One of the big reasons I coupon and hunt for deals is so I can afford to go on as many vacations as possible! I just love them! And, it definitely helps to know how to get the best price on your vacation so you can stretch your money even further. That way, you can go on more than one trip!
Here are some of my favorite tips on How to Save on Travel
AIRFARE:
- Jet Blue comes out with $49 and $59 One-Way Airfare Sales about once a month. They are as low as $49 and go up depending on what Jet Blue decides to do. However, I have been able to purchase $49 tickets to Long Beach, California (Disneyland) from Salt Lake City, Utah a few times in the past! So, for our little family- it was a ton cheaper to fly $100 per person to Disneyland! Sign up for the Jet Blue Emails, and you will know when they start those sales. Keep watching and wait for the sale that works the best for you!
- Southwest Airlines comes out with airfare sales just about every week. They usually start on a Tuesday and Southwest will give you 3 days or so to book your travel. As long as your travel dates are at least 14 days in advance, the sale rates will apply to you. I’ve snagged one-way tickets to Las Vegas from Salt Lake City for as low as $39 before. (Although the norm right now is $59). It was cheaper than driving and fun little get away for us!
- If you can, don’t fly on Sundays. Prices on flights are marked up a TON more on Sundays. Try to travel on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and/or Saturdays. Those days usually have the lowest airfare prices.
- Did you know that airfare prices for the same flight can change up to 4 times a day?? So, if you really want to get the best price, keep checking and watching! Another tip is to purchase your airfare on a Monday or Tuesday. Prices typically start to go back up on Wednesdays.
HOTELS:
Here are a few of my favorite sites to check for Hotel Deals. TIP: Every travel site will have different prices for the same hotel on the same dates. So don’t just check one… or you might not be getting the best deal!
- Expedia: They have sales on Hotels and Vacations on a regular basis!
- Orbitz: These guys have sales and even put out promo codes for an extra 15% off!
- Hotwire: You won’t know what the name of your hotel is.. but you can pick what star rating and other amenities you want when you book!
- Jetsetter: This is a daily deal site for Hotels all over the world. They have special Flash Sales with deeper discounts as well! You can save a bunch on everything from Staycations to International Trips!
- Book It: They usually have some good promotions and extras thrown in like credits to a spa or dining credit.
- Living Social Escapes: This is a daily deal site. But, they have a lot of vacation deals all over the World.. and as close to home as your own state!
- Groupon Getaways: Don’t forget Groupon! They have vacation deals all of the time. We have used them a few times to get crazy deals on hotels!
OTHER RESOURCES:
Travelzoo: This is BY FAR my all-time favorite travel tool! They usually have a lot of last-minute travel deals that can save you serious moolah. Plus, they find the absolute best of the best each Wednesday and email them out in their TOP 20 List! They are the top 20 deals in the world.
I love looking at them each week. Some of the prices I have seen in the past have been so ridiculous that they sell out super fast. (Which is why you want to be on the email list- so you don’t miss them). So head over and sign up for the Travel Zoo Email List so you can get these updates too. They will send deals on everything from Disneyland to 12 Day Cruises in the Mediterranean!
I’ve said this before, but Get Away Today is the best place to get a deal on Disneyland! We have gone to Disneyland a bunch of times and I always price hunt other travel sites and put together a bunch of different deal scenarios. Every single time, Get Away Today is a better deal! Plus, they always throw in extras like Free Breakfasts at Hotels, the taxes and fees are already included in your rate, and more.
If you want to book different dates and head to Disneyland, GetAwayToday has given Freebies2Deals readers an extra $10 off when you book both your room and tickets. Just use coupon code Freebies2Deals for an extra $10 off any 2 night or longer package with a minimum of 2 tickets. The code can be used over the phone or online!
CAR RENTALS:
1- Sign up directly for emails from Car Rental Companies like Thrifty, Budget and Dollar. I get an email just about every week or so with the best deals, and special coupon codes!
2- Don’t be afraid to pay up-front! Sometimes you will see two prices for a car rental. One will be for when you pick the car up and pay when you arrive. And one will be lower if you pay ahead of time. You can save so much money if you are willing and able to do that!!
For example, on our most recent vacation Budget Rental Car had 2-4 Door Economy Cars for $191.97 for our 4 day trip. But, if I was willing to pay ahead of time, they would only charge me $120!! Plus, the crazy part is that they had SUV rentals for only $120- still cheaper than the Economy Car! So it definitely pays to pay ahead!
3- I know a lot of people use sites like Expedia or Travelocity to book cars and see the cheapest rates. But the only way you can get that cheaper pay ahead option is on the actual car rental’s website. So, I like to check them individually to make sure I am getting the absolute lowest price.
Hope that helps you save a little bit more on your upcoming vacation! Remember, vacations don’t have to be expensive to be fun. Just getting out of the house and staying somewhere else new and exciting can be a blast for your family. So look for Hotels in your area and go on a quick overnight mini-vacay!
Sarah Watters
I like these kinds of posts, and posts like “The Deal Sites I Check Every Day” because it helps me check to make sure I’m not missing something or if I’m watching the best sites. Thank you!
Stephanie
Thanks for all your tips! They are great. I love your website!
Dani
Wow, thank you so much for those tips, that helps a lot……. You are awesome!!!!
stuart hammerle
Thank you!!
Alissa L.
Great timing! Thanks for all of your fantastic tips! You help me save money all of the time, and I appreciate all of the work that you put into helping us all out!
Laura
Definitely a big help with summer here!
Kendra Baughman
One site that I used to use when I was booking travel for my executives for car rentals was
http://www.vroomvroomvroom.com
I’ve since used it for personal use, and after searching the direct sites, as well as travel sites, found them to be WAY cheaper…not always but most of the time. I was able to get a Jeep Rental in Salt Lake City once for $8.00/day…the guy at the counter said he had NEVER seen a rate that cheap! 🙂
We were also able to get a convertible car for our Honeymoon in Hawaii for $149 for the whole week!
These are all “out the door prices” (assuming you remove the insurance, which most personal insurances cover anyways) and I love that you don’t have to pay until you get there, and you don’t even have to use a credit card to hold the reservation! 🙂
Hope some people find this helpful!
Lori
We got a great deal on our rental car through hotwire too! And we didn’t book it as a package, because we were staying with relatives.
Ashley
This is great! I’ve been looking for flight and hotel deals and this is perfect. Thank you!
Julie
Your web site is wonderful! Thanks for all of the great deals!
Nicole Goeckeritz
I can’t wait for our trip to disneyland with you!
Kandice
Thank you for posting all the great sites for travel deals. I love finding such sites, it makes traveling more frequently possible.
Heather
Oh i So need this info for our family vacations. Thanks
reagan
Thank you for helping me save money. Bay area here I come.
Monica
Tons of tips. Thanks!
Shelley
Any flight sales this week?
Amy
“Remember traveling doesn’t have to be expensive…” unnnnnless you have a big family;) Still worth it though-traveling is our absolute favorite way to spend our extra money! In my dreams I want to start a travel agency that specializes in deals for bigger families. Wouldn’t that be awesome?!!!
Kristen F.
We just took a trip and found great deals on flights and car rental. We booked our car rental through Costco. We rented a car for a week for $150, but added in a car seat rental for another $60 so we did not have to check ours on the plane. Costco members get a discount at Avis and Budget I think, so check that before booking your car rental.
We booked our hotel through Hotwire which was alright, but were a little disappointed with the hotel.
We booked our flight through Southwest and found tickets for $100 one way during Southwest’s fall sale that they usually do in June or July. It was only $400 for two round trip tickets from Salt Lake to Nashville. Overall it made our family vacation affordable and we had extra spending money while we were visiting to do the things we wanted.
Thank you for posting all these tips. I don’t think I would have ever thought to do so much research, but it really does help you relax on your vacation because you know you aren’t using all your savings to do a vacation.
Julie S
Great tips on saving for travel!! Thanks for all your hard work.
Kim
My last 2 trips to Disneyland, we reserved a car through Costco. It was cheaper than all of the other travel sites, Hotwire included. I always reserve one through Costco and try to Priceline a car for cheaper the week that we are leaving. I went to Long Beach last week. I rented a car on Costco.com for $104 for 4 days in a standard size car. Two days before my trip I scored an economy car for $88 instead!
Jamie
Awesome.
Jamie
How many trips would you say you get to go on in a year? and how many of them are staycations? Thanks for all you do and showing us how we can do it to.