Expanding your horizons with travel will inevitably widen your world view. As fun as it is, traveling is often time consuming and costly. These tips will help you minimize the amount of money you spend without compromising the quality of your vacation.
If you’re traveling with kids, it’s tempting to let them all tune out with their own mp3 players, but consider bringing along some books on CD. Having something literate and interesting for the whole family to listen to is not only entertaining and interesting, but provides a common experience that each family member can take forward with them into life (“Hey, remember when I was ten, and we listened to Black Beauty on the way to Maine?”). It’s the stuff of which fond memories are made.
When planning your vacation, try to be flexible on your destination. Favorite vacation spots may be fun, but you can make your vacation more interesting and memorable if you vary your destination. If you don’t have a lot of money to spend, broadening your options when it comes to the location can be beneficial.
When booking a hotel stay, be sure to ask when the hotel was last built or renovated. A low-cost motel that’s brand new might be a better option than an older building attached to a good name. Stay away from lower-end and mid-range hotels that haven’t been renovated in more than five or six years.
If you have a laptop, bring an A/V cable with you on your trip. Most hotel rooms come equipped with a television, and many now include free wireless internet as well. By hooking your laptop up to the hotel television with an A/V cable you instantly have access to many more entertainment options, whether streaming a movie from the internet to using the laptop as a DVD player.
Replace the lock on your luggage with a combination lock. Many pieces of luggage come with locks and keys. Keys get lost. Not that it matters. The locks are so cheaply made, they can be broken right off. It would not be a bad idea to discard them entirely and replace them with a sturdier combination lock.
Before you arrive at your travel destination, search the internet to find a blogger who posts about what’s happening in this city. Take the time to email the blogger and ask for his or her recommendations about where you should go. This is a great way to get the inside scoop on your vacation spot.
Have your airline contact you in the event of any changes to your flight schedules. Most airlines have free programs where you can receive calls or text messages if your flight changes, which will come in handy if you are running late or experiencing difficulties with travel arrangements. Just call and ask them to set it up!
As long as you can be flexible with your travel dates, search for flights using the broadest range of dates that you can. This search feature is part of most travel websites and doing a broad search allows you to see if there are certain days that are cheaper to fly on than others. Using this technique could save you a significant amount of money.
If you want to make conversation with the locals, learn a little magic trick. Magic is something that is almost universally understood. If you perform a tiny trick for someone, you will open the door to having an actual conversation with the person. Simple tricks are easy to learn, so look one up!
Don’t rule out indirect flights to your destination. By booking indirect flights with a stop-over you can sometimes save a lot of money. If money is more important than time, use online flight search engines to search for indirect routes as well as direct routes then chose the cheapest option.
Traveling by train can be a fun alternative to driving or flying. Many trains have an observation car, where you can sit back and take in the passing countryside. Trains also make stops at different railroad stations, which is a great opportunity to explore a new place. Dining in the dining cars is a fun and different experience. You are seated with other passengers, so it is a great opportunity to mingle and make new travel companions.
Dining out while traveling can become expensive. Save the hit to your wallet by visiting a local grocery store and stocking up on groceries. Make as much food as you can at your hotel, and take snacks along on day trips. Even raid your own cabinets before you leave and take food with you. When you do decide to dine out you will appreciate the dinner that much more!
Take advantage of the hotel’s ice machines when you are traveling. Many people enjoy having a cup of coffee in the morning, but they often dislike the way hotel coffee tastes. The ice machines use filtered water, so try putting ice in the machine the night before and allowing it to melt. The difference in taste between coffee made with filtered water instead of tap water is amazing.
If you’re packing your laptop for work or recreation while you travel, bring along an A.V. cable as well. Many hotels offer both free high speed Internet and a large HDTV in your room. If you’ve got an A.V. cable, you can plug your computer right into the HDTV and view your online content right on the large screen.
When traveling by air, always plan to arrive at the airport at least one hour before your flights (two for international flights). Parking, checking in and getting through security, can take time. Busy lines can make the wait longer and arriving late might mean that you will miss your flight.
Make sure to buy durable luggage. It is bad enough that you may have a lot of items with you and your bags may already be heavy when you leave for your trip. While you are on the trip, chances are you will purchase souvenirs, and other similar items. You want to have sturdy, durable luggage to hold these items.
No matter where your travels take you, these tips should help you with the planning process. Travel is fun, fulfilling, and highly entertaining. There are adventures to be found around every corner.
