One major resource for trip planning is the Flyertalk bulletin board. If you dig around on this board you will find out about really low airfares, hotel club promotions and so forth. For example, in 2005 we flew round-trip to Belize for $219 per person, all based on info I got from the Flyertalk board. In 2006 we took a 12-hour drive in order to take advantage of $260 fares to Cologne
The four major costs of planning any vacation are transportation, lodging, food, and pocket money.
Let's take a look at how we working to save money to make our upcoming trip possible.
TRANSPORTATION: Airfares have been rising and a round-trip ticket to Europe from most cities is $1,500 or more. A savings on transportation is what can make the trip happen in the first place. The best ways to do this are through the use of frequent flyer miles and by finding low-price city pairs. Once you get to Europe there are more transportation expenses to think about, such as buying train tickets. It is possible to save, and save a lot, with advance planning.
LODGING: We're using hotel loyalty points for a lot of our nights in Europe, either for a free room or for a cash-plus-points room at a big discount. If you aren't a member of any loyalty clubs, join one or more right now. Marriott, for example, has a promotion whereby guests can get a free night certificate for each two stays. You don't have to stay at a lot of high-priced hotels to get a good deal. And, as always, you can bid on travel through Priceline or other sources, or just plain and simply find a deal.
FOOD: I have to confess we don't always save as much as possible on food as we should. Essentially you just need to bite the bullet a little bit and spend some of the money you've saved on lodging and transportation. That said, one can eat well and cheaply in Europe. It just takes work. We've never used Groupon before, but we're thinking about buying an advance purchase meal in London. We'll see how that goes.
POCKET MONEY: Again, it's hard to save too much on walking around expenses. But there are discounts on various admissions if you plan ahead. I like to get a good bit of my Euro cash up front through Wells Fargo in East Memphis. In order to do this you have to pay five percent over the spot rate. Since most ATM cards charge a three percent foreign transaction fee plus an ATM fee, changing at least some money up front can be the most economical way to go. Just don't pay more than five percent and don't lose it!
I'll address these issues in future blog posts. But it's a good idea as you plan to spit your expenses and then ask yourself, "How can we save on this." I'll share how we've saved on some things and look forward to hearing any other money-saving tips.
LODGING: We're using hotel loyalty points for a lot of our nights in Europe, either for a free room or for a cash-plus-points room at a big discount. If you aren't a member of any loyalty clubs, join one or more right now. Marriott, for example, has a promotion whereby guests can get a free night certificate for each two stays. You don't have to stay at a lot of high-priced hotels to get a good deal. And, as always, you can bid on travel through Priceline or other sources, or just plain and simply find a deal.
FOOD: I have to confess we don't always save as much as possible on food as we should. Essentially you just need to bite the bullet a little bit and spend some of the money you've saved on lodging and transportation. That said, one can eat well and cheaply in Europe. It just takes work. We've never used Groupon before, but we're thinking about buying an advance purchase meal in London. We'll see how that goes.
POCKET MONEY: Again, it's hard to save too much on walking around expenses. But there are discounts on various admissions if you plan ahead. I like to get a good bit of my Euro cash up front through Wells Fargo in East Memphis. In order to do this you have to pay five percent over the spot rate. Since most ATM cards charge a three percent foreign transaction fee plus an ATM fee, changing at least some money up front can be the most economical way to go. Just don't pay more than five percent and don't lose it!
I'll address these issues in future blog posts. But it's a good idea as you plan to spit your expenses and then ask yourself, "How can we save on this." I'll share how we've saved on some things and look forward to hearing any other money-saving tips.
