There are thousands of holidays open for bids on the auction site – but are the deals too good to be true? Times Online’s Chris Haslam on his journey hunting for bargains eBay UK’s travel section.

The auction site has long fancied itself as an online travel agency, and has been running trials in Germany of software that will allow bidders to put together their own holidays within the website. The technology won’t be available in the UK until next year at the earliest, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find a bargain in the meantime.

Not long ago, we were a nation of jet-setters, paying peanuts for seats and larging it across Europe with our bulletproof currency. Now we’re broke, but that doesn’t mean we want to stay indoors. We still want holidays, but we’d rather not pay full price for them. So, this week, I’ve been hunting for bargains – and by bargains, I mean bargains.

I don’t mean “pay for four nights, get one free” offers, or “one kid stays free if he sleeps in the bath” deals, or “destroy your marriage by booking a mystery hotel because it’s cheap” promotions. I want good stuff, dirt cheap, and eBay says it’s the place to find it.

Get the full story at timesonline.co.uk