How to save money on holiday in Spain For lowest fares, book as early as possible for scheduled flights. For charters, you can sometimes pick up last-minute deals - try charterflights.co.uk. Fares are often higher on Saturday flights - if you have a Saturday-Saturday property rental, look into flying a day earlier or later and staying the extra night (s) in a cheap hotel. You can book financially protected packages combining no-frills flights and accommodation, at what should be less than booking the elements separately, on holidays.easyjet.com, jet2holidays.com and holidays.bmibaby.com. By ferry The only Britain-Spain services are with Brittany Ferries (brittany-ferries.co.uk), to Santander and Bilbao. Though fares can be reasonable outside peak periods, in early August a return for a car and family of four with inside cabins costs around £1,150. Consider taking the ferry one way, driving through France and taking a cheap, short Channel crossing the other. Seat61.com provides outstanding money-saving information on getting to, and around, Spain by train. Discounted advance- purchase fares, and savings for over-60s with a Golden Card, are available on Spanish trains: see renfe.com, or contact Spanish Rail Service (0203 137 4464; spanish-rail.co.uk). Car hire Compare rates on carrentals.co.uk. Book well ahead for high season: in recent years in Spain rents have shot up closer to departure time. Take out a separate excess-waiver policy: moneymaxim.co.uk/compare-car-hire-excess-insurance highlights the best deals. The cost of renting a villa varies markedly from area to area in Spain. It's highest in the Balearics. Rentals in the Canaries are good value in summer: the islands are year-round destinations, so prices rise less sharply in July and August than they do elsewhere. Of the mainland costas, the Costa Brava tends to be priciest, while the Costa Blanca is one of the cheapest areas. For supporting evidence of this, for a three-bedroom villa with a private pool, holidaylettings.co.uk says the average rates quoted on its website for a week in August 2011 were £1,670 in Majorca, £1,720 in Menorca, £1,650 on the Costa Brava and £975 on the Costa Blanca. Average rates on holidaylettings.co.uk also show that renting on the Costa de la Luz (£950) and in inland Andalucia (£820) is much cheaper than on the Costa del Sol (£1,300). On Majorca, prices are most expensive in the Pollensa area, with rates 20 per cent lower elsewhere on the island, says Mallorca Farmhouses. One of the most affordable areas to rent is northern Spain. For a week in August for a two-bedroom house without a pool, through Casas Cantabricas, you will pay about £750 in Asturias or Cantabria, and £650 in northern Galicia. For hotels, I asked Classic Collection to look at differences in package prices at four-star properties in resort areas in August. It said Majorca works out priciest. Packages to Menorca were about 20 per cent cheaper, to Tenerife 15 per cent cheaper, and to the Costa del Sol 10 per cent cheaper. Packages come out about 15 per cent cheaper to Tenerife and Lanzarote than to Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura. In resorts, consider booking all-inclusive packages: by paying for all meals and drinks in advance, you're effectively circumventing the unfavourable exchange rate. From May, First Choice (0871 200 7799; firstchoice.co.uk) is selling holidays only to all-inclusive hotels - it has 90 on its books in Spain. If touring, note that Spain's often memorable, state-run paradors offer discounts of 30 per cent for those aged 18 to 35 or 55 or over at many hotels much of the time, and up to 40 per cent reductions on three-night and seven-night set itineraries (rutas): contact Keytel (020 7953 3020; keytel.co.uk). In cities, I also rate Petit Palace & High Tech Hoteles (hthoteles.com) - a group of 34 good-value hotels in seven Spanish cities, offering various generous perks such as free bikes. For self-catering, consider booking direct with property owners. Though this is riskier than going through an agency or tour operator (which gives you more protection if you aren't happy with the standard of accommodation), rates are likely to be much lower. Websites on which owners advertise for direct bookings, with thousands of Spanish rentals on offer, include holidaylettings.co.uk, homeaway.co.uk and spain-holiday.com. Forgo a pool - by doing so in high season in Majorca you will save 25 to 45 per cent, according to HomeAway figures. Also, ask about reduced under-occupancy rates on larger properties. If camping, go independently: I paid £25 a night for my family to stay in an excellent campsite in the Picos de Europa last summer. The website alanrogers.com has recommendations. For hotel breaks For sun-and-sand packages, the main operators, Thomson (0871 231 4691; thomson.co.uk) has the best choice of resort hotels in Spain, from five-star places to "small and friendly" options, as well as the best website, with copious detail on properties, and excellent search options for late deals. Compare deals with Thomas Cook (0844 412 5970; thomascook.com) and Cosmos Holidays (0844 573 4261; cosmos.co.uk). Other options Sovereign Luxury Travel (0844 415 1936; sovereign.com) and Classic Collection Holidays (0800 008 7299; classic-collection.co.uk) Packages at upmarket hotels in the Balearics, Canaries and Costa del Sol, with deals aplenty on their websites. Kirker Holidays (020 7593 2283; kirkerholidays.com) A big choice of mostly top-end hotels, in cities, countryside and on the coasts and islands; 48-hour Cultura Card included on Madrid breaks. i-escape.com More than 140 special places to stay in Spain, with excellent Andalusia and Majorca selections, impressively detailed reviews and lots of i-escape negotiated deals. For self-catering Vintage Travel (01954 261431; vintagetravel.co.uk) Carefully chosen, high-quality houses with private pools in the Balearics, Lanzarote, Andalusia, Catalonia and Galicia; lower under-occupancy rates at many larger ones. James Villa Holidays (0800 074 0228; jamesvillas.co.uk) More than 800 properties, many stand-alone, some on resort complexes. Book a package before the end of January and at most properties you can have free car hire, welcome pack and travel insurance. Meon Villas (0844 415 1990; meonvillas.co.uk) Quality villas in Lanzarote, Majorca, Menorca and the Costa Blanca. PCI Holidays (0330 555 0034; pci-holidays.com) Villas and affordable apartments in the nicest Costa Brava resorts. Premier Holidays (0800 047 0400; premier-holidays.com) Excellent choice of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura villas. Tots to Travel (0845 269 4126; totstotravel.co.uk) More than two dozen Spanish properties judged to be ideal for families with young children. Northern Spain specialists Casas Cantabricas (01223 328721; casas.co.uk) Lots of inexpensive casas (cottages), and three-dozen hand-picked hotels, many less than £100 a night, ideal for touring holidays. Brittany Ferries (0871 244 1444; brittany-ferries.co.uk) Affordable houses, apartments and hotels to suit all budgets, packaged with ferry crossings. For bookings made before February 6, 10 per cent off self-catering breaks, plus children travel free. Majorca specialists Castaways (01737 812 255; castaways.co.uk) Best resort and rural hotels on Majorca - early booking offers at many. Mallorca Farmhouses (0845 800 8080; mallorca.co.uk) Lovely fincas and villas - focus on the Value Collection to keep costs down. Canary Islands specialists Cachet Travel (0208 847 8700; cachet-travel.co.uk) Good for hotels and cottages away from the resorts. Corona Holidays (0800 567 7688; coronaholidays.co.uk) Vast choice of hotels and apartments on all islands; the company claims it can compete with main operators on price. Inntravel (01653 617000; inntravel.co.uk) Big choice of gently paced, independent hotel-to-hotel and centre-based walking and cycling holidays in Spain; cheaper short-break versions possible. HF Holidays (0845 470 7558; hfholidays.co.uk) and Ramblers Worldwide Holidays (01707 331 133; ramblersholidays.co.uk) Affordable, well-organised, guided walking in many parts of the mainland and islands. HF has a new base at Biar, in the unspoilt Sierra Mariola near Alicante. Saddle Skedaddle (0191 265 1110; skedaddle.co.uk) All types of cycling holidays - from challenging mountain biking in the Pyrenees to a road tour in the Sierra Nevada and a trip on the Camino de Santiago. Exodus (0845 863 9600; exodus.co.uk) and Explore (0844 499 0901; explore.co.uk) Their guided, small-group walking and cycling trips are good for solo travellers, who can share a room with someone of the same sex, thus avoiding the dreaded single supplement. Explore has a new, keenly priced walking holiday in Andalusia's little- explored Sierra Aracena. Pura Aventura (01273 676 712; pura-aventura.com) Multi-activity breaks (such as canoeing and canyoning) and walking in the Picos de Europa, for families and adults, are its strength. Finca El Moro (0034 959 501079; fincaelmoro.com) Well-reviewed walking, riding and yoga breaks based at a farm in south-west Andalusia; not expensive, particularly if you self-cater. Acorn Family Holidays (0800 074 9791; acornfamilyholidays.co.uk) Cheapest family activity break I can find in Spain in the school summer holidays: £699 adults, £649 children, all-inclusive for a week on the Costa Brava, including coach travel from/to Britain. Riviera Travel (0844 826 2122; rivieratravel.co.uk) Telegraph readers" favourite tour operator in 2011 offers week-long, value-minded tours of Catalonia, Andalusia and Madrid/Salamanca/Toledo. Archers Direct (0800 668 1892; archersdirect.co.uk) Value-conscious Iberian tours, often with no regional flight supplements; a Galicia itinerary is new. Explore (0844 499 0901; explore.co.uk) Something different: exploring northern Spain by scenic narrow-gauge railways. Expert-led group tours Christopher Pollard Tours (01823 286097; christopherpollardtours.com) Cultural, foodie tours led by Pollard, a Hispanophile. Though trips look dear, everything is covered in the headline price. Martin Randall Travel (020 8742 3355; martinrandall.com) Expensive but meticulously planned tours combining culture, fine dining and comfy accommodation. A "British Actions in the Straits tour" in Gibraltar and Andalusia, is new. Arblaster & Clarke (01730 263111; winetours.co.uk) Autumn wine-tasting breaks to the Rioja, Ribera del Duero and Catalonia (think cava) regions; trips are expensive, but the operator is the best of its kind.