Has the Family Holiday Become an Unaffordable Luxury?

Cheap holiday deals might be just what you need to banish the holiday blues this year!

It's been a tough year for many families, and most of us are probably looking forward to taking a well-deserved break this summer. But with budgets stretched to breaking point, knowing how to get the best cheap holiday deals is more important than ever!

Christmas is over – you've cleaned up all the wrapping paper, washed all the dishes and sent most of your relatives home. And now, what you really need after all the fun and excitement of the holiday season is a nice, long holiday. But the question is – can your wallet take the strain? The last year has brought some enormous financial pressures, and while we might dream about holidays to all sorts of exotic destinations, the reality is that this year’s holiday might just have become a luxury that many families can’t afford. In fact, many of us are peering into our holiday savings account and finding that there’s not be enough in there to take us any further than a camping trip in the backyard!
 
A recent survey revealed that 42 per cent of respondents are sacrificing holidays – going for cheaper holidays or not taking a break at all – as they struggle with the strain of higher mortgage payments. Compounding the problem is the increasing cost of living, which outstripped the CPI in the September quarter.
 
There’s no doubt that things have become tougher, but with a bit of forward thinking you can still plan a family trip that will get everyone excited, without leaving your budget in need of a good, long break! The trick is to use every strategy you can to get more for your money – it might take some time to hunt down the best deals, but when you consider the savings you can make, it’ll be time well spent.
 
There are many ways to save on holidays, starting with these great strategies:
 
Timing is everything
A recent survey discovered that a family of four could make significant savings on a Gold Coast resort holiday just by avoiding the ‘premium’ peak period from Christmas through to 10 January. From mid-January onward there’s typically more flexibility in pricing, although the school holidays are still considered ‘peak’ time. But the best way to get cheap holiday deals is to avoid school holidays altogether – it’s possible to save up to 50 per cent on accommodation costs alone outside this time.
 
Net a bargain
Googling ‘cheap family holidays’ delivers an absolute goldmine of family holiday savings, and you can get even more by registering for newsletters from airlines, railways, accommodation chains, resorts, tourism websites and car hire agencies. Once you know what deals are available, it's worth making a call to the places with the best prices as it's sometimes possible to get an even better deal in person.
 
Let’s make a deal
‘Bonus night’ deals have become very common, as have ‘kids eat/stay/fly’ free offers. If you don’t need to make ‘set in concrete’ plans for your holidays, late deals can be a great way to save – and as long as you’ve got a sense of adventure, leaving things to the very last minute can be a lot of fun! You can also often get special deals through insurance policies, credit cards and roadside assistance memberships, Entertainment® books and shop-a-dockets. And with the current economic climate, it’s always worth checking with your local travel agent to see what cheap, all-inclusive holidays they have available.

Hit the road
If you know where you want to go, does it matter how you get there? You can reduce your costs significantly by picking the cheapest form of transport available. While flying might be fast, it can also be expensive – and taking a car trip together can be a great way to spend time with the whole family, and sometimes seeing the sights along the way can be almost as much fun arriving at your destination (and the kids will have plenty of time to play on their iPods and Nintendos, as well as catching up on the DVDs they’ve missed through the year!)

Pack your accommodation
Camping is probably the absolute best way to have cheap summer holidays – and can be a great way to have a whole lot of fun on a tiny little budget. If tents aren't your thing, it might be worth looking into renting a motorhome or caravan – bringing your accommodation with you can give you a lot more freedom and flexibility to go wherever you want rather than where you can get a room for the night.

By planning ahead and taking the time to get the best deals, you can get more for your money and take the break you need – so you can recover from all the work you put in over Christmas without making your money management work extra-hard to catch up in the new year!