Winter's closing in, you want to escape, but you don't want to pay a fortune.. you're not the only one. Mark Hodson picks the best strategies for a bargain week in the sun.

Funny thing, the weather. Six weeks ago, when Britain was basking in warm October sunshine, we conducted a straw poll of friends and relatives: how did they fancy sitting on a plane for 10 hours to catch a bit of tropical sun? There were few takers.

Now, with winter biting and gloomy nights drawing in, the tables have turned and we are inundated with daily phone calls and e-mails that all boil down to the same, desperate plea: we're freezing — get us out of here. These requests are not complicated. Most people simply want a week in adecent hotel, with good food and guaranteed sunshine. They don't want to fork out £3,000 on a honeymoon suite in the Maldives. They want to spend £500, maybe a bit more, maybe less.

So that's exactly what we've found. We've tracked down the cheapest flights, the best-value hotels and the tour operators who have put together the most enticing packages. In some cases, you can save money by booking all the elements yourself, but in the majority, last-minute discounts offered by operators give better value.

EGYPT
Ask any travel-industry expert where is cheap this winter, and the reply is likely to be the same: Egypt. The Red Sea resorts — including Sharm el Sheikh, Hurghada and Taba Heights — have always given good sunshine to the pound, but this year the prices have got plain silly.

“We've had a week in a five-star hotel, including flights, for as little as £199,” says John Bevan, travel director of Lastminute.com. “I've just taken my own family to Sharm el Sheikh. There is such a glut of supply in Egypt right now that customers can book a couple of days before they fly and take their pick.” One specialist operator tells us hotel rates are on average 25%-30% lower than a year ago.

Several factors have combined to cut prices this year. A building boom along the Sinai coast has created an oversupply of high-class hotel beds, while a price war among charter airlines has brought down the cost of flights. Add to that the lingering fears over terrorism, and the introduction of direct scheduled flights to Sharm el Sheikh by British Airways, and you have all the ingredients for an irresistible bargain.

This is not a holiday to self-package. For a start, you simply won't get close to the late deals offered by tour operators. What's more, resorts such as Taba Heights — which is on a beautiful but isolated stretch of the coast — are served by neither buses nor taxis. Even flying into Sharm without a prearranged transfer can leave you stranded.

Timesonline 
November 26th 2006
By: Mark Hodson