Tips for Saving on Your Next Trip, Part 2
Last month, I wrote about Pauline Frommer’s session at the Atlanta Travel & Adventure Expo. Things have been busy here, so it’s taken me awhile to get to part – two, sorry about that!
In the last post, I covered what she had to say about scrimping or splurging on hotel and airfare. This one will cover activities, food, and cruises!
Activities – Scrimp or Splurge?
BOTH!
Activities help make the memories for your trip, sometimes it’s worth the extra money to experience things that you wouldn’t normally experience.
Sometimes, guided tours are good for when you’re in an area that you’re not familiar with, but they do come with Pros and Cons.
Pros:
- They’re social, you get to meet other people.
- The activities/stops are already planned, so you don’t have to do a lot of the legwork before a trip.
- And in most cases, group tours hit the popular “checklist” items in an area that everyone wants to see.
Cons:
- There are 40-50 people in an average sized tour group.
- All activities are determined by the tour bus, so if you want to stop and see something, you’re out of luck.
- When you’re staying with a tour group, you’re likely going to stay further away from the center of activity. This is because hotels that can accommodate large groups aren’t in the middle of everything – and finding places that will be able to allow 40-50 people to eat at once are usually on the outer skirts of town.
There are also small group tours that accommodate 10-12 travelers, which tend to be a bit more flexible and often times a little cheaper.
Some helpful sites for planning group travel are:
- Djoser
- G Adventures (formerly Gap Adventures)
- Intrepid Travel
Food – Scrimp or Splurge?
BOTH!
You can do a bit of both while you’re traveling. Scrimp here and there, but be sure to splurge if there’s a place you’re really interested in trying.
If you scrimp, you’ll likely end up dining with other tourists at the locations listed as ‘cheap eats’ in guide books.
If you take the time to splurge, you will likely end up in a restaurant where the locals frequent, and have the opportunity to take in a culinary treat!
Cruises – Scrimp or Splurge?
BOTH! But it really depends on what you’re looking for.
If you’re looking for an amusement park at sea, you can scrimp and find a cheaper cruise.
If you’re looking for something a little more formal, and less like an amusement park – splurging might be the way to go.
When booking a cruise, Pauline had some great tips to share:
- Don’t book through the cruise line directly. Either use a travel agent that has a relationship with a cruise line, as they can often get you additional add-ons for very little or for free.
- If you don’t use a travel agent, use one of these sites:
- Vacations To Go.com
- CruisesOnly.com
- CruiseStar.com
- CruiseBrothers.com
- OnlineVacationCenter.com
- Cruises.com
- Use a site like cruisecompete.com, to allow cruise agents to compete for your business. They will over various amenities and you can get the most bang for your buck.
- Repositioning cruises that are moving ships from one port to another, can allow you to enjoy a cruise for a lesser price. These are typically done in the fall or spring.
- To save money, consider getting an interior room instead of an outside room. For the most part, you’re only in your room to sleep – so why spend a tremendous amount of money for a bigger room? [Note: I’m not typically a balcony cruise room kind of gal, but I do appreciate an exterior room – mainly because they’re a little bigger and I hate feeling confined in a small space!]
- If you’re looking for shore excursions for your trip, check out these sites for deals:
And for news and reviews on cruises, USA today has a site called: vacationcruisesinfo.com, with valuable information that you can use in planning your next trip.
Do you have any sites that you use when booking cruises that weren’t mentioned on here? Do you a scrimp or splurge when it comes to the above? Share your thoughts!
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