IF you didn’t manage to get away on holiday amid the on-going cost of living crisis this year, fear not – this lot did it for you!
With millions of followers between them, celebs such as Maura Higgins, Millie Mackintosh and Kelly Brook were called upon by luxury hotels to showcase their destinations, gifting the lucky stars thousands of pounds worth of free holidays during 2025.
But as these ‘influencers’ showed off their golden tans in carefully posed, PR-friendly snaps, experts believe the tide is turning.
“Travel brands know celebrity ‘freebies’ are somewhat of a double‑edged sword,” travel PR expert Jenny Holden explains.
“The reach is huge, but so is the risk of looking out of touch for those who can’t afford it. The savvier operators now balance content with real‑world value, clear prices and practical tips.”
Jenny also tells us the staggering amount of money and payment that can go into negotiating these trips.
“While it’s difficult to say exactly how much due to differing budgets, Z-listers can demand £5k for a single Instagram post per holiday, and a higher tier celeb could make anything from £20,000 to £200,000 for hosted trips,” she says.
Going on those figures, it’s a safe estimate that our ten biggest blaggers of 2025 have been on freebie vacays worth at least £500,000.
Here they are in all their bikini-clad glory – if you can bear to look…
Maura Higgins
Globetrotting Maura, 35, barely stopped in 2025, jetting around the world and enjoying the perks of having four million followers.
Highlights included a birthday trip to Dubai aboard a luxury yacht from a company which hires out boats for £81,000 a day, VIP access to US festival Coachella, priced at over £1,000 and a sun-soaked trip to the Semeli Coast in Mykonos, where a villa would set you back a whopping £5,000 a week.
Millie Court
Jet setting Love Island winner Millie has enjoyed more than her fair share of jaunts this year, travelling to Paris, New York, Mykonos, Portugal, Turkey and Crete.
The influencer, 29, napped a freebie to the Maldives, where luxury trips can cost up to £8000 and lived it up in the Amare Beach hotel in Ibiza, with suites going for £300 a night – documenting it all for her 1.8m Insta followers.
Millie Mackintosh
Made in Chelsea alum Millie, 36, swapped Sloane Square for sunnier climes in 2025, enjoying a string of gifted luxury trips.
Highlights included Turkey’s Hillside Beach Club, where rooms go for £1,300, and a week at XO Cape Arnna, which can cost up to £3,250.
She also squeezed in a Four Seasons London staycation and Ibiza’s Alma Festival, both priced around £1,000 per night. Very posh.
Molly-Mae Hague
The queen of influencers, multi millionaire Molly-Mae, 26, may not need freebies, but her job still takes her to some seriously luxe destinations for nothing – in 2025, she enjoyed a £1500-a-night work trip to stunning St Moritz.
She’s also stayed at Dubai’s £1,300-a-night Palm Royal hotel and documented a family stay with Tommy Fury and daughter Bambi at Turkey’s Regnum Crown hotel, where rooms start at £2 000 per night.
How the other half live!
Katie Price
The Pricey, 47, has stayed on home soil for the majority of 2025, but that didn’t stop her blagging a stay in a luxury North Devon house from Village Hideaways, costing £1k for two nights.
She did, however, manage to get away to enjoy a perk-filled trip to Dubai, posing on a boat from a rental company whose priciest yacht costs a staggering £2,000 an hour and riding horses against the Emirates backdrop.
Laura Anderson
Former Love Islander Laura, 36, finished 2025 with a gifted visit to Lapland UK, rounding off a year that featured a host of incredible freebie trips from Dubai to the Maldives, where her stay at Kandima would cost the average Joe around £3,730.
Add on a break at the Hotel Lumen in Paris, where four nights would set you back £1,500, and she was giving her 1.5m followers plenty to think about.
Cheap holiday essentials
IF you’re jetting abroad this summer, here are the cheap holiday essentials you won’t want to miss.
PACKING CUBES: They’re loved by mum-of-22 Sue Radford and not only do they save space in your luggage, but they’ll ensure that your case is super neat and tidy.
TAG TRACKER: There’s nothing worse than loosing your luggage, but thanks to this handy £15 buy from B&M, you won’t have to worry about that on your next trip.
KIDS’ CABIN BAG: Don’t worry if you can’t afford to splash the cash on a Trunki, as Aldi are selling an alternative dupe buy for just £29.99 – and it’s great for children.
HAND LUGGAGE CASE: For those that are opting to go hand luggage instead of paying a fortune for a check-in bag, Morrisons are selling extra small cases, that are perfect for taking on a flight, for only £7.99.
Nicole Scherzinger
The multitalented Pussycat Doll turned West End diva can afford to go anywhere she likes. And when it comes to collaborating with destinations, Nicole, 47, only picks the best.
In 2025 she enjoyed a stay at the Four Seasons in Anguilla, with rooms costing £1200 a night during high season, and Hawaii’s Kahala resort, priced at nearly £2,000 for four nights.
Don’t Cha wish you had clout like her?
Kaz Kamwi
Another Love Islander who has capitalized on her massive popularity, Kaz has kept her followers very happy with a slew of posts from spectacular destinations.
From private boat trips in Tanzania, to the popular Kandima in the Maldives, costing almost £4,000, she has travelled far and wide. But of course, no influencer would miss the obligatory Ibiza trip.
Kaz, 30, partied at the O Beach Club in May, where VIP tables go for £1,000.
Natalya Wright
The youngest Wright sibling, Natalya, 25, has stepped out of Jess and Mark’s shadow to become a fully fledged influencer, already boasting 365,000 followers.
And she’s making the most of her popularity by collaborating with hotels across the globe, including Turkey’s Hyde hotel, where a three-night villa stay costs £2,800 and Dubai’s Five Luxe JBR, where you can expect to pay £3,000 per week.
Nice work if you can get it.
Kelly Brook
The horror of eating pig’s brain on I’m A Celeb is a world away from the luxury Kelly, 46, is used to.
The model turned DJ spent 2025 on a series of extravagant trips with hubby Jeremy Parisi, including a Valentine’s jaunt to Sandals’ St Vincent resort, which would cost £10,000 a week for two people.
She and Jeremy have also collaborated with a lot of Italian destinations, including Villa Feltrinelli on Lake Garda, where a junior suite costs £3,000.
