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Blue Monday: 10 of the best travel deals to book on the most depressing day of the year
Swap drudgery for daydreaming by taking advantage of these incredible offers
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Your support makes all the difference.Blue Monday is claimed to be the most depressing day of the year – it’s cold and dark, with Christmas long gone, new year’s resolutions already a thing of distant memory and nothing to look forward to until spring.
So what better time to book a holiday? Daydreaming about your next getaway is the ideal way to pull yourself out of the doldrums, and it needn’t cost the earth: plenty of companies are offering special offers right now.
Here are the best deals this Blue Monday.
Flights for £1
Be quick or you’ll miss this frankly outrageous deal from Wizz Air – the low-cost airline is offering £1 fares on selected routes from Luton airport for just 24 hours. The deal is for Blue Monday only and finishes at 11pm on 21 January.
For those who get in before the cut-off, flights to Verona, Lisbon and Tallinn can all be secured for less than the price of a latte. The flights must take place before 10 February, and the £1 fare is one-way, including all taxes and non-optional charges but excluding the “administration fee”.
Flights must be booked on wizzair.com rather than a third party website.
Ski last-minute for less
Crystal Ski Holidays is offering very last-minute deals across some of Europe’s leading resorts to beat the Monday blues. Deals include a week’s self-catering at the three-star Borsat IV Apartments in Tignes, France, from £294pp, based on four sharing, including return flights from Manchester to Chambery and transfers, for holidays departing 26 January 2019.
There’s also a week’s half board in Canillo, Andorra, at the four-star Hotel Ski Plaza from £545pp based on two sharing, including return flights from London Gatwick to Toulouse and transfers, for holidays departing on 27 January 2019.
Grab some winter sun
Dive into Turkey’s Turquoise Coast with a great-value winter offer from Hilton Hotels.
The Hilton Dalaman, 15 minutes from Dalaman Airport and opening for its first winter season, is offering seven nights’ all-inclusive from £518pp, based on two sharing, including return flights from Gatwick for holidays departing 17 February. Packages should be booked direct at hilton.dalaman.com.
Get 20 per cent off flights
Ryanair seems to be having a sale every five minutes at the moment, and Blue Monday is no exception.
Europe’s biggest airline is offering 20 per cent off one million seats across its entire network for travel between February and May, available until midnight on 21 January – so act fast.
Hit the States
TrekAmerica has launched a January sale that sees packages sold for up to 20 per cent off the original price until the end of the month.
Example trips include eight days in Hawaii from £872 (was £1,089), a saving of £217 or 20 per cent. The price includes four nights’ camping, three nights’ budget lodging, the services of a TrekAmerica tour leader and activities such as Green Sea turtle spotting, a Zodiac island cruise and a snorkelling excursion at Kealakekua Park.
Fly long-haul and save
It’s not exactly a sale per se, but Skyscanner has revealed the best-value routes this Blue Monday, where flights currently cost up to 59 per cent less than the average fare.
London Heathrow to Bail (Depansar) is the most bargainous, available from £339 return for flights departing 2 June and returning 16 June – 59 per cent lower than the average flight price on this route.
London Gatwick to Oakland, California, is currently 56 per cent less than the average price at £270 return, while Heathrow to Cebu in the Philippines is available from £559 return, 30 per cent lower than the average fare.
Cruise away the blues
Emerald Waterways is offering savings of up to £1,000pp on cruises booked before 31 January as part of its January sale.
Itineraries included in the sale include the Danube Delights eight-day river cruise from £1,995pp, departing 11 May 2019. The trip stops in Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna, Durnstein, Melk, Passau, Regensburg and Nuremburg before arriving in Munich, and the price includes return flights, transfers, all tipping and gratuities, food and selected drinks onboard, shore excursions and onboard entertainment.
New York for £200
British Airways has launched a huge sale to destinations in the US, South America and Africa, with fares from £100 one-way – or £200 return – to celebrate its centenary.
The deal runs from 21 to 24 January, with low fares for two destinations available each day from 12pm on the British Airways website.
The destinations on offer today are New York and Cape Town.
Save on Sandals
Sandals is currently offering 45 per cent off Sandals and Beaches Resorts holidays.
When booking a holiday of seven to nine nights at any Sandals or Beaches Resort, guests can also get an extra £100 off when using the code BIG100. Guests booking 10 nights or more can get an additional £150 off using the discount code BIG150. The code can be used on all bookings made before midnight on Tuesday 22 January.
Options include seven nights at Beaches Ocho Rios, Jamaica, in a family room, from £1,479pp, all-inclusive, with return London Gatwick flights and transfers. The price is valid for travel on select dates between 5 September and 24 October 2019.
Save on Asia flights
Philippine Airlines has announced its mega seat sale alongside new routes to Phnom Penh, Cambodia and Hanoi, Vietnam.
The airline has return fares to Hong Kong from £379, and return flights to Hanoi, Phnom Penh and Bangkok from £429.
The fares are available until 28 February for travel between 1 March and 6 December 2019.
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