Cheap UK holidays: how to make your pound go further

Booking a budget-friendly stay in the UK isn't easy but you can save hundreds of pounds - and have a great holiday - if you follow these rules.

Our research has shown that hotels can be much cheaper - for couples - than booking an Airbnb.

And, for families who have to travel during the school holidays, there are still ways of keeping the costs down.

See below for more details on how to prevent your UK break, breaking the bank.

1) Don't assume that an Airbnb will be cheaper than a hotel

A few years ago it seemed obvious that you could save money by booking somebody's part-time holiday let - rather than staying in a hotel. Firms like Airbnb revolutionised the way many of us travel.

However, when we analysed data on prices at Airbnb and its rival Vrbo we found that hotels were cheaper than one-bedroom holiday lets at 38 out of 50 destinations. These included Greater London - where hotels were £60 cheaper, Bath where they were £34 cheaper and York where they were £18 cheaper. A one-bedroom Airbnb or Vrbo was more expensive than a hotel room in all but one of the UK destinations we checked.

When we asked Airbnb and Vrbo about this, they did both point out that holiday lets typically include kitchen and living spaces. Airbnb also added: ‘This data is wrong and based on flawed methodology.’

If there's a big group of you, a holiday let may well be cheaper - but for couples hotels are probably the way to go.

2) Seeking a bargain seaside stay? Stay flexible with locations

While the likes of Brighton or Padstow are classic choices for UK holidaymakers heading to the coast in the summertime, they both scored just two out of five for value for money in our survey of the best and worst seaside towns. The best value resorts were in North East England, Scotland and Wales. 

Bamburgh on the Northumberland coast, Filey in Yorkshire, Criccieth in Gwynedd and Frail in Fife all got five stars for value for money. They impressed with a combination of beautiful scenery and peace and quiet - as well as reasonable prices.

If you're looking for a really cheap break, Fleetwood near Blackpool had the lowest price for a night's stay in our survey - £69. Other bargains were Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear (£70), Folkestone in Kent (£72) and Southport, Lancashire (£72).

Whitley Bay got four-stars for value for money.

3) Want to save money on a city break? Head north!

As a rule (although there are exceptions) the further north you go the better bargains you'll find. Belfast, Glasgow, Liverpool and York all got four stars for value for money in our survey of the best and worst UK city breaks. All four of those were highly rated overall, with York the highest rated big city.

London, Brighton, Bristol, Plymouth and Southampton, however, all got two stars for value for money.

For smaller cities the north and Scotland also wins out. Chester and Dundee all got four stars as did Norwich. For the smallest cities Ely, Stirling and Durham were also great value. The only southern city to get four stars for value for money was tiny Wells in Somerset, which was also the highest-rated small city overall.

You could make even more savings by choosing Glasgow (£84 a night) instead of Edinburgh (£108). But cheap doesn't always mean good value. The average night's hotel stay in Aberdeen was £54 - the lowest price of any city in our survey - but it still only got two stars for value for money.

4) Cosy countryside holiday? Pick your location - and your dates - wisely

There are two obvious ways to save a packet on a UK cottage break.

The first is to make sure you don't travel in the school holidays. The second is to make sure you don't choose the most popular destinations, such as Cornwall or the Lake District.

The first might seem easier said than done for families, but there are ways to travel at cheaper times without taking your children out of school. One is to be aware that not all school children in the UK are off at the same time. At half term holidays in particular, you'll find that Welsh children, or those in Northern Ireland, are still studying, while those in London and the South East are off. So a trip to, say, Pembrokeshire, can be much cheaper than you'd expect. Scotland also has its main summer break much earlier than that in England. Knowing your term dates can save hundreds on a family holiday in the UK.

Another important point to remember is that travelling relatively small distances from your preferred destination can make a big difference to the cost. In the summer we found that crossing the border between Cornwall and Devon, or Suffolk and Norfolk could save well over £150. Choosing to stay just outside the Lake District, in Cumbria, is another big saver. 

These were the cheap UK holiday destinations last summer.

5) Think before booking the cheapest accommodation you spot

If you're on a budget you may be tempted to opt for the company advertising the cheapest cottage stay. There are three firms offering accommodation for less than £45 a night in our survey of the best holiday cottage companies.

This is all very well when things go smoothly. However, it's worth considering customer service star ratings as well. This matters a lot if for some reason you need to cancel your trip - as thousands of holidaymakers discovered during the pandemic, when they struggled to get refunds.

The bottom four firms in our table all got just three stars for customer service - while the Which? Recommended Providers all got at least four stars and The Landmark Trust, Classic Cottages, Sally's Cottages, and the National Trust were awarded five stars.