Summer is almost here and for many people that means it's time to start planning the family vacation. If you are looking for some tips on how to cut costs on the road, look no further. (Well, look a little further, head down below.)
One quick tip to whet your appetite: If you live in or intend to visit Florida, there's still a brief window of opportunity for a great deal on rental cars. Alamo is renting cars for $10 a day, as long as you pick up the car in Florida before May 31 and return it in another state.
Before we get to the fun stuff, a brief administrative note: As you may have noticed, I've been rather remiss in writing this series lately. If anyone would like to volunteer to write a guest column, please email me at frugalfridays (at) gmail.com. Also, if you'd like to receive an email announcement whenever a new diary is posted, send me mail and ask to be put on the announcement list.
The three most expensive parts of traveling are food, lodging and transportation. I've come up with some tips to help cut costs in each of these categories and please share your favorite tips in the comment section.
Food
Eating three meals a day in restaurants can get very expensive for an individual and it's even worse for families. One great way to cut down on these costs is to stay out of restaurants. If you are traveling by car, keep a cooler in the car and stock it with sandwich fixings from the grocery stores you pass. Even if you can't carry a cooler, stop in a grocery store and pick up supplies for an impromptu picnic rather than blowing your budget at a tourist bistro. Fast food may not be healthy, but it can be convenient and, as long as you stick to the dollar menu, it can be pretty cheap too.
If you are staying in a location where you have access to a kitchen, you can save even more. While part of experiencing a new location is often trying the local cuisine, you can do this and still save money by having one or two meals a day in your own kitchen. Pick up local ingredients and try having breakfast and dinner at home while you sample restaurant fare for lunch. Lunches are usually a cheaper meal than dinners to eat out and you get the added benefit of being able to quickly pick up food while you are out sight seeing.
Lodging
If you are planning to go to a single location and stay there for at least a few days, rather than book a hotel, try finding a vacation rental home instead. These are usually cheaper than a comparably outfitted hotel and you get the added advantage of having a kitchen and laundry facilities for free. Vacation Rentals by Owner has long been my favorite site for finding a place to stay worldwide, however, a new site, Flipkey, has been very helpful lately. If you can't find anything suitable on either of those, just try googling on your destination and "vacation rental" and you may find something new.
If you are traveling on the road with a family, camping can be great way to save money on lodging costs. If you have never been camping before, don't rush out and invest a lot of money in new gear and pack the family up for a multi-week trip. Start small by perhaps borrowing gear and taking a weekend trip to see if the lifestyle and the process works for you. If putting up a tent in the dark with hungry children waiting for dinner is not your idea of an adventure, you may want to try RV camping. There are plenty of places you can rent an RV or a camper if you are just trying to test out if this vacation style is right for you.
Sometimes it just makes the most sense to stay in a hotel. When looking for the best hotel prices, I've found that the tripadvisor site, which will query several other travel sites for you, is the easiest way to find a deal. If you don't care about the specific location or the specific property you stay in Hotwire and Priceline can both be used to find deep discounts on hotels. The biggest drawback is that you won't know which property you are staying in until after you have paid your money.
If you are young, or just adventurous, you may want to try sleeping on a random stranger's couch for free. Couchsurfing is a an organization that matches up guests and hosts around the world.
Transportation
If you are traveling by road and are looking for cheap gas prices in a strange town, Gas Buddy is the site to check on your smartphone.
Finding the best deal on an airline ticket is not simple, but the article Booking a Flight the Frugal Way lays out detailed step-by-step instructions. Before you book that cheap ticket though, you want to know what extra luggage fees your airline will charge, so be sure and look at this list. If you are tired of paying those baggage fees, learn how to pack lightly at One Bag.
Even More Tips
If you are still looking for more helpful ways to save money while traveling, check this out: 40 Most Useful Travel Websites That Can Save You a Fortune. Also, if you are renting a car, flying, staying in a hotel or in any way using a large corporation, be sure and sign up for their customer loyalty programs. Just by signing up you are often eligible for perks or discounts.