Save Money on Your Summer Vacation With These Tips

hawaii

Whether you’re planning a beach vacation in the states or traveling abroad, there are several ways to cut your budget during your summertime trip. Follow these tips for saving money on travel.

1. If you’re traveling from Los Angeles to Hawaii, don’t fly direct. Often, roundtrip prices are much less if you leave from either Portland or Seattle. You can even make one of those destinations a mini-trip before heading to Hawaii.

2. Consider visiting the Caribbean instead of Hawaii. At first, you may assume that tickets to the Caribbean will be out of your price range, but you can sometimes find deals for less than you’d spend on a trip to Hawaii. Montego Bay is particularly known for having affordable travel rates, especially if you’re traveling from the West Coast.

3. Consider heading to Mexico. Cabo San Lucas is especially inexpensive at the moment because a lot of people are concerned about the hurricanes and are thus avoiding the area. If you’re a bit of a risk taker, though, you can travel from California to Mexico for less than $300 roundtrip. Cabo is gorgeous and the area hotels are always looking for business, so you’ll probably be able to score a great deal on a room, too.

4. Plan to fly on a Tuesday. If you’re staying in San Diego, for example, book your flight on a Tuesday, when domestic fares are at their lowest. Whatever your destination, though, most flights have their lowest prices on Tuesday. The plane will be less crowded than other times during the week, too. However, keep in mind that Tuesday isn’t the best time to actually book your ticket.

5. You can go practically anywhere in Europe on your budget, but the consideration is how you’ll get there. If you don’t care where you land in Europe, you’ll have several more options when you book your flight. You can fly to your true destination from wherever you land.

6. Use a booking site or rental agency that will alert you when there’s been a change in room rates. Some services will even automatically credit you the money if the price drops.

7. It is best to use a credit card instead of a debit card when booking travel arrangements. Most credit cards come with a travel insurance perk, which you’ll need if you end up canceling your trip at the last minute.

8. Do your research when it comes to the special deals you can get with your rewards program credit card. Some programs will give you extra points if you eat at specific restaurants on certain days. If you know about those types of deals, you can make it a point to collect reward points. For example, if a handful of restaurants get you extra points on a Wednesday, plan to eat each meal out on that specific day.

Never assume that your dream destination is out of your budget. There are ways to take practically any trip you can dream of without breaking the bank.

This article was contributed by Fiona Moriarty of Hipmunk, the most comprehensive travel search website allowing you to find the best deals on anything from flights and hotels to train rides and Homeaway rentals.

 

Image from Huffington Post retrieved through Pinterest

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