So you’ve decided it’s time for a break, great! The fun part starts now (at least for me!). It all may seem a bit overwhelming if all you have ever booked was a package holiday but fear not, it’s much easier than what you think. If you know where you want to go, research your destination first so that you’re not surprised by things like weather for example. https://www.accuweather.com/ has the weather history for most places in the world so if you’re not sure what to expect in Barcelona in April you can always check what it was like this time last year to get an idea.
Next, you will probably want to look at flights. Make friends with https://www.skyscanner.net/! The easiest way of getting a good deal on flights is to be flexible and plan in advance. Supposedly the best time to book a flight is 3 months in advance. I can’t say how true it is but it has worked for me a few times. Skyscanner will show you the cheapest months for your chosen route as well as the cheapest days in each month which can save you some cash:
Another useful option on this site is the reversed scenario where your travel dates are fixed but you don’t mind where you go for your well deserved holiday. Instead of going through 8 different destinations you can simply select “Everywhere” and the tool will show you where you can go on these dates and will show approximate flight costs:
Once I have figured out the flight costs & times, I then normally wait until I have checked the accommodation options and know what I can get for my budget. https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ aggregates hotels, B&B’s, guesthouses from various booking sites and can display those to you based on value and rating. I always tend to go with rating and then just have a quick look to see what roughly I will need to pay to stay somewhere half decent (personally I think that anything with a 4+ Trip Advisor rating will be acceptable).
If you’d rather experience more local culture consider booking your accommodation through https://www.airbnb.co.uk/ which has tons of apartment and house rentals worldwide and may also come out cheaper than staying in a hotel. This is particularly true in cities where there is a lot of supply and when there is more than one of you to split the cost of the apartment with.
If you’re looking for a budget friendly option and the place where you want to go is proving to be pricey, a solution here could be widening your search area a little. Depending on what you want to do of course it may not always be a good idea but it’s worth having a look before you discard the destination completely. Sometimes you can stay out of town or in another city altogether and still easily do what you wanted to do anyway. For example, I recently wanted to go to Vienna for the weekend but found it pretty expensive looking at hotels so instead I opted for nearby Bratislava which is also charming, half the price of Vienna and you can go to Vienna easily in an hour on a train or bus for as little as 6 euros. All the delights of Vienna for a fraction of the price and a twin city break in one weekend!
Finally a few words about hotel booking websites. You will most likely come across 2 which are my favourites: Agoda and Booking.com. Set up an account on both as members do get some discounts and perks. Booking has genius level discounts which are based on how many bookings you have made. Agoda offers money off your next booking which is handy if you plan multiple trips in quick succession. The cheapest option to book any room will be to pay up front so if you have the money set aside and are certain your plans won’t change it’s worth using this option to get the best deal on a room. I’m always somewhat risk averse so would probably choose to pay nothing until a week before (Agoda) or pay at the property (Booking.com). This also allows you to spread the cost of the your holiday a bit rather than paying all up front.