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Daily Record
Daily Record
Lifestyle
Harriet Morphy-Morris & Jacob Rawley

'We went on a £99 Wowcher Mystery Holiday and had to leave the hotel after an hour'

Now that the clocks have gone forward, summer is starting to feel that little bit closer.

The highlight of summer is normally a trip abroad - and this year many may be looking to try something a little different. Wowcher are once again offering their 'Mystery Holiday' in which you book at a set price and don't find out where you're going until after the fact.

To see what a £99 holiday would entail, Wales Online journalist Harriet Morphy-Morris booked a trip and did her best to stick to budget - although that was easier said than done.

She said: "Once we were given our destination, we got into the details (departure airport, passport details etc) and it was here, that the push to upgrade really started. I tried my best to resist but I did fall for an extra £30 per person for different flight times."

According to Harriet, the initial flight times would have arrived a bit later and departed a bit earlier, giving them just one proper day to explore their destination - Lake Garda in Italy.

The adviser didn't stop pushing for upgrades there, as Harriet was encouraged to opt for a hotel bump-up too.

She went on: "During our call, the adviser repeatedly said 'are you sure you don't want to upgrade the hotel package as it's a little far out' and as I wanted to stick as close to the £99 price as possible I declined."

The couple upgraded flights for better times (Harriet Morphy-Morris)

Harriet now says that she wishes she opted for this option as the hotel was so far from Lake Garda that it would have cost them at least £160 in travel costs to get to and from the area during the trip.

"On the call to the advisor I had seen on Google Maps, it was around a 14-18 minute drive away which assuming there would be reliable public transport I thought was more than okay," Harriet added.

"It wasn't, as we were visiting Lake Garda during the 'off-season' there were no bus routes to Affi or train routes on the line we had travelled down from Milan on."

Their nearest and biggest Lake Garda side town was Pescheira - from here they were quoted €40 to €45 each way in a taxi to and from the hotel - and travel was not included in the bundle.

And to make things worse all of the amenities that you would expect like restaurants, parks, shops weren't there. Instead, they had a motorway toll road service station and that was about it.

The hotel was too far from town (Harriet Morphy-Morris)

The couple soon worked out they would spend at least €160 over the two days on taxi fares alone.

"To us, it was a ridiculous amount to spend just on travel to and from and I was annoyed the location was so far from our 'surprise destination'," Harriet said.

"So, we checked out after an hour and booked a city centre hotel in Pescheira for €85 for the two nights – just over half of the taxi cost."

Harriet's top tips for Wowcher holidays

After booking a city-centre hotel, the pair did get to sightsee a little (Harriet Morphy-Morris)
  • Pay extra if you fly outside of London airports
  • Pay more for 'better' flight times to extend the amount of time you have at the destination
  • Included hotels are not central - have to upgrade
  • Price does not include any extra luggage on flights - have to book an additional cabin or hold bag
  • Price does not include transport to and from airports

While the Wowcher trip can be as budget-friendly or 'high-end' as you want, Harriet and her partner were on a mission to stick to its £99 as much as possible and tally up everything but the money they spent on sightseeing and food.

In total, they spent around £230 each. A breakdown: £99 Wowcher, £30 flight upgrade, £30 petrol to Stansted Airport, £15 train ticket, £20 taxi to Bergamo station, £40 taxi to the first hotel.

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