Even in a budget-conscious economy, you can still travel and enjoy a family vacation. While “staycations” are a big trend right now (staying home for vacation instead of traveling), they may not be your thing. And in fact, with some proper planning, you may be able to save more than the people who load their staycation with expensive activities.
Here are some tips on how you can save money on travel.
Off Season
Travel to your destination in the off season. This is the number one way to save some serious money on your travel. Off season travel can cut your overall expenses by as much as 70 percent! Travel to Disney during January or November, for example, and save big. Visit a summer location, such as Paris or Canada in the spring, fall or even winter. from flight to food to accommodations, the price will be reduced all around.
Flexible Flights
If you have some flexibility with your travel itinerary, use the flexible flights or date range option to book a flight. This option will allow whichever travel service or website you use to search for the cheapest flight over a specific date range and will often yield the best results for the lowest costing flight.
Ask for a Deal
Many hotels, especially if they are independent (such as an inn or bed and breakfast) or part of a local regional chain and not a national chain, respond well when you simply ask for a deal. If they have extra empty rooms that they want booked, they may be willing to work with you. Ask for extras, such a third night free, a free room upgrade or even a discount.
Last Minute Bundling
Because airlines don’t want you to know how low they will reduce their prices for unsold seats, they often bundle them into last minute packages through a service such as lastminute.com. You can find great deals this way. The discounts really are very good. I recently spotted a 50 percent off deal.
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, creating a home in the Home Blog, caring for little ones in the Baby Blog and now relationships in the Marriage Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here or subscribe to the blog using the subscription box on the right.
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