It’s always nice to hear from bloggers what their favourites are. If you have a blank mind on where to go, what accommodation to stay in or how to get there – bloggers can lend a helping hand! We have asked travel bloggers to name their ‘favourites’: mode of travel, accommodation, booking sites and loyalty programmes! This should give you some inspiration and help you save a couples pennies when you’re ready to book.
What’s your favourite mode of travel?
The Globe Trotter: While I tend to be mostly organized, I do love a degree of flexibility while travelling and for that reason my favourite mode of travel is by road. Nothing can beat a good roadtrip – it is fun and travelling by road (in a car) gives me more freedom and control over the trip. I can alter my itinerary as needed without having to worry too much.
Absolutely Lucy: I’ve always loved flying and the excitement of catching a flight to another country, however, I also know the harm it does to our planet which has taken the shine off a bit. For me, nothing beats a good roadtrip – I love having a van or a car, good friends and a great soundtrack. Some of my best travelling experiences have come from the freedom of the open road.
Flights and Feelings: Most definitely plane, because on a plane you know you’re travelling the furthest away from home. Lulu says ‘flights are my love language’, however, a good road trip can be just as fun and we still have great memories of our Brighton road trip and weekend break last summer.
Victoria from TravelVixta: We recently went on an eight day road trip across the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany and I have to say, it really is quite nice to travel in our own car! We can stop when we want and load the car with our favourite snacks! I do enjoy it all though, but I dislike overcrowded public transport!
Abigail: I suffer flight anxiety so I do much prefer trains! but nothing stops me from exploring and travelling.
What’s your favourite type of accommodation to stay in?
Abigail: Always a hotel, if I’m away I do like to touch of luxury, having room service and having your bed made for you!
Absolutely Lucy: I’ve stayed in some amazing places all over the world and I think my favourites have to be treehouses and safari camps – I just love being so close to nature. When I can’t have these, I also really love to camp or stay in home-stays with the locals – it’s such an authentic way to connect with the locals.
The Globe Trotter: It’s a tie between a hotel and a cottage stay. I love hotels; hotel stays are ideal when one wants to escape the daily routine and enjoy a touch of luxury. Cottage stays are great too because one has lots of space, a higher degree of freedom and isolation compared to a hotel.
Victoria from TravelVixta: I find glamping really exciting. I love feeling more with nature, but with the luxury of an actual bed or even an en-suite. We glamped in a small wooden pod once which had an en-suite so that was very luxurious. We’ve also glamped in a yurt which was very romantic.
We have a Mazda Bongo campervan, so when it’s just my husband and I then I love to stay in this. We do it with the kids too, but it’s much easier kid-free!
Flights and Feelings: We do love a good affordable hotel. If it has a rooftop bar or a pool and hot tub, that’s always a nice touch. Serviced apartments are cute, too, for a lovely “home away from home” feel.
Any favourite booking sites? If you do, what makes them stand out?
Flights and Feelings: We like to book our accommodation with Booking.com because of the ‘book now, pay later’ feature which helps with spreading the cost of travelling and making it more affordable.
We tend to use Skyscanner for flights, as being able to search the ‘cheapest month’ to travel for a destination is a big plus to make travel affordable.
Abigail: Love Holidays is really good for package holidays, easy to use and straight forward. Expedia is very decent as well as you can browse through the reviews.
The Globe Trotter: We have used Ebookers.com for many years now and like them. They offer competitively priced holidays and are pretty straight forward to use. They have a rewards programme called BONUS+ of which we are a member and have snagged some good deals through it.
Absolutely Lucy: I always book my accommodation on Booking. com – often I won’t book ahead unless it’s peak season as I tend to find I get better deals if I turn up and ask. However, Booking. com offers a range of options including free cancellation (in case you find a better option) and charging you on arrival instead of beforehand – this is good if the accommodation turns out to be horrible. I also love that they really reward loyal customers with bonuses and discounts.
Victoria from TravelVixta: For camping we love Pitchup. It makes booking campsites so much easier. Some sites don’t allow kids, or have a minimum of two nights or even a week, and it can be tedious to go directly to each campsite’s website only to find a rule or restriction that means we can’t book, especially if we only want one night’s stay.
On Pitchup we can enter our guests and dates and it will show us exactly what is available and what we can book. It saves so much time and we’ve also found some great campsites thanks to this site.
Are there any loyalty programmes people should join?
Absolutely Lucy: It’s definitely worth having an account with brands – often you’ll be given discounts for booking with them regularly or even by not using them often as an incentive to return. I recommend Booking. com as you very quickly get great bonuses if you book regularly. TopCashBack is also great for booking through as you get lots of cashback on everything you book/buy.
Flights and Feelings: Booking. com, for sure. All you have to do is book with them five times to be a “Genius” Level 2 member. Then you can get up to 15% discount on selected properties as well as free room upgrades and free breakfast on select options! You can also earn money off your stay when you refer a friend to Booking.com.
Abigail: I’m not familiar with any but the Expedia newsletter is worth signing up to for the discounts.
Following ‘real’ travel blogs is a great way to stay up to date on the best programmes and websites. We’ve asked the bloggers some more travel-related questions, so stay tuned for more tips and advice! Also read Part 1 of the bloggers Q & A.
Want to know more about the bloggers? Find them on:
Abigail Kathleen: Website, Instagram.
TravelVixta: Website, Instagram.
Absolutely Lucy: Website, Instagram.
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