4 No-Hassle Budget Vacation Tips

The popularity of “staycations,” a term for staying home during a vacation, shows just how much people are cutting back luxury spending. If you are one of the hundreds of thousand couples or families cutting back this summer, you can still take a vacation. Implement simple, budget-conscious strategies to make your trip enjoyable but inexpensive. The simple rule to follow: spend when you want to, save when you can. When you are following this rule, you will save money on the day-to-day essentials while still splurging on the fun memories. Try these simple strategies:

1. Shop Around Online

If you are planning on calling a hotel or airline to ask for best rates, you shouldn’t expect to truly get the best rates. Many websites offer market comparables to help you find the truly best deal. Try checking back regularly. If a hotel is not booked leading up to the weekend you are looking to stay there, prices may go down. Remember: renting someone else’s time share is also a great option. Check sites like Craigslist to see what may be available.

2. Go in the Off-Season

Price discrimination is a common practice for both hotels and airlines. If you are not flexible with your travel dates, you can expect to pay more. Instead of heading to Washington DC for the Fourth of July, try going on a fall weekend. Most vacation spots have off seasons. Check the rates over a six-month time period to get a feel for which dates are less popular. One warning: if you are travelling for good weather, check the weather in the off season. For example, many Caribbean locations are cheap in the off season because it is hurricane season.

3. Avoid Expensive Hotels

If you aren’t afraid of the outdoors, consider camping. You can rent a camper, RV, or tent at a camp site for relatively little. There are some campgrounds which will charge you very high rates each evening. Instead, seek out local, state or national parks where camping is permitted. Crystal Cove State Park in Orange County, California, for example, offers a great mix of beach, mountain terrain, the luxury of Laguna Beach and the busy nightlife of nearby Newport Beach. There are just over 30 campsites. Rather than staying in a luxury hotel in the area, and there are plenty, choose the campgrounds to save money.

4. Make Your Own Breakfast and Lunch

Eating out is one of the pleasures of vacation. Avoiding dish duty, grocery shopping and the hassles of planning what to eat each night is very relaxing. You don’t have to give up this experience all together to save money. Try eating out for dinner but making your own breakfast and lunch – including coffee. By drinking coffee in your room and eating in two meals a day, a couple can save on average $50 a day. That $50 can be used to buy the nice bottle of wine over dinner, rent the jet ski or simply have a little left over when the vacation is over.

Tags: hotel deals, off-season travel