If Easter weekend seems a long way off now, your thoughts may turn to summer vacation and book a week or two in the sun.

While many families are feeling the pinch of rising food and gas costs and massive energy hikes, that doesn’t seem to have had an effect on vacation bookings, which have risen by nearly 20% this year compared to pre-pandemic rates, travel giant Tui has revealed.

More than 68% of vacations were booked entirely online last year, and are expected to reach 72% by 2025, according to Statista, so it can be beneficial to know some tips and pitfalls and how to avoid them to maximize your vacation budget. .

Read more: Simple trick to avoid paying a £4 drop-off fee at Newcastle airport

If you haven’t taken the plunge yet this year, here are some sneaky ways to save money if you’re in the know.

1. Always book your accommodation before your flight

When booking vacations, the natural starting point for many people is flights and then accommodation to fit in. If that’s what you’re doing, you’re doing it wrong, according to Andrea Knowles of vouchers.co.uk. According to Andrea, since your accommodation is probably your most expensive cost, it should be your priority when booking because it can generate the greatest savings. But remember, when looking for accommodation, to make sure you are looking for places served by an airport that you are willing to fly to.

2.Avoid baggage fees

The latest nifty charge many budget airlines have introduced is for carry-on baggage. The days when you could put everything in a small suitcase and take it with you into the cabin are sadly over. To make matters worse, you don’t always know until you go to book, meaning a £40 return trip to Paris with Ryanair can cost upwards of £100 when you factor in up to £32 hand luggage fee each way. The smart way around this is to book through Google Flights, as you can then search with a “hand luggage” option checked, which will show you the actual price of a flight. Another way to avoid the cost of adding luggage to your flights is to book accommodation with a washing machine, which allows you to reduce the number of items of clothing you take with you.

3.Always book a cruise on a Thursday

The price of a cruise can fluctuate throughout the year and depends on several factors, such as whether there has been an increase in bookings or the remaining total availability. However, Cruise Critic’s research found that prices tend to drop mid-week, with booking on Thursdays likely to get you the best deal.

4.But book a Monday if that’s a package you’re looking for

It also turns out that there is a best day to book a vacation package. A former Thomas Cook insider has revealed they always offer their best deals on Mondays as prices are sometimes lowered to try to attract customers who had a quote at the weekend but didn’t make a reservation.

5.Clear your cookies before booking to get the best price

If you’ve been looking for a holiday for a while, you should definitely clear your browser cookies before booking. These bits of data stored in your browser record the websites you have visited. Travel websites can then use this information to raise prices simply because they know you’ve visited their site and are planning to book.

6.Pay for your vacation with a credit card

This is good advice even if you don’t care about saving money on your vacation. If your holiday costs more than £100, buy it with a credit card as you are covered in the event of a problem under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. This means that the credit card company is obliged to pay under certain conditions if, for example, your airline goes bankrupt.