Guest Post: 5 Tips to Save You BIG on Vacation!

My family loves taking vacations. We have a two year old and are both teachers. We both get a lot of vacations being teachers but being teachers we have a limited budget. My family tries to take a vacation three times a year to somewhere we have not been before. We never spend more than $600 for our family on a vacation. Yes this includes airfare and hotel and all the fun stuff too. We just recently took a vacation to Vegas here are a few tips that we used to save us big money.

1. Travel during the week. If at all possible travel during the week. Airfare is cheaper, hotels are cheaper and usually you can get better deals on shows and restaurants. We try to go Tuesday through Friday. We have actually found that Monday nights are still more expensive for hotels.

2. Take your necessities. When we travel we always pack a bag of snacks and water. We usually dedicate one checked bag to food and water. We all know that we can get our snacks for free (thanks couponaholic) so why would you buy them on vacation? We also pack our own water so we don’t get stuck somewhere paying 2 or 3 bucks a bottle.

3. Avoid eating out. Bring your Starbucks Via to make your morning coffee and eat your Myoplex bars for breakfast. This makes breakfast free. You also can usually find hotels with free breakfast. We also found when we had to eat out it wasn’t necessarily cheaper to eat fast food. We spent the same amount on a sit-down lunch as we would have eating at saborro.

4. Use those coupons they give you. I know I am preaching to the choir but really check them out. If they don’t give them to you, ask for them. We got 10 free drink coupons by just asking when we checked into our hotel.

5. Be everyone’s best friend. This is the most embarrassing for my husband. I know no strangers and can get a cashier to tell me their whole life story. People that are your best friends like to help you in any way they can. It is amazing what kind of free things and upgrades they have the power to give you.

There is so much more, but these seem to be the tips that save us the most. Hope you find something that saves you green!

Thanks for the tips Angeliki! Personally, my favorite recommendation is packing snacks/beverages. I know I have forked out at least $3.00 for bottled water! YIKES. Leave a comment if you have any other great ways to save while vacationing.