How to Save Money and Have Fun Traveling
How to Save Money and Have Fun Traveling
It can sometimes seem impossible to take a vacation and stay within a budget at the same time. While this can be difficult, there are many ways to go about doing it. Some of these methods are common sense, while others are often overlooked by the general public.
If you like many others have your heart set on taking a vacation, but you do not have a lot of money to do it, you should take a look at the tips listed below to see if any of them apply to you and your situation. For example, you can save money on hotels in Amsterdam by doing some searches online for discounts. Here is how to save money and have fun traveling.
1. The time you book a vacation matters
This may surprise most people. If you decide to book your vacation on one of the many travel websites that are online, the time and day of the week that you choose to make your booking will often come into play. While this is not the case for all travel websites, this can drastically impact the price on some of them.
Therefore, you should test out different websites by attempting to make a booking at different times of the week. See if the price varies by a large amount. You will be able to save money by doing this.
2. Have some flexibility when making your travel schedule
In the travel business, the price you pay for a plane ticket will usually depend on the day you plan on departing. If you depart on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, this will be more expensive than the rest of the week. This also applies to when you are returning home.
Therefore, you should take special care to arrange your travel schedule so that all of your flights are on days that have lower prices. If you schedule your flights far enough in advance, this should not be a problem for you.
3. Frequent flyer miles
If you fly, you will accumulate frequent flyer miles. However, in order to do this, you will need to be signed up to a frequent flyer program with a specific airline. After you have been flying for a while, you will be able to redeem your frequent flyer miles for discounts on future tickets. All of the airlines have different rules regarding their frequent flyer programs. You should check with each airline to see which one has the most favorable conditions.
4. Unlimited travel passes
There are rail, train and subway companies which offer unlimited travel passes over periods of two and three days. If you have a lot of traveling to do in a very limited amount of time, the price of one of these unlimited travel passes could be worth it. You should take some time and add up the price of buying separate tickets for each part of your journey. Then you will need to compare this price to the cost of the unlimited travel passes for you and all of the people you are traveling with.
5. Travel to places with favorable exchange rates
If money is a concern for you, the exchange rate of the country you are visiting should factor into your decision about where to go. You can save a lot by going to a country where you get more for your money.
Have you started planning a getaway summer vacation or will it be a staycation this year?
Disclosure: I received compensation to post this article which was contributed by Fiona Moriarty of Hipmunk, the most comprehensive travel search website allowing you to find the best deals on anything from flights and hotels to train rides and Homeaway rentals.
It may drive you nutty but checking several travel websites can save you money! Had one vacay and itching to go again!
Yes, I remember doing my due diligence when we traveled years ago, for this trip, not so much and I had a few missteps including fare increase because of a mistake I made.
I travel often and have all the websites in my faves. Do not forget Cruising. . .its the best vacation dollar if you don’t mind eating with many people.
I have never gone a cruise, other than a day trip from Florida to the Bahamas. I think it’s on my bucket list but I am deathly afraid of water….
It sounds like the best approach is just to plan ahead. My husband and I are both planners, so this works well for us. 🙂