“How to Get the Best Value on Travel”
by Nada Vergili
As with many other things, the most important elements when planning a vacation are research, knowledge, and planning. The more research you do, the more knowledge you have, the best planning decisions you will be making.
1. Avoid unexpected expenses by researching what is and what is not included (tips, taxes, internet, parking, gym, kitchenette to cook some meals in your unit, cleaning service if you’re renting a villa or condo). You’ll be saving a lot of money on your meals by choosing hotels that include breakfast.
As we all know, for some reason there are always “added-on” fees, government taxes, and plenty of “I-wonder-what-that’s-for” charges when we’re ready to settle our hotel bill. However, there is a way to settle this in a friendly way. Just ask. No matter where you book your accommodation, whether it’s through an online broker such as Hotels.com or Orbitz.com or a travel agent, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the hotel’s reservation desk directly. You can sometimes get information that is not available online. Get specific answers especially if you are renting a villa or condo – some places don’t even include toilet paper, so it’s better to be prepared.
2. Choose hotels that give a discount on a multiple night stay. Often you can find better deals on accommodations when you avoid changing cities every day.
This opportunity to save is often overlooked by many travelers who have the necessity to “see as much as possible” in a very short amount of time, but ultimately spending more time in one location will not only save you money, you will also have a better, more relaxed experience, and gain deeper knowledge of the local culture. Depending on your destination, lower rates can also be offered on weekday stays as opposed to weekends.
3. Location, location, location. Even though a hotel in a prime location may have higher rates, you will ultimately end up saving time and money on transportation if you book a hotel that is within reach of the major sites.
This is also true when you’re researching villas, resorts, and vacation rentals. Many people specifically look for properties that are remote because they like the privacy aspect and “being away from it all”. However, feeling like you’re away from civilization may get old fast. So make sure to verify which amenities (pool, restaurant, golf, snorkeling, etc.) are included so you and your family don’t feel bored and need to spend more money on searching for entertainment away from the premises.
4. Consider a group tour or a cruise to book an all-inclusive deal. Depending on the tour company, meals and services such as guided tours, transfers, and excursions are bundled so you can get a better rate than booking them individually on your own.
Ok, so this is going to take a little bit of research and yes, work, on your part. But it will truly be worth it. If you have your mind set on what you want and the places you want to visit, it will help you put together a list of services you will need. If you realize that booking these services individually, such as private drivers and tour guides, which can be very expensive, you may want to look into a tour package or cruise that already includes them at a lower rate. However, some tour companies and cruises give you a ‘special price’ that may sound like a great deal, until you realize it’s a bare-bones package and you need to add all the costs for the activities you want, without which the trip wouldn’t even be worth taking. This is when the “work” part comes in…
5. Get friends and family to travel with you. This is useful to break up expenses such as taxi fares, tour guides, apartments, and vacation rentals, among other things. Sometimes you can have more leverage to get a group discount.
This may sound like an obvious tip and an easy way to get quantity-driven discounts, but some people think it’s really difficult to get a group together because it seems everyone nowadays has their calendars booked up for the next five years. However, if you start to consider your Facebook friends and all other social media connections as a sort of “extended family”, the daunting task of coordinating a trip with your overly busy and ever-unavailable so-called bff’s may become as easy as changing your status.
6. If you’re on a budget, research your destination’s high and low travel season so you can take advantage of discounted rates. Stay away from major holidays.
In a perfect travel world, you’d want to be visiting a country or city when the weather is at its best, the hotels aren’t crowded, and kids aren’t out of school. But in the real world, combining those three things can be a challenge. That is why once again I give you this word: research (=work).
Depending on your budget, you may be able to travel during what is called “shoulder season” (also referred to as “middle season”), which is the period of time between a destination's low (cheapest, with more availability) and high (most expensive, with less availability) seasons. Usually shoulder season is when the weather is most unpredictable, but not as bad as during low season.
7. Never underestimate the power of the hotel’s front desk staff. Ask and you shall receive. You can sometimes get so much more (even a better room!) simply by asking.
Communicate with the hotel’s front desk to ask for a room with a view (when available without an additional charge) or early check-in, even after you’ve already booked. Let them know your arrival time. Be extra nice to them, become friends, take them out to dinner if you must (just kidding), because these are the people who can get you discounts at local restaurants, great deals and advice on guided tours, and also make reservations for you (sometimes including museum and train tickets). Starting a good communication with the hotel staff, without pestering them, is your ticket to receiving great service and saving a lot of time and money.
8. Don’t wait until the last minute to book your flight; give yourself enough time to shop around.
There's no perfect way to time a ticket purchase, so usually the best thing to do is shop around and not wait until the last minute.
Booking too late is obviously not a smart financial move, but many don’t know that sometimes booking too early can be just as expensive. Generally the lowest fares are available between 1-2 months on national travel and 3-4 months for international travel. Play around with your departure and return dates, as sometimes just changing one day may give you several $100’s in savings. To do this better, select “my travel dates are flexible” to see the various rates available.
If you’re not set on a destination, but want to see what are the available rates from your city to anywhere in the US, check out Google Flights www.google.com/flights. You simply enter the city you’d be flying out of and a date range, and the engine will find all the options available.
Don’t forget to sign up for Airfare Watchdog http://www.airfarewatchdog.com/ so you can get notified by email when the lowest fares are published for a specific itinerary.
If you like to travel comfortably, a great way to save on business or first class is to purchase a basic economy ticket and then use miles to upgrade. Some airlines like US Airways offer a special last-minute deal where you can upgrade to first class for a fraction of the regular cost, but it’s based on availability and can only be done the day of departure.
9. Travel to destinations where the US Dollar is still strong.
The circle of countries where a $1.00 will still go fare is getting smaller and smaller. Despite the fact that Europe is going through some rough economical changes, for whatever mysterious reason, the Euro is still very high. You may want to consider a Latin American country such as Argentina, Costa Rica, or Panama. Or, try Morocco, Turkey, or Thailand.
10. To be better prepared, calculate your trip expenses, then add another 30% to your budget for unexpected costs that may come up. If you don’t end up using this extra money, great. If not, you have an extra source to tap into. And remember: saving is not your ultimate goal. Having a great vacation is.
Finally, this one piece of advice is something I can never stress enough to travelers: keep an open mind and be flexible when traveling. Sometimes you will have to compromise between what you want to do, and what your wallet can spend. So, you may end up giving up on some activities, amenities, or both. But in the end, the rewards of travel are priceless, so keep traveling!
small group tours of italy, tuscany, florence, amalfi coast, venice, alps, lake garda, luxury tours, small group, tours of italy, travel to italy, Gay tours of Italy, gay & lesbian, tours of italy for small groups, tours of italy for gay, lesbian tours, all inclusive, italy, tuscany, florence, rome, off the beaten path, italy travel, travel to italy, tours of italy, italy tours, tours amalfi coast, small group tours italy, tour italy, tuscany tours italy, positano, capri, guided tours of italy, italy guided tours, italy small group tours, italy tours, italy travel, customized tours, customized tours of italy, italy private tours, private tours of italy, tours rome italy, walking tours, walking tours italy, wine tours italy, wine tours of italy, private wine tours of italy, best tours of italy, biking tours, biking tours of italy, authentic italy, authentic tours of italy, luxury tours, artist tours, artist workshop, artist workshop italy, painting tour, painting in tuscany, painting in italy, italy painting, painting tour italy, cooking school in italy, italy cooking, italy cuisine, cooking in italy, tuscany cooking school, cooking in tuscany, tuscny, tuscan cuisine, learn italian, italian language classes, italian language course, charlotte, charlotte nc, north carolina, charlotte italian school, italy in charlotte, italian in charlotte, italian club, itlay, italian culture, italian language, italian language course, italian language in charlotte, italian classes, italian language classes in charlotte nc, school of italian language, italian courses, italian courses in charlotte, cooking classes, italian cooking course, italian association, verona, cinque terre, tour cinque terre, tours of cinque terre, tours of the amalfi coast, amalfi coast small group tours, italian culture, authentic italian, regions of italy, regional italy, italian-american, italian american culture, italian american club, italian-american club, the best tour of italy, the best tours of italy, the best small group tours of italy, tour italy, italy you, italy tour, italy your, itlay, tour itlay, small group tours italy, nada's italy, nadia's italy, nada italy, nada's itlay, nada itlay, nada vergili, nada virgili, nada, nada charlotte, italy small gropu tours, italy small group tours, itlay small group tours, itlay tours, small tours italy, small group italy, small groups italy, small tours itlay, small tours of italy, cooking schools in italy, itay, initaly, italy's culture, nada virgil, nada virgil italy, nadas italy, nadasitaly, nadasitaly.com, nada italy,com, nada italy.com, italy.com, nadas italy.com, relaxing tour of italy, no rush tour of italy, italy with a guide, italian guide, italy guides, italy guided tour
