The economy is still in rough shape and you’re trying to figure out how to budget for a vacation. Instead of frantically crunching numbers that have no correlation to how you’ve vacationed in the past, we recommend tweaking those plans a little so you can breathe a little easier when you reach your destination:
1. Don’t Eat Out and Stay in a Vacation Rental Has anyone noticed how expensive it is to dine out lately? It’s easy to spend $80 for a family of four. The best way to avoid the temptation of going out to eat is to book a vacation rental. In virtually every case, a vacation rental offers a kitchen where you can prepare your own food. Just make sure the grocery store you shop at doesn’t rip you off with outrageous prices. Some supermarkets prioritize spending more on advertising their businesses more than benefiting the customer. In the New England area, we have found that Hannaford and Market Basket generally keeps the prices low.
Vacation rental sites like , and offer thousands of vacation rentals with many coming in at affordable prices.
2. If You do Decide to Dine Out… go with discount dining sites like. On this site, you’ll be able to find many quality restaurants that offer $25 dollar gift certificates for only $10.
3. Compare Hotel Rates with the Click of the Mouse When booking a hotel room on a given hotel site, how do you really know you’re getting the lowest rate? Sites like HotelsCombined offers an absolutely tremendous service by comparing hotel prices amongst the major travel sites — great for the trip planner, no doubt!
4. Purchase a Vacation Package By combining any combination of hotel, air and car rental, the potential there is to save a good deal of money for your vacation. Priceline is my favorite site — the presentation is good, making for easy navigation and the potential to save up to $500.
5. Prioritize Walking, Hiking, Biking Some of the most memorable travel can be centered around free walks, hikes and bike trails. As examples, just take a look at Marginal Way in Ogunquit, Maine, the Cliff Walk in Newport, R.I., various hikes in the New Hampshire Lakes Region, the Cape Cod Canal Bike Trail and you’ll be hooked on these timeless, healthy activities!
6. Buy a Package Discount on Major Travel Attractions We have found very little attraction in spending so much on admission charges to a single travel attraction. Some enterprising companies likeand thepackage offer some of the best local travel attractions for a discounted price. In many instances, you also get to skip the lines!
7. Seek Out Deal Sites A recent online phenomenon, deal sites like Groupon and offer some really amazing discounts on restaurants, travel attractions, hotels, retailers and service providers. Often, we see discounts at around 50 percent. The trick is to buy the deal you like right away as most are time sensitive — the deals come and go.
8. Consider Booking a Hostel Defined as a supervised, inexpensive lodging place for travelers, hostels have become more popular, as of late, due to the bad economy. Do your research to make sure you find one that meets your criteria — if you do, the chance to save money is significant. Hostelbookers.com is one of the major sites of this genre, with thousands of hostel, budget hotel and budget apartment listings.
9. Stay in One Place Find one vacation you feel will meet all your special travel getaway needs, and stay there. It’s amazing how transportation costs add up when going from one destination to another — whether by car, bus, train, etc. I know this would be a significant change for many travelers, but do the math and you’ll be amazed at how much you’ll save by basin your vacation in one location.
10. Exchange Homes Certainly not for everyone, home exchanges can, nevertheless, save you money, big-time. The “You stay in my home while I stay in yours” concept has been gaining traction, as of late, for many vacationers. HomeExchange is one of the more popular house swapping sites.
11. Ask a Local We have found that the locals generally don’t like to spend too much on area restaurants and shopping, so strike up a conversation and learn a little bit about the best “townie” places that won’t break the bank. We found this to benefit us greatly when talking with a local in Henniker, N.H. (beautiful town, by the way!)
12. Don’t Forget Military, Student, Age and Membership Discounts Every little bit helps and often you’ll find reduced prices for hotels, restaurants and travel attractions. The AAA card, for example, is a long-time favorite, that has many benefits that we have found through the years! That extra $10 or $20 dollars saved, at, say, a hotel, can really make a difference when considering the overall cost of a vacation!
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