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Easter needn't cost a fortune with our round-up of the best online offers
Spring is in the air and the Easter holidays are nearly here, which means it's almost time to crack open the chocolate eggs, toast the hot cross buns and make the most of a well-deserved bank holiday weekend. You can enjoy the break *without going over budget with our tips for a cost-efficient Easter extravaganza.
Chocolate eggs
Sainsbury's is doing half-price Easter eggs until 5 April and buy-one-get-one free on certain Disney eggs – or for something particularly special, go to the Chocolate Factory in Harrods and marvel at the special team of Belgian chocolatiers working their magic. A personalised chocolate egg costs £11.95.
Get 10% off all orders at Hotel Chocolat and check out its range of extra thick Easter eggs which start from £20. Order a mug from Whittards and you'll also get a milk chocolate Easter egg for free, until 12 April.
There's 20% off orders at Green & Blacks until 14 April and 10% off until 29 April – and if you order an organic chocolate egg gift before Easter Sunday, you'll get a free creamy milk chocolate bar too.
Thorntons is doing three for two on Easter treats, or for Easter eggs with a butterscotch, mocha or strawberry twist try the Chocolate Deli, where you can get 10% off all chocolate eggs until 25 April.
Easter egg hunts
Have a proper day out and go on an Easter egg hunt at a National Trust property near you – you'll have to pay a small fee to enter the grounds to get on the trail (£2 to £3, depending on the venue), but there will be face-painting, egg and spoon races and, of course, plenty of chocolate. Find your nearest Easter egg outdoor trail here. Or, save 20% on tickets to Cadbury World in Bourneville – it is open all through the Easter holidays, including the bank holiday weekend.
In London, children will get a free Easter egg once they've completed the trail at the Imperial War Museum (entry is free). On Easter Sunday morning, Kew Gardens will be hosting an egg hunt complete with mini organic chocolate eggs, while the Battersea Park Children's Zoo is running a massive Easter trail throughout April; adults pay £6.50, children £4.95.
Travel for less
If you've left it too late to book cheap advance train tickets to get away over the bank holiday, consider travelling by coach (although there's no guarantee what the traffic will be like). National Express has Funfare tickets from £1, as does Mega Bus. If you'd rather drive, Enterprise Rent A Car is offering 25% off rentals in April, Avis has 20% off car bookings made by 6 April, and you can get 5% off car hire with easyCar – check for cheap petrol near you before you leave to save even more pounds.
Take a break …
Can't afford to go abroad over Easter but still itching for a holiday? Try to get away in the UK instead – there are still some great last minute deals around if you book quickly.
For luxury bed and breakfasts, check out the grand Wolsey Lodges , where doubles start from around £45. Or go caravanning – the Hoburne Holiday Park in Torbay still has availability over Easter, from £184 for a two-bed caravan to accommodate a family of four for three nights.
Get discounts on cottage bookings at Holiday Cottages – couples can save £60 on this cosy barn conversion in April, or grab this roundhouse in Devon for £235 for a week at the end of April.
Or if you are finding Easter holiday prices too high, consider a last-minute house swap – website UKHolidaySwapShop says it is matching families from Scotland, London, Liverpool and Derbyshire up to exchange homes over Easter. On the Guardian's house exchange site the owners of this house in Hampshire are looking to swap with any family in the UK, or swap your seaside home for a city break in the capital in this house.
… Or be a day tripper
If you've hoarded Nectar points or have a stash of Tesco Clubcard Vouchers stowed away somewhere, use them to fund a day out for the whole family.
Every £10 of Tesco Clubcard vouchers gives £40 in tokens for days out, which can either be used to pay for all or part of entry costs – so you could take the whole family out for less to attractions such as Alton Towers, Warwick Castle or Madame Tussauds. Use your Nectar points to get free entry into the Eden Project or buy English Heritage membership to get you a year's worth of free entry into castles and places.
Avoid paying costly entrance fees to attractions in the Midlands with tourist site Visittheheart – there are discount vouchers for two-for-one entry into the National Sea Life centre in Birmingham and two-for-one to visit Shakespeare's birthplace in Stratford upon Avon.
The Oceanarium aquarium in Bournemouth is giving 20% any family tickets purchased online over the Easter weekend.
Most museums and galleries will be open over the bank holidays – and the national ones have free entry.
There are drop-in art sessions going on at the Victoria & Albert museum over the school holidays, while the Science Museum has a host of free Easter events on, including storytelling afternoons, although you do have to pay to enter the new Wallace and Gromit exhibition (adults £9, concessions £7).
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