Saving money on holiday plans takes time, patience, and a little tenacity. It’s also worthwhile to know the tricks of the trade too, because that way you can get around them and find money saving options where you didn’t know they existed! There are plenty of ways to save cold, hard cash on your travel plans, and if you’re looking to grab a bargain this summer, or even on a winter jaunt, don’t discount the idea of flying indirect.

Before you roll your eyes and say ‘no way’, let me explain.

Yes, you will add a bit of time onto your travel day, but if you only book a flight that doesn’t add hours and hours onto your day, and if it saves you massively, then what is the problem?

The way I look at it is this – your travel day is practically a day lost on your holiday anyway, because even if you arrive in time for a bit of the evening, you’re too tired to go and do too much anyway, so what’s a couple more hours if it saves you money?

Cutting out the time you’re spending at the airport before you fly is also a good idea, and by that I am talking about looking at how you get from home to the airport. Early flights can be the devil when it comes to staying calm and not being overly tired during your travel. To combat this, I always book a night in an airport hotel if I’m leaving early or flying long-haul. I regularly use the Glasgow Airport hotels, but this is a service that is available at most large UK airports, and if you combine your airport parking needs with a hotel, you can save even more – check out Airparks for bundles such as this.

Adding extras such as these onto your travel plans enhance the whole palaver no end, and will mean you are in a much better frame of mind. In this case, adding a couple of hours extra with an indirect flight won’t be a problem.

It’s a case of weighing up the pros and cons basically – I wouldn’t go for this idea if there was more than a three hours’ wait for a flight, because you’ll just be getting agitated and fidgety, but if it’s a short lay over, I don’t see the problem. If you book with the same company for your entire flight, using Skyscanner is always a good idea here, then you generally don’t need to check in again, and you generally won’t need to collect your luggage at the stop-over; do check this out with the company in question, but I’ve recently flown with Delta and Turkish Airlines, and I checked in for both flights at the initial check in, got both boarding cards, and didn’t have to pick up my luggage. The whole thing was surprisingly easy.

So, the next time you see a major bargain that flies indirect, and you’re umming and ahhing, don’t discount it completely – think it through.