Holiday Travel Tips
Whether you’re taking a plane, train or automobile to your destination, there are some tips that can go a long way to save some dough. At the same time, don’t let travel tips leave you feeling like you’ve deprived yourself of a joyous and relaxing vacation. Instead feel proud that you were able to apply your valued research skills to find the best deals, while still experiencing all that your destination has to offer.
A vacation should be guilt free and stress-free. When you do your homework beforehand, those feelings of guilt and stress are minimized if not totally eliminated.
Flight and Car Tips
Book early! This is especially important when booking flights, whether that be seats on a standard commercial flight or an entire private jet for yourself. If you want to rent a private jet cost shouldn’t be a deciding factor as you can find some great deals, particularly if you book early. You can also find early bird deals on other forms of transport, hotels, food, etc. I booked an overseas flight to Turkey a few years ago months in advance. And as a result, I saved over $700! Usually, for big trips, you generally have an idea when you are going to go and so can start researching and booking early. Plus it propels you to start looking for deals on local attractions and restaurants.
Using neutral websites like TripAdvisor will provide reviews from actual guests in past hotels. Also, you can find coupons in the actual hotels you are staying at plus brochures the have local attractions. And don’t be afraid to call and ask the front desk staff about things to do in the area. Trust me they have the inside scoop.
Finally, consider traveling on weekdays: flights are cheaper, train tickets may be cheaper, and if you have decided to look into this camper van Iceland rental, you will find that traffic on the main highways is generally lighter, provided that you don’t travel during the work commuting hours.
Hotel Tips
Try to book a hotel that has free offerings. These may include free breakfast, free Wi-Fi, and free parking. Sometimes these hotels are in the suburbs of the main city you are visiting. But if you are traveling by car, it may be worth it to drive a few miles and save. You can visit the city and attractions all day and will probably be at the hotel in the mornings and return late in the evenings anyway. If you are looking to plan a more carefree vacation where you don’t want to roam around to see places, you can consider booking coastal resorts or villas (similar to the ones you can find on Exceptional Villas). You can enjoy all the pampering and the opulence while relaxing off the clock with nowhere to rush to.
Some hotels I’ve personally stayed at which offered free breakfast included Residence Inn and Fairfield Inn under the Marriott brand. Other brands offer free benefits as well including and Hampton Inn under the Hilton Brand. For a more detailed list of hotels that offer free breakfast, check out Reader’s Digest.
How about a staycation – many people think that they actually have to go somewhere to make it feel like a vacation. But on the contrary, you can be a tourist in your own area or close by city. The advantage to this is you kind of have a learning curve anyway because you generally have an idea where the museums, state parks, landmarks and other attractions are located. Sometimes you may pass them and think one day I’m going to take off and go, but that day never comes… until NOW!
Of course, another advantage to a staycation is you don’t pay for accommodations, some meals you can eat at home but yes feel free to indulge at those restaurants that you’ve always wanted to try. It’s important to plan a staycation like a real vacation; that is having an agenda for each day. In the agenda, include some downtime to just tour the area(s) you are interested in general.
Food Expense Tips
Apart from transportation and lodging, the next biggest expense during travel is arguably food. But it doesn’t have to be. Whether you’re visiting museums and other local attractions, going for a boat ride on a lakefront getaway, at the beach, pack your food. With this, try to pack filling items like big breakfast and granola bars, loaded sandwiches, potato salad, and mixed nuts.
Depending on where you are going, try to buy some groceries before you leave especially if it’s a road trip. Some experts say that groceries at tourist destinations are more expensive.
At the same time, you’ll want to take advantage of the local food available at your destination which is not available or usually a lot more expensive at home. For example, I went to Mexico several years ago and bought guavas for dirt cheap – basically pennies a pound from a wagon. They were soft and delicious.
Root of Good, a fellow writer also finds fruits and other local foods while vacationing that I often read about and salivate at the pictures 🙂
Since you’re on vacation, you’ll want to eat out too. For instance, if you’re planning a vacation somewhere near Great Ocean Road, check cafe warrnambool or the likes of it. But make sure to research and read reviews of restaurants in advance as well. Some restaurants offer great deals during the holiday season.
We recently went to Red Lobster and I got a 3-course meal for $12.99 including salad, TWO entrees, and dessert! Finally, don’t forget to check out sites like Living Social or Groupon to see if a restaurant you have already researched is listed here.
What are your travel plans for the holidays? How have you prepared in advance to save and get more bang for your travel bucks?
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A lot of good stuff here SMM. My wife and I did a staycation this year. We had just moved, so we thought it a good chance to explore our new area and save some money. When we do travel, I like TripAdvisor a lot for all the information and traveler reviews it provides. We also will try and find a place to stay with a kitchen. That way we can mix up eating out with hanging out and cooking. It saves money and can be fun to cook when away from home. I’m more relaxed and sometimes like to stay in after a day of sight seeing or whatever. Tom
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That’s what vacation is all about, relaxing. And when you have a kitchenette, it beats figuring out where to go for dinner, and those expensive hotel snacks. 🙂
Tripadvisor also allows reviewers to post up actual pics of their hotel rooms rather than those glossy ones we see on the hotel websites.
Great tips I think travel hacking is important if you want to travel regularly. In general I do my best to avoid travelling on the holidays. Fortunately a big group of family lives within driving distance so I cruise through the Rockies. I miss my family that is spread around but sometimes the prices and headache are just not worth it for the short trips.
It’s a BIG plus to have family close by. Traveling especially during the holidays whether by car, train or airplane is hectic to say the least and anything we can do to alleviate some of that can help, but it’s still an adventure of sorts 🙂
Hey SMM! I’m a huge fan of the hotel-in-the-suburbs technique. In fact, I’m at a Hampton Inn right now. Free breakfast and parking equals big savings!
We’re one in the same. I’ve had many stays at Hampton Inn. I love their waffles with all the fixings; enjoy your travel!
Great tips in here, SMM! I am happy to not be traveling this holiday season, but my brother is. I sent him this article but unfortunately, he only has about 3 days off (he’s a minor league hockey player) so his travel days are really restricted. I am hoping that the suggestion to pack his food, coming from someone other than me, will stick!
Thanks for sharing the tips! He may want to eat out with his fellow teammates. Maybe he can sneak some snacks from home in his sports bag 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing this SMM! it really is a big help. Currently out of the country and while reading this definitely is a big help. Cheers! Looking forward to more of your post.
Thank you for your feedback; always appreciated 🙂
good tips. for the last few trips to other countries we’ve been staying out in surrounding neighborhoods where tourists normally don’t stay- and then use public transportation to get to the historic sites. can save a bunch of money and the bonus is you see how people actually live day-day, not just the tourist sites.
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Great tip to stay in surrounding areas. For example in visiting NYC, it is so much cheaper to stay in New Jersey and just drive over during the day and come back at night 🙂
Very useful tips for everyday life. Really it’s a great tip. hope next time we will get more tips. thank you.