Sharm El Sheikh – currently 28degrees

We’ve seen a rise in the number of people ordering currency for Egypt. Its worth remembering that you can use US Dollars throughout most of Egypt.  A lot of people travelling to Sharm El Sheikh will be all inclusive so money needed will be for trips or tips and usually USD are the preferred currency for this.

According to Holiday Weather.com:

“You can sum up Sharm el Sheikh’s climate in two words: hot and dry. There are only two seasons; winter is hot with cool nights; summer is just hot. Some might say too hot. Inescapably, interminably, incoherently hot. This is the desert so rain is rare and the sun swaggers unchallenged in the clear blue sky year in year out.”

So if you’re going, enjoy the sun!  Remember to pre-book your airport parking too.

Airport Hotel stay with Parking

Following on from our previous post about getting to and from the airport, we explore the airport hotel stay and parking option.

This has been popular for a long time, but with the rise of on-site hotels is becoming even easier than before.  it can also be a more relaxed way to start your holiday, especially if your flight is early in the morning.

The Detail – How does Hotel stay and Park work?

  • You pre-book and pre-pay
  • You drive to the hotel and park
  • You stay in the hotel the night before you fly
  • You leave your car in the hotel car park
  • You either walk to the terminal or get a shuttle bus
  • When you return you either walk back to your car or get a shuttle bus back to the hotel to then collect your car

Cost

Costs vary, as with all airport parking options, but hotel stay and park can often be cheaper than just parking.  This is simply because the hotel would like you to stay with them and hopefully spend some money or dinner, breakfast and drinks which may or may not be included in your room rate.

What to Check

Check the total price and compare with other options.  Do make sure you know which terminal you are flying from as this might affect which hotel you would like to stay in.  Look at different rates at the hotel as often there are many different rates on offer.

Compare and book Meet and Greet Parking

We recommend Holiday Extras to look for hotels offering stay and park at UK airports.

Currency focus – Turkish Lira

The official currency of Turkey is the Turkish Lira.

The currency consists of notes and coins, the most frequently used coins being 5kr, 10kr, 25kr, 50kr, 1 Turkish Lira and the most commonly used notes are 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 Turkish Lira.

At the time of publishing the best rate online is £1 = 3.7749 Turkish Lira.  You can compare Turkish Lira rates here with Holiday Currency Exchange.

To see how the rate has been against GBP with Google Finance.

Airport Meet & Greet

Following on from our previous post about getting to and from the airport, we explore the airport meet and greet option.

This is becoming increasingly popular and competitive too, meaning it may be cheaper than you think.

Essentially, you pre-book and pay, drive to the airport in your own car, stop outside the terminal (usually the drop off zone right outside the departures entrance) and hand your car keys over to the driver who will be waiting for you.  After your trip back they will be there, with your car at arrivals zone outside the terminal.  Simple, eh?

The Detail – How does Meet & Greet work?

  • You pre-book and pre-pay
  • You drive to the airport at the time agreed (some ask you to call or text when 15mins away)
  • You pull into the designated zone, usually a the standard drop-off zone or a dedicated area nearby)
  • The companies fully-insured driver will meet you, check your car, make a note of mileage, any damaged etc (the same process as when you hire a car).
  • You unload your luggage and leave the driver your keys.  They then take you car to a nearby parking facility
  • When you return and are at baggage reclaim you call the driver
  • You meet the drive again, collect your keys and load your luggage

Cost

Costs vary, as with all airport parking options, but meet and greet can be cheaper than you think.  Sometimes it can be the same price as standard on-site parking and has the added benefit of not needing a transfer to the terminal from the car park.
Many companies also offer extras, such as car-valet whilst its with them.  Some also offer car servicing, repairs and MoTs.

What to Check

Check the total price and compare with other options.  Do make sure you know which terminal you are flying from as this is more important with meet and greet than other parking options.  Check where you car will be stored when you are aware and try and pick parking that has the Park Mark Award.

Compare and book Meet and Greet Parking

We recommend Holiday Extras for comparing Meet and Greet options at UK airports.

Getting to and from the airport and parking

One of the things that often gets forgotten until the last minute is getting to and from the airport in the UK.

There are many options now available at most UK airports, but you need to plan, budget and book sooner rather than later to get the best deals around.

The main options are:
– Park onsite at the airport
– Stay at a nearby hotel and get parking included in the rate
– Park nearby and use a shuttle service
– Meet and Greet

We’ll be adding a post about each of these over the next few days and links from the above to show what is on offer.  In the meantime, take a look at Holiday Extras for a comparison of prices for most of the major airports in the UK.

Todays rates

There are some good travel money rates around at the moment and we are definitely in the holiday booking season.

With all of the major airlines having sales at the moment, such as Virgin Atlantic, BA.com and holiday companies doing the same lots of people are booking.

Don’t forget to book all of your travel extras, including airport parking, car hire and of course your travel money.  Here are some of the current best rates on offer as of 11am today:

Euros:  1.1930
US Dollars:  1.62
Turkish Lira:  3.571
Australian Dollars:  1.8356

Compare these and more here.

Welcome

Welcome to our 1st post

Hi and welcome, we will be regularly posting useful news, hints tips and features relating to currency exchange, finding the best deal and other travel related deals, offers and news.
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