Saturday, June 18, 2011

Saturday's Sojourn...

Saving along the way


Today I decided to look at vacations a little differently at let you in on some money saving ideas that will make it easier to go on a vacation with your family.

The first thing to tackle is the getting there. If you are driving make sure your car is tuned up and your tires are inflated properly, this is a huge gas saver. Also, you can check eBay auctions and gift cards sites like ABC Gift Cards for gas gift cards, there is usually a very small savings on these but any savings is good. If you are flying then make sure you check all the sites for the lowest fares, including the airline directly. Kayak, Cheap flights and Booking Buddy are great places to get deals. Most importantly, remember to include all your expenses in your calculations, here's what I mean; I am going to Chicago with some friends in a couple months and we thought about driving, the cost of gas from here to there is about $215.00 according to the AAA fuel cost calculator, plus the additional expense of parking at over $40 per day for 6 nights ($240) made the driving cost about $465.00. Our local airport ran a special offering one way tickets, non stop to Chicago for $99.00, so flying cost us a little less than driving and we don't have to worry about a car. Almost everything is with in walking distance to where we are staying so our transportation in the city is almost nil.  Also, be sure to check eBay for drink vouchers and airline gift cards, these can increase your savings even further.

The next huge expense is the hotel.  For our vacation I found a great deal right in the city using SniqueAway.  They offer 4 and 5 star hotels at very discounted rates.  This vacation will be my first time using them but the reviews on TripAdvisor are all favorable.  Another great option is Hotels.com, sometimes you can find rooms they want to book closer to your arrival date.  Remember to join the hotels guest rewards program if they have one as well, this may not earn you a free nights stay unless you visit a lot, but it will almost always get you free internet service in your room.  If you are a member of AAA be sure to ask when checking in or making your reservation is you get a discount with your card.

Once you have arrived its time to have some fun, one of the best things I have found to do is see if there is an Entertainment book for the area you will be visiting, these are filled with discounts and can save you hundreds.  Also be sure to check in with at the Tourist Information area, most every place has them, from big cities to little towns and they can be a source for some great coupons and information on specials in the area.  If you have a general working idea of the area you are going to visit then you can shop ahead at Restraunt.com for some great discounted meals, just be sure to read the small print, some require a purchase of a certain amount and others may expire.  You can also check on eBay and places like Gift Card Rescue for discounted gift cards, just make sure you don't get a card larger than you can use or it will go to waste.  If you are headed to a larger city be sure to check out CityPass, they offer a discounted price for all the largest attractions in the area.  I have also found that doing a simple Google search on Tourist Discounts for ______ will net you some pretty amazing results.

Do you have a money saving tip? I would love to hear about it.

Have a great weekend! 

C.Q.
The Blog Entourage

So Followed Saturday

Between the Lines

5 comments:

  1. You have to be one of the savviest travelers around. Your best tips are always about the gift cards. I never thought about getting them before going on vacation.

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  2. Stopped by from the blog hop and am now following you thru GFC, Facebook and Twitter. I would love a follow back on all those also when you get a chance. No big rush. It's a busy weekend and family comes first. I love the button right here with the Mystery & Suspense! I love those kind of books also and try to figure it out before the book tells me who did it! Have a great weekend!

    Mary@http://www.mmbearcupoftea.com

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  3. If driving, some gas stations give you money off if you use their card at their gas station (Maverick Adventure Club is about 4 cents per gallon) (Fred Meyer can be up to 10 cents per gallon) so it might be worth it to scope out those gas stations along the way.

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  4. Hi I'm your newest follower over here from the Saturday Blog Hop! I love saving money and will be traveling in July. Thanks for the tips!

    http://www.forloveofcupcakes.com

    PS I like this spinning globe you have on the side here.

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  5. Wow, what fabulous ideas. You think of everything!

    My travel tip would be to check out Studentuniverse.com in case anyone is still in school. I got a ticket from Salt Lake City, UT to London for $732! It's definitely worth checking out if you have a valid student ID.

    I hope you have a great time this next week! I'm so glad you got the photos to work, I wasn't sure what to do otherwise and completely forgot to get back to you. I'm so sorry!

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I love to read your comments, but due to spamming I have had to turn on the word verification again. Sorry for the extra step.