These essential travel hacks will help you get a cheap holiday

We've pulled together some creative ways to help you save money while booking that all important break - whether it's for a weekend or a longer holiday. So whether you're about to book a trip or are jetting off tomorrow morning, these top travel tips might help you beat the system.

Flight systems are loaded first thing every morning so flights which were on hold overnight (usually from business customers) will be released. This happens at around 1am, so you can often get better prices the earlier you book.

By starting your trip in somewhere like Sofia or Oslo, you only need to add a low cost flight from your home to this city. For example you can get a return flight from Sofia, Bulgaria to Dubai for under £150.

This is the end of the week when weekend travellers have left and before corporate guests arrive so a great day to surprise your other half with a night away. You’re also more likely to get an upgrade to a suite when the hotel is quieter on a Sunday.

Morning flights are often cheaper, especially those at quite unsociable hours. Also, earlier flights are less likely to encounter delays (although this is never a guarantee) because you won't have a back log of flights.

Many cities which are popular for business travellers such as London, Brussels and Zurich, have fantastic room rates at the weekend once the ‘suits’ have left. You can sometimes find 5 star hotels for under £100 per night.

You avoid the Monday morning rush of business travellers and also the weekend escapers. These days often have better availability too and that means lower fares.

The major airlines all have seat sales over the Christmas period. During Black Friday (at the end of November) and over Christmas lastminute.com offers access to these big sales of the airlines.

Many European cities have set days during the year where they open up their top museums at night and offer free access. The European Night of Museums in France, Germany and the UK is in May, Budapest and Prague offer the same thing in June.

Save up to 35% on hotels in cities around the world with lastminute.com’s Top Secret® Hotels. You get to see lots of information about the hotel during the booking process and have an idea of its rough location but the name of the hotel isn’t revealed until after you book. It’s worth the fun as you can bag a 4 star London hotel for under 100 quid.

Book your flight and hotel together as a package, rather than individually, to save money and to get the best discounts - often more than 15% off.

If you check in late, the chances are that the hotel might have run out of standard rooms and will therefore give you a higher room category.

You can often get deals for flight + hotel for two nights for under £100 to places like Berlin, Dublin, Prague and Copenhagen. Or if you fancy going somewhere a bit warmer, see our guide to where's hot in January.

Don’t bother paying for bus tours or taxis. Public transport with city cards is more cost effective to get around, plus if you just grab a map and use the public transport, the public buses are a great way to see more of a city destination, especially in London.