Saturday, August 2, 2008

How to Save and See More During Your Trip

So you like to travel but do not have the money for it?! Do not worry you are not the only one. Actually, you are the majority; most of the people do not have enough money to travel as much as they would want to or at all.

So what can you do? Travel very little or give up on travel at all?! Lucky for you there many ways in which you can travel, see the world and save money doing it.

The trick is to learn different ways for discount travel and then apply them each time you travel.

Most people travel only a few times in their lives, and when they do they want to see it all, especially if visiting a foreign, exotic country. What this means is that you are actually traveling all the time during your travel and that can be expensive.

It does not matter what country you visit, some things like train tickets, boat tickets, car or bike rentals, etc. are always going to cost you a lot of money. You can cut your expenses in half by deciding on your priorities and stay in one place for some time.

This will allow you to both save money and really discover the essence of the place you are visiting. If you agree to stay in one place, you will discover many alternative, discount ways to travel around.

For example, you can always rent an apartment in the city you wish to visit, not even the cheapest hotels can compete with this.

Another good thing about it is that little by little, you will develop relationship with natives and they can help you find where the best bargains are. What are good but cheap eating places, where to buy cheap clothes, etc.

Lots of people travel exactly on schedule, not wanting to miss anything and wanting to see everything. They use itineraries, and spend all of their vacation time constantly on the move and never really stopping to enjoy themselves. One of my favorite movies is National Lampoons European Vacation, if you did not all ready, rent it to see what I mean.

Traveling all day on a cramped bus, hoping from train to train and sleeping in cheap hotels only to repeat it all in the morning does not sound fun to me. No doubt, you will see many things traveling like that, but it will cost you a lot of money and you might just miss the best, hidden places worth seeing.

When you start planning your trip, be sure to distinguish between experiencing new things and just seeing them. By staying longer, renting a place to live, you might discover that not only will you save money but also you will immerse yourself with the culture and that experience can be more valuable then anything else.

For a modern day generation like mine, I suggest you read the book The Beach by Alex Garland, just stay off the drugs, it does not improve the experience.

If you start, thinking and planning your trips in this way, you will get more out of your trips and have more of them.

Discount Travel Packages - How to Cut the Costs

Want to keep some money in your wallet for extra spending? Looking for ways to save money on your next vacation? With the right guidelines and a few rules of thumb, you can save your money and choose to spend on your terms. In today's demanding, fast pace working surroundings, quality time with family and friends is essential. A reload of batteries is needed occasionally. The three components to saving money on a vacation will be discussed in this article.

Discount Travel Packages: Creating a Budget

The first key to planning your vacation is setting a budget. Make sure that your budget fits your vacation destination, as different cities vary significantly in expenses. Be extra careful and add at least a hundred dollars per person when you set a target. On top of that, leave about $500 dollars to spare for any unforeseen costs. Who knows, you might even be fortunate enough not to spend it. It's a great feeling to come back from a rewarding vacation with the pocket full of cash. Oddly enough, it feels as if you actually made money on your vacation...

Discount Travel Packages: The Added Value

There is a very smart way to save more money on discount travel packages. There is an industry term called "opaque hotels", otherwise known as "off the record" hotels. Some tourist websites offer bargain prices on major hotels without disclosing the name of the hotel. This way the tourist website attracts customers without actually distorting the playing field. The hotels don't expose their names, the tourist website has bargain prices, and the competition stays fair for all. You can ultimately get great prices on first class hotels when you book opaque hotels.

Discount Travel Packages: The Hush-Hush of Saving

Holidays can be full of costs and expenses to different suppliers. Somehow it seems less complicated to pay for every expense separately: tickets to the flight provider, rooms to the hotel, rental car expense, boat cruise etc. What we fail to consider is that each service provider collects a profit margin from each sale, and probably a service commission as well. These charges accumulate to thousands of dollars, which could otherwise be spent in a wiser fashion. The simple solution is to look for discount travel packages and pay one commission to one supplier. The more service providers included in the deal, the more you relatively save. According to the data that I have gathered, "LastMinuteTravel.com" travel packages include flights and hotels starting from $160. I definitely recommend this website for extra saving.

In conclusion, when arranging a vacation you should set a budget, and find valuable discount travel packages that include elite off the record hotels. If you follow these simple rules, you will save a great deal of money and hopefully have a more pleasant vacation.

Five Small Tips to Save Big While Traveling

Vacations can be very expensive, so it is important to save money in whatever way you can. Try these cost saving tips when planning your next vacation.

Plan Ahead

The more planning you do, the better chance you have of maximizing your savings. Research your destination(s) online to find out about any attractions in the area. Many places offer coupons or have other discount programs available. You can also find out about any festivals or other special events that will be happening so that you can plan your vacation to coincide with them.

Pack Smart

Be prepared and pack a cooler for edibles on your trip. Bring drinks and snacks with you, buying in bulk and repackaging them into snack-sized servings. Bring along any books, magazines or other entertainment you might need so you don't need to go out as often.

Find a Good Place to Stay

You can save a ton of money if you camp out. Some areas even have federal lands that cost next to nothing to camp on. If camping is not your thing, check out cabins or other housekeeping living situations. Look for hotel rates online. See if any have special discounts, or if they are AAA members. Some hotels offer gas coupons or include breakfast. If you are feeling creative, try contacting local realtors and see if any know of apartments, condos or houses available for short term rentals.

Combine Your Entertainments

Many local bars and coffee houses have special evening entertainments available. Find a great local band or comedian and have a night out on the town. While some will ask for a cover charge, go early for appetizers or dinner and the cover charge may be waived.

Stay Local

Whether you travel to one destination, or are on a road trip, try finding entertainment that is within a short distance of your overnight location. Other good entertainment options may be available along your drive. Many areas have excellent tourist information offices or kiosks. Try stopping in to find out what tourist spots are available, and pick up any discount coupons while you are at it.

As long as you are creative and make an effort to conserve, it is possible to have a vacation on a shoestring budget. Use these ideas, and come up with some of your own, and you will soon be out enjoying your own low budget vacation.

While it may seem more natural to just pack your bags and take off on your vacation, traveling without planning ahead can cost a great deal more money than you expect. Instead, try taking some time to plan your vacation, and you will find that not only will you enjoy it more, but you will be able to do it for a lot less.

The first step is to plan where you would like to go on your vacation. This could be a short weekend jaunt or a long cross country road trip through a variety of locales. It is important to have some sort of a plan before heading out on the road.

If you're looking to head out of state, try contacting the tourist information center for any states you may pass through on your trip. Most will gladly send you a package of information about the attractions in their area.

Get a map of the areas you intend to travel through. Use a highlighter to mark your route on the map, so that you know exactly where you will be going, and can avoid getting lost on the way.

From the maps, search out any towns or cities that you will be passing through online. Many of these places will have websites with tons of information about local events, attractions and restaurants. Print out any coupons or brochures that interest you and mark those locations on the map (hint: use a different color highlighter!).

When planning places to stay, consider whether you would like to camp, stay at a hotel or motel, or for a longer stay, rent a cottage or apartment. Call around to find the best rates in the area. Some campsites are remarkable, offering a variety of trails, educational programs and other entertainments for families. Other times you may find a rental unit that will be the perfect place to stay for your vacation, allowing you to cook up your own meals and avoid the cost of restaurants.

Often many attractions can be found on the road as you travel from one destination to another. Plan your route so that you can make a quick detour to those locations, rather than having to go far out of your way to get there. Getting off the beaten path and staying on America's two lane highways and byways offers some beautiful scenery and interesting stops along the way.

By planning ahead you will have all the information you need to have a fun and relaxing trip. With discount coupons on hand, special event schedules in mind and the best deal for accommodations booked, you will save tons of money, and not miss a thing!


Cheap Airline Travel - Travel For Cheap With Cheap Airline Travel

When booking with a travel agent, always specify you want the "lowest possible fare." Buying tickets on the Internet is not the same as getting the cheapest price. As with any travel agent, you may be offered the lowest average price, or even a test price. A good way to get the bear fare is to book the best-value, fully-refundable fare early, then just keep looking for a better deal to pop up.

Identify the slow days. Usually, most people travel less during Tuesdays and Wednesdays. You can capitalize on this and take your flight to on these day at lesser cost. After all there is no difference when you arrive just as long as you get there.

Try traveling off-season. During this time, airfare is low. airfare is cheapest during winter. Make sure you travel some were hot.

Courier companies are an other way to get cheap flights. They sell cheap airfares in exchange for using your checked luggage allotment for business items such as documents and computer parts which need to get somewhere fast. Therefore your pack should be small enough to carry on. Your job is to show up at the airport on time, meet someone with the ticket, and board the airplane. You do not usually ever handle the checked baggage.

Gas prices have caused everything else to become more expensive and none of us have received a raise to help us afford the hike in prices. This is even true with airline travel, but there are ways to beat the high prices. You can learn all about discount airline travel and save money this summer on your vacation.

It is very important that you get your relaxing vacation this summer and do it without breaking your budget. You are already spending over $100 extra each month because of the gas prices and there is not reason for you to spend even more when you go on vacation. Here are a few tips to help you save money on discount airline travel.

First, you can package your entire trip into one package. This can save you a lot of money on your airline travel, hotel, and car rental. This also will get rid of any stress you might have of booking things separately. It will all be done in one payment and you will be set and ready to go.

You can also conduct many different searches to find the right price for your budget. Also, keep your destination flexible because you might be able to get a better deal to one area than to another. By keeping your destination open and searching with all types of different websites you will be able to find a deal that will fit your budget.

Traveling on a budget is not easy, but it can be done. Discount airline travel is the way to go to save money for the entire family vacation. These are just a few ways to get your travel for the discount you deserve. Be creative and you will be able to save money like crazy.