Summer has always been my favorite time of year– partly due to the sunshine and mostly to do with our yearly summer vacation. There’s nothing I look forward to more than getting away with my family. In the past, I’ve planned months and months in advance– mapping out every detail. Â While this is awesome if you have the time and budget, I have found that I can plan a great family getaway in half the time (and sometimes for half the cash) by looking for deals online.
Here are some of my favorite ways to save money on a summer vacation:
1. Book a Cruise – Cruises are a great way to travel, and if you’re within a day’s drive to a port, you can save a lot of money by being flexible and booking at the last minute. Start to look for discounts a month in advance and be ready to book as soon as you see cabins available in your price range. If you still want to cruise but aren’t into doing booking last minute, cruise lines like Carnival will give refunds for the price change if your rate goes down before your sailing. You won’t get cash back, but you will get the difference in cabin credit!
2. Get Active in Social Media – If you have a specific resort you want to stay at, stalk the company’s brand page (or individual resort accounts) on Twitter and Facebook for last minute deals– especially at all inclusive resorts. All you need to do is become a fan and look for announcements on when deals are posted. Often there will be deals for free nights or rates for under $100/night with extra goodies thrown in.
3. Join Travelzoo – For years, Travelzoo.com has been one of the best resources for last minute travel. You can find everything from airfare deals to discounts on hotels and car rentals. It doesn’t matter where in the world you want to travel, you’ll find something of interest here– and the deals change weekly!
4. Search for Coupon Codes – Whether it be for a flight, a hotel or for new clothes for your vacation. Search sites like Net Voucher Codes before you make ANY online purchase. Remember, there’s always a deal out there!
5. Follow Deal-of-the-Day sites – Groupon is my new favorite site for saving money while on vacation. I look for Groupon Getaways as well as the Groupon destination pages for wherever I’m going. You don’t have to live in the area to buy the Groupon, and this has proven to be a great way to save money on food and attractions.
How do you save money on summer travel?
