Money-Saving Vacation Tips

Ah, sweet summertime - bring on the beach, barbeques, and camping. Staying within budget and keeping costs low for a vacation can be difficult. Bills quickly add up when purchasing airline tickets, fuel for the car, food, and lodging. 

Don’t break the bank to pay for your trip! Avoid overspending with these easy and convenient money-saving vacation tips.

How To Save Money On Vacation

Low-cost Airlines
If you live in the vicinity of a smaller, regional airport, check for available flights to your vacation destination. While a regional airport may not be as convenient, this option will help cut the cost of flying - especially if you’re taking the entire family. 

Granny Tip:  Many of the low-cost airlines (ie Spirit, Allegiant) charge an additional fee to check, or sometimes even to carry on, a bag. Try to condense luggage by packing one suitcase for every two people. When you’re going to the beach, what else do you need other than bathing suits and flip flops?!

Plane vs Road Trip
Airline tickets can be costly in general, let alone for a family of four or more. While a road trip requires extra time off from work, it could be more cost efficient in the long run. You may even want to compare pricing between using your own vehicle or renting something roomier to fit everyone comfortably with luggage and supplies. Nervous that the kids will fight during the 8-hour drive? Be sure to use or rent a vehicle with a television.

Granny Tip:  Don’t forget to get an E-ZPass to receive discounts on toll fares. Another bonus of the E-ZPass is you’ll get to avoid the lengthy lines at the booths.

Find The Best Rates To Catch Some Zzzs
Compare hotel prices to find the best deal for lodging. While sticking with a particular hotel chain to earn rewards points can be a nice perk, it seems to take forever before you earn enough points for a free night’s stay.

What's more, home or apartment rentals can also help cut down on restaurant costs since you’ll have the ability to prepare your own meals. Don’t feel like cooking while on vacation? Grab pre-made meals at the local grocery store to avoid high restaurant prices.

Staycation
Opt for a staycation if there’s no wiggle room in the budget for a trip. Discounts for nearby amusement parks and season passes to the neighborhood pool can be found online or in the community newspaper. Become a tourist in your own backyard and visit hometown museums and landmarks. Lastly, check sites like Groupon and Living Social to find deals on things to do in your area. 

Buy or Ask For Gift Cards To Help Pay For Your Vacation
Why pay full price on necessities for your trip? You can find a gift card deal for restaurants, flights, hotels, and gas.

Flights
Before booking a flight, check out gift card deals to popular airlines to help cover the cost of your ticket. Save money or earn cash back on your airline gift card purchase on Gift Card Granny. Stack multiple cards together for more savings but do your research and confirm how many gift cards can be applied towards one reservation. For example, you can redeem up to three Southwest gift cards at a time. *Note that Southwest only permits three types of payment per transaction. 

Restaurants
Eating out while on vacation can get expensive due to the increased cost of tourist areas. Research restaurants near to where you’re staying and ask family or friends for a few restaurant gift cards to offset the cost of lunch or dinner.

Hotels
A week’s hotel stay for a family of four can average between $840 to $1,750. After taxes and fees are added, you could be nearing $2,000.

Granny Tip:  When booking online, check to see if the site offers any promo codes you can apply for extra savings.  

Fuel
Be mindful of gas prices if you’re heading on a road trip this summer. For the best price at the pump, download an app like Gas Guru which finds the cheapest gas stations in your vicinity.  

Do you have any money-saving vacation tips? Share them with us in the comments below.