Are you wishing for tickets in your Christmas stocking this year?
You want to board a plane, visit the theatre, or sail away into the sunset and feel as if you are living life again after surviving the most commercial time of the year.
It is one of the busiest times of the year for booking trips; the 32nd day of Christmas (New Year) and what a way to head into 2026 with an excited bump.
Where will you choose? Will it be affordable?
Let me help you with some insider tips and show you how to make the best of the bargains.
My preferred tour operator tends to be Tui, for all things all-inclusive, or, of course, for their cruises. I have learned the hard way, so you don’t have to:
- There may be places which seem cheaper, but possibly don’t include a transfer
- Locations tend to be better with Tui (in-resort places which are near everywhere else)
- Beware of extra baggage charges
When you consider adding the above charges on, do a quick bit of maths to check if it is actually cheaper at all.
Saying that, there is also some beauty in researching booking flights, transfers and accommodation yourself. The links in that sentence will take you to the platforms I use (they do contain affiliate links, which never cost you any more, but the company will share a small commission with me, which goes towards the costs of running this website). I hope you find the links helpful.
I tell you why this might be my new way of doing things: I have travelled to Asia in the past two years and that has a very different feel in the travel experience than using a package, and sitting relaxing for a week or two at an all-inclusive resort.
There are a lot of things to jot down as you are navigating your agenda.
Recently, I tried to book one of these super-cheap Wowcher deals, and sorry to call you out Wowcher, but it was a shambles.
£160 for two nights in the alps was too good to be true. I paid for the vouchers, and the travel company called me within 48 hours to firm up plans. I was told by them, “This offer is no longer available, but you can pay another £133 each, and then we can find an alternative,” and after a lot of to and fro, we decided to go for the extra money and still go. Until the final moment, when I double confirmed the hotel was going to be the amazing Motel One, and I was told, “no, it’s the Ibis.” And it just wasn’t cutting it.
There is no option for a refund.
There is only one alternative trip.
Most of them would need a half-hour taxi ride in Spain to the accommodation (likely €40-50) and didn’t include any baggage or meals. So, that was a no from me. We have settled to go somewhere which isn’t ideal at all, but hey, it is what it is, and you have to choose your battles.
How you can save money:
This is not a myth or an old wives’ tale, but it is usually a fact. Despite the TikTok clan disagreeing 10% of the time, everyone else felt it helped. (this video had over 350k people looking at it!)
Book on the 5th or 6th January 2026 - or a Tuesday evening if it’s another time. These are the days when people are least likely to be looking and booking.
The more people demand holidays (imagine an auction room), the higher the price pushes up. Yep, it is a fact.
Another thing you will want to do is put your browser into incognito mode, or use a VPN, so your searches are not push up the prices.
Paying for it is easier than it was before due to using options like Klarna etc - but be mindful that this will put a soft search on your credit history. I’m not a finance person at all, but just ensure you are only booking trips you can afford (feels like a responsible thing to say).
I would love to hear your dream destination in 2026. I would like to know what the year ahead holds for us all, and where we may be by this time next year. Think back to last Christmas. What were you hoping for? Did it happen? You know by now, I am a firm believer in the Law of Attraction, and what you believe, you can achieve.
My travel plans have been on hold for quite some time now, and I have no idea what the coming year may hold for me, but I still have ‘luminescent plankton’ on my bucket list…..
