I don’t think So!

A few weeks ago I wrote about a £1 a night Cheap Hotel Deal being offered by HotelConnect and I decided that if the hotel location was right for me, I would take a look and see If I could purchase a few nights at a hotel myself, thinking that this offer may be just too good to be true. I set myself a reminder on my calendar to take a look at the website a few hours before the deal was set to go live.

In due course, I found out that the £1 a night deals were to be for hotels in Prague. Now I know that it is not a beach holiday location, but I have never been to Prague and I thought that a weekend city break would make a nice change and heck the hotels were only going to cost me £1 a night right?

The time for the deal to begin was at 10am, as that time arrived I went to the page and immediatly you could tell that there must be something up as the whole of the HotelConnect website had really slowed down, infact in some cases it had stopped. An offer like this must generate a huge amount of interest and I guess that their servers were just not able to handle the huge increase in traffic.

Anyway, with patience I could see that there were indeed hotels available and through trying a few times (their booking system crashed twice) I can confirm that I have now booked 2 nights at the Botel Racek Hotel Prague and it cost me exactly £2 fantastic! (see booking confirmation below)

According to HotelConnect I will be staying at “cosy comfortable boat hotel, close to the castle and within easy access to the old town of Prague. Rooms at the Botel Racek Hotel Prague are simple and functional cabins and are all en suite with a shower. You can enjoy Czech food in the restaurant or have a drink on the deck with great views over the river. ”

I have to admit that the Botel Racek Hotel was not my first choice, but as the £1 a night sign up page on their website says, all their 400+ £1 hotel rooms in Prague were sold out in 2 hours and so they were going fast and for the dates that were suitable for me, this was my only choice, but staying in a boat hotel could be fun.

I have to say that even though their site was really slow on the morning of the deal, it is usually great and I was even before booking this hotel deal, a big fan. A few days after booking the hotel, I got the conformation in the post, with a nice little map of the city of Prague… I can’t wait!

I hope that the promotion was a success for HotelConnect.co.uk and that they have another ones soon, but even if you missed it, they have many other offers on fantastic hotels, including 50% off in over 200 destinations, so go and check them out.

It is almost as if a mini tourism tsunami has hit the Caribbean this year, so much has gone wrong for this group of islands that are so dependant on sun-seeking holidaymakers visiting them. But because of this there are plenty of excellent Caribbean holiday deals to be had as tour operators begin either slashing their prices or offering what’s called “added value” so for example free nights (ten for the price of seven), or adding the meals at no extra cost when they normally charge on the basis of room only or bed and breakfast.

Example Caribbean holiday deals
I took a quick look at some of the most popular tour operators and here are some of the best deals on Caribbean holiday packages in 2009 that I could find:

Virgin Holidays: Virgin Holidays Special Offers
One of Virgin Holidays specialities are holidays in the Caribbean and they currently are offering a site wide deal saving you 10% if you book you Summer 2010 holiday on-line. If you are after something a little sooner they still have some good deals including:
Barbados
7 nights at the 3 star Silver Sands hotel in Barbados in September for £549 (was £ 649) Departing from London Gatwick or Manchester airports.
Located in Little Bay which is quiet and secluded with 14 acres of gardens beside the beach.
Facilities include: Weddings, Hot tub, Frequent Virgin Club, Tennis, Scuba Diving, Swimming Pool, Fitness Centre and Windsurfing.

Kuoni: www.kuoni.co.uk
Kuoni, the luxury holiday tour operator have extended their beach holiday sale up until March the 16th, as well as offering a further 5% off for on-line purchases:

St Lucia
7 nights at a 3 star St Lucian By Rex Resorts hotel from £624 (Save up to £575)
This holiday is being offered at almost half price and is right on famous Reduit Beach, located in the Rodney Bay area of St Lucia.
The price quoted is if you fly from Manchester in February or march. prices rise a little if you fly from London.

Lastminute.com: Worldwide holidays on Lastminute.com
Lastminute.com are one of my favourite Tour operators and they almost always have some sort of a deal on, so why not try something a little different:

Caribbean Cruise
A 4* Full-Board Ocean Village Caribbean Cruise that departs from Barbados, arriving back 7 nights later that includes flights from London Gatwick or Manchester from only £795 (this includes a 5% discount), is incredible value.

A cruise is an excellent way to see a variety of the Caribbean islands, without adding more travelling costs to your holiday:

A Typical itinerary:

• Day 1: Fly from the U.K to Barbados where you will be met and transferred to the Ocean Village ready for embarkation and set sail from Bridgetown at 20.00
• Day 2: Enjoy a day cruising
• Day 3: Arrive in Tortola at 08.00, departing at 13.00
• Day 4: Arrive in St Barts at 08.00 departing at 18.00
• Day 5: Arrive in Antigua at 08.00 departing at 17.30
• Day 6: Arrive in Martinique at 08.00 departing at 17.00
• Day 7: Arrive in Grenada at 08.00 departing at 18.00
• Day 8: Arrive back in Barbados at 08.00, ready for disembarkation and a return flight back to the UK.If you are on the 14 night cruise, you have the day to discover Barbados.
• Day 9: Enjoy a day cruising
• Day 10: Arrive in St Kitts at 08.00, departing at 18.00
• Day 11: Arrive in St Maarten at 08.00 departing at 18.00
• Day 12: Arrive in Guadeloupe at 08.00 departing at 18.00
• Day 13: Arrive in St Lucia at 08.00 departing at 18.00
• Day 14: Arrive in Dominica at 08.00 departing at 17.00
• Day 15: Arrive back in Barbados at 08.00, ready for disembarkation and a return flight back to the UK.

You can also add on nights in Barbados before the start or after the end of your cruise.

For more details on this Caribbean Cruise

Cheap Caribbean Holiday Tips:

Other than these deals here are a few points to keep in mind to make sure that you keep the cost of a holiday to the Caribbean as cheap as possible:

Travel outside of the Peak Holiday Season
The summer here is the low season in the Caribbean and this is when holiday prices much lower than that during the peak winter months. Because the prices are already being reduced, who knows what is going to happen this year, but because the islands are struggling for business even now during high season, they are probably going to be really desperate during the off-season months, so chances are there will be even more incredible Caribbean holiday deals to be found.

Avoid the islands when they are playing international cricket
Cricket is huge in the West Indies and not only to the local fans. Travelling fans will fill up the local hotels and thus drive up the prices of not only accommodation, but also flights as well. So try to avoid an island that is hosting international cricket during your stay, that is unless you wish to watch it! England are currently touring the West Indies until April 2009 so take a look at the England in West Indies 2009 – Schedule before you book.

Book your Caribbean holiday through an on-line tour operator
The major on-line tour operators are likely to offer the best rates as their overheads are less than their shop front versions. They are also geared up to offering deals to entice holiday seekers. They also often make it much easier to compare the prices at different times of the year, for example Kuoni’s website, www.kuoni.co.uk, who have a beach holiday sale up until the 16th of March and are offering a further 5% off on-line also has an excellent calendar showing the prices of a specific holiday on different departure dates. You can see at a glance that, by staying at Sandals Whitehouse European Village & Spa in Jamaica on April 21 instead of April 4, you would save over £500. Lastminute.com also have this great feature.

That’s right, HotelConnect.co.uk are offering hotel rooms for sale from £1 a night from Thursday 26th of February and the offer will continue until they run out.

You can really grab yourself a bargain and get a great cheap hotel deal that definitely won’t break your budget!

If you miss this offer on Thursday, HotelConnect.co.uk, have many other offers on fantastic hotels, including 50% off in over 200 destinations.

HotelConnect who?
HotelConnect were established in 1993 and are an independent award–winning accommodation specialist offering over 2000 handpicked and honestly reviewed hotels in 200 destinations and specialise in quality hotel accommodation at excellent rates. They frequently feature great promotions on their website including “2 nights for the price of 1″, “Winter Sales” and “Summer of Free Nights” being regular favourites in the calendar. Furthermore, we always have up to 50% off hotels in top destinations worldwide.

50% Off Hotel Sale – This Friday Only:

As well as the fantastic offer from HotelConnect.co.uk, Lastminute.com are also offering an incredible 50% off selected hotels including this:

4* Barcelona 50% off if you book on the 20th Feb

As well as Barcelona they have a 50% off on a 4* hotel in Madrid, Amsterdam, Prague and a 3 star hotel in Paris. The only catch is you have to book on Friday the 20th of February.

Can Dubai Really be a Cheap Holiday?
Dubai may not immediately spring to mind when you are thinking of a cheap winter sun holiday destination, but there are Cheap Dubai Holiday Packages available, and this does not mean that you have to stay in a 1 star hotel and fly with an airline that first stops in The Gambia, then South Africa before finally getting you to Dubai!

After a little searching, I found many holiday packages to Dubi for under £500 and a few under £400 per person, as an example below is a 4 night holiday package at the Golden Sands Hotel Apartments:

Golden Sands Hotel Apartments Dubai
Book with: Ebookers.com Holidays to Dubai
4 Star Hotel
Number of Nights: 4 nights
Location of Hotel: Half a mile South-west from the centre of Dubai

I picked the following dates: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 to Mon, 23 Mar 2009, and these can be changed.

Flights & Prices
The cost of the Holiday varied depending on which airline you choose, all prices are for the entire holiday per person and includes all taxes:

Royal Brunei Airlines (Non-stop) £341.61
Qatar Airways (One stop) £357.79
Emirates Non-stop (£382.91)
British Airways (Non-stop) £393.66
Virgin Atlantic (Non-stop) £395.66

More about the Hotel:
Golden Sands Hotel Apartments are ideally located in Bur Dubai, in the heart of business and shopping centers. The hotel offers a range of self-catering accommodation including One-Room Studios, Two-Room Studios, 2 Bedroom Apartments and 3 Bedroom Apartments.

The hotel has a Swimming pool, Gymnasium, Squash court, Table tennis, Business Centre, Coffee shop, Executive Lounge as well as Car Rental and Excursions Desk.

Each Apartment at the Golden Sands Hotel Apartments comes with a fully equipped kitchen.

Book a Package Holiday To Dubai
To book this and many other really great Dubai Holiday Packages try Ebookers.com Holidays to Dubai or click on the banner below to see some more winter sun holiday ideas not only in Dubai, but also to Malta, Jamaica, Cape Town, Bangkok, Miami and many more:

Dubai and Dubai Holiday Packages:
For more information on visiting Dubai, as well as more Dubai packages and how to book your holidays, flights, hotels or even car hire, you can follow the links to the relevant sections within the Beach Holiday Guide:

• Dubai Holiday Packages
• Book & Compare Dubai Holiday Packages, Flights & Hotels
• Golf in Dubai

This weekend, Thomas Cook are offering fantastic beach holiday deals to Majorca, Menorca & Ibiza from just
£199pp! This deal is part of a series of holiday sales from the package holiday giant Thomas Cook. Last week they were offering deals to Greece and it’s islands and I wrote a post about If there was a catch on these cheap holiday deals to Greece, the conclusion was that they were great deals, but for the very cheapest prices you did have to travel on certain days and from Manchester airport, but still got really good deals if you wanted to change the dates and airports.

Balearic Island Holiday Deals

The Balearics have fantastic beaches, amazing sunsets, picturesque scenery and great resorts and are home to some of Europe’s most popular sunshine beach destinations. The great thing about a holiday on the islands of Majorca, Menorca and Ibiza is that they can be laid back, cultural, active or hedonistic as you care to make it.
It looks as as though the deals to the Balearic islands of Majorca, Menorca and Ibiza are as good, if not better. Once again lets look at the cheapest offer: A self catering 7 night holiday at the 2 star Villa Nova in Palma Nova, Majorca will set you back only £174.00 per person!! An incredible price!

To get this price, you have to travel on a certain day, the flight leaves Gatwick on Tue 22 Sep 09 at 06:10

Changing the travel dates, could and probably will change the price, but as before I think Thomas Cook are offering some excellent deals on beach holidays at the moment and if you are after a good deal, book early and look forward to a holiday in the sun this summer.

For more information, click on the Thomas Cook logo below!

Marie Galante island, Guadeloupe

Photo taken by Rayced, see his photos here

Winter at times can seem never-ending, but for those with a little patience, you could be leaving the cold and gloomy days behind and spending a few weeks of winter sun holiday bliss at a price that won’t bite too hard this winter.

So how do you find a winter sun holiday at a bargain price?
It is all in the timing, The UK as well as the countries you are travelling to all have their peak travel seasons and if you get it right, you can make significant travel and accommodation savings. The two weeks leading up to Christmas, when here in the UK the schools have not broken up yet you can find some good deals on many long-haul holiday destinations. Another good time to book and go on that winter sun holiday is the first week in January a everyone returns to school and work and so there is a marked drop in the number of people travelling and so the prices of many holiday packages come down to reflect this. This also works for the countries you are travelling to, because they have less tourists many prices for accommodation as well as the attractions drop.

Another tactic to finding great bargain winter sun holiday deals if you are not to fussy as to your destination (as long as there is sun of course!) is to leave booking the holiday to the last minute. That is pretty much the unique selling point of lastminute.com and the are always worth checking for any cheap deals on winter sun holidays: Winter Sun on Lastminute.com

The Winter holiday deals page on Thomas Cook is also well worth checking, it works really well as you can quickly and easily and quickly filter what kind of holiday deal you are looking for and the destination you wish to travel to.

Where are the best cheap deals on winter sun holidays?
To find some sun during the European winter you are going to have to travel to catch the sun, here are a few of the best value getaways from winter:

The Gambia
I visited The Gambia over Christmas in 2007 and not only will you find more than enough winter sun (I don’t think I saw a cloud in 10 days!) but there are also some excellent white sandy beaches and for the more adventurous and for a true Gambia Experience, there are some excellent Gambia river boat safaris. The Gambia is also an excellent place if you wish to escape the commercialism of Christmas, being mostly a Muslim country, I awoke to the wonderful sound of the sea on Christmas Day, with not a Santa Claus or DVD advert in sight! For more info see the Beach holiday guide for more details on Beach Holidays in Gambia.

I found a few package holidays to The Gambia on lastminute.com. Including a 7 night holiday at a 3* Hotel in Banjul in The Gambia from £349 per person including flights in January. Over December the prices start at £419. Flightsdepart from Manchester, East Midlands, Bristol and London Gatwick. There is also a 7 night stay at the 4* Kombo Beach hotel for £409.00 including flights and transfers leaving on the 16th of December. Prices then increase over Christmas to about £700 and then drop again in January, February and March. The Gambia on Lastminute.com

On Thomas Cook, there are a bunch of great deals including a 7 night stay at the Hotel Badala Park in Kotu Beach leaving Gatwick on Fri 30 Jan 09 at 08:10 (so not too early!) for only £250.00 per person. Admittedly it is only a 1 star hotel, but the sun and beaches are 5*! There are also many other deals available and it is well worth checking out the:
Thomas Cook Holiday Deals to the Gambia

Caribbean
Two important considerations to know when planning on a holiday in the Caribbean, the high season in the Caribbean starts in Mid December and the hurricane season ends at the end of October! So to grab the best cheap holidays to the Caribbean, you need to travel before the high season but after thehurricane season, so in November and early December. The once again in early January you can once again find deals as the high season tourists return home.

I found a 7 night stay in a 4 star hotel in Barbados on lastminute.com for £646 which includes International flights, local transfers and meet and greet at the airport.

Winter Sun on Lastminute.com

Winter Holiday Deals on Thomas Cook Including holidays to The Dominican Republic, Jamaica and the Maldives

Dubai
You are guaranteed to find the sun at this time of the year in the Middle East. You just have to be a little clever to get the best cheap deals as this is also their peak tourist season. But if you travel in the two weeks leading up to Christmas, it is possible to find a cheap holiday in the sun in Dubai. Dubai is an excellent location for Shopping as well as having some of the best golf courses in the world.

Dubai Holidays on www.lastminute.com

Find out more on the Beach Holiday Guide to Dubai