27 Tips and Tricks for Cheap Travel
Family Vacation time!!! It’s finally here. . . we budget for it and spend many hours planning it out and there are many ways to save money while you make memories traveling with your family. Cheap travel helps you save your funds so there will be more fun vacation memories in your future! Here are our top 27 trips and tricks for cheap travel. Also check our other family Tavel Ideas in our travel section.
“Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer” – unknown
Here are some of my favorite ways to save money and travel cheap when we take a family vacation.
1. Cook meals when possible.
2. Instead of paying for hotels, camp on some of your stops.
3. Bring your pets with you instead of hiring a pet sitting service.
4. Use the http://pruvo.com (Pruvo app) to monitor fluctuating costs of hotel rooms.
5. Use rewards programs such as travel rewards or airline points.
6. Do you have access to discounts such as military, student, or AAA? Those discounts can add up to huge savings.
7. Road trip instead of fly will help you travel cheap.
8. Plan your vacation around discounted flights and hotels.
9. Travel on the off season for less expense and fewer crowds.
10. Use discount city tickets from stores like Costco, BJ’s, or Sam’s club. These discount club retailers also sometimes offer amusement park and restaurant discounts.
11. Sign up for travel credit cards and use the reward points.
12. Trade house sitting in another state.
13. Eat at off times such as early bird specials.
14. Take advantage of the free breakfast buffet at hotels will encourage cheap travel by cutting your food budget.
15. Use google flights to watch for discounted airfares. Also, http://scottscheapflights.com offers a membership program that watches for discounted airfares for you. I have saved hundreds $$$ in discounted fares as a member.
16. Save airline miles from flying and online shopping and you can earn free flights or upgraded seats or hotel discounts.
17. Travel with plenty of snacks or stop at grocery stores for them, keep plastics plates and silverware, wipes in the car for easy use and cleanup
18. Stop at Grocery stores for lunch – we frequently stop as grocery stores and buy things like bread, PB and J, or lunchables when we are on a road trip.
19. Limit souvenirs to a budget and find cheap souvenirs such as flattened pennies or postcards.
20. Stay with family and friends you may know along the way.
21. Museum memberships can often be transferred and used in different cities.
22. Visit free stops such as museums or zoos.
23. Find coupon books for each city you will be visiting and look for restaurant, hotel, and entertainment discounts. Local coupon books can be found at http://entertainment.com or http://savearound.com or several others.
24. Sites such as Groupon and Living Social offer local discounts that can be purchased a few months in advance. Check these websites for the local city deals.
25. Pick a hotel that is outside of the big city or further away from the tourist locations to save hundreds on hotel discounts.
26. Look for last minute discounts cruises, hotels, and excursions.
27. Make a family vacation out of a work related trip that may already include a hotel and stipend.
