25 June 2023 , 23:01
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Travellers could make huge savings on holidays by staying away for longer.
Consumer champions at Which? have carried out research to help families save money during the cost of living crisis.
They found holidaymakers could save more than £1,000 by turning their 10-night trip into 11 nights.
They analysed the prices of 400 package holidays from travel firms such as easyJet, Jet2, Love Holidays, On The Beach and Tui.
In 26 instances staying for 11 nights rather than 10 worked out cheaper overall.
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Which? also found cases where extending a trip by one night would cost less than £5 extra per person.
Travellers could make huge savings on holidays by staying away for longer (Getty Images)Jo Rhodes, Deputy Editor of Which? Travel, said: “If you’re booking a holiday, it’s worth checking if you can save money by making some small changes to your travel dates and duration of your stay.
“While it seems counterintuitive, occasionally there are substantial savings to be made by extending your trip.”
Their researchers found two people taking an all-inclusive, four-star package holiday in Fuerteventura with Tui in August 2023 could save £1,188 by going for 11 nights instead of 10 - a saving of 28 per cent.
The shorter holiday would have cost £4,148, but opting for an 11-night stay reduced the price to £2,960, they said.
In another case with Tui, two people sharing a twin room in Corfu, on a bed and breakfast rate, could save £292 per person.
This would slash the cost of the holiday by almost a third (31%), from £1,862 to £1,278.
They said this could be because 11-day holidays are often less popular with different flight dates playing a part.
Their research prompted Which? to issue a range of travel tips to help families save.
They say consumers should avoid paying extra to sit together on the plane and aim to book flights directly with the airline.
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It could cost a family of four £112 to reserve standard seats together on a return flight with British Airways.
But, they said, 95 per cent of short-haul passengers who didn't pay extra reported being seated together anyway.
The consumer champion found that most major airlines will automatically seat you with the people you booked with.
For easyJet the figure was 93 per cent and for Jet2 90 per cent.
Booking via an online travel agent (OTA) could inflate an airfare by more than £100, they pointed out.
Also, they suggested staying in cheaper accommodation nearby.
They found staying in Dartmouth instead of Salcombe (11 miles down the road) would save £59 a night, on average.
And Tenby in Wales was found to be £43 cheaper per night on average than Saundersfoot, three miles away.
Also, they concluded, pick up the phone to save on your hotel by phoning them directly.