1. On Board

   Whether you're flying, driving or sailing, take your own food and drink rather than paying the ridiculous prices carriers and airports charge for basics.

2. Travel Light

   Be really ruthless with your packing to cut down charges for bags, or at least pay in advance online so you don't get hammered at the airport.

3. Travel Insurance

   European citizens can get free European Health Insurance (EHIC from Post Offices) and cut the cost of an excess on any medical claims.

4. Airport Parking

   Some airport hotels charge less with a stay-and-park deal than longer stay airport car parks. Alternatively pre-book your airport car park and try and negotiate a deal.

5. Travel To and From the Airport

   Consider advance-booked coach travel or look for special online train deals to get to and from your airport, rather than taxi, your car, or paying the price for public transport quoted on the day.

6. Vaccinations

   Get your holiday jabs for free at your doctor's surgery rather than a travel clinic who will charge.

7. Check Your Credit/Debit Card Charges

   Before you take your plastic check which ones charge the least for currency and withdrawals. Avoid using airport bureaux de change for currency - they can be extortionate.

8. Check Your Mobile Charges

   If your current operator charges massively for taking and receiving calls and texts while abroad, find out if they also do an international package to cut costs.

9. Do Your Own Excursions

   You can often hire your own vehicle and explore at a far cheaper rate than piling on to a coach for an organised visit - and often in more comfort. Remember to return the car with a full tank to avoid surcharges. Book entry into attractions online or ahead and make more savings.

10. Eat Out

    Hotel food and drink is usually far more expensive than local fare and you can save lots by having your meals in a nearby café or diner - breakfast in particular can be an expensive rip off. Or better still, self cater.

To try the Name Your Own Price” feature for hotels, click on the button on Priceline's homepage that reads, “Name Your Own Price-get deeper discounts.” When prompted, simply type in the name of the city you'll be staying in, the dates on which you'll need accommodations, and the number of hotel rooms you'll need.

Once you provide this information, you'll be offered a list of neighborhoods in your city of choice. If you choose New York City, you'll be offered a list of neighborhoods that includes "Midtown East", "Midtown West" and "Downtown." Simply select one or more neighborhoods that you'd be willing to stay in and then select your preferred hotel star level (e.g., four-star hotel). Then name your own price. Priceline will then check to see if any of its participating hotels will accept your offer. You will be required to enter your credit card information in order to place your bid.

Hotels in Priceline's Name Your Own Price network will often accept offers that are fifty percent or less of the usual rate. Why? Because the hotels would prefer to have someone stay in a room at a vastly reduced rate than allow the room remain vacant. Name Your Own Price can yield some surprisingly low rates, especially if you are looking for a room at the last minute. Priceline users have snagged four-star hotels in Boston for $100 a night and three-and-a-half star hotels in Philadelphia for $75 a night. In smaller cities, like Baltimore and Milwaukee, three star hotels can be had for as low as $40 to $50 dollars.

The disadvantage to Name Your Own Price is that you don't find out the actual name and exact address of your hotel until your offer has been accepted and your credit card has been charged. Never fear, though! The hotels in Priceline's Name Your Own Price network are familiar, reputable hotels-Omni, Westin, Hyatt, etc., and when you bid on a four-star hotel, you can feel confident that what you get in the end will be a room reservation in a four-star hotel. However, if you belong to a loyalty program or have a rewards card with a particular hotel chain, then Name Your Own Price may not seem so attractive.

After you submit your price and room request, it usually takes only a matter of minutes for Priceline to let you know if your offer has been accepted. If your offer is accepted, then your reservation has been made and paid for. If your offer is rejected, you will have to wait twenty-four hours before you make the exact same offer. However, you can make the place an offer again immediately if you change some detail of your request. (Simply raising your bid price doesn't count.) The easiest fix is to change your preferred neighborhood (for instance from Midtown West to Midtown East), add one or more neighborhoods to your request, or change your preferred hotel star level (for instance from four-star to three-star). It usually doesn't take more than two tries to place a successful bid. Once you get the message that your offer has been accepted by Priceline, you can relax and try to figure out how you're going to spend all that money that you by booking your hotel through Priceline.