February 7, 2012

More Ways to Save at priceline.com

Priceline.com is the leading travel service for value-conscious leisure travelers. No other travel service gives customers more ways to save on their airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, vacation packages and cruises. We negotiate the best travel deals to help you stretch your travel dollars further! The Negotiator and NoFee have eliminated priceline booking fees [...]

Budget Travel with the Family

Image: Paul Martin Eldridge / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Traveling as a family can really add to the costs. Children are often charged a lot more than seems fair and the overall price of a family holiday can soon get out of hand by the time you factor in all of the food and activities.

Find out ways to be more cost effective with your travels with Family Camps, Booking Tips and how to keep spending down to a minimum.

Saving Money When You Are At Your Destination

Image: healingdream / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

When traveling independently you will almost always do better in terms of price and quality if you veer away from the traditional places to eat and shops that the guide books mention. Going off the beaten track can mean you pick up a real bargain.

Learn about tips for Restaurants and Car Rental.

Money Saving Tips on Travel

Image: Francesco Marino / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

As well as the usual ways to get a bargain flight or holiday, it is also important to consider other money saving tips for when you are actually traveling. Money saving tips whilst you are away should not be overlooked, as they can save you a substantial amount of money in the long run.

Another issue that you should consider before booking is what potential specialist discounts you may be entitled to; for example, many agents offer discounts to students, seniors or individuals that are members of certain organizations may also be able to get better deals.

Where to Look for Deals

Bondi Beach - Image by federico stevanin

Having decided that you want your bargain holiday, you now have to turn your attention to starting your search. Knowing where to look for the bargains is the main part of the battle when it comes to securing that extra special deal.

Traditionally, travelers would only really be able to use local agents to deal with their query. These days however we have a wealth of options available to us including online consolidators, auction sites and direct web sites to peruse.

Specialist Bargains

Cruise Ship - Image by FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Adventure travel has always been regarded as the expensive option. This need not be the case, although adventure tour operators invariably are expensive as they pay developed world prices to their sales, marketing and organizational staff.

If you consider a typical adventure holiday, you will find that only a minimal portion of the overall cost will end up going on the actual adventure part of the holiday. By organizing your own trip directly, you could save literally thousands of dollars.

Packages Holidays on a Bargain

Skiathos Coastline -  Image by Andreas Constantiou

Package holidays are simply holidays where the travel operator offers the whole trip, including the flights, hotels and in some cases the transport when you arrive at your destination. Bearing this in mind, a lot of the tips for getting cheap flights will be the same as they are for package holidays. Having said this, there are some specific ways of bagging a package holiday bargain.

Bagging a Cheap Flight

Visa - Image by Arvind Balaraman

Buying a last minute flight is actually quite tricky. Many charter airlines will deal primarily with packages and as such the flight-only option can actually end up costing more than a simple package. All is not lost though! There are still plenty of ways to pick up a flight bargain. Bear in mind that if [...]

Hotels at Last Minute

Empire State Building - Image by vitasamb2001

For the brave, it is always worth calling the hotel that you want to stay at on the day that you intend to arrive, or possibly the day before. Hotels will often be prepared to offer substantial discounts on the day, as from their point of view an empty room is a complete waste of money. If you are feeling particularly bold it is even worth telling the hotel what you are prepared to pay and asking them if they have any rooms available.

Choosing Your Season and Destination

Sunset - Image by Arvind Balaraman

The two key things that can have a huge impact on the cost of your vacation are the destination and the time of year. In fact, the single biggest saver is likely to be when you travel, not how successfully you manage to haggle for that last minute hotel bargain!