The following is a guest post from the money team at moneysupermarket.com

Vacations don’t come cheap, but you can’t put a price on the value of getting away from it all. With that in mind, here’s a look at five ways to pay for your vacation this year.

The dark days of January and February are giving way to longer days and the promise of spring. For many of us, work has been non-stop since the winter holidays, and so our thoughts invariably begin to turn towards summer vacations.

You deserve a break, but you don’t want to break the bank – we’ve all been there, so let’s look at some ways you can pay for your vacation this year.

1. Savings

Yes we’re starting with the obvious one here, but stashing money away in savings throughout the year is a conscientious way of paying for a vacation.

Opening a savings account with as high a rate of interest as possible and sacrificing as much of your disposable income as you can each month for savings will reward you with the interest you earn on those savings.

Paying with savings will give you a sense of satisfaction in having earned the vacation, making those guilt-free piña coladas taste even better!

2. Credit Cards

Wait, come back, hear me out! Depending on your circumstances and your credit rating, there may be a credit card on the market from which you would benefit from using to pay for your holiday.

Some cards offer rewards like cash-back on purchases, or even air miles which you can use for flights in the future. If you can find a card with a low or zero per cent introductory interest rate, for example, you can split the cost of the holiday into monthly payments

Be warned though, credit cards certainly aren’t for everyone, and you should think carefully about your ability to pay back what you borrow before signing up for one. Moreover, if you have a poor credit rating, you may not even be eligible for the rates and promotions which make credit cards worth it.

3. Loans

Again, financing a vacation with a loan may not be a good idea for everyone, and you should think carefully about your ability to pay back your creditors before making an application.

As with credit cards, your credit rating will probably determine what sort of rates are available to you. Also, you will end up paying back the cost of the holiday plus the interest it accumulates over the period of the loan, so it may not be the right solution for everyone.

4. Stay-cation

I know, I’m sorry to have used the term, it’s dreadful. Taking a vacation closer to home (a stay-cation) is invariably cheaper than flying off to an exotic foreign destination, but it doesn’t mean you can’t have a good time.

Stay-cations can involve anything from camping, visiting museums, festivals or sporting events in your area. The important thing is that you’re not working for two weeks, right?

Since this type of vacation doesn’t cost the earth you don’t have to worry so much about how you’re going to pay for it.

My advice, for what it’s worth, is to save up for your holiday, but don’t disregard credit cards on principle, as there may be advantages to be had by using them.