HOW TO FIND THE PERFECT BUDGET FRIENDLY HOLIDAY

If there was one area I would class myself as an expert in it would be travel, more specifically budget travel. When you want to see the world as often as I do you can't afford to stay in 5 star luxury resorts, but that doesn't mean you have to rough it either. I've stayed in all sorts hotels, I've taken all modes of transport, and slowly but surely I'm travelling the world on a shoestring budget.

So how am I able to jet off every few months? Well I'm going to spill the beans and give you some tips on how you can find the perfect budget friendly holiday.

I did want to start by addressing the fact that I do still live at home and I am incredibly lucky to be able to put away a good portion of my wages away each month specifically for travel. I know this isn't something everyone is fortunate enough to do, but I hope this post will help at least one person find an affordable holiday.

Now onto my top tips...

Know your budget - My first tip would be to set a budget and stick to it. It is all too easy to have a rough idea of what you are willing to spend on an affordable holiday and then get carried away. That being said, you should also consider value for money. If you've budgeted a certain amount per night for a hotel but it's only a small amount more to pick a hotel that includes breakfast it might be worth it.

Clear browsing your history & be ready to straight away - Once you are ready to start looking for your cheap trip clear all your cookies and browsing history on your computer and switch to incognito mode. In theory this means that your previous searches or clicks won't influence the price of the holidays, flights, or hotels you are now searching for, although I'm not convinced this works every time.

To give yourself the best chance of getting a budget holiday you should also be ready to book then and there if possible as anything you look at this time around may increase in price next time. Websites seem to be getting smarter at knowing which holidays etc. are the most popular.

Be flexible - The real bargain breaks can usually be found when you are flexible with where and when you are willing to travel. Weekdays are usually cheaper to fly on and the same can be said for booking hotel rooms. Inconvenient flight times are also usually cheaper too, however if you are a monday to friday worker like myself, late night friday flights can be great as it means taking less annual leave for a weekend break!

Beach or city break? - The type of holiday you want will heavily influence where to find the best deals. For affordable sun holidays, booking packages with some of the larger tour companies can usually be cheaper, however for cheap city breaks I've found that pricing flights and accommodation up separately usually works out better.

Booking things separately does require a little more work but it can massively decrease the price of some holidays. Just be extra careful to ensure all of your dates are correct and double check the luggage allowance as most airlines won't include hold luggage with a flight only.

Flight search websites - So where are the best places to search for affordable flights? Skyscanner is my tried and tested favourite. It think its very easy to use searches through a huge range of airlines to find the best flights. Another good website to use is Kayak. I particularly like the explore feature which shows a map with the best flights from your chosen airport.

Flying isn't the only way to travel - If you are looking to travel any distance it's likely that jetting off will be your best bet, however if you aren't looking to travel massively far and you're not time limited either coach and train services can be quite affordable. I've used coaches to travel across half the continent over the last few years, and whilst they aren't the most comfortable or reliable, I have managed to get return trips to the likes of Paris for as little as £50 in the past.

Check airport locations - Think you've found a bargain flight and you're about to book? Wait! Check where the airport actually is in relation to the place you wish to visit. It's not uncommon for airports to be named after cities which are actually quite far away, meaning any savings you have made on the initial flight will be eaten up by airport transfers. Paris-Vatry airport for example, is actually 93 miles away from Paris! I don't fancy paying the taxi fare for that trip!