Taking off Travel blog

There’s never been a better time to save on summer travel. The realities of the credit crunch and economic recession mean that travel industry professionals are offering discounts on all their services so it could be the time to get a great deal. Here are our tips for making savings on your summer vacation.

Miles Of Miles

Sign up for a frequent traveler program. You don’t just get these from airlines, but from offsite airport parking firms, car rental companies, hotel chains and more. Many of the programs have their own credit cards and offer discounts on shopping and related travel products such as insurance. If you already belong to such a program, look out for the deals they offer from time to time. If you don’t, then sign up now - you may get a bonus for joining which will help you save on other parts of your trip.

Be Flexible

Sure, you may have an ideal time when you want to travel, but what if you could cut your travel costs in half by traveling a couple of days earlier or later? Does it really matter if you visit your family on Memorial Day weekend or the weekend after? Being flexible about your travel dates gives you the best chance of saving some money. If you are prepared to travel on the actual holiday date, instead of just before, that can also help you save.

Where Are You Going?

Another way to be flexible is to book a trip, any trip. As our recent review of Joobili showed you can decide to go somewhere completely different based on what’s actually happening around the world on your preferred travel dates. Many airline booking sites offer great deals if you are prepared to pack your bags and get to the airport - and if you don’t mind where you go. That could be a great way to add some spice to your summer vacation.

Accommodation

We all love the glitz and glamour of big hotels, but you can save a bundle by choosing a less showy type of accommodation. Options include getting a vacation rental, with the benefit of having more room, staying in a hostel, booking a mom and pop hotel or camping. All of these can make your vacation travel more interesting without busting your budget. If you don’t mind someone else living in your home for a while, arrange a house swap with someone looking to visit your area. You’ll get a ready made home and will only have to spend on getting there.

Tags: air travel, offsite airport parking, summer, travel, Travel Tips

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 19th, 2009 at 4:48 am and is filed under Travel Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.