A question we get asked a lot is ‘how do you travel as much as you do?’. The honest answer is we look for offers, deals and money off codes before we book anything. That applies to flights, accommodation, trips, tours and activities. If we can save a few quid along the way, we put it towards our next adventure. Back in the days before GDPR, we were signed up to a million and one mailing lists looking for the perfect travel deal. However, tackling the inbox became a daily chore. So when we received the ‘do you want to continue to receive our emails?’ email, we opted out or simply didn’t reply to a number of them as the deals and offers they sent through, weren’t overly brilliant.
Of course, we can trawl the internet looking for the best money saving deals out there. But the web is saturated with a million and one travel companies all offering something different and we really don’t have the time. Therefore we definitely have our favourites. We tend to have the ones we return to time and time again. These are the companies that we love receiving emails from. As they are usually full of great money saving deals and often travel inspiration too.
Most companies use a CRM system (basically the place where all your data is stored) and will only contact you if you have signed up. When you sign up to some companies, it’ll ask what sort of information you would like to receive. Meaning you will only get sent through the stuff you are interested in. Also, now because of GDPR if you find the information the company is sending through is too frequent/irrelevant/spammy etc you can unsubscribe at any time and your data will be removed.
Here are our top 5 sites for the best travel deals:
For Flights/Inspiration – Skyscanner
Skyscanner is our go-to whenever we book flights. As a comparison site, it shows you the best deals available. It also has the nifty ‘everywhere’ option. This is great especially if you don’t really mind where you go but fancy a getaway. You can select everywhere and flights in price order are displayed. We have, over the years, visited a number of destinations we may never have even considered simply because we got super cheap flights. Meaning Skyscanner is also a great source of travel inspiration and we all need that from time to time. Therefore, we love receiving their emails to see which destinations they recommend and what great deals they are featuring.
For Accommodation – Booking.com
When we are unable to book directly with a property, we always use booking.com and have done for at least a decade. We love the search and filter function which allows us to find the perfect accommodation based on our requirements and more often than not – budget. Many of the properties found on booking.com also offer a pay on arrival option, which is great if your trip is not set in stone. We have on a number of occasions tentatively booked a room and cancelled nearer the time if our plans have changed. Booking.com do email frequently, particularly on a Sunday. Their mailshots always have great deals in them and have often influenced us to book a particular hotel.
For Activities – Viator
So flights are booked, accommodation is sorted – what’s next? Trips, tours and activities – right? It is for us. We love taking organised tours when we visit new places. At least that way we know we’ll see the main things the city has to offer. Imagine going to Paris and not seeing the Effiel Tower? Ok, maybe an extreme example but we’d kick ourselves. Therefore Viator is a favourite of ours. Simply type in where you are heading and it will bring up a list of things you can do at that destination, you can then filter by preference – walking tour, foodie, day trip etc. You get 10% your first booking when you sign up to their newsletter too and subsequent discount codes on a regular basis.
For Last Minute Offers – Lastminute.com
The clue is in the name with this one – lastminute.com. Whenever we fancy a no notice getaway we always check out lastminute.com. With flights, accommodation, car hire, spa experiences and city breaks (amongst other things) the site really does have something for everyone. Even though it’s called lastminute.com you can of course book in advance and still get good deals. However, the late deals are usually the best and save you the most money. That’s why signing up for the newsletter is a great ideal as the very best deals are usually included on them. Over the years we’ve taken advantage of a number of them. Especially the West End tickets. They always seem to have great seats at super low prices.
For Local Offers – Travelzoo
We love the Travelzoo emails, they always include great local offers which we often take advantage of. In fact, we have lost count of the number of times we have booked afternoon tea at various hotels and venues near us because of the money-saving offers in our local area being highlighted in the newsletter. Therefore, if you decide to sign up don’t forget to enter your location to ensure the mailshot you receive contains deals and offers which will benefit you. We have also found some great hotel package deals (usually dinner, bed and breakfast) on Travelzoo over the years. On the website you can search wherever you fancy, it doesn’t have to be your local area and all the current deals available will be listed for you.
Do you have any go-to websites? Let us know. Also, do you sign up for newsletters from any travel companies who offer great deals – we are always in the market to save some cash and find the perfect travel deal.
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