Cut the costs of domestic travel

Whether you want to travel by plane, train or automobile, here are some cheap travel tips to set you off on your domestic adventures...

We Brits are always on the lookout for hot deals on holidays abroad. But when it comes to getting around Britain, the options for domestic travel are easy to neglect.

So what's the best and cheapest way to get around Britain? Are trains always the best way forward (probably not, if recent ticket price increases are anything to go by), or could flying be the value option?

Planes, trains and automobiles

Last year I went to Edinburgh to see a friend. And, as I'm the sort of person who likes to go from A to B as quickly as possible, I automatically assumed that flying would be the best option.

Companies such as bmibaby, easyJet, Flybe and even British Airways all offer competitive deals on domestic flights, and if you book far enough in advance, can even rival trains in terms of price.

I got my ticket to Edinburgh for under £60, and arrived in the city in just under 90 minutes, compared to the five hours it would take by train and the nine hours by coach.

But if the thought of trawling through all those websites for the cheapest fares is a bit daunting, a good way of searching is to use a comparison site such as lastminute.com or Yahoo Travel, which will do most of the legwork for you.

However, if you're only booking flights, it's often slightly cheaper to find your fare with the search engine, then book directly with the airline, as there won't be that extra commission charge.

Read The seven top websites for holiday bargains for more information.

Not all plane sailing

It's worth remembering that although flying looks efficient on the surface, there are several problems with travelling by plane, and that's before you even think about carbon emissions.

• you're at the mercy of the elements. Extreme weather or thick fog generally equals no flights - as does volcano eruptions.
• buses and trains generally stop in the middle of a city. Airports tend to be located on the outskirts.
• you have to allow for check-in time when you fly. And you have to wait at the other end for any bags that didn't go on as hand luggage.

Trainspotting

Train fares underwent a big shake up a few years ago, meaning the myriad of advance tickets such as ‘Apex', ‘Leisure Advance' and ‘Value Advance' were grouped together to simply be known as 'Advance' fares.

Similarly, tickets bought up until the day of travel were split into two categories:

Off-peak (encompassing tickets bought up to the time of travel, but with restrictions) and ‘Anytime' (bought up until the time of travel with no restrictions).

Advance fares are released 12 weeks prior to the travel date, so the earlier you buy your tickets, the cheaper they are likely to be.

The National Rail website is a good place to scout for fares, and shows you the different travel options available to you for that journey. 

Another way you can save money on train fares is by splitting your ticket. This works by buying multiple tickets to get to your destination, instead of buying one ticket to travel there directly. So, when booking your journey, if your train makes several stops enroute, find out whether it's cheaper to buy separate tickets for each part of the journey, compared to buying a standard fare.

For example, using unofficial consumer website Splityourticket.co.uk, we had a look at how much you could save on a journey between Birmingham and Bath Spa. The cheapest ticket for travelling direct from Bristol to Birmingham was £39.70 (saver return), but splitting that ticket between Bristol and Cheltenham Spa, and then Cheltenham Spa to Birmingham, brought the cost down to £23.10 - a saving of £16.60. And the savings get even greater if you're on a longer journey because you can split your ticket several times!

Alternatively, if you frequently travel by rail with your family, are aged under 26, over 60, or mainly travel round the south east of England, investing a Railcard may be worth it. For the price of £26 (a Network Railcard costs £25) a year, you can save a third off the majority of rail tickets.

Similarly, if you are an annual season ticket holder, or a Londoner with an annual Oyster card, you are entitled to 1/3 off journeys within the Network Railcard area on presentation of your 'Gold Card'.

Also, don't forget megatrain. The younger brother of the better known megabus company offers a range of cheap fares (subject to a 50p booking fee) to a range of destinations from south west England to the Midlands. 

Commuting by coach

If you don't mind hitting the road to get from A to B, travelling by coach can be the cheapest way to get around Britain. And as more and more rivals pop up to rival National Express, fares are getting even lower.

Megabus is probably one of the biggest rivals to National Express. Perhaps not as comfortable as its older competitor (I remember sitting on a megabus to Brighton and it is rather like sitting on a London bus for a couple of hours), for a one way fare of £1 to many destinations, you can't really complain.

If you prefer to stick with tradition, National Express has also jumped on the bargain bandwagon, offering some great value 'Funfares' which start from just £1 (with no booking fee).

If you book in advance, you can take advantage of these value fares, which encompass a range of destinations across Britain, cutting the cost of your journey considerably.

The main downside of taking a bus is that while you'll be cutting the cost, there is no way to shorten the length of your journey. Not one for the faint hearted, especially if you're travelling to a far flung destination.

Sometimes looking for a bargain ticket can feel like looking for a needle in a haystack. But whether you prefer to travel by plane, train or automobile, doing your research can help you travel cheaply.

This is a classic article that has been updated for 2011.

More: Avoid this painful holiday cost increase | The worst ways to try and get a free flight upgrade