With summer approaching its time for travel, everyone would travel more if it didn’t break the bank, right?
The truth is most people skip the family vacation because they think it’s too expensive or they are too busy to go. What most people don’t know is that with a small budget you can take a nice family vacation and you won’t have to camp in the wilderness unless that’s the type of vacation you want to take! The best part is you will be able to go more than once a year if you know where to find the savings.
Here’s a list of tips to help you learn how to save when you travel. Most of them I found at Discountrue, a savings website and others I compiled from a few other sources.
• Online coupons: This one is a no brainer, booking online and using coupons to save on airfare, hotels, car rentals, and attractions is easy. Online coupons are even easier than regular coupons because you use them before you get to your destination so there is no worry that they won’t work when it’s time to pay up. You can find loads of promo codes at Discountrue, Coupons.com or RetailMeNot.
• Travel during the off season. For instance cruises are a lot cheaper during the winter than during the summer. Booking during the week is cheaper than booking on Friday through Saturday also.
• Many tourist destinations have bundled passes for tourist attractions. This way you get to see the entire popular tourist destination and pay one price, which usually saves you a couple of dollars. A great example of this is the City PASS that is offered in many cities in America, but these passes also exist abroad.
• Airline Tickets: If you buy your tickets online in advance you usually get better rates than waiting until the last minute. Once your plan is set in stone you should start shopping for the best priced airline tickets. Round trip tickets also provide saving over one-way tickets. Hey, you have to come back home eventually anyway!
• Fast Food: Instead of splurging at five star dining establishments every night grab a couple of happy meals.
• Hotel Breakfast: If your hotel offers a continental breakfast at least you will save the cost of purchasing breakfast. Another great tip is visit a local supermarket and use the hotels microwave for some of your meals.
• Rental Cars: If you plan on renting a car try not to make your drop off in another city. One way car rentals are to make sure you bring your own car seat, fill up the rental car, check to see if your credit card company includes car rental insurance, and rent the smallest car possible.
• Getting around without a car: Many big cities have great public transportation and certain hotels have drop offs and pickups to tourist destinations. If you plan to take public transportation make sure you research in advance. Best bet is to avoid taxis which can be costly.
