If you can book your holiday a few weeks before (i.e. last minute), or 9 months in advance, you can make huge savings. Package holidays are well suited for sunbathing or skiing holidays.

1. Remember that different companies will sell the same holiday. Tour operators make the holidays and travel agents sell them, meaning that different travel agents can have the same holiday – shop around for the best price.
2. The best way to make savings is to go when others don’t. As a student , you can go in contrast to peak season by going away at the end of the summer (Sept)
3. Search on teletext, this can often be cheaper than the internet. If you don’t have teletext use teletext.co.uk
4. Examine your Sunday newspaper; most have travel sections which show the best prices from independent local travel agents. Compare the price in the paper and on teletext to ensure you have the best quotation available for the starting point of you haggles with the high street agents. Do have a look at comparison websites such as travelsupermarket.com to get an idea of what the starting price for haggling should be. Both sites have databases covering every major tour operator in the UK – around about two million holidays per site.
5. Holidays shown on teletext are usually phone operated agents. Once you have conducted your research you can phone to book directly, and haggle with them. When suggesting a price to the agent, give your ideal price as a figure per person – it sounds less to the agent but will probably be more to you.
6. Phone the agents– Thomas Cook and First Choice all have direct numbers. Try looking at their website for extra information that they can provide such as info on no-go areas or building work currently ongoing near the hotel. Have a look at a review website to ensure the reality of your holiday matches up to the brochure pictures – holidaysuncovered.co.uk.
7. Take your quotation back to your initial travel agent and see if they can match and/or beat it. It is even better to use an “aim to beat quote” travel agent in the first place. Try travelcareonline.com.
8. If you are going to be booking online make use of Quidco , or a cash-back website if possible, and your cash-back credit card to gain even more savings