Travel Tips

Are you ready to start planning your summer vacation? If your vacation destination is within a reasonable distance to your home, you may consider driving. If so, continue reading on a for few moneysaving tips. With the poor economy and most Americans on a budget, dont pay more for your summer vacation than you need to!

So, how can you reduce the cost of driving when on a budgeted summer vacation?

First, you need to decide whether you want to drive your own car or rent one. This will be a tough decision. You may feel more comfortable with your own vehicle. It will be cheaper. You just pay for gas. However, is your car brand new? How many miles will you be adding and how much will it depreciate in value? What about wear and tear? Is it worth it? For most, it is a personal decision. Just be sure to keep the costs in mind, especially if you are on a strict budget.

Become an AAA member, also known as Triple A. This membership has many benefits. The greatest is roadside assistance. What if your car breaks down? Will you be left stranded in an unknown place? Not if you have a good membership. Yes, you could easily pay $100, but remember that you are covered for at least one year. Not only do you get roadside assistance, but many hotels, restaurants, and car rental companies have discounted rates for AAA members.

Get your car serviced beforehand. This may seem like an added expense, but it will be worth it if driving an older car. Make sure your vehicle will make the trip in one piece. If you are familiar with cars or know someone who is, opt for this instead. It will be cheaper. Check the pressure in the tires, change your oil, and so forth. A well serviced and functioning car makes it easier and cheaper to drive to your summer vacation destination.

Dont stop at the first gas station you see. Gas prices vary greatly. They are usually more expensive right by highways and interstates. You could easily save .10 cents a gallon by driving a few minutes down the street. Unless you are in a hurry or concerned for your safety, do not opt for the first gas station you see. In fact, if you stop for dinner, look at the gas stations along the way and compare prices. When heading pack to the interstate or highway, stop at the station with the cheapest prices.

Pack your own snacks and drinks from home. On extended road trips, many travelers opt for dinner at a rest stop. Yes, this is convenient, but very costly. Your best bet is to bring food from home. Pack a cooler filled with ice, drinks, sandwich meat, and condiments. Stop at the rest stop areas, but only use their picnic tables. You may be surprised how much money this saves! At the very least, bring your own snacks and drinks. These too are expensive at convenience store, especially near interstates.

Have a map, navigation system, or someone you can call for directions back home. Getting lost is common when on a summer vacation. You may want to drive around to find the cheapest gas or take a shortcut to avoid a traffic jam. That is okay, but not if you get lost. You may put your safety at risk and then there are the added travel costs. It is best to stay on your preset path, but only venture off if you have a way to avoid getting lost.

In short, there are many ways to reduce the cost of driving to your summer vacation destination. Luckily, these steps are easy to implement. Better yet, driving is usually the cheaper alternative for most. Airlines have been suffering financial losses for years. They are trying to avoid additional losses by charging higher rates and tacking on additional fees. Save your money this summer. If you can drive to your vacation destination, do it!

PPPPP

Word Count 672

Are you ready to start planning your summer vacation? Unfortunately, the poor economy has left many Americans in a financial pinch. If you are one of those individuals impacted, you may consider foregoing your annual summer vacation. Luckily, you dont have to. Many travel deals and discounts are available to help you save money. How can you find these deals?

By examining online travel websites. Online travel websites are well-advertised on television. Orbtiz.com and Priceline.com are just two of your many options. What is nice about these websites is that it makes comparing easy. Enter your destination, the number of people traveling, your dates, and what you need, like a hotel or car rental. In just a few minutes, you will have many arrangements to compare. What is the cheapest?

By comparing online travel websites. As previously stated, there are many online travel websites to choose from. You would think their rates are similar, but you may be surprised with the difference. This is due to different fees. If you want to buy a travel package that includes airline tickets, a hotel, and a car rental through a travel website, request free quotes from different websites. See which one offers you the better deal. Why pay more with Orbtiz.com when Priceline.com has a cheaper package available, and visa versa?

By booking your reservations independently. The best deals on travel websites are usually offered in the form of vacation packages. What if you dont need a travel package? Are you staying with friends and family? If so, you wont need a hotel and you might not need a car rental. That leaves just your airline tickets. It is usually cheaper to book single reservations directly from the source. If you need to book a flight on Southwest Airlines, you are likely to find cheaper rates right on their website.

Check in your hotel lobby for brochures. It is common for local businesses to place fliers and brochures in hotel lobbies. Not only do they include information about the establishment, but many also have moneysaving coupons. Use these coupons to reduce the cost of your summer vacation. Dont pay full price unless you need to.

Look for coupons online for restaurants. When most of us think of food coupons, we automatically think of the grocery store. Food coupons also exist in the form of restaurant coupons. In addition to appearing in hotel lobbies, many restaurants post printable coupons on their websites. You dont have to plan each of your meal ahead of time, but use the internet to research nearby restaurants. View online menus to get a taste of the food available, as well as prices. In addition to printable restaurant coupons, look for good daily specials. Opt for the best tasting meals for the lowest prices.

Finally, dont forget about free activities and attractions. If you are vacationing on a budget, it is important to cut corners and expenses wherever possible. When sightseeing, you should mix it up between attractions with admission fees and those without. Once again, use the internet to do the research. If you wait until the last minute, ask the clerk at your hotel lobby. He or she may know of a local park where it is free to have a romantic picnic or a family friendly barbeque.

PPPPP

Word Count 551

When you’re traveling to Costa Rica you want to get the cheapest airfare and the issue with flying is that the prices change every few minutes to an hour and it’s ideal to research sites like Orbitz.com, Travelocity.com and Cheaptickets.com because they offer rates for flights at different times whether it’s high or low travel season.

Most of the major carriers have fares that are early bird specials for when the peak season of travel happens usually during the summer and holidays. Nailing the perfect airfare when you want to travel to Costa Rica will be a work in progress because you could be sitting in front of your computer for hours surfing travel sites for the perfect airfare because the rates change quickly and they can be up one moment and down the next. Your goal is to book the cheapest rate possible and it’s ideal to do it through travel sites like Orbitz, Travelocity, Cheaptickets, Priceline, Hotwire, Expedia and Hotels.com because independently owned websites may not be reliable and you will get a better deal through these reputable sites.

Book your flight at least 90 days before you travel so you can have time to get your tickets if mailed to you and any documentation with travel visas and passports.

Usually the summer is the best time to book flights for the fall season because late summer is when you can get the best deal on airfares. Airfares aren’t cheap to Central America since you’re looking at least a couple grand and that even depends on who you’re flying with since the major carriers out here will change rates quickly usually on the hour because of the competition that’s out here they have to be able to keep up with the current rate for airfares. So it’s ideal that if you have an account with the travel sites on the Internet always check on a frequent basis usually early morning, mid-day and evening to see how the airfares to one place change within 12 hours.

When you see the airfare that you want book it right away because within the hour it will likely go up since travel sites usually change their information when the carriers change up. The only downside is that if you book online you have to have a major credit card and not everyone has a credit card to book their flights with.

Now it’s easy to use your debit card since many banks issue them with the VISA or MasterCard logos on them so that people can use it to book an airline ticket right away when they spot the fares they want and can catch it before the fares change in the next few minutes to an hour. If you can access the Internet wherever you can it’s easy to nail the fares you want if you catch them early and often. Some sites offer email notices that can inform you of when a discount or reduced fare comes up during the hour since emails are sent on a daily basis so you can keep tabs on when the airfare you want is posted and sent out by email.