Travel Tips To Save You Money

For those of you that are planning a getaway this spring or summer, I am going to talk a little bit about the dos and don’ts of travel to help save ourselves some money and some hassle.

Check All Options

When you do your booking, especially for air tickets, check all the possible ticketing sites and compare the offers that each one has so you can pick the lowest one or the one that suits you best in terms of travel date, time, kind of carrier etc.

A lot of you may be aware that you get better deal on weekdays rather than weekends. Also there is this site which claims to do all the hard work for you by comparing a combined total of 500 travel sites and some 600 airlines to find you the cheapest deals, so you may want to check that one out.

Having said this, don’t ignore the option of visiting a travel agent completely, because the internet may not always be the cheapest place to buy. Sometimes sitting across from someone who will plan out and book your itinerary makes more sense. What travel agents can sometimes do is give you the benefit of bulk booking.

Check Yahoo Message Boards

Message boards are a great place to find out what travel deals people are talking about, what bad experiences they have had so that you know what or where to avoid and you may find some links to pages that you may have been looking for!

Last Minute Deals

Sometimes waiting till the last moment can get you the best possible deal, because hotel rooms can go on ‘sale’ too! The only problem with waiting for the last minute deals is that you run the risk of not finding any deals and having to pay a price that might be higher than had you planned ahead.

This approach can work well if you have some flexibility in your schedule.

Flying is Cheaper Than Driving

I love driving, but on a long distance trip flying is usually cheaper and obviously a time saver as well. If you notice, fuel prices these days are just sky-rocketing so filling your tank keeps costing more and more, whereas air ticket prices have not increased that much. And if you are flying, remember a round trip is cheaper than a one-way ticket.

If you are driving and opt for a rental car, remember that most of the time you may not require travel insurance because your current car insurance policy may cover you, just be sure to check with your insurance agent. If not, you can pay by credit card as many cards now offer coverage when renting a car.

Tips Traveling With Kids

Notice how excited a kid is at the thought of taking a trip, but once you are on your way that same cheerful, excited kid becomes whiny, bad tempered and perilously close to a tantrum?

First make sure the child has plenty to keep him or herself occupied. Toys, books, puzzles, some favorite music etc. I found this very useful and comprehensive list, full of suggestions for babies and older kids.

When you sense that your child’s about to lose it, divert him or her. Distract them with a game, engage them in some activity such as looking for something that isn’t really lost, or even read out a favorite story. These are good to keep in mind because a happy child is the difference between a good holiday and awful one!