Planning a budget holiday is never an easy task but it can be successfully executed. With a lot of planning, research and organisation, it is possible to arrange a cheap vacation that is also exciting and interesting.

To begin with, you should plan where you want to go and at what time of year well in advance. Most airlines will sell you tickets up to a year before take off is due, and if you can commit to a date that's far away in the future, you may find yourself paying significantly less.

Next you should consider the possibilities of self-catering. Across the world, holidaymakers weighing up New York, Paris, Amsterdam and Prague hotels v. apartments find the latter to be, not only more cost effective, but a better vacation experience as well.

Self catering apartments allow vacationers the opportunity to really immerse themselves in the lifestyle of the country they are visiting. Shopping for your own food, cooking with new ingredients and planning your own sight-seeing tours open your eyes to features of the culture that would have otherwise remained invisible to a tourist.

However, that said, it is occasionally cheaper to book a package flight and hotel deal. In terms of these special offers, holidaymakers staying at a certain resort during a certain time will pay for flights and accommodation at the same time. This often works out to be very cost effective and is a good strategy to holiday on a small budget.