Cheap Holidays

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Making it easier for you to find Cheap Holidays is what this site is all about, more or less.

TC Holidays is a general holidays/vacation site, we look at the “how to” of cheap holidays, the “where” of cheap holidays, the “who” of cheap holidays, and the “when” and “why”.

I started building this site because I wanted to find the cheapest ways of going on holidays for myself and my family…things are getting tight for everyone, right!

 

The Criteria

My search criteria has always been to spend as little as possible, have as much fun as possible, see new things or ‘old’ things (as in antiquities), bring back great memories, and not spend too much…yeah, I said it twice…getting value for my Euro is very important for me!  I get to spend much more quality time with my family when I spend a little bit of time searching for bargains and cutting out the silly extras.

 

The Equation

I would rather go on two vacations a year that one, I would rather go on holidays three or more times a year if I can arrange everything so the family are all free at the same time.

So it’s an easy equation…I have only X amount of money to do this, so I can spend all of X at once or I can spread it over 2 or 3 holidays: 1X=2X or 1X=3X…depending on the variables…simple!

So, without further ado, here are a couple of ways I use to get the latter model…1X=3X.

 

Spanish Paddy or Irish Pedro

I spend a lot of my time travelling between Ireland and Spain, soon to be the other way around because I’m making the move permanently, mostly because I have family living in Spain and my son is studying in Galway.

I have family to rely on when I want a bed, or at least floor-space, in either location, so for me it’s always the cost of the flights, if I’m going to get free taxes, whether the taxes are going to be more expensive than the actual flights, how much am I going to be robbed out of for baggage charges etc.

 

The Low Cost Option

For the flights to Spain I always go to either Ryanair or EasyJet directly because I know I’m going to get the best deals with those companies … more than likely I choose Ryanair because they provide the most flights to and from Ireland.

I used to take a Ryanair flight from Shannon airport directly to either Murcia airport or Alicante but those flights were stopped, so now I have to go through Dublin with a train journey from the West to factor into the pricing.

Another option, which is sometimes a lot cheaper, is to fly to the UK…Gatwick or Stansted, with a connecting flight to Espana.

Anyway, I know I’m going to get the best savings with Ryanair so I’ll always go directly to their website.

Going to other destinations is a different story altogether, one of the best places to go for the cheapest flights is Skyscanner where you’ll find all kinds of deals sorted by price, airport, and airline amongst others.

 

Choose a Debit Card

If you’re flying with Ryanair, you can save money by using a debit card … I think it’s MasterCard debit card with Ryanair, I’m not sure … just go to the site and check it out … it means that you don’t have to pay in the credit card charges which can add up to about €10 per flights per person.

 

Pack your Belongings Sparingly

Another way to save money is to just take your bags as carry-on luggage, don’t check any baggage because this is going to add a bundle of currency to your overall cost … watch this great video, funny and very practical, on how to pack a suitcase like a pro.

 

Bring it from Home

Take a sandwich and drink with you from home…I know this sounds incredibly cheap but hey…we want to save money where we can don’t we…it all adds up.

I’m not a health nut, far from it, but I’m also not an idiot … I like to try and eat food once in a while.

In-flight food (should we really be calling it that)  is full of additives including chemicals to make the food taste better, look better, and smell better ….Yummy!

For a fraction of the cost I can bring my own healthy sandwiches and snacks, I know exactly what’s gone into making them, a bit of fruit perhaps, maybe a couple of chocolate bars, and a bottle or two of water that I have bought once I have been groped by security for the fourth time this year, must be the bald head…I’m not trying to look like a skinhead, I am actually quite bald…thanks Dad.

 

Simple Measures Equals Big Savings

These things are very simple to do and can save you a small fortune… if you are travelling with a party of four people, you could save about €350 on a return flight, that amount of money that will buy you another return flight for your entire family… think about it!

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to saving money on your holidays … check out some of the articles below and have a scoot through the categories on the left hand side of this page for more info.

Also, give a little click to the Facebook like thumb at the top right hand side, I’m always on  the lookout for good deals and competitions that you can take advantage of…you’ll find them there…that’s also the place where you’ll find the latest travel alerts.

Cheap Holidays

Cheap Holidays With A Cheap Travel Trailer

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Anyone looking for a cheap holiday should look at some of the inexpensive camping opportunities that are available to those of us adventurous enough to take advantage of them!  While some people love to temp camp, I personally prefer cheap RV or caravan camping.

There are two major expenses to this type of holiday – the cost of the RV, and the cost of the campground.  Many people choose to buy fancy RVs, or utilize RV rental services.  These options unfortunately are not exactly budget friendly, and are certainly not cheap.

I favor – and have done so myself – purchasing a cheap trailer for camping. I picked up a travel trailer for sale in Texas for a steal. There are many people who buy travels trailers with the best intention, but then only ever use them once or twice.

This make is ridiculously easy to pick up a like new trailer at a very low cost.  While spending a few thousand dollars on something like this may not seem cheap, it is a one off expenditure.  You can use it as your accommodations for an endless series of camping trips!

Now, the second big expense of RV camping is paying for campgrounds.  There are numerous ways around this however.  My personal favorite is to find great places to camp – or boondock – for free.  Towing a small travel trailer is a great help in this regards, as you can access more isolated places easier than when driving a full sized recreational vehicle.

One of my favorite means of doing this is to go exploring down forest service roads.  You can readily identify some absolutely beautiful camping spots that are wonderful for spending a night at.  Another possibility – at least in some states – is to boondock on Bureau of Land Management property, while not completely free the charge is negligible.

Please note you should treat your campground with the respect it deserves.  Don’t go lighting unauthorized campfires, dumping trash, and in general leaving a mess.  Free camping opportunities like these are not officially sanctioned, so we don’t want to encourage the authorities to crack down on them!

Cheap Travel Trailer

Photo by Slideshow Bruce

Posts that you may have missed in the past include:

Camping & Caravan Club

Caravans for Hire in Ingoldmells

Cheap Holidays in Skegness

Camping en France

Cheap Caravan Insurance

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