Money Saving Tips for Travelling Around the United Kingdom
This page is designed to give you the resources and tips you need to know for saving money travelling around the United Kingdom.
Booking Cheap Train/Bus/Airline Travel across the UK
Save on UK Bus Travel
The comparison site Check my Bus is a good starting point to find the best deal.
Megabus offers some great deals (E.g £1 ticket promotions) whilst National Express is the national carrier and can be worth comparing with train/plane travel to get the best deal. Bus travel is usually the cheapest travel option, book in advance to get great deals that will make you smug with how little you have paid!
Save on UK Train Travel
- Compare train ticket prices on Train Genius and Rail Easy.
- Always looking to buy in advance and if possible try travelling during off peak times to get the best deal.
- Train ticket pricing does not make much sense which means there are things worth trying to save money e.g. Buying two single tickets as opposed to a return ticket can sometimes be cheaper.
- Splitting tickets is another way of getting cheaper tickets, this where you have two tickets for the one journey. E.G London to Manchester you may have a ticket for London to Milton-Keynes than Milton Keynes to Manchester even though it is the same journey. You don't need to work this out yourself just use Rail Easy and it does it for you.
- Touring UK by Train: Ranger and Rover are tickets you can purchase that allow unlimited travel over a set region of the UK, for more information try this website Railrover.
- If traveling regularly by train you may want to consider a Railcard which gives you a discount on fares although you pay an annual subscription for this service. You will need to do your own maths and planning to work out whether this could be a good investment.
Finding Cheap Domestic Flights in UK
Flying to destinations such as Edinburgh from London can save you time and be cheaper than train travel and is worth considering but factor in the cost and time of getting to the airport which may add £20-30 to the cost.
To find flights use a comparison websites such as Momondo or Cheapfights.
Save money when booking Accommodation
Hostels
Hostel Bookers, Hostel World and Hostelz are three websites that all have a large database of Hostels, compare prices to make sure you get the best deal. The Youth Hostel Association has an excellent reputation and is another option which won't likely be found on the other websites mentioned.
Private Rooms/Bed and Breakfasts
This can be a cheap way of finding a great place to stay with a more homely feel. Try Air BnB and 9Flats.
Hotels
It can be worth hunting the different websites for the accommodation you seek. Travel Supermarket is a comparison site that compares prices for all the major hotel booking websites so is an excellent starting point, Trip Advisor is good for reviews when looking at places to stay while Booking.com is an easy to hotel booking site that quite offers free cancellations close to the booking. Lastminute.com may get access to some excellent deals so can also be worth looking at.
UK Hotels: Further to using the websites listed above Top Rooms is a good source when specifically looking for UK Hotels and accommodation.
Budget hotel chains that can be worth looking at are Premier Inn and Travelodge.
Tip: Book Early particularly in peak times as there will be more choice and more competition in prices. If you can book on a website that enables a later cancellation (Booking.com is good for this) that enables you keep searching for better value properties that might become available before your departure.
Finding other Great Travel Deals
Try all the websites listed above to source the best deal or if open to where you travel, try group buying websites: Groupon, and Living Social are very good sources Also try Cashback websites: Quidco and Top Cashback.
Booking Cheap Car Rental
Use a car rental comparison website to help find the best deal such as Car Rentals, Travel Supermarket or Momondo.
Save Money on Car Excess Insurance (Don't buy from car rental company and save considerably.)
Car Rental companies will offer you insurance but leave a high excess leaving you at risk from any damage found to the car. They will usually offer you a no excess car hire insurance option. It is best always to source this yourself to do so try Icarhireinsurance or Travelsupermarket.
