Cheap weekend breaks that offer quality and value for money can be difficult to find, unless you know where and how to look. And that’s where the Bargain Hotel Finder comes in. Remember, we are here to help you find bargain accommodation, travel and the best cheap short breaks for you and your family.

First of all, make sure that your idea of what constitutes these cheap short breaks is the same as the people you are buying from. If you are searching for cheap weekend breaks, you will probably expect to go away on Friday afternoon or Friday evening and return on Sunday evening or Monday morning. Some operators offer Thursday to Saturday or Saturday to Tuesday deals in order to avoid travel on Fridays. This is how they make it look better value than it is. In the travel industry Friday travel is invariably more expensive than getting around on less popular days. If you are flexible enough to be able to take advantage of that, then it’s all good. If you work and find it difficult to take extra time off, then this may not be your ideal cheap weekend breaks.

An obvious next question is how long can short weekend breaks be? Two days, three days? Maybe just one day –would that come under the heading of cheap short breaks, or – in my mind, at least constitute an “away-a-day”? To me one day is hardly a break at all and seven days is a holiday, but you’ll find them all listed under “short weekend breaks” with one operator or another.

Cheap Weekend Breaks: What Is “Cheap”?

When the question of “cheap weekend breaks” and “cheap short breaks” comes up, the definition of the word “cheap” is crucial. Some commentators, such as, for example, Britain’s Daily Telegraph Travel Editor might define it a lot higher than you or I might. To a certain extent prices and expenditure will always been comparative. Here (and throughout the whole Bargain Hotel Finder website), we define “cheap” in the same way as “bargain”, “offer” and “deal” in that if a holiday, a hotel room or indeed those cheap weekend breaks are ay less expensive than you would normally expect to pay, then they are classed as “cheap”.

In my view, cheap short breaks have to offer good value for money in order to qualify. I am based in the United Kingdom, but whether you live in the USA, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, India or even the Bahamas, then cheap weekend breaks must have a local parameter. For example, to me, a few days away in the English university town of Cambridge, staying perhaps at the University Arms Hotel (a very good choice, by the way and possibly my favourite Cambridge hotel), would come in the category of Cheap Weekend Breaks; whereas to someone living in New York, it would very much be classed as a luxury and possibly quite expensive vacation.

In the same way, the idea of heading off with friends for cheap weekend breaks to watch the spectacular – and highly recommended – Fall leaves in New England would hardly occur to the residents of London, Paris, Rome or even Mumbai searching for cheap weekend breaks. As a rule, I think that if you have to travel for as much or even more time than you spend at your destination, then that’s not a break. The idea of flying several thousand miles in order to indulge in any kind of cheap weekend breaks has to be counter-productive. If you disagree, that’s fine, but I’d recommend you restrict your traveling for any kind of cheap short breaks to three or four hours each way per two days of stay.

Cheap Weekend Breaks: Can You Get The Best Deal With Travel Agents?

Although the internet has all but taken over the discount travel market, travel agents still do exist and can offer brilliant deals when it comes to cheap short breaks. (Quite frankly, these days they have to in order to survive!) Having said that, my advice is not to book anything with anybody until you have checked out all the various options and are certain that you have checked out the most discounted cheap weekend breaks.

Cheap Weekend Breaks: The Facts About Internet Bookings

Yes, the internet has become the most popular way to book travel and accommodation. Yahoo say that 76% of all online travel purchases occur following an internet search, many of them via online advertisements. It is said that the average traveler visits 3.6 sites when shopping for cut-price fares and hotel packages, and that figure includes cheap weekend breaks. Most people are quite savvy when it  comes to booking online. In a recent survey, travel consumers said they believed that no one site had the lowest rates or fares and I firmly believe this to be true, especially when it comes to cheap weekend breaks.

Cheap Weekend Breaks: Getting The Best Deals

When booking cheap weekend breaks it is so important to follow 4 simple rules:

1. Compare prices. Just because one website offers some great offers for cheap short breaks, it doesn’t mean to say that your choice will be as good value.
2. Compare like with like. Not all cheap weekend breaks are the same. Are the hotels and rooms of the same standard. Are there extras you would normally expect for free – breakfast, parking, airport transfer, and so on?
3. Shop around. Compare cheap weekend breaks between various websites,  hotels, travel operators and operators.
4. Be prepared to go custom. Some of the best cheap short breaks I have ever been on were booked individually – hotel, train, taxi and flights. It’s also more fun!

Whenever you get the chance to take one of those cheap short breaks we keep promising ourselves, remember that crucially it is supposed to be relaxing. Getting everything right in the planning and booking stage is essential if things are going to go ahead smoothly. Things can and sometimes do go wrong unexpectedly, but if your initial plan was sound then problems are much easier to iron out than if everything was done “on the hoof”. Just remember, the main thing when it comes to cheap weekend breaks is… enjoy!