Since I began traveling abroad over 12 years ago, I've met more people from the United Kingdom (England & Ireland to be specific) than just about any other region.
I chalk it up to their consistently strong currency and desire to escape the often cool and rainy weather.
If you live in either country, then you should get to know Icelolly.com, a comparison tool for booking cheap holidays around the world.
The premise behind the site couldn't be simpler.
Gather together a wide range of holiday travel offers to popular destinations around the world, and offer visitors the ability to easily compare prices.
This is a UK based service, so trips are quoted in British Pounds, and include airfare to/from UK airports and accommodation.
Prices are per person, based on two people traveling together.
There are three holiday categories to choose from when conducting a search.
1. Ski holidays are predominantly focused on European destinations, including resorts in the Swiss, French, and Italian Alps. For those interested in leaving the European continent on their trip, there are also resorts in Canada such as Whistler (British Colombia), and the USA (both the Rockies, and Vermont).
2. City break holidays, good for shopping, taking in the arts, and dining well include places such as Hong Kong, Paris, Marrakesh, Bangkok, Istanbul, and New York City.
3. Sun holidays include the widest range of locations, from nearby destinations like the Canary Islands and Greece to the distant such as the Caribbean, Vietnam, India, and Kenya.
icelolly.com is solely a search engine for vacation packages and is therefore not involved in the actual booking process.
Each search result includes the name of the associated travel agency, as well as a contact phone number should you have questions or want to book the trip.
Complimenting the search results are high-level profiles of each location.
The overviews include popular activities, a taste of what you'll encounter eating out, and most importantly, average temperatures throughout the year along with a recommendation for the best time to visit.
As far as I can tell, inclusion on the Icelolly.com site is dependent on companies willing to advertise their travel deals there.
As a result, the comprehensiveness of what's on offer may be limited, however, it's worth referencing as yet another tool in your arsenal for booking cheap holidays from the UK.
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This story was written in partnership with Icelolly.com.
Dave is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Go Backpacking and Feastio. He's been to 66 countries and lived in Colombia and Peru. Read the full story of how he became a travel blogger.
Planning a trip? Go Backpacking recommends:
- G Adventures for small group tours.
- Hostelworld for booking hostels.
http://www.allinclusive.co.uk
Thursday 13th of January 2011
Ice Lolly is a really good site.
Shawnosaurus
Tuesday 16th of November 2010
UK holiday deal sites like this are awesome for North Americans because it is often much cheaper for us to book holiday packages out of London. There's a solid list of popular UK holiday destinations that you get much better prices on. Then just tack on a cheap flight to London and it adds up to much less than booking it all domestically.