In a bid to avoid inflated air fares and expensive holiday prices, a number of travellers are choosing deal sites to book their annual holiday for cheaper.
Wowcher has gained a strong following thanks to its '£99 Mystery Holiday deal', and as the name suggests, holidaymakers spend a set price to jet off abroad to a 'mystery' destination with a two to seven night- hotel stay and return flights from London airports all included in the £99 fee.
The biggest drawing point for many is the huge element of surprise, as the holiday is booked and paid for before travellers know where they are jetting off to. After the deal is bought Wowcher customers will be given their next holiday destination in a surprise 'draw' with bucket-list destinations including New York, Mexico and Paris making the list all for the set £99 rate - but does it really cost that?
READ MORE: We spent '£99' on a Wowcher Mystery Holiday and had to check out of the hotel after one hour
This is at the forefront of many intrigued travellers' minds, as the thought of being able to fly off on holiday for under £100 each is almost unheard of in this day and age. Just as intrigued as to how it works we recently booked a surprise Wowcher holiday, to see what customers can really get for their £99 holiday and if there are any 'hidden' additional costs.
After going on a two-day trip to Lake Garda in Italy, where we spent £230 in total each as opposed to an original £99 as thought, it became evident there were quite a lot of other costs to consider.
With this in mind we've compiled five 'rules' we'd urge all eager travellers to do before departure, as it will likely save you hundreds of pounds, leaving you time and money to make the most out of the 'surprise' deal.
1. Fly from London to avoid additional charges
The first rule is down to your chosen UK airport you choose to fly from. Wowcher's deal means passengers can fly from London Gatwick, London Stansted, Luton and Heathrow for the set £99 but airports like Manchester (for example) come at an extra cost.
When booking Wowcher's holiday deal it is made clear that airports like Manchester and Cardiff, means travellers will be charged more, around £60 extra per person. The difference in airport takes the price from £99 per person to around £159 per person (depending on the route and airport) but it's an added cost to be aware of before you leave.
The reason we point this out is so that travellers can be prepared and compare the price it would cost them to travel to a London airport compared to the additional airport cost (as it may be cheaper to travel further for your flight).
2. If in doubt upgrade as it'll save you more overall
This tip may sound like a confusing way to save money but spending more than £99 in extras at checkout is likely to be a lot cheaper than if you were to do it once at your destination.
Like the hotel, for example. Based on our own experience, the hotel we were given in the Wowcher deal was a lot further from the centre of our drawn destination, but unaware of just how much it would cost us to get to and from we declined to upgrade the hotel package (as we didn't want to spend more than £99 each), read about it more here.
This is where our second rule comes in; if you think your given hotel is too far out it's worth paying a couple of extra pounds more and upgrading the package with Wowcher, as you'll most likely spend more in transport costs once there.
The downside is this can feel like it defeats the whole point of a '£99 holiday' but when it comes to doing it on a budget, this is definitely a step to stick by.
3. Plan your own transport once landed
Another money-saving tip to keep the costs down when embarking on the deal is to always book your own travel once landed. Wowcher does offer transport options for trips, which travellers can choose to book to get to and from the airport to the hotel.
However, if you're looking to do the trip on a tight budget it may be more worthwhile to book your own taxi or transfer privately (not through Wowcher) to get the best rate.
On the previous trip to Lake Garda, we saved £50 by booking our own trains from Milan Airport to Lake Garda for £15 each, as opposed to an £80 (minimum rate) transfer package.
4. Be flexible with your chosen Wowcher destination
A 'must-do' step which could make the short trip a lot more enjoyable. It's subjective to each individual traveller but the one thing we noted when on the £99 holiday was how much time we spent travelling, although it means we saw a lot of Italy there was not much time left to relax.
We'd urge travellers to map out where their given hotel is in relation to the 'Wowcher destination' as there may be a town or city closer by which is just as good to explore (without transferring across public transport to get there). For instance, we were given Lake Garda but our destination was actually a lot closer to Verona, Italy.
5. Insure your Wowcher trip
When it comes to 'budget' travel insurance is often overlooked as an 'expense' but it's another 'rule' on our list for those interested in Wowcher's mystery deal. In fact, when finalising the details of our trip Wowcher themselves made clear to point out that insurance was not included and that it had to be arranged separately. It's a crucial part that we'd recommend for any trip, not just Wowcher.
Given the fast-paced (two-day holiday) nature of the surprise trip, if one hurdle pops up it could ruin majority of the holiday so ensuring there's room for compensation is key. Travellers can search for the cheapest rate on sites including MoneySupermarket, who scour for the best prices from providers including Post Office, Admiral and Tesco Bank.
Wowcher aren't the only deals site to offer budget travel deals, site 'OnTheBeach' has recently added summer vacations from £170 per person. You can buy the Wowcher mystery deal here.
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