Wouldn’t it be great if you could book this year’s French villa holiday at last year’s prices, or only pay for the time you want to spend there?

Before you think I’m lost in cloud cuckoo land, you should hear this – you can do all these things, and more. There may be a recession, but if you have an eye for a bargain, now is the time to bag it.

Having seen a substantial dip in bookings at the start of the year, dozens of villa and gîte holiday companies have slashed their prices – or have asked the property owners they work with to do so - and it seems to be paying off.

Dan Thompson from Quality Villas says: “We asked owners to reduce prices a minimum of 10 per cent or as much as they could. Some owners remarkably dropped their prices by 40 per cent, the majority 20 per cent or more. So, on the whole, our rates are the same as last year or lower.”

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Other businesses and property owners have taken pity on those with the pound in their pockets. Susan Paradise tells me: “Some of our French owners really appreciate British clients and they have agreed to let us reduce their prices in order to promote the 'entente cordiale'.” So it seems those Frenchies love us after all.

If the strength of the euro is putting you off, it shouldn’t be.

Many tour operators have been canny with the currency and bought it last summer when the rate was much more favourable, so this means you also pay last year’s rates. Marianne Wanstall from Bowhills says: “We bought our euros for this year over a year ago, meaning that our prices are benefiting from a very solid exchange rate compared to booking direct with an owner and taking the hit on the current exchange rate.”

In the past, one of the more annoying aspects of a villa or gîte holiday is that you must book a full week’s stay and that they run Saturday to Saturday, so you also get stung by more expensive ferry or flight prices.

To get around this, many have renegotiated with owners to let customers book in any day they like and so you can finally take advantage of those bargain mid-week ferry crossings. It also allows you to take a cheaper nine or ten day holiday (instead of two weeks), or long weekend, making it more affordable.

“We now have around 100 properties across France where you can choose your arrival day and the duration of your stay. It allows customers to tailor the duration of their holiday to their pocket – so we are suddenly seeing a jump in nine, ten and 11 night stays, which is great,” says Wanstall.

Another operator is making the most of their larger properties. The Gascony Secret is offering "under occupancy" rates, which means you pay less for taking fewer people to a property – so the more the merrier isn’t necessarily true and you have more choice of where you stay.

No longer do you have to take extra people (with whom you might not necessarily want to holiday) just to keep the cost down, nor need there be a mad dash to the best bedroom on arrival (with the subsequent sulks from those who miss out).

That said, getting a big group of you together will allow you to snap up some fabulous bargains on the bigger properties. Susan Paradise have knocked €1000 off this villa in Brittany, which has an indoor pool, while Bowhills has this villa on offer for £229 per person.

Meanwhile, Brittany Ferries are offering savings of up to 25 per cent on some of their cottages, while Sanctuary Retreats is offering the complimentary services of a chef for one evening in high season at their country house, Le Trèfle, in Provence. And if you’d like a property with ‘help’, Quality Villas’ have slashed the price of Villa la Chappelle, also in Provence, which comes with sauna and heated private pool and maid service.

So, if you shop around, take your basic foods with you and fill your car with petrol before you board the ferry, you might just have the cheapest holiday you’ve had in years.

Carolyn Boyd is editor of France Magazine, Britain and North America’s best-selling magazine about all things French. See www.francemag.com to subscribe for £24 or to buy a single copy (£3.99). Follow France Magazine on Twitter, or join France Mag on Facebook.

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