A survey has revealed that Britons tend to err on the side of caution and pack more than they need when going on holiday.

British Airways discovered that a whopping nine in 10 holidaymakers do not use up to 30% of items they take on holiday, while 40% take three or more pairs of shoes.

A fifth of people take 10 or more pairs of underwear, while an eighth take three or more towels away with them on a one-week holiday.

Scottish people and those from the east of England are more likely to pack too many things and therefore have to dig deep in their pockets to pay excess baggage surcharges.

If you do have a lot of baggage, airport transfers can be a quick and stress-free way to get between airports.

The survey went on to reveal that many Britons pack foods in their suitcases to take with them on holiday. Popular items include tomatoes, sardines, peanut butter, Super Noodles, Marmite and potato peelers.

Fancy dress items, such as angel wings and nun’s outfits, were also popular items to take abroad.

Abigail Comber, BA’s head of brands and marketing, said: “We don’t really want to have to choose between books, toiletries or tea-bags, or to dress kids in half their holiday clothes just to avoid excess baggage fees. Something as basic as checking what your baggage limit is on your chosen airline will help.”

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Britons are known for their love of tea, and it seems we’re reluctant to go even a week without a good brew, as we’re stuffing our beloved tea bags into our luggage when we jet overseas.

According to holiday rental firm CLC Leisure, we feel tea bags abroad “just don’t taste the same”, and so our Yorkshire Tea, Tetleys or PG Tips are “part of essential packing.”

Baggage restrictions at all airports including Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted prevent us from taking hoards of groceries abroad, prompting us to turn to local ingredients on self-catering trips abroad, the research found.

The three main meals prepared by Britons on holiday abroad were pasta, salads and grills/barbecues.

CLC Leisure director Laurence Hicks said: “Baggage restrictions and charges, combined with the availability of British brands, often at lower prices, have largely ended the eccentric practice of holidaymakers taking suitcases packed with groceries when they go abroad.

“The exception is teabags, which are widely available abroad but which many people say just don’t taste the same and are still part of essential packing.”

He added: “At one time the thought of having to cook meals on holiday abroad was a big turn-off but now a modern, well-equipped kitchen is a key requirement.

“The British beans-on-toast brigade still exist but their numbers are fast dwindling. Instead we find that an increasing number of holidaymakers want to prepare and eat more complex meals.”

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Families are seriously miscalculating the cost of their holidays, according to a survey.

The average holidaymaker believes they can enjoy a break for a family of four for £2,135, a poll by hotel chain Holiday Inn found. In reality, the average family-of-four getaway costs £3,700.

The survey of 3,000 adults found families spend more than £160 on new clothes ahead of their holidays. More than 60% of respondents said they are saving for longer for their holidays, with women saving for up to 18 months.

Up to half of those questioned said they were bargain hunters eager to seek out the best deals.

But a third said they were surprised by the total cost of a holiday, with around 20% using their credit cards to pay for any unexpected charges.

Rory Walker, general manager at Holiday Inn Heathrow M4 Junction 4 said: “The results of the survey are somewhat surprising.

“At a time when Brits are tightening their belts and actively searching out the best deals, our survey has found that people are overspending by almost a third because they don’t think about all the hidden extra costs.”

Holiday Inn is part of the InterContinental Hotels Group, which owns more than 4,400 properties across 100 countries.

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Scores of Britons are preparing to enjoy a relaxing getaway, as summer bookings with Thomson Holidays owner TUI Travel outpaced the market during January.

Cashing in on the woes of rival Thomas Cook, which saw its summer holiday sales tumble, TUI Travel fared better than most.

The tour operator said cumulative bookings in the UK as of January 29 were 7% lower, but this compared with an 11% decline as of November 29. Meanwhile, bookings were flat in January alone, compared with a 14% decline in the market as a whole.

Growing numbers of TUI bookings were made online – 49% of January bookings made for winter holidays came through its website, compared with 39% last year, while 42% of summer bookings have been made online, compared with 36%.

Rival Thomas Cook, plagued by uncertainty over the firm’s future prior to a £100 million lifeline from its banks, saw its summer holiday sales tumble 33% in the first two weeks of this year.

However TUI, Europe’s biggest tour operator, acknowledged that weak demand for North African destinations saw operating losses in the three months to December 31 widen by 27% to £109 million.

Flagging demand for getaways in this part of the world have been driven by the ongoing political turmoil in the region.

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This year, more families will be taking their holidays in the spring rather than in the summer, as people are forced to change their plans due to the rising cost of a break, and because of the London Olympics, a report says.

Some 2,000 adults were surveyed by savings company ING Direct, and the results found that almost one in three people are planning to go on holiday in the spring.

This is in comparison to an average 20% who holidayed in the spring over the last three years.

ING Direct claim its research has confirmed that summer holidays have been less favoured by people in recent years.

The past few spring seasons in the UK have seen the mercury soar higher than it does during the summer, so those who fly abroad during the spring and take airport transfers to hot locations could be missing out on fun in the sun at home. However, the increases in temperature have be mirrored in European locations, so it may be a wise decision after all.

Richard Doe, the firm’s chief executive, said: “It’s understandable that families are choosing not to go on holiday during the summer months when they can get away in the spring for much less and save money.

“This is compounded by the fact we’re set for a outstanding summer of sport, with one of the greatest sporting events in the world taking place on our doorstep.”

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Travel agents and cruise lines are thought to have a February bonanza in the pipe line in an effort to boost bookings and improve the public’s view of the thriving cruise industry after the Costa Concordia disaster near the coast of Tuscany.

According to Dave Mills from online agency iglucruise, February is now the new January in the cruise and fly-cruise world, with airports such as Gatwick and Stansted preparing to fly travellers across the globe to their ports of departure.

“Traditionally, the cruise industry has a massive annual campaign starting in December called The Wave – to shift the following year’s stock at good prices,” he said.

“This year, that didn’t happen, with Costa Concordia causing a clear one-week wobble in bookings in January.

“Individual cruise lines never like to be first to move on price, so the buzz is now that February 1 onwards could be the start of something rather special.”

He added that people who go on regular cruises, expect very reasonable deals, and that some cruisers are asking about going on a trip in the Costa.

Mr Mills said, however, that there are no updated prices for cruises in that area yet.

In April, fly-cruises with MSC, mainly ex-Genoa, begin at £549, which is very good value, as this amount also includes return flights.

Another bargain can be found with RCCL’s Azamara, an upmarket 11-night cruise that departs from New York in mid-April. It costs from £1,049.

And customers are being offered a free pamper day with Cruise Thomas Cook, who has joined up with Marriott Hotels.

Those who book with the cruise agent – who has a 16% share of the market – between February 9 and 14 will receive the free session.

Holidaymakers celebrating Chinese New Year at the tourist resort of Lushan Mountain will have been treated to a winter wonderland as a thick layer of gleaming white snow covered the area during the three-day celebration.

This year’s Spring Festival Golden Week saw the mountain resort record its heaviest snowfall of the winter season this year as tens of thousands of tourists celebrated the year of the dragon.

Lushan Mountain has been promoting itself to families in recent years as the ideal location for a winter holiday. And its efforts have seemingly paid off this year as visitor numbers to the mountain resort increased by 11.8% from last year, to reach 40,000. The number of tourists visiting the area has been steadily rising over the last few years, with the resort proving particularly popular over Chinese New Year.

The resort’s popularity is also likely to have been boosted by the large number of cheap flights to China from the UK. There are numerous flights available to the country from British airports such as Heathrow and Gatwick.

The area’s well-known scenic spots such as Lushan Central Park, Blossom Path, Jinxiu Valley and fairy Cave, have received the highest volume of traffic, with families of all ages enjoying the beautiful views.

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More British plan holidays abroad this year in spite of the grim economy, a survey by a discount travel site has revealed.

However, they will still look for ways to save on their travel needs, said the study commissioned by Hotwire. As many as 75% of those surveyed were not put off by the gloomy economic predictions for 2012 and, indeed, said they meant to continue travelling.

Almost a fifth of Britons (18%) spending more on travel this year saved up last year for a holiday in 2012. But the average spending of holidaymakers from the UK will be down 4% from £2,009, to £1,920 per household.

The millions of holidaymakers will fly out from a host of sites including Stansted Airport and Luton Airport.

Travel deals will be searched out by 30% more of holidaying Britons than in the past, while 18% plan their choice on price, not the travel brand. Meanwhile, 14% will travel in the UK rather than overseas.

Hotwire found that 955,092 more Britons plan trips this year – amounting to 75% of the adult population. The corresponding figure for last year was 73% – but the average spend will be slightly less this year.

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More and more people are opting for adventure holidays in far-flung destinations, experts have suggested.

Industry figures show that more than 400,000 people jet off on high octane holidays every year, from trekking on the Inca trail to living alongside locals in Madagascar.

It’s not just young people on gap years who are opting for such expeditions either, with agents reporting plenty of demand from older travellers looking for life-changing experiences. To this end, Audley Travel has launched a new magazine offering experiences in remote parts of Australia and Burma among other exotic destinations.

Recent years have seen big travel firms set up dedicated arms for adventure holidays, as growing numbers of holidaymakers opt for thrill-seeking breaks that will be as demanding as they are relaxing. However, such travellers will want to ensure their airport transfers from airports such as Heathrow and Stansted are arranged to ensure their weary bodies can make it home with the minimum of fuss.

Wild Frontiers Adventure Travel head of sales Natalie Morris said: “We run groups of 12 people – often for people who hate the idea of joining groups. They haven’t got the time to tackle these difficult journeys by themselves.”

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This winter’s quiet skiing holiday season in Europe seems to have been given a new lease of life thanks to recent huge snowfalls across the continent.

Just two weeks ago travel companies had almost halved their prices for some package deals because of the hitherto mild winter.

But large volumes of snow falling across the Alps may well indicate the rescue that many tour operators have been waiting for, and is likely to also increase business for airport transfer firms.

Crystal Ski’s Marion Telsnig said: “If your lifestyle lets you drop everything to head for the slopes, it’s the perfect scenario now.

“Prices have fallen because of weak demand in January, so you can get last-minute seven-night breaks in Arinsal, Andorra from £129; Cervinia, Italy from £196 (B&B) and Ruka, Finland from £190 (self-catering).

Travelsupermarket’s Bob Atkinson said: “For weeks, the big grumble was: Not enough snow – full stop.

“In many households, dropping the ski holiday seemed an obvious and easy economy to make.

“Now many resorts have enough snow to last the season, with Ischgl in Austria cut off at times by a freak 5ft snowfall in four days.

“While big operators have cut capacity significantly, the accommodation is still there and so are cheap flights.

“On living costs, the big downside is Switzerland: astronomically expensive for lift passes, meals out, and bars. France, Italy and Austria are more realistic as the pound edges towards 1.20 euro.

“Half-term is showing some ridiculous prices but there is decent value available on either side of that.”