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| "my travel gear" by Jon Rawlinson is licensed under CC BY 2.0 |
Whether you’re thinking ahead to summer vacation or are just itching to get out of town, it’s not secret that traveling these days is expensive. From airline costs to hotel expenses, things can quickly add up. If you need to stick to a budget, being organized in the planning process will be key to saving money while still having a fulfilling experience. How do you save money without sacrificing your dream trip? Apartment Guide offers these travel tips:
Be Flexible
Instead of having a location and a specific date you want to go, let the travel destination choose you. The fare to the Bahamas may be much less than it is to go to Greece during March, so if you can settle for a different beach than you had in mind, you may be able to save some cash and still get a tan.
Do your research to see where and when you’re going to be able to get the most travel bang for your buck. Be flexible about the times you travel as well. I recently booked a trip to Las Vegas, and the cheapest flight was at 6 a.m.
Do I really want to get up at 3 a.m. to make my flight? No. But flying out at 6 a.m. vs. 9 a.m. was about $150 cheaper. That’s $150 extra dollars I can spend on food, fun, or souvenirs for friends.
Fly On Certain Days
If possible, book your flight for a Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday afternoon. In general, these are the days when airfare is the cheapest.
Traveling on these days will mean less crowded airports, shorter security lines, and more money in your pocket for activities!
Travel With Friends
Not only is traveling with friends more fun, but if you gather a group of friends together, you can all go in on everything together.
A road trip to New York might be pretty pricey if you’re going by yourself, but when you split the gas cost between you and four friends, suddenly all of your travel expenses become much more manageable.
Set a Budget
If I didn’t set a budget for exactly how much I planned to spend in Las Vegas, I would have probably been in trouble. When you’re on vacation, it’s easy to overspend without even realizing that you’re doing so.
Break down every expense, from airfare and food to transportation, hotel and entertainment before you leave for your trip. This way, you won’t come home with a completely empty wallet, and you may have some cash leftover to save toward your next trip!
Rely on Hourly Car Rentals
Many people book a rental car to get them from the airport to their hotel. However, if you’re only planning on getting a rental car for the purpose of traveling to your hotel, you may want to consider an hourly car rental like Zipcar instead.
Zipcar is a great option if you’re traveling to a city where there’s already a lot of public transportation. The price to rent a Zipcar will change depending on the city you’re visiting. If you’re in Chicago, Zipcars will be about $9 per hour, while in New York, it’s $10 per hour.
Watch Where You Fill Up
Whether you’re using a Zipcar or going on a road trip with your own car, you can save money on travel expenses by being careful about where you fill up on gas.
Download the smartphone app GasBuddy, which will tell you which stations in your area have the cheapest price per gallon.
Consider Non-Hotel Options or a Package Deal
Non-hotel options, (like hostels or renting out a place for the week) and package deals are another great way to save money on travel expenses.
Staying at hostels or renting out a local’s apartment through a secure website like Airbnb, can often be much cheaper than a pricey hotel room.
Bonus money saving points if you rent a house– you can cook some of your own meals and save on eating out costs!
Or if you love the luxury of a hotel, instead of buying airfare and a hotel separately, think about buying all-inclusive packages to save yourself some money. When you buy the two together, you may be getting deals that aren’t offered to the general public.
Sign Up For Loyalty Programs
If there is a specific airline you fly with all the time, or a certain hotel that you always stay with, sign up for their loyalty or frequent flyer program to save yourself some money over the long run. You’ll eventually earn miles that you can put toward another trip.
If you continue to stay with the same hotel, you may even earn a few free nights, or at least take advantage of a discounted or upgraded room. You may also want to sign up for an airline’s free email alerts to get coupons and deals to help you save money.
Since you’re being alerted to these special discounts right when they become available, you get first dibs.
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