The Extras
- Sharmeen Suleman
- May 4, 2018
- 3 min read
So you found an amazing holiday deal online. You go to book and suddenly you are adding on 'The Extras'. Your holiday deal is becoming more of a holiday trap by the click. So you close the tab and resign yourself to staying at home for the school holidays. Hopefully the weather is good and you can just take the kids to the park. Hold up. Read these tips before you rule out that family holiday abroad.
1. When you reopen your browser, delete the cookies from your browsing history. When you revisit that holiday deal online, you are more likely to get the original one rather than an inflated price. Not proven, but still worth the few seconds it will take.
2. Remember you do not have to book 'The Extras' being offered. You can make your own arrangements.
3. You can organise your own airport transfers through a local agent, cheaper. Just look up airport transfers at your destinations on TripAdvisor.
3. It might be that your accommodation is just a short taxi ride away & booking a transfer in advance is simply unnecessary. Just keep in mind if your are a larger family, it may be harder to find taxis to accommodate you available at the airport.
4. You can often add on luggage to your online booking, before you fly. So you are only buying the baggage allowance you really need. It also means that if you want to add on a bag, for the souvenirs you weren't supposed to buy, you can do so before reaching the airport. If you wait till the check-in desk, they will charge an arm & a leg. Some airlines like Easyjet offer the option to add hold luggage for just one leg of the journey. You just need to call them up.
5. The #InFlightEntertainment. Make your own & bring your own lunch. You can pick up drinks in the departures area, sometimes for a fraction of the price & take them on board the plane with you. See my post on #InFlightEntertainment for more tips.
6. You can book tours through a local agent. We were quoted £90 for a tour by the travel agent's representative during our Dalaman stay. We visited a local agent, Basket Travel Agency who offered us the same tour for only £40.
7. If you require visas, check how easy it is to apply yourself rather than just getting the travel agent to do it.
8. Airport parking. We have found it better to book the meet & greet or valet parking. This is usually more expensive but far less hassle if you are travelling with young children. Looking4Parking, Holiday Extras and even the airport's official parking website can have some good deals. Do shop around & book early to get the best price.
9. Care Hire. To be honest, we have never hired a car when abroad. You are on your own on that one!
10. Seating on the Plane. This is a real cause of psychological warfare. It is a case of risk it or play it safe. Airlines really have differing policies, even those who do sit families together avoid advertising it. See my post on Budget Airlines for more tips.
So next time you go to book that holiday, see how much you could save by not booking 'The Extras'.
