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Is skiing just for rich people?
How much I spent on my first ever ski trip, a £5k viral mountain view and how to go on holiday with your grandparents for free!
Chelsea Dickenson
February 04, 2024
Your weekly travel roundup ⛷️
In this week’s Cheap Holiday Expert newsletter, we’re starting with all things SNOW! Because I recently had my first taste of the slopes in Bulgaria and the good news is, it didn’t break the bank AND I didn’t break any bones. So I’ve pulled together all my intel to help YOU bag a bargain ski holiday.
And, it’s not just a great time of year to carve up some fresh powder (I’m a skier now okay?!) it’s also a fab time to head off on a cheap city break. Whilst January generally has the best deals, February will also get you some pretty decent prices so we’re sharing a couple of destination guides to inspire you.
Here’s what’s coming up in today’s newsletter:
Cheap European ski destinations ❄️
Viral vacay: rooms with a (killer mountain) view 🏔️
Affordable city break destinations 🧭
My deal of the week: grab your granny and go 👵
Affordable ski holidays 🎿
I’ll admit that I’ve always snubbed ski holidays because I thought they were too pricey but I recently realised that I should actually cast aside my judgements and give it ago!
And not only am I sharing how much I spent on my first ski trip to Bulgaria, the team here at Cheap Holiday Expert have also pulled together an amazing guide on the other affordable places for you to get your ski on.
 How much does it cost to ski in Bulgaria? Every single penny I spent in Bulgaria including the travel cost, the ski hire and even all my food and drink spends! |  The 7 cheapest places to ski in Europe Whether you fancy recreating my Bulgaria trip or want to try somewhere else, these are 7 surprisingly affordable ski resorts. |
Viral Vacay 📲
Where we track down the accommodation that’s gone viral, find out how much it actually costs and if needs be, suggest a cheaper alternative 🕵️♀️
 | What is it? How viral? How much? Cheaper alternative? Cheaper still? |
Seen a place go viral that you want me to do this for? Reply with it to this email! 📧
Where to go in February
If you fancy a last-minute trip away, there are still some great deals to be had. Whilst January tends to offer the best city break deals, February isn’t far behind!
If you’re looking for inspo on where to go, our destination guides show you how to do a city break on every budget, whether you’re saving, splurging here and there or just going full out.
We’ve got a load of destination guides over on our website, but I’ve picked a couple that I think are worth a gander.
 City guide: Lisbon You’re almost certaintly guaranteed milder temperatures than in the UK, and you’ll get to enjoy the Portuguese capital’s hotspots without the crowds. It’s a fave city of mine for good reason! |  City Guide: Rotterdam Yes, Amsterdam is great but Rotterdam is such a fun city too! Plus, it’s a hell of a lot cheaper to stay there and not too far if you fancy a day trip to the capital as well. Also - the eurostar stops there! |
My deal of the week
This week it’s a deal which, let’s be honest, is a total PR stunt, BUT IT’S A BLOODY LOVELY ONE. That, and it could genuinely help save you a load of money if you bag it.
What’s the deal?
You may have heard of ‘Kids Go Free’ but how about ‘Grans Go Free’? After discovering that 51% of families have never been on holiday with their grandparents, easyJet Holidays are offering them to travel free of charge on family bookings to several European destinations, including Spain, Greece and Italy.
But what about Grandads?!!
Don’t worry - you can go with them too! I guess that ‘Grans and Grandads Go Free’ just wasn’t as catchy!!
Okay cool - tell me more details
The ‘Grandparent offer’ means a saving of £750 applied to a booking with a minimum spend of £1000. The spend/saving amount is per booking based on the total holiday price and you can’t use it in conjunction with another offer. The discount must be used on a booking which includes a grandparent and their grandaughter or grandson. It’s also for holidays taking place between 1st February and 31st October 2024.
You can read the full terms here.
This sounds too good to be true - what’s the catch?
The catch is… There’s only a limited number left! 10 in fact! But the great news is that you’re reading this newsletter before the final 10 holidays drop on Monday 5th February 2024.
Also, the press went big on this for the first 10 holidays they gave away on Thursday 1st February but it seems that not everyone shared that there was this second release date… So here’s hoping you’ve got less competition!
How do I book?
Because this is a special one off offer, you’ll need to make your booking through easyJet’s contact centre. You can reach this by calling: 0330 134 8000.
The booking for this deal opens at 12pm on Monday 5th Feb so set your alarms!
How do I make sure I nab this deal?
If you’re hoping to give this deal a go. I’d have a search for what easyJet holidays work for you and have a couple of options ready to go.
Also make sure you have everyone’s passport details to hand, and whilst you’re at it, that everyone’s passports are valid if you’re hoping to head away soon!
I missed out on the deal 😭
Bbz, I’m gutted for you. However, Mon 5th Feb will be the last day of easyJet holidays Big Orange Sale where you can get up to £400 off a break away with the code: BIGSALE
So hopefully you can still get yourself a good discount using that instead!
One more thing
James and I managed to get away with his grandparents, Joan and Colin, a few years ago. In fact, we flew to Benidorm to surprise them and caught our trip all on camera for a YouTube series I was doing!
Sadly, we lost Joan at the end of last year and we are both so grateful we got to do this trip and have these two fun videos to watch back forever more.
So yeh - get going on holiday with your grandparents everyone!!
What’s got the team excited this week? 🥳
From bargains to travel news, here’s what we’ve been getting distracted with this week.
My office today: an Indian sleeper train! That’s me actually writing this newsletter!!
Katie: I went to the Accidentally Wes Anderson exhibition in London, and wanted to add every location to my bucket list! It made me really want to travel on a Swiss narrow-gauge railway (niche) and also take a cruise to Antarctica, although I’ve heard it’s a ve-ry choppy experience 🤮.
James: This week I’ve been excited to find out everywhere Chelsea has booked for us on our trip around India. I had no idea about half of them!
Chelsea: ffs
And that’s a wrap!
That’s all for this week – thanks if you made it this far and why not let me know you did so by answering the poll below ⬇️
If you have a mate or family member who you think would love this newsletter too, they’ll just need to sign up here.
Have you ever been on holiday with your grandparents?Tap your answer! |
Next week, I’ll be focusing on how to do low-cost flights right – with advice on the best hand-luggage options and how to feel like a VIP even if you’re in seat 35C.
See you then!
Chelsea x
Current location: India (that will be coming up soon!)
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