Me, being a total cheapskate and trying to save money on everything, with every travel or holiday I take, I learn something new. There were a mistake, time-consuming or costly mistakes, so I hope to help you to avoid the same ones I've made. These are some of my travel tips:
 

So, it's time for your next holiday or perhaps the very first one. My advice will mostly come from my experience, and how I choose where I want to go next.

1. What are you travelling for: beach, culture, cruise, history or just get away from everyday life.

2. We all have a bucket list. You maybe go to Spain year after year but dreaming about Japan. Look at your bucket list destinations and decide if any of them is affordable. If yes, then start planning. But remember, sometimes you just need to be a little adventurous and take a risk. I would never dream about a holiday in Bosnia, but £19 flight from WIZZ Air was very tempted. 8 days in Bosnia made my top 10 best holiday list.

3. Broaden your travel horizon. A lot of people go to Bulgaria for cheap holidays and Black Sea beach, but not many people realize that Romania has a lovely Black sea coast with amazing beaches and prices of the hotels all most half the cost. The food is great and very cheap too. You can fly from the UK direct to Mamaia (capital of Black Sea region) or fly to Bucharest and see the castles first, and the mountains are stunning in the summer. Romania is an amazing country and your kids will love it. That it's a cheap destination just made an icing on the cake for the parents.  If you love skiing, then instead of pricy France or Italy, go to Poland or Slovakia. You will be surprised, but Georgia, Ukraine and Serbia have a very good ski resort. Less crowded and much cheaper. Also, you can experience a completely different culture and try some tasty food.

4. If you travel with kids, don't let it stop you from exploring new destinations. Can imaging your kids going back to school after the holiday, and tell everyone that they just come back from North Macedonia. If your children have health issues, please do your research about food and hospitals. You don't want to stack with a sick child in the middle of nowhere in the hospital where no one speaks English.

5. Look at the deals around for cheap flights or hotel offers. They are plenty of website offers great deals. One of them could be a ticket to your new destination.

6. Remember, there is no place like home. Sometimes the best holiday can be just around the corner. Explore local places. Start by taking day trips, then short breaks. After a while, you can go for a more extended adventure.

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How To Budget Your Trip

1. Most of the parents with kids of school age have a dilemma. The prices for school holidays skyrocket, the moment the kids break out for school holiday. But there are some ways to keep the costs down though. A little research and planning can cut prices. Book your holiday at the end of the summer holiday. The last few weeks in August always cost a little less than let say in July. We like to holiday in April. You get winter prices and summer weather if you go to the Algarve or Malta. We went to Algarve in April Easter school break and it cost for one week just over us £300 each for 5* star hotels with breakfast, dinner and drinks with dinner included (non All inclusive). We had 5 days of 26°C and only one day dull weather, which we spend to explore the historical towns. Canary Island has great weather all year around. Be flexible. The price of flights can vary considerably depending on the month or even in one day. We flew to Algarve on Friday, we took kids from school for 2 days, and come back on Monday. It saved us all most £85 per person. You can take 4.5 days a year of school without find, so use it to save money. Likely for us Monday was a teaches Inset Day, so we only lost one day of school, but saved all most £340.

2. If you book in advance you can get a good discounts on hotels and flights are always cheaper. Closer to your travel day, more expensive flights are. I book my summer holiday all most one year before our holiday due. Most of the hotels have a free cancellation up to few days before the due date, so if something happened, you always can cancel it free of charge. Booking.com don't even charge any fees if you cancel your hotel. Some websites, like www.loveholidays.com or www.sunshine.co.uk does charge a small fee, so do check the terms and conditions before you book. Some budget airlines refund your flight cost for a small fee, so it's worth to check. Wizz air charge only £9 each and you can change or cancel your flight free of charge later if you can't go. You will get credit  for the full amount which you can use for your next flight. Book your travel insurance as soon as you book your holiday, in most cases you can get your money back through them if no other way to cancel your holiday. 

3. Swap hotel for an apartment or a holiday home, it can work out more cost-effective for large families. It also can be more relaxing. In the evening, when your kids in bed, you can be in another room or balcony have a glass of wine and don't worry about them. Check at cheaper hotels. Sometimes a 2 star hotel can be closely with much more friendlier staff and cleaner, and of course cost less. Guest houses a good option. 
 Get cheaper travel insurance

If your holiday more than ones a year, buy annual multi-trip travel insurance, it saves you at list £100 over roll. Make sure that you add the extras you may need. I always add cruise cover because at least ones a year I am cruising.
Checklist of countries included. Some Non-EU countries still will be covered by Europe destinations, like Turkey or Albania, But in most cases Morocco or Tunisia not. 
Check sport activities. Rafting and canoeing covered, but if you go skiing, you will need to add it as an extra. But don't panic, you always can call them later and add extras if your plans are changed. I bought annual insurance for my friend for Europe destination, but she decide to go to Cuba. Quick phone call and 5 min later extra cover was added, but it was an extra charge.
Take the bus to the airport

Of course, the best way to get to the airport is a free ride from friends or family, but we all know, it's all most never happened. They are another way to get to the airport. 
Avoid traffic jams and rising petrol costs by taking the bus to the airport. Parking your car at the airport can cost up to £120 for 2 weeks in Summer. The National Express coach network offers easily the best value way to travel throughout the UK, to and from airports and even into Europe. If you book well in advance you can get very cheap deals. For example trip from Weymouth to Gatwick by car will cost me £50 in petrol one way plus parking, In November we paid from Bournemouth to Gatwick less than £22 each for a return ticket. You also avoid stress of driving, on the coach you can lie back and relax, listen music or watch a movie. All National Express coaches have a free WIFI and if you download them VUER app you get access to a wide range of shows and movies for free. If you have to travel with connections, buy ticket includes all your destinations. Because if your bus delayed due traffic to one bus stop and you miss your connection, you can get a next bus to your destination, providing there are a free seats available, free of charge. Otherwise, you will have to pay a fee to change your ticket. We travelled from Stansted airport to Bournemouth and had connection in the Victoria Bus Station. Traffic was horrendous and we were 15 min late. Because we booked 2 separate tickets, Stansted- Victoria and Victoria- Bournemouth, we had to pay £10 charge for each changing ticket, but if we bought one ticket Stansted- Bournemouth, we wouldn't pay anything. 

Airlines make extra cash by flogging snacks to hungry flyers at sky-high prices, one lunch with snacks for a family of 5 can cost more £50 for stale sandwiches and a small tub of Pringles. I always have a trip to the supermarket the day before we fly. A couple packs of crisps, some favorite chocolate, a large tub of Pringles are musts. Buy sandwiches, you like or even better, make your own. I like to buy sushi packs. I love sushi anyway and pack are very small. Pasta or salad pots are good also. Be creative and save money.

FREE water at airports for your flight 

Did you know that one million plastic bottles are bought every minute around the world? Disposable plastic water bottles are very damaging to the environment and we pay a lot of money to do so. Small bottle at the airport can cost up to £2, so there are no excuses for not bringing re-usable water bottle. Every airport has a drinking water fountain or you can ask any cafe to fill your bottle. But if this is not your thing, go for water in the glass bottle instead. They have a screw top and you can re-use this bottle. 
Beat the baggage fees
1. Do your homework before travelling and review airline's policy. Some may offer more free checked bags than others or 2 carry on bags instead of one. Sometime more expensive flight ticket can cost you less at the end because of the generous baggage allowance. 

2. Children are usually given the same baggage allowance as adults, so (assuming your child isn't carrying as many items as you), you could also fit some of your things into their bags. 

3. Invest in a lighter suitcase. There are lots of high-tech lightweight suitcases out there. I like IT Luggage with a side pocket, which is only 1.7kg. I know it's sounds crazy, but go for a wild or bright color, attach a colorful luggage tag with your name, address and mobile number. In many cases, when overhead lockers are full, airline takes your suitcase into the hold.  If you have a plain black suitcase like everyone else, there are more chances that someone can grab it by mistake. 

4. If you are going cruising, I recommend to have a small bag or carry on small suitcase with some essentials. When you are on board, you can enjoy everything ship can offer as soon as you are on board, but it can take a few hours to get your suitcases delivered. It's nice to have a quick shower and change before you start having all inclusive unlimited, sometimes over indulging fun.

5. In some airlines, you only can take one piece of hand luggage for free, and even a smallest shoulder or clutch bag will fall under this requirement. Some airline may ask you to put your handbag inside your case or charge you an extra for the second bag. There is a little trick you can use. It's a belt or bum bag. You can put your passport, money and phone in there, and as long it stays on your waist, it can be any size.

6. If you check in your luggage, remove all old labels and stickers. If at the check-in desk they don't notice the old sticker, the computer in the luggage compartment can scan the old bar code and mistakenly send your suitcase to wrong place, probably where you were last time on your holiday. Put a card with your name, phone number and address inside or outside your case. The first thing what airline does when finding lost luggage is to open a suitcase to determine the owner.
Liquids and toiletries

Don’t waste your money on expensive mini toiletries that you’ll just throw away once they run out. Instead, buy yourself a set of small refillable plastic bottles and fill them up each time you go away. Most of the hotels and even hostels have toiletries already supplied. Check before you go, maybe you don't need to take a shower gel with you. I usually take a soap bar and a small sponge instead. Soap will be handy to wash your underwear or socks while you on holiday too. I keep a small cream tub left from make up remover pads and put the day and night cream for my stay away in them, and I don't have to pack, still in the limit, but very bulky original ones. Keep your cosmetic samples. You can ask for samples while you are shopping, many cosmetic stores give them as a present, check out magazines or get them free online. They are indispensable for short trips and help out a lot when there is no room for liquids in your carry-on baggage. You also can order online or get in the large department stores perfume samples. This way you save space and weight of your luggage. Also, it will free a little space in your case on the way back for extra souvenirs. 
How to Get Free Travel Size Toiletries: https://flyawhey.com/how-to-get-free-travel-size-toiletries/


Souvenir and what NOT to buy

 When visiting a new place, there’s a natural tendency to buy something that reminds you of happy times away from work and everyday life. A photo of a sunset or a castle is great, but a perfect souvenir is almost a piece of the country you visited in your home. After all, souvenir means “memory” or “to remember” in French. When on holiday you see many souvenir shops and everything looks so appealing. You have to have something for sure. Only when you come back home, look at it on your shelf, you realise that it’s a cheap mass-produced tat and and you don’t want it anymore. Try to buy them from local makers and galleries to support communities. Ask local people where and what they suggest you buy a something to remember this beautiful place. Good souvenir can be a timeless keepsake of a great trip.
 I purchased a fantastic handmade wooden plate from a lovely shop named "Enis" in Berat, Albania. Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of the owner, but the place was full of amazing pieces that he made himself in the back of the store. You will be surprised how much you will save NOT buying everything you see and like. I must say that magnets I buy everywhere, because they are cheap and small. To save yourself money and times, stick with one thing, maybe it’s a plate, mug, magnet or thimble. Something you can use in daily life or use to decorate your house. 
My friend loves cups, and she has them around the fireplace in the kitchen.
I bring plates and make wall art with them. Jewellery very good buys. 
Kitchenware and tableware useful items to bring from your holidays, every time you cook, it will bring a lovely memory of your holiday.
 Just make sure you buy good quality and suitable for everyday use. I bought in Morocco 
tajine, and it's cracked after the second use. 
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