Travel thrift: 20 ways to holiday on the cheap

1 Never change money at airports, either at cash desks or at ATMs. They will rip you off and give you the rates you deserve for being so disorganised before your trip. When you are changing money, shop around. An Post currently offers the best value for major currencies. If you are going outside the euro zone, use your debit card in ATMs rather than exchanging large sums. Use your credit card a lot – as long as you clear the balance at the end of the month.

2 Excess baggage charges can be savage. Ryanair, for example, will charge you €10 for each kilogram above your allowance. It helps to be aware of how much things weigh. If you have paid for a check-in bag allowance of 15kg, that equates to about three pairs of jeans, three jumpers, a pair of runners, six T-shirts, underwear (how much depends on its size), a make-up bag, a toiletries bag, a belt and a hairdryer. Not a lot, really.

If you can't pack light, you might consider wearing your luggage. JakToGo coats are sold as "wearable luggage" that "converts seamlessly and conveniently from a compact bag to a wearable garment, kitted out with 14 huge pockets, sufficient to hold 10kg-15kg of clothes and other personal items". It costs €79.95 on Jaktogo. com. You can also pack a Jaktogo denim dress for €153, while a full-sized leather coat will set you back €266. That is not something we would recommend. So, to recap, just pack less stuff.

3 There was a time when airlines would feed you for free. That time is over, at least if you're flying short-haul. Airlines think nothing of charging €5 for a sandwich that is far from delicious. If you – or your family – want to eat during your flight, bring your own food. It'll taste better and could save a family of four as much as €40.

4 Keep your receipts: the days of getting duty free while travelling within the EU are a distant memory, but if you find yourself outside the EU you can usually get the VAT returned if you buy in shops participating in national tax-free schemes. You must keep all receipts and present them at the airport as you leave the country. It could knock as much as 20 per cent off your purchases.

5 When we go abroad we tend to spend a lot of money on cabs, but virtually every big city in Europe (except ours) has an efficient public transport system that is easy to work out and much cheaper than the other options.

Work out the transport passes before you go. In Paris, you can buy a 10-journey pass for just over €14.10, while a single ticket costs €1.80. In Venice, a three-day waterbus pass costs €40, while a single boat trip will set you back €7.

6 Most of the great cities of Europe are surprisingly compact. If you plan a day of sightseeing properly, you will see more for less. And work up a fierce appetite too.

7 The over 65s and the under 18s as well as students can make big savings in some countries. In Italy, for example, entry to all publicly owned museums and galleries is free for European citizens over 65 once they have their passport.

8 Too many people automatically rent cars while overseas. If you rent a fairly small family car for two weeks it will add at least €500 to the cost of a holiday. If you pick destinations where car hire is unnecessary, and use public transport, that expense disappears.

If you need to go on day trips, hire a car for a couple of days in the middle of your holiday rather than for the duration. If you rent a car for just three days of a two-week holiday, you will save yourself at least €250.

9 On the subject of cars, far too many car-hire companies do their best to gouge us. A poll published by the AA last year found that 40 per cent of Irish people had a bad experience with a car-hire company. An absence of transparency over fees, fuel payment policies and confusion over excesses were identified as the big problems.

One of the big add-ons is the collision-damage waiver. Someone is bound to try to sell you such a thing, and, because they are on commission, the sell will be hard and they may scare you witless. You will be told that if you don't have it, you will be liable for thousands of euro in costs for the slightest damage to the car. It can cost as much as €30 a day for this peace of mind – or the same price as hiring many mid-sized cars. You can buy this kind of cover independently for less than €60 for a whole year. Check out Axa's dedicated policy, which costs €57.25 a year. axacarhireexcess.ie

10 If you are staying at a hotel in a city, it is very easy to cut your costs. Unless breakfast is included in the price, leave it out. Many hotels routinely charge more than €20 for breakfast.

You will be able to get better food for much less in a nearby cafe or bar. And remember, in many European countries you often have to pay more to sit at a table. A coffee that costs €1 at the bar might cost twice that if you choose to sit down.

11 Steer clear of the minibar: it is never good value for money. Unless you're staying on the moon, you should be able to find a supermarket near your hotel. Stock up on whatever you think you might need and then smuggle it in to your room. It'll save you a fortune.

12 If you want to cut the cost of eating out while on holidays, the single best tip is to eat your dinner at lunchtime. Do this and you will cut the costs in half, particularly if you are in a country where the plat du jour or menu del dia are popular.

13 The best and best-value restaurants are just a little off the beaten track. A horrible meal on La Rambla in Barcelona will cost you €20. A lovely meal 100m down almost any side street will cost half that. It is the same in every city you go to. Some places are worse than others. If you buy a coffee in St Mark's Square in Venice you will spend at least three times more than if you buy one 500m away.

14 No matter what time of the day you eat, make sure when ordering wine to go for local offerings. They will generally be good and a lot cheaper than wines that have had to travel long distances to get to your table.

15 And staying with booze, if you order draught beers – ideally locally produced ones - as opposed to bottled beers or well-known international brands, you will saves yourself money.

16 Look for words such as servis compris, servizio incluso, or servicio incluido on French, Italian and Spanish menus. If you see those words, there is no need to tip. And speaking of tipping, some countries have a bigger culture of it than others. In the US you run the risk of being punched if you don't tip handsomely, while in Spain it is not really expected.

17 Remember to sign up to online coupon services such as Living Social and Groupon for the places you are planning to go. Do it now and keep an eye on restaurant and activity discounts. When you see a bargain, buy it (the sites offer up to 70 per cent off), stow it away and redeem it during your holiday.

18 This next tip won't work if your luggage is on the edge of its weight allowance, but if you have space – or are travelling in a car – ahead of a self-catering holiday in Europe, consider bringing basics with you. Salt, pepper, tea bags, bin bags and other basic item can all cost less here than in many tourist spots in Europe. A better option might be to find the local Aldi, Lidl or large supermarket wherever you are going and stock up on day one.

19 Do not leave home without a European Health Insurance Card (Ehic). It is not the same as travel insurance, as repatriation is not covered, but it will cover you for medical costs across the EU. Take care when applying for one, and do not order from a website that charges you to issue it; it is free through the official site, ehic.org.uk.

20 Find free wifi. And there's an app for that. Free Wi-Fi Finder uses GPS to locate and display various wifi hot spots near where you are. It has more than 10,000 locations all over the world contained in its database. It could help you avoid some of the horrendous data charges that operators impose.

Once you’ve found your wifi hot spot, you can use the Viber app to make all the calls you want to fellow Viber users at no cost at all. This app and others – including Skype – allow smartphone users to bypass mobile phone providers, which have been charging consumers exorbitant roaming rates for years.