{"id":223476,"date":"2026-01-02T13:29:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T13:29:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/223476\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T13:29:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T13:29:07","slug":"how-to-get-extra-holiday-days-for-nothing-and-nine-other-ways-to-save-money-on-travel-in-2026-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/223476\/","title":{"rendered":"How to get extra holiday days for nothing, and nine other ways to save money on travel in 2026 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

With Christmas<\/a> and the New Year festivities fading to memory, it\u2019s inevitable the attention of many now turns to sun-kissed days on faraway beaches. <\/p>\n

But with bank balances and credit cards casting long and judgy shadows over many plans, finding ways to save on summer jollies is essential. <\/p>\n

So, what should we be looking out for?<\/p>\n

Charter flights change<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are going to see a sea change next year when it comes to charter flights and that could have an impact on prices,\u201d suggests travel writer and owner of trade publication TravelExtra, Eoghan Corry. <\/p>\n

And what\u2019s that sea change? \u201cTUI is leaving the charter market. They\u2019ve been fighting with the low-cost airlines for years and now are just going to book with them. I\u2019m not sure what impact it\u2019ll have on prices but we certainly won\u2019t see late specials so I\u2019d be booking earlier than normal.\u201d <\/p>\n

Travel insurance is key<\/p>\n

A frequent issues the Pricewatch page in this paper handles is the high cost of cancelled holidays. <\/p>\n

People\u2019s plans get turned upside down for all sorts of reasons and while airlines, car hire companies, tour operators and hotels can sometimes offer refunds in serious cases, few will accommodate a person who cancels or curtails because of a broken limb or other comparatively mild ailment. That makes travel insurance key. <\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t get cheaper as the date of travel approaches and with as many as half of all claims being filed before travel, with illness and death the most likely causes, it can be used at any time. So get it sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n

When to book flights<\/p>\n

There are almost as many theories as to when is the best time to book a flight as there are airlines but ultimately it comes down to supply and demand \u2013 the more flights from different airlines there are to a particular airport, the lower the cost. <\/p>\n

Airfares climb incrementally as the departure date comes close so if you\u2019re flying to a well travelled destination book six to eight weeks before you go. If heading to a less travelled destination on a very specific day \u2013 say for Ireland\u2019s crunch play-off match against the Czech Republic in Prague in March \u2013 book early.<\/p>\n

Going incognito<\/p>\n

You might tinker with other cheap flight theories if you\u2019ve time. According to some internet chatter some airlines\u2019 automated systems dump unsold seats on Wednesdays between midnight and 1am in the time zone of their home city. <\/p>\n

The creepy cookie theory meanwhile suggests airlines track visits to their sites looking for flights to particular destinations. <\/p>\n

If you check out a specific route on a specific date and come back to it a while later, their systems sees that you have more than a passing interest and ups the price. Airlines insist this is nonsense but it might still be no harm to clear your cookies and search for flights in incognito mode.<\/p>\n

Midweek savers<\/p>\n

One thing that will definitely save you money is flying midweek. Everyone wants to start and end their holiday on a Saturday or Sunday so weekends come with a premium. <\/p>\n

The cheapest flights are on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and according to British consumer champion Which? Travel, canny folk who go midweek to midweek can save up to 30 per cent. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0The cheaper hotel trick, and 58 other things I\u2019ve learned from visiting 59 countriesOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Keep it flexible<\/p>\n

Look at alternate routes and airports as they can be cheaper. That football match against the Czech Republic proves the point. Last November people were falling over themselves to book flights from Dublin to Prague \u2013 often paying in excess of \u20ac700 for a return ticket at the end of March. Meanwhile return flights to Munich cost \u20ac120 with a three-hour train return ticket on to Prague costing \u20ac25. <\/p>\n

So be flexible when booking and if you\u2019re flying long-haul don\u2019t just look to Irish and British airports \u2013 Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Helsinki might have better deals. <\/p>\n

Branch out<\/p>\n

Explore alternative destinations this year, maybe? There\u2019s one brand new one from Dublin this year \u2013 the Albanian capital Tirana which Ryanair will be ferrying passengers to and from. <\/p>\n

\u201cAlbania has some beautiful coastal resorts,\u201d says Corry. \u201cIt\u2019s not as developed as Croatia but very cheap to eat and drink there, almost like Prague was in the early 1990s.\u201d <\/p>\n

Book add-ons at the start<\/p>\n

Make sure you pay for extras when making the original booking. Leaving it to closer to flying time can see the price spike.<\/p>\n

Timezone perks\"IfIf at all possible do not travel during school holidays. Photograph: Getty Images\/ iStockphoto Do you want two extra days away for nothing? <\/p>\n

It can be tiring but if you travel to your European destination on a 6am flight from Ireland and land back home at close to midnight you can get yourself virtually a full day that you might otherwise have lost upon arrival and another full day that you might otherwise have lost on the day you travel home. <\/p>\n

First and last day prep<\/p>\n

Make sure you prep. Have easy access to summer clothes when you arrive in your destination and find a place to store your luggage on the day you leave. <\/p>\n

Do it once and you will forever marvel at those who arrive in the resort or campsite or wherever at 7pm \u2013 effectively missing their first day \u2013 and then leave at 7am effectively missing their last day too.<\/p>\n

Avoid travel during school holidays<\/p>\n

If at all possible do not travel during school holidays \u2013 a trip booked for May or September will cost you 30 per cent less than one booked in July or August \u2013 and oftentimes the temperature will be nicer too. <\/p>\n

And whatever you do, avoid the English and German school holidays as that is when demand \u2013 and prices \u2013 really spike Unfortunate English children won\u2019t get to start their summer until July 18th this year \u2013 although they do have a midterm break from May 23rd (so that might be another week to avoid). <\/p>\n

German holidays differ by region. Most German children don\u2019t wrap until close to the end of July but many have a 10-day break covering the last week of May and the first week of June. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With Christmas and the New Year festivities fading to memory, it\u2019s inevitable the attention of many now turns…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":223477,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[72,95811,42499,61,60,709,115260],"class_list":{"0":"post-223476","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-consumer-lifestyle","10":"tag-consumer-protection","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland","13":"tag-magazine","14":"tag-travel-insurance"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223476"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223476\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}