Traveling during the holiday season is always a lot of fun! However, those holiday travel prices are not that fun, in fact they can be downright gut wrenching! Thankfully, we have some tips on saving money on your holiday travel. Don’t ever let the high costs of traveling scare you away from taking that ski vacation or visiting out-of-town family!
Tips to Save Money on Holiday Travel
Buy Your Airline Tickets Early – The minute you know your going to travel during the holiday season, start looking for airline tickets. The earlier you can start planning out your trip the better it will be for your pocket-book.
Pick Your Airline Carefully – We all want to get the best possible deal with it comes to purchasing airline tickets. However, you should be careful when going with the lowest priced airline. Just because the flight price looks inexpensive, doesn’t mean that it is! More and more airlines now have hidden fee’s included in your air travel. Some air lines charge you if you check baggage, need to make a change to your flight and other small add-ons. Be careful when selecting your flight and make sure to read the fine print.
Be Flexible with Your Travel Plans – Being flexible with your travel date and the time of day will work to your advantage. Certain days and times cost less than other flight times. When you are searching for airline flights, make sure to look at a variety of days and times to ensure you are getting the best price possible.
Drive to Your Destination – Sometimes flying is simply too expensive, especially when you have a large family. Spend some time mapping out your destination and do some math to figure out how much it would cost you to drive instead of fly. After you do your research you will be 100% positive you are stretching your holiday travel budget correctly.
Look for Last Minute Getaways – Places like Travel Zoo, Travelocity, Expedia, and Groupon are known for having some amazing last-minute travel deals. Make sure to watch these sites closely when you are planning your vacation. Hotels and airlines want to fill up every room and seat they have, you might end up getting over 60% off your travel!
Skip the Hotel – When you think about a vacation hotels usually come to mind. If you are really looking to save some money on your holiday vacation you might want to consider skipping the hotel! Hotels can get very expensive once you add up the daily room rate, taxes, resort fees, parking fees and much more. VacationRentals.com, VRBO and Craigslist have private listings which are at times much more affordable and a lot more comfortable than hotel rooms. Keep in mind that you will normally have to leave a deposit if you opt to rent a private home/condo on your vacation.
Say No to Restaurants – One of the quickest ways to eat up your holiday travel budget is by eating out. If at all possible do some grocery shopping on your vacation. I know some of you are rolling your eyes at the thought of cooking on your vacation, but I promise you it can be fun! Check out some of the local spices, fruits, vegetables and meats and create a local cuisine.
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