Welcome
Welcome to TravelSavingsNut.com,™ a site dedicated to providing money saving advice,
tips and ideas on how to save money when traveling and vacationing to live more cheaply.
Learn how to reduce your travel budget and save on air travel, rental cars, hotels,
dining, vacation packages, tourist attractions, cruises, international travel and
more. Start reducing your travel and vacation costs by reviewing the tips presented
below. For hundreds more tips, advice and savings, click on the navigation buttons
on the left. Tell your friends and family about TravelSavingsNut.com so they can
start saving too, and feel free to add a link on your web site.
Air Travel - Some major airlines like Southwest, and many of the smaller carriers,
do not list their flights on travel web sites. They only list their flights on their
own web sites. So, if you so far have relied on finding what flights are available
by only checking the travel web sites, you probably have missed one or more great
flight opportunities. To find out what airlines fly to your destination, look up
the web site for the airport you want to depart from and they will probably provide
a list of airlines that fly from that airport. Go to those airlines’ web sites to
see what flights are available and the fares. You might also try the Internet site
DoHop.com which lists which airlines serve an area.
Rental Cars - Do not limit your search only to companies that do business at the
airport. Most of the time, rates at airports are higher than local rates, do to
both the perceived “convenience” factor, and because airports usually charge rental
companies very high surcharges, which are passed on to you. Sometimes rates can be
25% or more higher. If you are staying at a hotel not at the airport, chances are
they have free shuttle transportation available from the airport, or the cost of
a shuttle/taxi will be minimal. Since, at many airports, you have to get on a shuttle
to get your car in any case, the convenience is not much different. Once you are
in town, you can pick up your rental car at a local location not connected to the
airport, and perhaps save a considerable amount of money on the rate, and even reduce
the number of days you need to rent the vehicle. When your trip is completed, you
just return the vehicle to where you picked it up and get the shuttle/taxi back to
the airport. Keep in mind, you may wish to cover your rental vehicle for loss.
Hotels & Lodging - Even if you have a reservation, you may want to consider, before
disclosing your reservation to the desk clerk, asking what rooms they have available
and the price. If plenty of rooms are available, you may be quoted a rate lower
than your reservation rate for the same type of room. If so, mention to the clerk
that the rate is lower and ask that they honor the lower rate. They should be more
than willing to do this.
Dining - Whether or not your room has a kitchen or microwave, you can save a lot
of money by stopping at the supermarket and stocking your room with drinks, snacks
and prepared foods. Not only does this eliminate the need to buy from expensive
vending machines, but many times a quick breakfast in the room, or some appetizers
at the end of the day is just right. It is also easy to prepare some sandwiches
or other foods for lunch during the day, or even for dinner, if you do not feel like
going out. This is particularly easy to do if your room has a small refrigerator.
Even if the refrigerator is an “honor bar” you can still use the refrigerator for
your own supplies. And if no refrigerator is available, and you have not brought
a cooler on the trip, consider purchasing an inexpensive Styrofoam cooler for a few
bucks to use during your stay. Hotel ice is free, and can be replenished to keep
your food and drinks cold. At the end of your stay, just abandon the Styrofoam cooler
if you do not want to take it home.
Vacation Packages - If you are relatively unfamiliar with travel and vacation packages,
visit a few local travel agents to discuss your thoughts with them, and to see what
packages they have available. You will probably find that there will be a lot of
duplication between travel agents with what they have to offer, but they will each
have some packages not found elsewhere, and prices will vary somewhat. When getting
pricing from the travel agent, make sure all fees and costs are included for the
packages you are considering. Once you know what the travel agents have to offer
in the way of packages, you may want to check other sources. Often, credit card
companies, associations and travel clubs like Costco Travel Club will offer attractive
packages. Airlines, and hotels/resorts also offer packages. And, of course, most
of the major travel web sites (like Expedia.com, etc.) offer packages. There are
also numerous other web sites that offer about any type of package you could want.
Travel industry shows that often come to larger towns also will generally offer
some exceptional travel packages. It is just a matter of looking until you find
the package that is right for you.
Tourist Attractions - Before your trip, if you know some of the attractions you want
to visit, look for special admission deals, discounts or coupons. These are often
available over the Internet. Go to the web site of the attraction (or call) and
see if there are any specials. Also, just “Google” discounts for the attraction
and see what pops. Some sites, such as AmusementPark.com, UndercoverTourist.com,
MapleLeafTickets.com and MouseSavers.com offer discount tickets to selected theme
and amusement parks you may want to visit.
Cruises - When comparison shopping, you will probably find that certain types of
cabins (both standard and luxury) go on sale, or are put on special, periodically
at substantially lower prices, for everyone or for certain groups like seniors. A
sale can be on one day, off the next, and back on the next day. It can change all
over the place. Chances are, the type of cabin you want on the ship you want will
go on sale at some point within a period of a few weeks. Just keep looking until
you get that sale price. And if it does not happen on one of the ships you are considering,
it will probably happen on another ship going to the same destination. You just
need to be patient to find cheap cruises.
International Travel - The first step in international travel is to have an up-to-date
passport. Make sure you apply as far in advance as possible, because if you do not
have a passport you will not be traveling internationally. Plan on at least three
months lead time to be safe, and more if possible. If you are applying for the first
time you will need to apply in person to obtain your passport. If visiting certain
countries, you will also need one or more visas. Visit the U.S. Department of State
web site at travel.state.gov for information on how to apply. And make sure, in
case you lose your passport during your trip, that you either have a photocopy of
your passport with you, or you have scanned it into your computer and emailed it
to yourself so it can be retrieved if necessary.
Thanks for visiting TravelSavingsNut.com™ and we hope the ideas and tips for saving
money when traveling and vacationing will make life just a little bit better for
you and your family.
