Your must read travel round up 🌞
Happy New Year!!
And with 2026 now upon us, there’s only one very important question I have for you: do you have a holiday booked?
I ask because each January, there’s a day where Brits tend to start looking for their summer breaks - known as ‘Sunshine Saturday’ - and this year, it lands tomorrow. Which makes sense, as with Christmas and New Years behind us, it’s the perfect time to get something locked in to look forward to.
I’ve actually done 25+ radio interviews about this in the last few days and so here’s a quick summary of my top tips for you.
My top tips for booking in January
If you’re after a popular destination in the peak period (yep, that’s the school holidays) then you’re better off booking sooner rather than later.
Demand also causes prices to go up so you’re better off looking before the peak booking period, which is likely to start tomorrow on ‘Sunshine Saturday’ but will continue for the next couple of weeks.
However, there will still be deals to be had beyond this, especially if you have flexibility with your dates or destination - or even better, both!!
Last minute bargains can still be found, but are a lot harder to nab if you have a place in mind.
Good luck with your searching - and let me know if you book anything good!
Otherwise, let’s take a look at what we’ve got for you in today’s newsletter…
Coming up:
The best January travel sales in one list 🎒
How to spot an actual bargain in the January sales 🔍
The cheapest destinations for 2026 💰
My guide on booking a cheap all inclusive 🏨
Viral vacay - killer Caribbean views 🏝️
Deal of the week - direct long haul flights for under £500 🏝️
My list of the best January travel deals
The sales are back on, so I’ve compiled all the best deals in one place for you!
Top tips for getting a bargain in the sales
There’s sale messaging everywhere, but how do you spot a genuine deal?
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 little antidote to all this wintery weather - a stunning Caribbean hotel with an infinity pool and sea views.
How viral? This TikTok by @annacconover has 8.2M views.
How much? This is the 5-star Jade Mountain resort in Sourfrière, St Lucia. You can book a Sanctuary with an infinity pool from £1,963 per night.
What are the options? If you want to enjoy sweeping sea views from an infinity pool on your next holiday, we’ve found some affordable alternatives.
Seen a viral video you want me to do this for? Reply with it to this email! 📧
Where is the cheapest destination to fly to in 2026?
We’ve partnered with Skyscanner to bring you the data that spills the top 10 cheapest destinations for return flights in 2026.
How to book a cheap All Inclusive
After that All Inclusive dream? Here’s everything you need to know for nabbing a bargain in 2026, from what’s included to when’s the best time to book.
My deal of the week
We’ve just revealed our Holiday Expert best travel destinations for 2026, which includes a few long haul locations.
So, for this week’s deal of the week, I thought I’d tempt you with some bargains to those far-flung places that may be on your bucket list. And what’s more, they’re all direct flights.
Cape Town, South Africa
Airline: Norse Atlantic Airways
From: London Gatwick
Dates: There’s a few cheap dates, but Mon 9 - Mon 19 March is a particularly good deal.
Price: £416 return
New York, USA
Airline: United Airlines
From: Edinburgh
Dates: There’s similar prices in Jan and Feb, but I’ve gone for Thu 12 - Tue 17 March in hope of better weather!
Price: £392 return
Bangkok, Thailand
Airline: Norse Atlantic Airways
From: There are direct flights from London but I wanted to highlight their Manchester route here!
Dates: Wed 21 Jan - Thu 12 Feb is an amazing price.
Price: £472 return
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: This has singlehandedly persuaded me to try skiing one last time.
James: Passport stamps might be stopping soon, but for not this guy.
Katie: Petitioning to switch up our workspace in 2026…
Anna: I’m obsessed with this girl who’s moved back to the Philippines from England.
More from Holiday Expert
Holiday Hotline
I’ve started a new series on my socials where I’m answering your travel questions!
And first up, it was all about unhinged travel hacks…
Let me know if you think my new idea is a good one 🙈
Passports Please! Podcast
We may have taken a two week break over the festive period, but it’s the perfect time to catch up or get involved if you haven’t before.
Scroll on back to episode 1 which we put out almost 12 months ago!!
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!
Have you booked a holiday for 2026 yet?
Speak to you soon!
Chelsea x
A little behind the scenes to what my Holiday Hotline looks like set up in my living room!!! And yes, I made the travel agent adverts myself 😆
This email contains affiliate links which means we may earn a small percentage of any sales made. This won’t cost you more money, but it does help support us so cheers!
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