Hey everyone! I am currently in St. Thomas (WOOHOO!) and have some wonderful posts lined up for while I’m gone. I always love finding new blogs, so I hope you enjoy these great writers who were actually willing to guest post for me 😛 Don’t forget to read Sunday’s post on Why She Loves Her Budget and yesterday’s guest post on New York City travel tips.
One of my favorite things in the world is going on vacation. Having a trip planned makes the cold winter months seem less dreary. I love to see new places and visit favorite destinations again.
Perhaps the best part of travel is that you get to leave work and worries behind for a time, and you can have someone else cook and clean for you. Trips can be a real zinger to the budget, but with a little forethought, you don’t have to break the bank. These are my favorite tips for saving money on vacation.
Plan, Plan and Plan Some More
If you are a free spirit, this might go against your nature, but to get the best prices, you really need to start trip preparations 3-6 months beforehand. This gives you plenty of time to compare airfare costs vs road tripping, hotel accommodations, and when the best days to travel will be. Also if you need to request time off from work, the sooner you ask, the more likely you will be to get the days off that you want. Ideally, if you need to fly, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays are the cheapest days.
Planning and searching online can turn up sweet hotel offers as well. For our last trip to San Diego, our favorite hotel was offering a discount for booking in January for travel within the next 6 months. We saved an extra 10% for planning ahead.
Use Reward Points, Coupons, and Gift Cards
Obviously, using credit card reward points is a great way to travel. Many credit cards offer bonus points for booking travel through their websites. You can book your trip, gather the points, and cash them in to pay for the bill.
If you do a search of coupons for the place you are visiting, you usually can score some good discounts. Often many attractions, like museums, offer free admission at certain times of the month. Most restaurants and vacation places are on Facebook and offer coupons for liking their page. We got extra tickets to an amusement park in Denver for signing up for their email list. This goes hand in hand with planning, but always look before you go. You might be pleasantly surprised.
Another way to save is to pay attention to when the grocery stores with gas stations are selling gift cards with 4x gas points. Normally, when you shop in the store, you get one point for every dollar spent. Every one hundred points saves $.10 per gallon of gas for a fill up. A few times a year, they offer 4x points, so this is a great time to stock up if you know what restaurants and attractions you want to visit. When we took a trip to Disneyland, we bought $500 worth of Disney gift cards, booked online for a discounted rate on hotel and admission tickets, and got 2000 gas points. This saved us $1 per gallon on two separate fill ups, about $34.
There are great rewards credit cards out there. One of my favorites is the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard. This credit card will give you $440 for FREE for your next vacation just by using a credit card like you normally would.
Don’t Eat Out Every Meal
One of my favorite things about traveling is eating out. That being said, I don’t need three restaurant meals per day. For one, I wouldn’t be able to fit into my pants by the end of the trip, and I’d be broke. We try to find a hotel that offers breakfast and has some sort of a kitchen. Homewood Suites is one that comes to mind. That way we can have breakfast on the hotel, buy and store food to pack for picnic lunches, and have a decadent dinner. We also stock up on bottled water and soft drinks from the grocery so we aren’t tempted to buy from a convenience store or at somewhere like Disneyland, where drinks are $3 a pop.
Everyone deserves the joy of a vacation, whether it’s a trip across town or overseas. With a little planning, you can save tons of money without sacrificing any of the fun. You might even have more fun knowing that you aren’t spending too much.
What are your favorite money saving travel tips? Do you have any trips on the horizon?
Kim is an optometrist who believes travel is essential to life. She blogs about her journey to achieving 20/20 financial vision at Eyes on the Dollar.
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laura says
We always try to book a hotel that does free breakfast and plan our journey to the hotel via public transport – both save a fortune.
Kim@Eyesonthedollar says
I do love a free breakfast!
My recent post Hosting a Frugal, Rocking Holiday Party
John S @ Frugal Rules says
Good tips Kim! We like to plan ahead as well to get better deals. We always like to find somewhere that offers breakfast and bring snacks with so we're only eating out 1 meal a day as opposed to three.
Kim@Eyesonthedollar says
One eating out meal a day is kind of our unwritten rule as well. I can't imaging the cost if you ate out three meals a day with 3 kids!
My recent post Hosting a Frugal, Rocking Holiday Party
Pauline @ Reach Financial Independence says
It sometimes makes sense to rent a car instead of racking up the mileage on your own and risking a breakdown. You can also research free activities like concerts, festivals, free day at a museum or free concerts, and plan your days accordingly.
My recent post Little house in Guatemala, week 7
Holly@ClubThrifty says
I always do a great job on saving money on the vacation itself….but I do TERRIBLE when I'm there. I always budget a ridiculous amount because I will surely spend it. I just love vacation and I want to do everything while I'm there. Money becomes no object which is strange because I am regularly so dang cheap. Good tips, Kim!
My recent post Confessions of a Cheap-Ass Santa
Kim@Eyesonthedollar says
We usually set a daily amount that we can spend and set it intentionally high. That way you don't feel so bad and you planned for the high end of things.
My recent post Hosting a Frugal, Rocking Holiday Party
DC@Young Adult Money says
I definitely agree with the planning ahead of time. I wish that I could just book vacations a few weeks in advance, but it's not the best way to go about planning a vacation and getting the best rates. One trip we took to Duluth we got a hotel for about $50/night (after $50 off a night because of some rewards program) and we did mostly free activities like the beach or walking around the pier. It was a ton of fun and a very inexpensive trip.
My recent post Online Strategies for Holiday Shopping Bargains
Kim@Eyesonthedollar says
Sometimes those are the best ones! We've had tons of fun camping and in national parks all pretty cheap.
My recent post Hosting a Frugal, Rocking Holiday Party
Kim@Eyesonthedollar says
Doing a quick search has saved us lots of money. I'm surprised everyone doesn't do that.
My recent post Hosting a Frugal, Rocking Holiday Party
Michelle says
Jeff loves to plan, plan, and plan some more for vacations. He's a NUT about it! But…he has saved us a ton of money by being such a nut, so I guess I'll stop making fun of his obsession. 😉
Kim@Eyesonthedollar says
I can get obsessed myself. Nothing wrong with being a little nuts over saving money!
My recent post Hosting a Frugal, Rocking Holiday Party
LivingDFRocks! says
We tend to rent a car when driving either within Canada or the US on extended trips. My car insurance covers me when driving a rental so that saves me from paying rental car insurance which can really rack up the final bill. We try to eat out once a day and keep lots of snacks, drinks and quick breakfast items in our room. We try to book a room that has a fridge and microwave.
My recent post I’m Debt Free. Now What?
Kim@Eyesonthedollar says
I almost won't take a room unless it has a fridge. My daughter is always hungry or thirsty so if we didn't have stuff packed, it would cost a fortune.
My recent post Hosting a Frugal, Rocking Holiday Party
Lance@MoneyLife&More says
I definitely like not eating out as much. We try not to eat out in car rides as much and that definitely saves a little bit of money. My other tip would be to travel with another group of people and split whatever costs you can.
Kim@Eyesonthedollar says
That's a great tip to travel with other people. Half the cost on transport and hotel!
My recent post Hosting a Frugal, Rocking Holiday Party
Natali_78 says
Thanks for the tips! Vacation is the time all of us are waiting for, but it’s hard to say that this happy time help us to save money. Usually holidays and vacations take out lots of money of our wallets and it becomes a financial disaster. When you go somewhere it’s necessary to take with you only limited amount of money and make up a budget. You should know how much money you can spend for food, drinks, souvenirs and etc. Try not to take out loans and credit cards, because you may not only spend everything but get in debt and the trip will become even more expensive that you’ve thought.