“Overpacking” by wives and girlfriends is causing many men to give up part of their aircraft luggage allowance when going away on holiday, according to a survey.

The baggage limited for passengers is usually capped at 20kg (44lb) per person, but some men are having to sacrifice up to 5kg (11lb) of this to cater for items that their other halves could not fit into their own luggage.

Just over half – 52% – of men revealed that at some point they had given up some space to their partner, while 22% of women admitted to not checking packing restrictions before leaving for the airport.

The survey was carried out by Stansted Airport on a total of 2,000 people and found that a quarter of travellers spend three hours packing their bags. Despite this, 37% of women still owned up to reorganising their suitcases at the check-in desk, while 48% conceded they take much more than they need on holiday.

Stansted terminal manager Mandy Mather said: “The days of saying ‘don’t forget your toothbrush’ are long gone.

“Now the question should be: what can we leave at home? Unfortunately it seems a lot of passengers want to have their cake – and pack it.”

The most common items to get left behind were found to be suncream or sunglasses, with 15% of holidaymakers admitting to have forgotten these on occasion. A tenth of people forgot their phone chargers, while 13% made the costly mistake of leaving the house without their passports or boarding passes.

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After the sun, sea and sand of a foreign holiday, more than half of British tourists get a nasty shock when they arrive home to a hefty bill of ATM charges.

According to travel agent sunshine 67% of globetrotting Britons visit cashpoints during their trips abroad. Be it to buy souvenirs, some exotic grub or to pay for some exciting day trips, Britons head to cashpoints five times per trip, on average.

But with each transaction costing an average of £2.75, 53% of British holidaymakers say they’ve had “a nasty surprise” when they read their bill.

So on top of the cost of flights, accommodation and food, Britons are having to fork out to withdraw money also.

The travel agent found that, based on the number of visits made abroad by Britons in 2011, holidaymakers fork out fees of around £260 million a year just to access their own cash.

Sunshine co-founder Chris Clarkson said: “There’s nothing worse than getting home from a nice relaxing holiday, which cost a fair amount to go on in the first place, only to be hit by extra charges like credit card withdrawal fees.”

Mr Clarkson advised jetsetters to consider taking out some spending money beforehand, or looking into a pre-paid card.

Some 2,107 Britons participated in the survey.
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Falling car hire and villa rental prices across Europe could convince more people to opt for self-catering holidays, a survey has suggested.

It is thought that because it can now cost up to 40% less to rent a car in some European destinations than it did two years ago, an increasing number of people will opt for self-catering holidays rather than expensive hotel breaks.

A study by TravelSupermarket revealed that car hire rates across popular European holiday destinations such as Malaga, Alicante, Murcia, Palma, Tenerife and Faro have fallen considerably since 2010, with bargains to be had this Easter, Whit week and in August.

Holidaymakers can save up to 26% on car hire during Whit week across eight European destinations, while prices have fallen by 34% in Spain since 2010. In Malaga, for example, it costs £63.89 to rent a small car for eight days, which equates to less than £8 per day.

Self-catering holidays in Greece could become considerably cheaper as villa rental prices could fall by as much as 20%.

Holidaymakers can save even more money by leaving the car at home prior to departure and taking a bus to the airport, before hiring a car when they get to their destination.

Experts say that prices have fallen considerably because people are booking their holidays later than usual to get the best deals and because of economic uncertainty in eurozone countries such as Spain, Portugal and Italy.

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Men are more interested in having good weather than being surrounded by lots of women when choosing their holiday destinations, according to a survey.

Travel agent Sunshine found that 57% of men leaving large airports such as Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted will be heading to destinations mainly for the weather.

Meanwhile just under a quarter (23%) will be going somewhere mainly based on the likelihood of there being beautiful women on the beaches.

Around 12% said sporting events were a main concern for where they booked their breaks. Football and rugby proved to be the most popular sports to watch on holiday, probably boosted by recent world cups abroad in both sports, while cricket, tennis and athletics were also cited.

Results show that nightlife is a popular secondary concern, as 49% of the men who named multiple factors said the club scene was important to them.

Sunshine co-founder Chris Brown said: “Whereas women are potentially more concerned about the shopping opportunities that a holiday destination offers, it seems men have other ideas.

“The weather was a high influencing factor for many, but then things like nightlife and sporting events crept in too.”

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Holidays, especially ones to idyllic beach locations, are supposed to be joyous occasions where the memories made are only of the happy variety.

However, a survey by travel agent Sunshine has revealed that holidaymakers do worry about many things that could go wrong while on an overseas break.

These holiday fears, according to 53% of those polled, have ruined at least one of their trips.

The most ‘popular’ holiday fears people experience is that they will not get a decent tan during their break, followed closely by losing their passport and their luggage.

Many, according to the poll, also worried about missing a flight. This can easily be avoided by arriving at the airport several hours before the departure time, while taking a bus to the airport can also help to make holiday travel as stress-free as possible.

Other travellers said they were most concerned about staying in accommodation that they did not deem to be good enough.

Other unfavourable occurrences that played on the mind of holidaymakers include bad weather, not having enough money to spend while on holiday and not liking the resort.

Last, but by no means least, holidaymakers feared getting ill or getting burnt by the sun.

Sunshine questioned a total of 1,672 people for the survey.

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A survey of UK holidaymakers has revealed that we most like to kick back on the beach with our families when on our ideal overseas break.

The beach holiday was voted the most popular type of break in a poll of thousands of sunseekers carried out by the Association of British Travel Agents (Abta) for its annual Consumer Trends study.

City breaks came second in the destination stakes, along with going away with a significant other. Cultural trips and breaks with friends were voted the third most popular choices. Whichever option or combination of options holidaymakers go for, arranging an airport transfer before travelling can take a lot of the stress out of the trip.

Beach holidays scooped 37% of the popular vote, with those aged between 35 and 44 being especially keen to feel sand on their feet. Men were less keen than women to jet off with their partner. Some 45% of women are keener to holiday with their partner than men at 38%.

Mark Tanzer ABTA Chief Executive said: “Our customers’ ideal holiday choices are incredibly wide and varied and our survey gives a fascinating insight into what they like to do and who they like to share their ideal holiday experiences with.”

A dismal end to the UK summer has persuaded thousands of Britons to travel abroad on long-haul flights from airports like Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton in the coming weeks for one last dose of sunshine.

Many of these holidaymakers, it would seem, are opting for a Caribbean getaway as package holidays to the region tend to offer good value for money and, of course, plenty of sunshine. 

Niel Alobaidi, Hayes & Jarvis commercial director, said: “The Caribbean has seen some great growth in recent weeks on the back of excellent value offers.

“We’re seeing growth across all the main islands in the region of 20%, with the most dramatic increases in the Dominican Republic, whose 100% year-on-year growth has been driven largely by BA’s new direct flights into Punta Cana.”

Britons escaping the damp and dreary UK weather by jetting off to the Caribbean are enjoying the best-value deals in the Dominican Republic, according to the Post Office’s latest Travel Money Long Haul Report, while good deals are also to be had in Antigua, Barbados and Jamaica.

Although the Caribbean might seem like an eternal paradise, the region can, from time to time, suffer from unsettled weather.

Bargain hunters might be thrilled to discover that airlines are also slashing fares to the region, partly to offset the impact of hefty UK flight taxes, while Hayes & Jarvis has noted that in recent weeks long-haul holidaymakers are ready to destination-swap to enjoy the biggest savings.

Mr Alobaidi added: “Four-star packages with 40% reductions (over £600) are currently proving more alluring than some cheaper deals in lower-grade hotels.”

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A large proportion of holidaymakers try to compete with their friends’ travel plans by booking trips to more exotic and exciting locations, a recent survey has revealed.

Up to two in five British travellers admit they have purposefully sought a holiday that they considered to be more impressive than one a friend, family member or work colleague had recently been on, according to a survey by travel agent Sunshine.

Around 9% of these holidaymakers said they booked these trips because they felt jealous about a holiday recently taken by one of their peers.

Competition among London-based holidaymakers is likely to be particularly intense with airports such as Stansted, Luton and Heathrow all offering cheap flights to some of the most beautiful and exotic destinations across the world.

Some 44% of the 1,208 adults who were questioned said they felt happy for a friend who says they had a “lovely holiday abroad” but 12% admitted they had feelings of envy and 6% said they were “annoyed”.

A total of 79% said they had boasted to their contemporaries about how good their holiday was after they got back and 26% said they thought their friends had often gone on a good holiday just to “get one up on them”.

The survey even revealed that 8% of those who had been away had lied to people about their holiday destination to make their trip sound more exotic than it was.

Sunshine co-founder Chris Brown said: “While it’s nice to hear that someone close to you or someone you get on well with at work has had a lovely holiday, it’s hard not to feel a pang of jealousy.

“However, when booking a holiday, it’s important people choose their location or resort based on what they like, not on what they think will look most impressive to others.”

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Moscow has some of the most expensive hotels in the world, according to a survey.

Research by corporate service company HRG found that the Russian capital has rooms costing an average of £260.68.

This is in contrast to the UK, which had some of the cheapest rooms between January and June of this year, the study shows.

The average room rate in London over the period of research stood at £156.82. This figure is a 2% rise on the prices of last year. The cost of a Heathrow Airport hotel room rose slightly more at 6% to £110.60., while the price of an average room in Manchester, Bristol and Leeds hotels all rose around 2%.

Internationally, the highest climber was Zurich, where rooms increased in cost by 17% to an average of £220.40.

At £76.69, rates at Cardiff hotels were the lowest among UK cities in the first half of this year, but still 1% up on the same period last year.

Average rates at Birmingham and Belfast hotels were about the same in the first six months of this year, but Edinburgh (down 1%), Glasgow (down 1%), Newcastle upon Tyne (down 2%) and Liverpool (down 7%) all offered cheaper rooms in January-June 2011 than in the same period last year.

HRG said: “Despite widespread speculation that rates would rise sharply in the UK in 2011, this failed to materialise and the top 12 cities saw an average flat percentage rate year-on-year versus 2010.”

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A third of workers would sacrifice some of their pay for more holidays in a bid to improve their work-life balance, a new study has found.

The survey of 1,000 adults by the hyphen recruitment organisation showed that younger employees are more likely to swap pay for time off, with 40% of those aged 16-24 in favour of this move.

Human resources and finance departments are also said to be keen on the idea, according to the study.

Hyphen’s managing director, Zain Wadee, said: “Our research demonstrates a radical change in the way that compensation and benefits packages are viewed by workers today.

“Even in today’s challenging economic environment, with the cost of living growing faster than salaries are increasing, workers are looking for more holiday time, and greater work-life balance. It is important to note that Generation Y and the Net Generation are particularly vocal about their desire for additional leave allocation.

“This may be indicative of a future shift in workplace culture, with workers beginning to demand and value greater work-life balance than ever before. Employers must think strategically about the kind of benefits packages they should offer to younger staff members in order to attract and retain the best possible talent. Offering a flexible menu of benefits may be one solution.”

Hyphen said that longer working hours and rising levels of stress are leading to more workers being prepared to sacrifice pay for time off. Low-cost air fares and easier transfers to airports such as Heathrow and Stansted could also be helping to fuel greater demand for holidays.

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