25 money-saving travel tips for your 2025 holiday

With over 40 years of experience taking the hassle out of our customers' holidays, we've picked up a trick or two along the way to help save you cash while you're away. Here are our top 25 money-saving hacks to help your money go further on your next holiday.

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1. Check the whole price

The cheapest flight isn't always the cheapest flight, once you've paid baggage fees, booking fees and fees to sit together.

2. Book early

Book everything early. Flights, hotels, insurance, extras like your airport parking and lounge. This year especially we're not expecting to see last-minute deals so the longer you leave it the more expensive it's likely to get.

It's especially important to book your travel insurance as soon as you pay for your trip. Things like flight cancellations can ruin your trip before it's even started, but a good travel insurance policy can cover you so you're not out of pocket.

And what's true for flights, hotels, insurance and parking is just as true for excursions and seeing the sights. If you know what you're going to see and you already have a plan, you can save some money (and the sales pitch from the hotel reps) by booking before you get there.

3. Browse privately when searching for flights or holidays

If you don't, you might notice the prices go up the next time you search. This is because the site can see if you've visited before and may increase the prices to pressure you into booking.

4. Be flexible

Dates, durations, stopovers and especially destinations. If you're happy to just get away somewhere, you can search for deals by month and pick the cheapest one for a budget week on a beach somewhere.

Skyscanner and equivalent sites search all flights and all providers, and if you're more concerned about the price than the service or the flight time you can hit a real bargain.

5. Use discount codes, cashback and loyalty schemes

It's always worth doing a quick Google for discount codes as you never know how much you could save. Or install the Honey extension to your web browser which will scan the internet for any codes you can use and automatically apply them.

Shop at Tesco? Exchange your Clubcard points for money off flights, hotel stays, Eurotunnel and more. It's also worth checking if your phone service provider has any discounts for you. Vodafone's VeryMe service often has discounts for airport parking and prize draws for holidays.

Or sign up to cashback sites and see what you can earn back on your holiday. TopCashback has some exclusive offers with popular holiday companies like TUI and Jet2, so it's definitely worth taking a look.

6. Get yourself annual multi-trip insurance

If you travel overseas more than once a year, it's almost always cheaper to take out an annual multi-trip insurance policy than book each trip separately. And if you want to be spontaneous with your trips in 2025, ironically the best way to do it is plan ahead and make sure you've got annual insurance – so you can hop on a plane any time you like!

7. You shouldn't pay to apply for a visa

Some destinations, like America, still require a visa/waiver to visit. If you search for US visas some of the top results will be intermediaries offering to help, for a fee. Ignore them. You can do it yourself for free – though you will still need to pay for the visa itself.

8. Don't pay for hold luggage

Most airlines will charge you a chunk extra to put a suitcase in the hold (which you'll have to pay for on your return as well). You'll be surprised how much you can fit in just one cabin bag. If that's just not enough, think about sharing a suitcase with a travelling companion and splitting the cost between you.

To save space in your bag, wear your biggest and heaviest clothing on the plane. Or, do the travel pillow hack – take your travel pillow and remove the inside, then fill the case up with anything you can't fit in your bag. You'll be surprised how much you can squeeze in there.

9. Avoid paying for airport drop-off fees

Pretty much every airport in the country wants to charge you a fiver just to drop your friends and family off. Read our guide to find out everything you need to know about drop-off fees at every major UK airport – and whether you can avoid them.

10. Don't buy food and drink at the airport

You don't have to pay airport prices for food and drink if you've packed sandwiches. Bring snacks with you so you don't pay over the odds at the terminal.

Don't buy bottled water either. Instead take an empty bottle with you – you're allowed to take these through security – and fill it up on the other side. Most airports have water fountains, or you can ask for a refill at a restaurant. Check out the handy Refill app to see where you can get your bottle topped up for free.

A water bottle will come in handy when you're abroad too. You can fill it from public water fountains for nothing rather than pay tourist prices when you've been out in the sun. You could even invest in a Water-to-Go bottle which has a filter so you could drink tap water in pretty much any country.

11. Eat, drink and stay where the locals are

Most major tourist destinations have a 'tourist area', near the main sites. If you want to go to sleep with a view of the Eiffel Tower behind the curtains, it's going to cost you and the nearby shops and restaurants will also be expensive. Stay, eat and shop where the locals do and you'll be paying local prices, not tourist rates.

12. Use public transport

It's almost always much cheaper, so pick accommodation off the strip that has good public transport links you can use to get about.

13. Experiment with a capsule hotel

Some places – most notably Japan but they're spreading to other parts of Asia – offer capsule hotels, a simple bed for the night in a clean and comfortable but very small space. If you're travelling alone, these can be a sensible choice – you're not going to waste your holiday in bed anyway, so don't splash out on more than ten feet of accommodation at night.

14. Make it a working holiday

If you want to spend a month in France getting to know the language and the culture, try getting a job in a vineyard. Lots of backpackers make their way around Australia picking up jobs in bars and restaurants, or even cleaning in exchange for a bed in a hostel. If you want to see the world without spending any money, earn some instead.

15. Travel to countries with a good exchange rate

If you want to be extra frugal with your pennies while you're away and you don't have your heart set on a specific place, do a little research before you go. Turkish lira often stretches well against the pound, just be aware that exchange rates are always changing.

16. Don't just use your bank card overseas

Just using your bank card while away is pretty much guaranteed to set you back a few quid in extra charges. Get yourself a Monzo or Revolut card which let you spend in or exchange to the local currency without any charges. If you don't fancy opening a new bank account, try a currency card like Caxton FX instead. You can pre-load it with your spending money and might even get £10 cashback for free!

17. Pay in the local currency

When paying by card, always select the option to pay in the local currency. This will usually get you the best exchange rate and won't stick you with any fees. Probably.

18. Claim for delayed or cancelled flights

If your flight is delayed by three hours or more you're entitled to compensation. You won't need to claim on your travel insurance either as it's up to the airline to give you the money. This also applies if your flight was cancelled. Depending on how far you're travelling and how long the delay is, you could be entitled to more than £500.

19. Avoid roaming charges

Before you go, check your phone network's rules on usage while abroad. Some will let you use your regular allowance for free, while others will charge for it. This largely depends on your contract and provider. To avoid charges completely, pick up a local pay-as-you-go SIM or get yourself an international SIM that works in multiple countries.

20. You don't need the extra car hire insurance

You've booked car hire. You get off the plane, a bit tired and frazzled and just want to get to bed. Unscrupulous car hire shops will insist you book their insurance or some sort of waiver before you can go. You don't need it.

21. Get your GHIC

We used to have EHIC cards, a reciprocal arrangement that got us free medical care in the EU. Those still work, if they're in date, but if yours has expired you can save a lot of bills if something goes wrong by getting yourself the new GHIC which does exactly the same thing.

22. See the free stuff! Lots of cities, especially in Europe, have plenty to see and do for free

In Paris many of the museums are free for 18-25 year olds, and plenty are free to everyone. The Smithsonian and MOMA are free to visit, as is the Nationalmuseet in Copenhagen (and the National Gallery in London). If you want to see local cultural treasures without putting your hand in your pocket, pick a destination accordingly.

23. Download before you go

Going to be watching Netflix? Download it before you go. Going to be using Maps? Download them before you go. Kindle? You get the idea. You've got plenty of bandwidth at home. It's expensive overseas. So fill your phone or your laptop before you fly.

Plus there are lots of websites that aren't available outside of the UK, so download anything you think you might need before you travel just in case you can't when you get to your destination.

24. Take advantage of the all-inclusive food

If you're staying all-inclusive and heading out on a day trip, they'll usually pack you a lunch if you ask. If not, you can load up on breakfast at the buffet until you're straining at the seams and save on lunch.

25. Find happy hour deals

Bars will usually do a cheap deal at quieter times, so if you want to try the local wine or beer find a happy hour and do it cheaply and in peace.