Plan and book early

Did you know that airlines start releasing cheap seats four months before departure, and if you’re looking for an international ticket, the shopping can start five to six months beforehand? And you can take advantage of online services like this fare finder which claims to “Scan Multiple Flight Comparison Sites with Just 1 Search, Comparing Numerous Travel Sites and over 600 Airlines to Find you the Cheapest Available Flights On the Internet.”

A site like Yapta.com claims to track prices before you buy. If the price drops after you buy, they say they can help you get refund travel credits from the airlines. You can also sign up for e-mail updates that will alert you if your ticket price drops after they’ve paid for it.

If you are driving concentrate on fuel efficiency and lowering unnecessary costs

Make sure the tyres are inflated optimally, drive at the speed that gives you best mileage, make sure that the engine is properly tuned as well and forego the aircon if you can. Also when on holiday, carry a reusable water bottle, and walk or use public transport whenever possible and try local delis. I totally recommend walking or using public transport in a new place; walking is the best way to explore and traveling like the locals do is the best way to enjoy the flavor of the place. Also when visiting a new place don’t go to all the usual tourist spots, do your research on the place beforehand, decide what interests you and do that rather than all the ‘must do’ and ‘must see’ items.

Check message boards or forums

I have found answers for all sorts of things on the yahoo forums and message boards, including some extremely useful travel tips. For instance I was planning to book a hotel online, and just by the way I googled for that hotel and landed on a yahoo page about the hotel. There were some really cautionary tales about that hotel there! I also found some little known but very interesting facts about the place I was to visit.

Any travel tips and tricks you would like to share here?

]]> http://www.greatpriceshere.com/2009/02/28/travel-tips-to-save-you-money/feed/ 8 http://www.greatpriceshere.com/2008/09/12/car-rental-tips-save-money/ http://www.greatpriceshere.com/2008/09/12/car-rental-tips-save-money/#comments Fri, 12 Sep 2008 18:15:52 +0000 Nicole Price http://www.greatpriceshere.com/?p=102 I like to be able to drive my car to wherever I am going, but sometimes it is impossible to do so, such as when you fly to a place where obviously you cannot carry your well beloved car. So when you do decide to rent a car you can save yourself quite a bit of money by just taking care of a few things:

Be suspicious of Upgrades: An offered upgrade may seem like a good idea, but remember a larger car is a less fuel efficient car so will cost you more to run. So unless you really need a larger car, decline the upgrade because a smaller car saves you money.

Prepaid Tank of fuel: Think about how much you are going to run the car and whether it makes sense to use the prepaid fuel option (if you do use the prepaid option, make sure you use up all the fuel). Also if it is stipulated that you must fill it up before returning the car, remember to do so because sometimes the rental agency can charge a great deal more per gallon of gas than you would pay at the pump.

Don’t rent from the Airport: If it is possible, avoid renting a car at the airport, because taxes and fees charged at the airport can be almost double that charged at non-airport locations. It can be a lot more economical to take a shuttle into town and rent a car from there.

Use your digital camera: I once used my digital camera to great effect when I had to make an insurance claim on my own car when I had had a small accident. Make use of it when renting a car too and don’t forget to turn on the time and date option, which will indicate the state of the car when you rented it, warts and all.

Consider weekly rental: If you need to rent a car for a week or more consider weekly rental which can save you up to 30% over the price that you would pay for daily rental.

Insurance and other costs: Ask exactly what it is you are paying for; i.e. the various components of the rental amount. Insurance is one item that they can really fleece you on so consider what you need. Ask if state and local taxes, airport surcharges, additional driver fees, insurance, gasoline bills and drop-off charges are included in what is being charged.

Shop around for bargains: This is a very competitive market so ask around, check on the internet and see what the best price you can get for yourself is.

So in order to make this work, I was recently looking for sites that could help me find good deals on my travel, hotel accommodation, sightseeing etc. This one had a good search feature to search up the cheapest airline tickets. What is more, they offered higher savings if you booked your airline tickets and hotel accommodation both through them. Again, you can easily search for cheap hotels by city. Now all we need to do is reach a consensus on the destination!

Once that is done and the travel and accommodation taken care of, one can move to other areas of concern like planning the itinerary, deciding what clothes to carry, shopping for the trip (yes I shop for a trip as well as during a trip) etc. Now that should be fun!

I am still at the nascent stages of planning. Will keep you guys posted about the developments.

Let me start with something that my heart really warmed to: this very smart red 5 piece luggage set from Walmart. The whole set costs $89.88 which I thought was a steal! If you don’t know what you would do with five bags, take a look here at this Staples Trolley bag for just $7.90. On the other hand if you already have some suitable luggage, you should look to getting yourself a folding luggage trolley which is available for $16.99

If like the Japanese you are a good tourist, a camera will be an extension of your arm while you are on holiday, especially if you are sightseeing. I thought this 7 mega pixel Canon Powershot A470 Digital Camera was a super deal for $119 (there is an additional $10 off coupon available). The price includes a free 1 GB memory card too! Another really good deal is this Kodak Easy Share 8 Mega pixel camera for $119.95. And if like me you like to record every little thing that the kids do that is oh-so-amazing then go in for this Digital Video Camera for $199.99

For rest and relaxation while traveling, especially while flying, some of these travel accessories may come in real handy such as a sleep mask ($9), an inflatable travel pillow ($8) or kids pillows, or even an inflatable back rest ($11). For the beach or a poolside holiday you may want some of these accessories such as a waterproof waist pouch, or water-seal for your iPod etc. Take a look here for some great accessories especially for women (including a very innovative bra stash!). Another really handy accessory is this universal charger which charges up to 4 AA size batteries and also – if you leave the batteries in – will power most cell phones, digital cameras, camcorders, MP3s, iPods, CDs, MDs, multimedia players, and Bluetooth devices.

If you are traveling abroad, some countries will need for you to carry plug adapters so remember to find out what is applicable for where you are planning to go.

In my earlier post Dressing Up a Bit I told you about travel sets with bags that you may also find useful to take a look at.

Sites like cruise value finder and all discount cruises ask you to fill out a form, where you state your requirements and they get back to you with their best deals. Some of them claim to have deals that start below $200.

At cruiseonly.com, one of the most economical 3 night Bahamas package is for $299 up. The 7 night western Caribbean cruise starts at $649. Some of these cruises offer extras such as $100 free spending or a 15% discount on shore spending.

A 5 night Caribbean or Mexican Riviera Cruise offered by Carlson Travel comes for the price of $440 up. For those who can book before 16 March some added extras such as a pair of robes and free spa treatment are an incentive. Check for availability.

A popular cruise option in Europe (if you are planning to go farther afield), is the barge vacation along the different water ways or rivers of the European Union. Take a look at the barge connection and the barge experts to see what is on offer. Travel through the heart of Europe enjoying spectacular scenery and quaint, historical villages and local wine and food as well. Theme barges and self drive barges are also some other options. This is a high end option, and not a budget one, so you could decide on this one if you want to splurge or enjoy a romantic getaway on some special occasion.

Sometimes certain freight ships have guest accommodation on their ships, and also carry passengers who want to enjoy a bargain cruise, which a travel agent could arrange for you.

If you are planning a cruise, be sure to visit this cruise FAQ page which asks and answers some rather amusing questions like “what do I wear” and “what if I get seasick” and also looks at some important questions like what is and is not included in the package price of a sea cruise and what are port charges etc. It is a good idea to ask lots of questions before you book a cruise lest you come across some unforeseen and unbudgeted-for expenses later.

Let’s take a look at some all inclusive packages. This saves you the hassle of doing separate bookings for all your travel needs, and this is especially important when you are traveling with your family, so that there are no glitches for you to deal with at the last moment.

Starting with London, my absolutely favorite city in the world, for $649 per person you can have a 6 night holiday in London. This includes return airfare (ex Atlanta), a six night hotel stay, breakfast, hotel taxes and fuel surcharges. A better quality of stay at the Crowne Plaza London St. James Hotel comes for $1331 per person for a 5 night package including air fare. If you can fork out for 5 star facilities and want to stay in the heart of London at Piccadilly (within easy reach of pretty much everything!), go in for the 7 day package at Le Meridien at $1768 per person.

Then let’s look at Paris, the most romantic city in the world. A 5 night package costs you $525 per person and includes hotel stay, breakfast, a river cruise, airport transfer, and taxes. For $799 you can enjoy 6 nights in Paris. This package includes air fare, breakfast, hotel taxes and fuel surcharges.

On to Amsterdam, one of the most fascinating cities in Europe, perhaps the world. For $1036 per person, there is a 6 night stay at the Park Hotel and the deal includes air fare. A lot of sites specialize in ‘Stag packages’ as well, but I am not going to go into those here. I would highly recommend Amsterdam. I am yet to hear anyone regret going there.

Last but in no way least, let’s look at Rome! Of all the cities mentioned in this post if you asked me where I would like to head, I would say Rome! Not just for its art, culture and history but also for the gastronomic delights on offer! There is more to Italian cuisine than just pizza and pasta after all! For $909 onward you can put together a 6 night package choosing the kind of hotel and the dates for travel that suit you best.

If, like me you are greedy to experience more than one city try the Multi city package which includes London Paris and Rome, which starts at $1269 for a ten day stay!