Your must read travel round up 🧖♀️
Hi there!
You may remember when I slunked off to Estonia to test out the new EES border system and since my flight home was the following day, I had to find some way to fill my time.
As I was searching, I came across a spa hotel that looked a little too good to be true… Not only did the price include a night’s stay, but breakfast and unlimited time in the spa as well. And so I thought I just had to go and test it out for everyone.
GAH, WHAT A GREAT PERSON I AM 😆
A very strenuous Monday lunch time *testing* spa food and drink out for you…
The video I posted about it has had over a million views now, and I think it does show that there’s an appetite for these affordable trips where the entire thing costs the same as a massage in the UK.
But here’s a question for you - which you can answer in the poll at the end - are you someone who would travel for just a spa day? Or would you have to turn it into a longer trip?!!
As for what else is coming up in this week’s newsletter:
🧖♀️ Is this Europe’s most affordable spa?
🌴 My verdict on the Bucharest viral spa
🌹 Why Sarajevo is the affordable city break you’ve been missing
🏨 Budget, mid-range and luxe Mexico hotel stays
🎅 DEAL OF THE WEEK: Affordable UK Christmas Market hotels from £50
Spa-tacular
What happens when a spa deal looks too good to be true? YOU GO AND TEST IT OUT! Plus if you fancy another option, then - I’m so good to you - I’ve also I checked out the Bucharest viral spa that’s all over social media.
Is this the cheapest spa in Europe?
Ring Spa and Sauna in Tallinn, Estonia is FREE when you stay onsite - how bargainous is that?!
Check out this viral budget spa
I checked out this viral spa in Bucharest earlier this year to see if it’s worth the hype.
Viral Vacay📲
Where we track down travel videos that have gone viral, find out how much it actually costs and if needs be, suggest a cheaper alternative 🕵️♀️
What is it? A dreamy winter trip to Finnish Lapland
How viral? This TikTok showing the magical snowy landscapes, cosy fireside scenes and dog sled rides has 5.5M views.
How much? The igloos with the 360 view are INCREDIBLE - but they’ll set you back as much as £856 a night! So we’ve challenged ourselves to find some more affordable options for cabin stays on a budget too 😅
Seen a viral video you want me to do this for? Reply with it to this email! 📧
Destination spotlight
This week we want to shout about a couple of destinations we’ve LOVED recently. Editor Katie went to Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina for the first time and came back raving about it! And James and I loved our first trip to Mexico City - as well as averaging five tacos a day we also stayed at three different hotels to share our take on which one was the best value.
Sarajevo is the affordable city break you’ve been missing
Our Editor Katie raves about this underrated Bosnian city break destination.
I tried budget, mid and luxury hotels in Mexico City
Find out which of the 3 different hotels I stayed in was the best value.
My deal of the week
A couple of weeks back I shared some Christmas Market deals for stays in Europe, and you guys loved them!
So this week I thought I’d bring you some UK hotel deals, for when you want that Christmassy vibe a bit closer to home.
My biggest tip - if you’re able to use it - is to stay over on a Sunday night. In many cases, the prices drop to almost half price by shifting your stay over one day!
Where can you go?
I’ve found hotel stays in Birmingham, Winchester, Edinburgh, York and Belfast.
When can you go?
These are for stays in November and December.
Now, prices vary depending on which night you stay. So if you can be flexible - it’s good news for your wallet.
What’s the cost?
Stay from less than £50 a night!
What the team’s been loving this week!
When we’ve not been working really hard - ahem - here’s some of the things that we’ve been enjoying over on socials.
Chelsea: I think I’ve found what I need to do if I ever fly business class again! 🍸
Katie: I would love to escape here for some alone time 🍃
Anna: As a non-confident swimmer I felt this in my soul 🤿
Joe: This will 💯 be me on holiday on day in future
James: Chelsea sent this to me and I have no idea why… 👀
More from Holiday Expert!
Passports Please Podcast
This week I’m telling you all about the final minutes where I was praying my flight would be delayed enough to get compensation!
It really came down to the wire!!!!
Cheap Tallinn Spa
And if you haven’t seen it for yourself yet, here’s the cheap Tallinn spa video - including the room I stayed in!
And that’s a wrap!
That’s all for this week – thanks if you made it this far and why not let me know you did so by answering the poll below ⬇️
If you have a mate or family member who loves to travel and could do with a helping hand from us here at Holiday Expert, just hit the button below and share the link!
Would you travel just for a cheap spa break?
Speak to you soon!
Chelsea x
A sneak peek of where I’m writing this from!
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