Martin Lewis's staycation savers
Schools out, summer’s here, and millions want to take a break or entertain the kids. So we asked our Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis to come up with his staycation savers. What is a staycation?
Actually there’s a fierce argument about that, I’ve always believed it’s holidaying based at home with day trips, yet many say it’s holidaying in the UK. The dictionary allows both. When I tested this by asking on my Facebook page, a mammoth 17,000 people replied, roughly a third said it's a UK holiday, the rest were with Martin. So here are my top tips to keep both sides happy…
2 for 1 attraction vouchers
If you’re going to attractions, always try and bag discount vouchers first as you could save £50 compared to the on-the-gate price…
Promotional packs of Kellogg’s cereals: These were available for the first five or six months of the year, and I did warn people to collect them then for summer (so ransack your draws if you did). These packs are now being phased off shelves but it’s worth checking packs of Frosties, Rice Krispies, Crunchy Nut and Squares in your local supermarket to see if they have a Grown-Ups Go Free voucher for 28 Merlin theme parks when you buy a child or adult ticket on the day.
Days out site: Buy a National Rail ticket for the nearest station to the attraction you want to visit, then register and print a voucher fromDays Out Guideto get 2for1 entry to top UK attractions, such as Drayton Manor, Madame Tussauds, Legoland and London Zoo. It’s worth doing even if you’re not travelling by train as a single ticket costs a couple of quid.
Got a Tesco Clubcard? Convert Tesco Clubcard vouchers into Tesco Boost tokens and on some attractions you can get four times the vouchers’ face value, eg £5 in points converts into £20 worth of Boost rewards at Sea Life centres and Legoland Discovery Centre Manchester.
Stay in a castle for £20/night
Don't think all hostels are dirty, smelly dorm rooms – many are clean and in surprising places. You can choose private, single rooms and doubles, and many have free internet access and breakfast included. St Briavels Hostel in a moated Norman Castle in Gloucestershire costs from £20/night per person and Downhill Beach House in Northern Ireland, set in scenery which was used to film Game of Thrones episodes is from £16.50/night per person. To book, visit Youth Hostel Association (YHA) and Hostelling Scotland. If you’ve YHA membership (£20 or £15 by direct debit), you may be able to get up to £3 off YHA stays.
180 free museums and galleries
There are murmurings some free museums may start charging visitors because of funding cuts – so it’s worth taking advantage while you still can. There are websites that list all the free museums and you can see which ones are near you. As well as the big famous ones, some top picks include:
- The Coventry Transport Museum. I spent a day filming there and it could easily fill a full day. It even has Thrust SSC – the world’s fastest car – the only car ever to break the sound barrier. - The Bank of England museum in London has a gold bar you can hold.
- The Broughty Castle Museum in Dundee includes history of the world from the point of view of Broughty Ferry and you can look for dolphins in the sea from the top floor.
- The Big Pit: National Coal Museum in Blaenavon in Wales has genuine ex-miners as guides through the underground tour.
Uncover secret hotels
Fancy staying in first-rate hotels but want to pay less then go for an unnamed hotel at a super-hot discount price. Hotels do this to get rid of unused rooms. The secret hotels section at Lastminute.comhas bargains on up to five-star hotels worldwide (including London), because you only know the description and star rating before you pay.
Caroline tweeted: "Booked the Hilton London Paddington for £69. On Hilton's site it was £205." The trick is to cut and paste key words of the description into google to see if you can find a likely match. Then crucially as Lastminute.com lists its ‘rating’ and that comes from Tripadvisor, if they match up eg if it has 1,863 reviews and the hotel you think it is has the same on Tripadvisor – then it’s a winner.
Become a nature detective
Complete Woodland Trust activities from a choice of nearly 50 (it’s adding more to this) free downloadable sheets. Activities include outdoor fun identifying leaves, birds and more. For rainy days there are recipes, craft activities and colouring sheets. See Woodland Trustfor the full information (it also has a paid for club).
Cheap city breaks in university halls
During the summer holidays university students head back home leaving rooms empty between June and September. It’s possible to rent out hall of residence rooms in a host of major UK cities – a good way to do it cheaply. Either go to the University’s accommodation websites or use the site University Rooms.
For example a single room in London in August is as cheap as £35, a double £56, or in Edinburgh £49 and £109 respectively. Plus many other cities, York, Cardiff, Oxford Cambridge and more can be even cheaper.
Rent a posh house if there's a crowd
If you book the right way, holiday rental sites let you snap up five-star private accommodation for two-star hotel prices. For instance, I found a holiday home with a heated pool, hot tub and mountain views for less than £22/night each (based on eight people). Sites like Homeaway.co.uk, Clickstay.com and Tripadvisor.co.uk/Rentals offer rentals.
And of course there’s the now ubiquitous Airbnb which doesn’t just rent apartments - it rents out rooms to stay in people’s homes too and lists many rooms or homes available to rent in the UK. Better still as you pay it not the individual (unlike usual rentals) there’s a little bit of extra protection from its Guest Refund policy.
Free tennis and football coaching
If you or your little 'uns fancy yourselves as the next Andy Murray, then free parent and child mini tennis sessions on 1 and 2 August are available at more than 300 events from The Lawn Tennis Association’s Great British Tennis Weekend site (if not booked up). Boys and girls aged 5-11 can take part in football coaching sessions throughout the school holidays in England – you’ll need to book in advance at FA Skills and places are subject to availability.