Weekends away in any city in the UK can turn out to be a rather expensive affair. With travel, the cost of central hotels and the extortionate prices for food and drink, it make you feel like forgetting this all together and just getting on a plane to Spain for a long weekend.

Of course this isn't always that possible so when you are travelling to a major city, it's important to get the location of your hotel just right. So if you're thinking about visiting Cardiff then you must consider every hotel option rather than just diving straight in at the expensive end.

Cardiff is the capital of Wales and very proud of its culture and very rich history. The city offers everything that the average major city does, the restaurants, the shopping and the lively bustle however Cardiff's essence and culture makes this city a brighter gem on the map.

It's important to decide where you want to stay in Cardiff with a sensible head on. It's understandable to want to stay in one of the many glorious hotels in the centre.

Those beautiful elegant hotels that ooze that ‘countryside' feel, their vintage and calm style is what you want to get into the culture. However, these places tend to burn a whole in one's pocket unfortunately. So despite wanting to stay in a very ‘Welsh' place, the city hotel advice is to stay simple, plain and rather boring.

It's vital to look outside of the main city, have a look what's about online or seek advice from a travel agent. I know it isn't necessarily abroad but they will still be able to help you. You must look at the inexpensive hotels just outside the main city centre, by entering an appropriate search in the search engines you will be presented with a massive list of affordable hotels.

Now, it's very important when looking for hotels just outside the main city to see exactly how far you are away. This may seem obvious but shrugging and thinking well ‘we're only 15 minutes outside the city' isn't really that great. Those 15 minutes may cost you an arm and a leg in taxi fees.

By choosing a smaller hotel or even a B&B just a tiny bit out of the city will certainly save you less, along as you know exactly how much it's going to cost to get to different places, then you can certainly look at the best ways to save on your trip.