By Inna Hemme
Is my summer vacation over if I haven’t booked anything yet? That’s the question many families in Berlin ask themselves during the almost fully booked summer holidays. But more and more young people can hardly afford a vacation.
The fact is that travel costs have increased by at least a quarter this year, according to experts. Cheap plane tickets are also a rarity right now. According to an evaluation by the comparison portal Check24, flights from German airports to the 30 most popular destinations during this summer vacation cost an average of 17 percent more than in 2022. The Berlin online travel portal Urlaubpiraten cites the reasons for the price increases. The culprits are not only the high inflation and the lack of staff in the hotels and at the airports, but also the lower capacities that have prevailed since the pandemic. The demand is significantly higher than the supply, especially during the holidays. In other words, there are hardly any such things as good last-minute bargains anymore.
BZ AM SONNTAG has put together the best savings tips from travel experts and tour operators so that you can still get to the sea this summer!
► Access comparison apps
The Omio booking platform compares them all Means of transport (buses, trains, flights, ferries) and selects the cheapest connection for you! Check24 is the best way to get the cheapest Rental Car Offers find on site. At Skyscanner, a price alert can be set for desired flights set. You will be informed as soon as the ticket prices have fallen. snap!
► Choose the booking and travel time wisely
According to price studies by Opodo and Expedia, the best flight deals are actually secured on weekends. When it comes to travel time, it is exactly the opposite: flying during the week is the cheapest.
► Flexible with travel destinations
Popular travel destinations are said to be almost fully booked this summer. So where to? “There is still capacity in Antalya or on the Greek islands, where we have greatly expanded our offer,” says TUI Germany boss Stefan Baumert. “Anyone who can no longer find what they are looking for in the big destinations should take a look at the little sister: Menorca and Ibiza instead of Mallorca.”
► switch to other states
TUI spokesman Aage Dünhaupt recommends that families with school children also take a look at the offers from Hanover or Leipzig. In federal states with other holiday periods, there are often bargains and the airports can be reached easily and without extra charge by “train to flight”. For Berlin families with several children, offers by car on Usedom or on the Polish Baltic Sea are often worthwhile.
► volume discounte use, cook for yourself!
Families who are friends or larger groups of friends travel much cheaper if they share a holiday home instead of booking individual hotel rooms! In addition, you can cook yourself. A FeWo-direkt study also shows: Thanks to self-sufficiency in a holiday home, Germans save an average of 400 euros per stay.
Package tours are particularly worthwhile for families – because children often travel at a reduced rate or even for free. Here are a few currently available offers with departures from BER:
► With DERTOUR offers, a child up to the age of 12 gets a 100 percent discount on the hotel price! For example: Seven nights at the Calimera Balansat Resort Ibiza with half board cost from 1189 euros/pp incl. flight and transfers (dertour.de).
► FTI vacationers can look forward to bargains in Turkey: There are no hotel costs for the first child, and 50 percent for the second. Example: A week with ultra-all-inclusive including flight at the Hotel Victory Volare (Side) on the Turkish Riviera is available from 759 euros/pp (fti.de).
► Those who can travel by car will find e.g. B. still in the TUI Kids Club Misdroy on the Polish Baltic Sea coast offers for 657 euros / pp
Wanderlust? At the TUI Blue Crystal Bay in Hurghada, an all-inclusive holiday for a family of three costs from EUR 2,650 including flights (tui.com).