the populous northeast states is a good example.
However there are several things to deliberate, particularly if youre a first time renter. Large people need large vehicles, particularly if they have a lot of luggage. Youre not going to get any pleasure from your holiday if you are sitting in a crowded car for hours every day.
If you are driving in a country that drives on the opposite side of the road to your own country, this can be demanding. Another problem is road signs in unfamiliar languages.
In addition, though vehicles can be hired in most countries, not all countries offer a level of security which makes it safe for Westerners, in particular, to travel into rural areas.
Cruise offers
Cruising is repeatedly described as the only fully-inclusive vacation, because one price covers transport, accommodation, activities and all meals.
Thats not always true as tipping is often mandatory and not always built-in to the fare.
Apart from the extraordinary range of special deals being offered year-round, cruising has at least one other thing going for it. Passengers have a permanent home, needing to unpack and re-pack their luggage only once throughout the entire holiday. And throughout the cruise, the room is serviced so there is no need to clean up.
Last minute cruise deals occur frequently and can result in significant savings. Suppliers would rather lose on the accommodation knowing that there is still money to be made on drinks, souvenirs and the casino.
Cruise outside busy periods, like summer peak periods, and you could be cruising for an incredible $100 a day, particularly in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, or on trans-Atlantic relocation voyages, when changes of season force companies to move ships from Europe to the Americas, or vice versa.
Hotel and resort offers
Hotels have two main uses. They can be city or highway overnight accommodation for business travellers and tourists moving from one destination to the next. Or they can be resort-type establishments catering solely to stay-put holidaymakers.
Get the wrong one, and you could ruin your trip. How would you feel if that special offer turned out to be less than special because the hotel was full of footballers at an end of season party? This is becoming more common as resorts are promoting specials for midweek stays to businesses looking for meeting facilities.
These days its easy to find last minute specials online and sometimes the prices are even cheaper than buying direct from the establishment. More research is needed though as these sites dont often offer the big specials from large hotel chains.
When you use the Internet to search for a special offer, check out major chains to see if they have good deals. Also, most touring businesses have regular hotel deals, particularly one-night or two-night stopover packages immediately before the beginning of a coach tour, or at the conclusion of a tour.
Package deals
Booking a package vacation doesnt necessarily mean that it includes the whole thing, as is the case with a cruise. Features usually include transport, accommodation and possibly sightseeing. But you will almost certainly have to pay for some meals. Packages often include breakfasts but not lunch and perhaps half (or less) dinners.
A package, however, does have a number of advantages over independent travel, because among other things it offers the security of group touring, with local guides and sometimes with an escort from beginning to end.
Another advantage is the time that is saved hunting down each piece of the vacation including lodgings and air fares. And because package tour firms get better deals, they can offer cheaper pricing than individuals can get hold of.
Well-constructed packages will include the cost of having porterscarry your baggage between your hotel room and your transport, as well asthe cost of necessary visas and sometimes travel insurance.
Good packages also include admission to tourist sites and excursions. Large tour groups are sometimes given special access to popular sites, avoiding sometimes unbelievably long queues at major sites in Europe, in particular.
And although meals and souvenirs arent usually included in the package price, a local guides recommendations can result in the best value choice.
Rail specials
As competition in the airline industry increased, many anticipated that the popularity of train travel would fade away. The opposite has occurred. Rail travel has grown, with faster trips and better-equipped carriages.
For example in Europe, travelling by rail is both quicker and less expensive than travelling by air. Its claimed that a Eurostar trip from the centre of London to the centre of Paris via the Channel Tunnel takes less time than air travel from London Heathrow to Paris Charles de Gaulle airports, including time taken to get to and from the airports from the centre of each city, plus time needed for check-in and boarding.
The French discovered years ago that it was faster to travel by high-speed TGV train from Paris to Lyon (435km) by train than by air.
Rail travel doesnt have the options of car hire. But its seen as an ideal mode of transport for travellers flitting between various destinations, particularly for fast overnight journeys where en route sightseeing isnt essential.
Both commuter and tourist trains are found at most major tourist destinations and can include luxury operations such as South Africas Blue Train.
Pricing is also attractive. Special traveller tickets, like Eurail Pass, provide large year-round savings on commuter ticket pricing, as well as additional seasonal savings.
Travel Monitor
Australians can find the best travel packages at Travel Monitor. It is a private website that gathers all the current holiday specials and presents it on one page. This ensures that holidaymakers are getting unbiased, up to date and accurate information.
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