10 ways to save on your UK holiday this year

As the cost of living crisis continues to bite and Trump’s tariff showdown casts a new shadow over the economy, most of us will welcome the chance to save a few pounds. We definitely don’t want to pay more than we need to for what is likely to be our most expensive outlay of the year – our holidays. That applies not only to trips abroad, but also to taking a break in this country.

Here is our 10-point guide to avoiding the worst of the pitfalls when booking a British break and getting the best value on your staycation this year.

1. Timing

As with all destinations, the single factor most likely to affect the cost – and the quality – of your holiday in the UK, is timing.

It isn’t just a question of avoiding school holidays and bank holiday weekends (if you can). It’s about which days you choose to take a break. Avoid weekends and you have a much better chance of finding a cheaper deal.

The Landmark Trusts’ four night breaks starting on Mondays are generally significantly cheaper than its three-night breaks beginning on Fridays. And hotel rooms are usually at their lowest on Sunday nights.

But remember too that you also may pay a non-pecuniary price for travelling at the quietest times, especially in hotels. If you enjoy a lively buzz when you eat out, you might find Sunday a bit of a downer.

2. Last minute

The other sort of timing, of course, is how far ahead you commit to your holiday. With many aspects, you will usually get a better deal by booking well in advance (see below). But with accommodation, especially cottages and some hotels, waiting until the last minute to book is probably the best way to get a decent discount.

Most cottage agencies and specialists, including the National Trust, for example, offer discounted rates within the last three or four weeks or so before departure. You will have to be flexible about where you stay, but you will always be able to find something cheaper than it would have been had you booked months earlier.

3. Honeypots

Cost isn’t just about timing. A recent report by Which? highlighted some big regional differences in holiday pricing this summer. Comparing the average cost of a week’s rental of a holiday cottage for four, it found, for example, that it is one-third cheaper (£1,059) to holiday in Dumfries and Galloway than it is in the Loch Lomond/Trossachs regions of Scotland, while perhaps surprisingly, at £1,309, the average cottage on the Isle of Wight was nearly £300 more than in Cumbria (£1,012).

4. Agent or direct?

When it comes to booking UK hotels, this is a vexing question. Should you contact the hotel directly, or go through an online agent like booking.com or hotels.com? The answer will almost certainly vary.

If your chosen hotel is available through one of the big online agents, check both the price and the conditions being offered with what the hotel is offering for direct bookings. Sometimes you might be able to negotiate a better deal with the hotel, sometimes there might be a good price through an agent, which includes the ability to cancel without penalty – something the hotel might not offer for direct bookings. If there is not much difference between the two, my instinct would be to book direct – it’s much easier to sort out potential problems with someone on the end of the phone, a luxury you won’t enjoy with an online booking agent.

5. Package or DIY?

There is a difference between simply booking accommodation through an online agent, and booking a more complex break – perhaps a British walking or a cultural break – with a tour operator. Whether you do this, or decide to organise everything yourself, depends on whether you are looking for convenience or cost savings.

A friend of mine recently enjoyed a four-night break walking Offa’s Dyke, with a succession of four hotels, with luggage transferred each day by local taxis. She managed to undercut the price being offered by walking operators for similar arrangements by about £300 (against a package price of about £700). But she did have to spend several hours planning and organising. And if anything had gone wrong, she would have had to sort it out herself, perhaps at extra cost.

6. On the road

If you are heading off for a long journey, you will probably want to make sure you are covered in case of breakdown, or – given the demise of spare tyres – even a simple puncture. And it won’t all be about buying the cheapest policy. No doubt you will also want a quick response if the worst does happen.

A recent Which? survey into breakdown cover providers found some eye-opening differences between them. For example, 92 per cent of customers with Asda Breakdown Cover reported that help arrived in less than an hour. This compared with 71 per cent with the AA and 52 per cent with the worst performer surveyed, the RAC.

Meanwhile, if you need to rent a car, there are a whole lot more pitfalls you risk falling into. See our guide for further information. The advice here refers mostly to overseas hire, but applies equally to the UK.

When it comes to fuel costs, thrifty travellers might even want to check the best value fuel for their journey and/or destination. Not worth it? I did a spot-check on petrolprices.com and there was a 10p per litre variation in the price of unleaded petrol within a five-mile radius of my location. That’s a £5 difference when filing a 50 litre tank. With diesel the spread was even greater: 135.9p-147.9p.

7. On the rails

Sometimes I hanker for the old days, when rail fares were fixed no matter how far ahead you booked. It was far less stressful than today’s world, where – to get the lowest fare – you often have to keep a sharp eye on booking horizons, alternative routes, “split-ticketing” (when it can be cheaper to buy two sectors separately rather than a through fare), and the varying options, savings and timings offered by a myriad of railcards.

A ticket from Euston to Manchester might cost you £79.80 single if you buy your ticket on the day; booked three months ahead the same time train would probably cost £33.50. There is no shortcut, either you plan effectively, or you risk paying significantly more. Our guide to saving on rail tickets tells you all you need to know.

8. Insured– or not?

The big difference between travel insurance policies for holidays in the UK is that they nearly always omit medical treatment and emergency repatriation cover, which is ubiquitous for their overseas equivalents. The most useful back-up they offer is therefore the costs you may face if you have to cancel or curtail your arrangements.

Before you choose a policy, it is worth working out what you might lose in that situation, and whether you feel it is worth the premium to cover the risk. There is also a good chance that you may have cover anyway – many annual multi-trip policies include leisure trips of two or more nights in the UK.

9. Going out

As we have reported recently, the cost of family attractions, whether cultural visits to castles or fun and thrills at theme parks has soared recently. And new charging strategies – such as surge pricing and more expensive tickets for those who don’t book in advance – make the situation even worse.

Adult admission to Madame Tussauds for example, costs £44 on the day, but £33 booked in advance, and at Alton Towers, the price differential is even greater -– £68 if you turn up and buy a one-day pass, from £29 if you book ahead online.

10. Eating out

Gone are the days when you can expect to walk into a British restaurant, or even one of the better gastro-pubs and expect to find a table free. I live in a popular holiday area (North Norfolk), and expect perhaps for the darkest days of winter, if I want to eat out, I know I have to book at least a few days in advance.

At the top end of the market, the requirement is even more acute. Norfolk has just a handful of Michelin-star restaurants and, despite some eye-watering prices, they fill their tables often weeks in advance. One, Meadowsweet in Holt, is already fully booked for all Fridays and Saturdays in May – even though its tasting menu costs £150 a head.

So, whether you are looking for an expensive treat, or simply a good value pub supper, don’t leave it till the last minute. It won’t save you any money, but it will probably get you a better meal.