User guide
Finding your way around the guide
To navigate between pages, click or tap the arrows to go forwards to the next page or backwards to the previous one. The arrows can be found either side of the page and at the bottom, too (circled in green, below).
Menu/table of contents
Click or tap on the three horizontal lines in the top-right of your screen to open the main menu/table of contents. This icon is always visible whether you're using a computer, tablet or smartphone. The menu will open on top of the page you’re on. Click on any section title to visit that section. Click the cross at any time to close the table of contents.
Text size
On a computer, you'll see three different sized letter 'A's in the top-right of your screen. On a smartphone or tablet these are visible when you open the menu (see above). If you’re having trouble reading the guide, click or tap on each of the different 'A's to change the size of the text to suit you.
Pictures
On some images you'll see a blue double-ended arrow icon. Clicking or tapping on this will expand the picture so you can see more detail. Click or tap on the blue cross to close the expanded image.
Where we think a group of images will be most useful to you, we've grouped them together in an image gallery. Simply use the blue left and right arrows to scroll through the carousel of pictures.
Links
If you see a word or phrase that's bold and dark blue, you can click or tap on it to find out more. The relevant website will open in a new tab.
Jargon
If you see a word or phrase underlined, click or tap on the word and small window will pop up with a short explanation. Close this pop-up by clicking or tapping the cross in the corner.
Help
On a computer, you'll see a question mark icon in the top-right of your screen. On a smartphone or tablet this is visible when you open the menu (see above).
Clicking or tapping on the question mark will open this user guide. It opens on top of the page you're on and you can close it any time by clicking or tapping the cross in the top-right corner.
Holidays and travel
With copious comparison sites at our fingertips, we can now be our own travel agents. We'll show you how to maximise your chance of bagging that elusive best deal.
The cooler, darker months of autumn and winter may be cheered by booking a holiday, but is Black Friday the best moment to be vigilant for flight bargains and holiday reductions, or are there better times to book? And while we don’t like to dwell on what could go wrong on holiday, we will help you to find travel insurance that covers you for the essentials, without paying out for irrelevant extras.
We've rounded up our advice on how to get a cheap flight, with tips on booking in advance and avoiding costly optional extras. Make sure you book with the right airline by reading our reviews of the best and worst airlines.
What’s a good deal on holidays or travel during the winter sales period?
Travel agents still use the January sales season to promote ‘best ever’ deals, but when we researched this claim we found that ‘book early’ deals, last-minute deals and Black Friday promotions often didn’t translate into a cheaper holiday. In fact, in around half of the cases, the deal price was the same, or even cheaper, after the sale period.
Is it worth booking on Black Friday?
Black Friday has become (in)famous as a time to grab a bargain, but it often isn’t the best time to buy, whether that’s household products and tech, or flights and holidays. Even if the airlines and holiday companies might tempt you in their adverts, the discounts aren't all that good compared to any other time of the year.
When it comes to booking flights, research we carried out over a year showed that booking early, but not too early, was the best way to get the best price. We found that a 7 night stay in Greece including flights for July 2023 cost on average £1,067 nine months before departure, £1,021 seven months before and £1,263 one week before departure.
Research undertaken by comparison site Skyscanner showed that booking six months before travel from the UK gives you the cheapest deals overall. For some destinations, 12 months was even better, but for others, three months was best for getting a good-value deal.
So, it’s more about knowing some time in advance where you want to go and starting to track prices. You can set up a flight alert with Skyscanner, Kayak or Google Flights, who will send you an email if the price of the flight you’re interested in changes.
Don't rule out package deals
All-inclusive holidays may sound like they'd be more expensive than booking each part of your holiday separately. However, our research found that an all-inclusive beach holiday costs less in 7 out of 10 popular destinations. We compared flights, accommodation, plus food and drink costs for a range of short haul and long haul destinations.
The December 2023 edition of Which? Travel will include new research on booking around Black Friday and the best way to get a cheap deal.
Join Which? Travel for independent reviews and recommendations for just £3 a month. After 30 days’ membership you can also call us for travel-related legal advice.
On average, Tuesday is the cheapest day of the week to fly.
Travel insurance explained and best providers
A reliable travel insurance policy that provides the level of cover you need without bumping up the premium unduly is what most holiday-makers are after.
In April 2023 we surveyed 56 travel insurance companies about their levels of cover and analysed 161 of their policies. We rated 67 key elements of each policy. This resulted in a 'policy score' that reflects how well each one did overall. The higher the score, the more comprehensive the cover.
The providers that stood out in our analysis were NFU Mutual, All Clear, Avanti, InsureandGo, Unity Travel, Sainsbury's Bank and Avion.
For all the detail head to Best and worst travel insurance to read more and listen to our travel insurance podcast.
A good travel insurance policy will have great customer service and ensure you don’t end up out of pocket. We’ve partnered with Confused.com to guide you to find great travel insurance for your needs.
Best UK Christmas markets
Soulless online browsing or drifting through big department stores can make Christmas shopping a joyless chore. Instead, turn it into a part of the seasonal fun by heading to a local market and soaking up some festive atmosphere while supporting local businesses.
York, Belfast and Edinburgh were top-rated destinations from our annual survey on city breaks, and all pull out the stops in the run up to Christmas, offering ice rinks, fairground rides and locally made goodies. Our article from last year gives more detail about excellent UK cities and their Christmas markets, and we'll be publishing this year's list soon.
Our Which? Travel newsletter is packed with advice on planning a better holiday. Sign up here to receive free insider advice and inspiring year-round UK and international trip ideas.
Transform travel campaign
We’re calling for a major overhaul of the travel industry. We believe that the appalling way airlines have treated passengers by repeatedly cancelling flights at the last minute and not telling them about their consumer rights is unacceptable. Read more about our campaign.