There are five humans in my tribe, with the recent addition (now 1 years old), and in the past we have gone thru pretty much almost every avenue in trying to keep the cost of our vacation down so we weren't suffering a hindsight sticker shock. The recent trip we lined up to Maui, we saved over $1000 just by using the tips I am about to mention as our guideline for booking and it's was very economical.
Most of us come out of vacation bliss feeling, "How did this trip end up costing so much?" or "Wow, we sure did have a REALLY good time!" (knowing that is just code for, "Oh Man!Wwe spent ALOT of money!" and usually ends with "Can't put a price on making memories.") What if you can avoid breaking the bank for an awesome vacation?!
Yup folks, the fun wagon sure does back out once that vacation is over and in your head you start racking up how much exactly that vacation ran you. We've all been there.
We enjoy our vacations but decided to be more tactful on how we planned our trips from here on out. Anything that requires 4+plus people to travel, hate to say it, your vacation needs to be well thought out and prepared, that's just the nature of the beast.
Here are just a few quick tips for saving when booking your next trip.
1. Always shop on a Tuesday! Airlines generally bring their pricing down on this day.
2. Be flexible on your travel dates and open to traveling during the week when Aifare rates are cheaper.
3. Prime time to book travel is 6 wks in advance for Airline tickets ! After that pricing is a gamble.
4. Sign up for Airline Newsletters, airfare watch dog websites, check airlines website for promotions also.
5. Make sure the airline credit card rewards program are really worth the reward and the interest rates aren't outrageous. We personally love Alaska Airlines and have been really stoked on it. So just make sure to understand the fine print on those Airline Reward Credit Cards .
6. If you are flying international, i.e. South America, Central America or the Mexican States, Volaris Airlines is THE most reasonable airline to fly through as long as you are able to depart from Mexico.
(Living in San Diego, we have access to the US/Mexican Border and fly out of Tijuana, Mexico, B.C. so this makes it very convenient to get to destinations like Costa Rica, Nicaragua, etc.)
Also when flying international, it is cheaper to fly out from a 'Main Hub" airport vs. your local airport. For example, since I live in San Diego, and say I wanted to fly to Costa Rica. The flight out of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) would be less expensive than if I were to fly out of San Diego Airport. Just keep in mind you have factor in your commute- there and back- to the 'Main Hub' Airport
7. Best website to book rooms, vacation rentals, etc is www.vrbo.com (Vacation rental buy owner-VRBO) This website hosts vacation rentals all over the world, owned by owners who are trying to rent out their destination spots.
8. Costco/Sams Club offer great vacation packages, just be sure the room you pick is in a great area, read reviews, Google Earth the places you are staying so you can understand the geography of your vacation location. They are hit and miss. You don't want to be stuck vacationing in a motel when you can be in a resort. So make sure not to miss those tiny details.
9. Travel Agents are the concierge of traveling so expect to pay a hair more if booking with a travel agent. The convenience of having an agent book for you is amazing!! However, if you are trying to keep a budget, doing the legwork on your own and being conscientiously saavy will help save ALOT of dollars. We have booked thru a travel agent before, simply for convenience and lack of knowledge in booking and found a better way to be most effective and cost efficient.
There you have it. Just a few of our Salty Tribe Tips to booking your travel. Hope you use a couple of these pointers when booking your next holiday!
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