Get away for less

10:53am Saturday 27th December 2008

It isn’t all gloom and doom for Britons making travel plans for 2009, as Jeremy Gates discovers

THERE are some good holiday deals to be had next year with big operators trying to hold package prices firm and many costs – flights, hotels, car hire – actually falling. The recession also means many people have more time than usual for longer breaks – helped by cash from a pay-off.

The plunging pound against the euro is also set to make short-haul summer-sun holidays pricier – persuading many to look further afield for a similar price.

Platon Loizou, at Jewel In The Crown Holidays, says: “At present conversion levels, the Eurozone is horrendously expensive. There could be ghost towns in Spain, it will become so expensive.

“There will be two big beneficiaries: Turkey is already going like a train, with our sales about 20 per cent up on this time last year.

“We are selling two weeks’ B&B in June ex-Manchester for £280.

Where else can compare with that?

“Sharm El Sheikh on the Red Sea looks a good bet too – except its hotels price are in dollars, and dollars are currently pretty strong against the pound. It will be more expensive, but good value even at higher levels.”

Darrell Wade, co-founder of Intrepid Travel, says some who are laid off book a life-changing break.

“Some customers ask about using pay-offs for an extended trip”, says Wade. “They want to reassess where they are, and see the world.

Plenty of people coming into our stores haven’t got heavy financial responsibilities and believe redundancy is a good thing for them.”

Intrepid offers newly-redundant workers a 15 per cent discount – if they have evidence (by email or letter from a previous employer) confirming the loss of a job.

Already, it says, demand for its 45- day overland trip between Kenya and Cape Town more than doubled in January-November 2008 – against the same period of 2007.

As a general trend, 2009 will also see a strong return of packages because when banks are collapsing, and airlines vanishing overnight, DIY holidays feel much riskier.

When it comes to packages, here’s a sample of what’s in store for 2009.

All operators, large and small, need cash fast so there’re loads of discounts for early bookers: Self-catering specialist Bowhills, with 700 properties in France, Italy, Spain, Cyprus and Gozo has discounts up to 25 per cent on bookings by April.

Crystal’s Lakes & Mountains programme offers free 100 euro vouchers for use on hotel facilities, including spa, bar and restaurant, on bookings by January 31. Seven nights’ halfboard at a four-star hotel on Lake Garda, Italy, starts at £689, with flights into Verona from seven UK airports.

On Croatia’s Istrian Peninsula, Holiday Extras offers free car hire for seven or 14 days on villas with private pools and concierge service. Seven nights in April at £479 per person, including flights, rises to £829 in peak season, (six sharing).

Bowhills: 0844-847-1318. Holiday Options: 0844-477-0452. Crystal Lakes & Mountains: 0871-231- 5641.

Blend a city break with cheap accommodation: Eurocamp offers short breaks for the first time this winter, using mobile home parks outside city centres. Five nights in a mobile home on the South Holland coast at Wassenaar, starts at £150 over New Year, with Amsterdam 30 miles down the road.

Eurocamp inquiries: 0844-406- 0552.

Escape the weak pound in destinations like Australia, Thailand and South Africa, all more affordable than ever, says Terry Fisher at netflights.com.

Deals from netflights include eight nights in Hua Hin on the peaceful stretch of the Thailand coast from £619, and eight nights in Koh Chang from £899.

Return flights to Perth, Australia, from April 16 start at £652, with accommodation from £25 per night.

netflights.com 0844-493-4147.

Find the cheaper side of Italy in Umbria, advises Philip Davies of specialist Italy operator Real Holidays.

One of its new Umbrian properties starts at £73 per person per week, self-catering, if four share. A converted farmhouse on the Umbrian/Tuscan borders with views of Lake Chiusu starts at £216 per person, six sharing.

Real Holidays: 0207-359-3938.

Get walking with HF Holidays: massively revamped since its Holiday Fellowship days, this operator adds 35 new itineraries for 2009 in the UK, Europe and Worldwide.

An eight-day guided classic walking holiday in the High Tatras of Slovakia, available from June 27 to August 15, starts at £575 (land-only).

A 16-day guided Cuba walk includes the historical centre of Havana, Trinidad – with Spanish colonial architecture – and the Unesco biosphere reserve of Las Terrazas starts at from £1,525 (land only) and £1,965, with flights.

HF Holidays: 0845-470-7558.

Keep cool in Iceland, slashing prices to boost tourism after its banking fiasco. Cox & Kings Europe Product Manager Michael Fleetwood says: “2009 is Iceland’s year of tourism. Prices are falling dramatically – typically our short city breaks in peak summer have been around £700-800.

“In summer 2009, they start at £395. Iceland has so much to offer – stunning natural landscapes and wonderful museums and galleries.”

Cox & Kings : 0207-873-5000.

Grab a discount on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express: Citalia’s offer limited to five cabins on specific dates from April 16 to October 4, offers the famous journey from London, with two nights in the city and flight home, from £1,569 per person, saving £500 per couple.

Citalia: 0871-664-0253.

Book a bargain safari in Namibia: so long as the dollar strengthens against the pound and the rand weakens, Namibia’s low prices will feel even more reasonable in 2009, says Chris McIntyre at Wild About Africa. His ten-day Teak Safari from £1,199, takes in the world’s only wild desert horses and tallest dunes, plus traditional villages, deserted boomtowns, Fish River Canyon and the Namib Desert.

Price includes flights, transport, accommodation, most meals, equipment, park fees and tips.

Wild About Africa: 0208-232-9777.

Catch the Northern Lights on an action-packed three-day break: a package from Activities Abroad, based on Tromso, includes an evening snowmobile safari, overnight husky safari across a terrain of fjords, snowy mountains and the Aurora Borealis, a night in an Arctic grade sleeping bag in a traditional Norwegian tepee, extreme weather gear, wilderness guides and some meals. The package, for over-18s until April 24, costs £1,295.

Activities Abroad: 01670-789991.

See the longest total eclipse of the century; the Earth slips into the moon’s shadow to create five minutes and 40 seconds of twilight over Eastern China on July 22, and Wendy Wu Tours offers four different locations to see it on the banks of the Qiantang River.

Nine-day tours from £1,760 include six nights’ accommodation, all meals, entrance fees and guides, via the ancient capital of Hangzhou, the garden city of Suzhou and Shanghai.

Wendu Wu Tours : 0844-499-3899.

Where Fido stays for free

THOSE embarking on a new year’s walk in the dales with their dog can enjoy an overnight visit at the Coniston Hotel in Skipton where their pampered pooches can stay absolutely free.

The 50-bedroom hotel is marking its tenth birthday by offering guests the chance to bring Fido to stay the night throughout January and February.

The hotel has a definite dog-friendly welcome for all of its canine guests with managing director Tom Bannister particularly proud of their pet-friendly policy.

He says: “Many of our guests come to stay at the Coniston with their pets – what better way to enjoy the hotel’s outdoor facilities, being set amidst 1,400 acres of spectacular Yorkshire Dales scenery and overlooking a tranquil 24-acre lake? It’s perfect for outdoor play and long country walks during winter and summer alike.

“Ten years ago, I was the first to stay in the hotel with my lurcher, Macleod – the hotel’s Macleod’s dining restaurant is even named after him and he can still be seen at the hotel today. It seems appropriate to celebrate our tenth birthday by offering our guests a chance to enjoy doggy days free of charge here at the Coniston.

“This is definitely somewhere pet owners can relax and unwind and not worry about their best friend’s canine capers.”

In addition to free doggy places during January and February, guests can also take advantage of the hotel’s ‘Winter Warmer’ rate which includes dinner, and bed and breakfast for two in a lakeside view room. The rate of £135 per night per room also includes a complementary glass of hot winter Pimms served on arrival.

The Coniston Hotel is part of the Coniston estate, owned by the Bannister family which today includes the 50-bedroom hotel with conference facilities, clay pigeon shooting, a falconry centre and an off-road driving course. The hotel is located on the A65 Skipton Road. Tel: 01756-748080.