Holiday Budget Travel Tips

Published May 23rd, 2008

With high fuel costs, and the peak travel season rapidly approaching, many people are re-thinking their travel plans. Some people are cancelling trips, traveling closer to home, going for a shorter period of time, or to a less expensive destination. Whatever your situation, I’ve compiled a list of a few ways I get the most out of my trips, to help you get the best value for money spent when traveling.

1) This may sound obvious, but plan location and timing as far ahead as possible and prioritize your needs. This can be done in many ways. One solution is to decide how much you have to spend and what window of time you have and book whatever the best deal is that you can find. There are plenty of sites now for comparison like Expedia, Travelocity, Redtag, and compilation sites like Travelzoo. This is fine is you have an adventurous spirit and don’t have your heart set on just one thing. This is a good time to use a travel agent, as you can give them your criteria, and see what they can come up with. If you come up with a good deal on your own, see if they can beat it or at least match it–then you’ll have someone on the other end of the phone in case of any problems.

Another option is to choose your destination and time frame and scour the Internet and contact your travel agent to see what options exist to have a set holiday in a set place (eg. a week in Orlando). Compare the costs of driving versus flying, time in transit, and any combination offers that you can find (eg. hotel stay with meals or hotel stay with attraction passes). If you have a group of people, renting a house, cottage, or condo may save you a lot as you can cook your own food, won’t have to pay for separate room fees by the day, and may even get your own private use of a pool or hot tub at the house. Just altering your stay and travel by a day or two either way may lead to a significant discount (eg. Vegas is less expensive mid-week).

Also, when considering the cost of airport parking for a longer trip, consider your choice of airport hotel. Sometimes they’ll let you park your car there free for the duration of your trip if you stay the night before you go. Another alternative here in Canada at major airports is to use the economy or self-serve Parkn’fly locations–up to date coupons can often be found from a web search.

2) Decide on your mode of transport and routes ahead of time.

As discussed in my post about Visiting the Canary Islands, figuring out the inexpensive and efficient bus system in Tenerife, saved our holiday. If we had waited until we got there, it could have been potentially very costly and stressful to figure out just how to get across the island.

For some locations, booking a cheap rental car ahead of time is the best option. In other cities and countries, traveling by public or private transport may be the cheapest, safest, and easiest way to go, not having to worry about getting lost or paying for parking and rental fees. Often you can buy multiple ride or multiple day passes for the local public transport, or discounts with buying a return fare. Some businesses will give you a discount for buying ahead of time via the web, or with others it’s just less expensive to buy when you get there. Of course with all of this, it helps to figure out where you want to go and do ahead of time in order to plan out your route!

3) Use Discounts

When planning your trip and itinerary, consider all discounts available to you. For example, are you a CAA/AAA member which gives you free maps, roadside assistance, and discounted fees to many attractions. Can you use a student or senior’s card? Do children get to stay, eat or participate for free or a discounted rate? Are there discount coupons in your hotel lobby, or at the tourist centre (you can usually find this out via the Internet or a quick phone call).

4) Take advantage of free Internet once you get there.

Not knowing how to send text messages, the email is still the most inexpensive way for me to keep in touch with those and home and get things done from afar. Although there are Internet cafes that can be quite inexpensive, there are places like Second Cup that have free Internet hotspots if you have wireless capability. Another favourite but sneaky thing to do is to pretend that you are a guest and use the free Internet at a hotel that offers it as a perk (but you didn’t hear this from me), at any rate, this is a less expensive alternative to long distance phone calls.

5) Don’t eat out at every meal

Specially when traveling in Europe, we’ll pick up some buns or pastries and a bit of cheese and fruit to take back to our room for breakfast the next morning. This saves us an expensive hotel breakfast (unless it’s already included in the price). We either pick up some stuff from a local supermarket for a picnic, or enjoy some yummy street vendor food for lunch, and then have a nice dinner out or vice versa. The advantage to eating lunch in the restaurant, is that you can splurge and try a really nice restaurant at lunchtime prices, then enjoy a smaller dinner later. Afterall, a big part of why many people travel is to try the local cuisine. Also, if you can find a local grocer and buy a case or big bottles of water that’ll save you a fair bit over getting the little ones at the tourist stops. Just remember, the less meals you have in sit-down restaurants, the less 15% tipping you have to do.

6) Remember to bring your touristy stuff with you from home.

For as long as I live, I will never forget the 15 euro bottle of sunblock we had to buy so my husband would not burn his bald head! All because we forgot the sunblock. Other things to bring that could cost you a small fortune in tourist areas are batteries, film, motion sickness pills or patches (specially if you are going on a cruise), hand sanitizer, bug spray, a small umbrella, a sweater, and a lightweight jacket (yes…even if you are going someplace hot, you will likely need something warm in the evening or if you go on a day trip). The cheesy jackets from tourist areas are often just because people didn’t plan well…

7) Find some free things to do while you’re there.

The only thing better than a discounted attraction is a free one! Before you leave on your trip, consult your tourbook from the CAA/AAA, travel guide from the library or bookstore, or your friend the Internet to scope out some completely free attractions that you can see. Some suggestions include art galleries, museums, botanical gardens, parks with free concerts, flea or farmer’s markets, scenic walking tours, or boardwalks. Some of the major cities will have many of these things to do at no charge. By the way, if you happen to be visiting Las Vegas anytime soon, there’s a list of completely free stuff to do here.

Bon voyage!

Don’t forget to enter the Great Galapagos Contest before you leave the site!

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