Holidaymakers could save hundreds by booking longer breaks

Holidaymakers could save money by extending their 10-night trips into 11 nights away, according to research from Which?.

The consumer group revealed that, in certain cases, holidays could be more than £1,000 cheaper you were to book an additional night.

The prices of 400 package holidays were analysed, from providers including easyJet, Jet2, Love Holidays, On The Beach and Tui. In 26 instances, staying for 11 nights rather than 10 worked out cheaper overall.

In one of the most impressive examples, two people taking an all-inclusive, four-star package holiday in Fuerteventura, in the Canary Islands, with Tui in August 2023 could save £1,188 by extending their stay from 10 nights to 11 – a saving of 28 per cent.

The shorter holiday would have cost £4,148, but opting for an 11-night stay reduced the price to £2,960.

Another holiday with Tui sees two people sharing a twin room with a balcony or terrace on the Greek island of Corfu on a bed and breakfast rate could save £584, or £292 per person. This would slash the cost of the holiday by almost a third (31 per cent), from £1,862 to £1,278.

The research also found cases where extending a trip by one night would cost less than £5 extra per person.

In one example, for £1 more per person, two people could extend their 10-night stay in Crete with easyJet to 11 nights, bringing the total cost to £2,544 for two people sharing on a bed and breakfast rate – versus a 10-night rate of £2,542.

Jo Rhodes, deputy editor of Which? Travel, said: “If you’re booking a holiday, it’s worth checking if you can save money by making some small changes to your travel dates and duration of your stay. While it seems counterintuitive, occasionally there are substantial savings to be made by extending your trip.

“Of course, there are plenty of other ways to cut the cost of holidays. Shop around online to find the best price for accommodation and flights – using price comparison sites can be a good place to start.

“You can also slash money off your airfare by opting out of added extras – for example, we’ve found that most airlines will seat you together even if you don’t pay for pre-selected seats.”