One of the best parts of a vacation is trying new and tasty cuisines. Unfortunately, it can also be one of the most expensive parts. To give your wallet a break and still relish in the joys of fine dining, opt for eating out earlier in the day.
As a rule, breakfast, brunch and lunch menus are less expensive than dinner menus. A big meal earlier in the day is also a great way to keep you energetic for the day’s sightseeing activities.
It’s okay to splurge on dinner every once in a while, but consider something quick, easy and inexpensive for most of your later meals. Bonus: by not filling up late at night, you’ll feel more awake, ready to tackle your destination’s nightlife!
One of the biggest appeals of a cruise ship vacation is its all-inclusive aspect. Your meals, port stops, and on board activities are pre-planned and available for your enjoyment, pretty much whenever you feel like enjoying them. Unfortunately, a cruise ship’s “all-inclusive” element doesn’t mean it’s an on board free-for-all. All those port excursions, soda and alcoholic beverages, beauty services, and photos are made available for an extra charge.
Because your cabin key functions as an on board credit card, it’s easy to go overboard with your spending. If you’re not careful, you could end up with a hefty bill when your cruise ends. Here are a few tips to save money while on board a cruise ship.
Stay away from on board gift shops.
If you’re trying to save money on the cruise ship, staying out of the ship’s shops should be your first line of defense. Duty free shops are always tempting. After all, there’s no sales tax!
It’s easy to get carried away, but keep in mind that, while the items are tax-free, the prices may be inflated. A small-ish, inexpensive memento is fine, but if you go on an all-out shopping spree, you may get home and wonder, “Why did I buy this?”
Don’t use the phone or Internetservices.
Many of the convenient technologies we depend on in our normal, everyday lives are nearly nonexistent on a cruise ship. You’re not going to have cell phone service while at sea, and Internet services are priced at a premium, by-the-minute fee, usually around $0.75 to $1.00 per minute. (This isn’t even counting the one-time “activation fee.”)Instead of paying cruise prices, try using your cell phone while on land at a port-of-call — chances are, you’ll get reception. (Consider calling your cell carrier before leaving home and arranging for an international calling package, making these calls cheaper still.) Also, Internet cafes can be found in most ports and are often less expensive than the ship’s service. If you’re planning on emailing your friends or updating your blog, consider typing the text offline to save time. Finally, don’t be afraid NOT to call or email home. Your friends and family know you’re on vacation and probably don’t need to hear from you.
Book port excursions independently. By booking an excursion on your own, you’ll save money, you’ll be with a much smaller tour group, and you’re less likely to have a tour guide that takes a twenty minute “bathroom break” conveniently located near or at the gift shop.
Make sure to book your independent excursions before you leave for vacation, as they fill up quickly. However, if you’re an inexperienced traveler or if you have anxiety about getting back to the ship on time, you might want to book via the cruise ship for that extra peace of mind.
Don’t feel obligated to take excursions at all.
Excursions are part of the appeal of a cruise ship vacation, but don’t feel like you must book one for every port in which the ship stops. If there’s nothing in the port-of-call that piques your interest, skip it. Sometimes walking around the port is an adventure itself.
Just say, “No!”
It’s the simplest rule of all, but it can be the most difficult rule to follow when on vacation. The advertising spiels start the minute you board the ship — from the loudspeaker announcements, to the advertisements in your daily newsletter, to the aggressive bartenders hawking pricey cocktails. You feel like you’re being beaten over the head with a nonstop sales pitch, and it can be difficult to stand your ground.
Learn to say, “No thanks.” Remember, you won’t be the first to decline a sales pitch — and you won’t be the last.
Avoid the specialty restaurants. Your cruise ship fare includes access to the dining room and the all-day buffet, but these aren’t the only eateries on the ship. Several specialty restaurants are available — for an extra charge — and serve “premium meals,” such as sushi or gourmet pizza.
These specialty restaurants offer a nice break from the dining room, and it’s great to enjoy a meal with folks from your own party instead of eating dinner with Bob and Judy from Des Moines, Iowa. These restaurants can get expensive, though, and often times the food isn’t anything special, so use with caution.
Pass on the pictures.
Most cruises offer trivia games. These fun events are free to play, and winners receive champagne, certificates for restaurants, and drink coupons.
On most cruise lines, the ship’s photographer snaps photos of you and your party twice during your cruise vacation — once when you board the ship and once during formal night. While these pictures are nice, they’re obnoxiously overpriced for what amounts to a simple snapshot of your group in front of a tacky backdrop.
You brought your camera, right? Chances are, your own pictures will turn out much better than what the ship’s photographer provides.
Skip the soda card.
Cruise lines offer free water, iced tea, fruit punch, and lemonade, but soda is extra. Soda typically costs $1.50 to $4.00 per can, unless you purchase a soda card for the entire length of your stay. A soda card often will not pay for itself unless you plan on drinking soda nonstop for the duration of your cruise.
If you must have soda, think about buying a few cases before boarding the ship. Some cruise lines allow you to bring outside non-alcoholic beverages into your cabin, but check your cruise line’s FAQs before dropping serious cash on cases of pop. You don’t want to get denied entry at the last minute, just because you’re toting a case of Diet Pepsi.
Finally, DO play trivia games.
Most cruise lines offer trivia games for all ages. These fun events are free to play and winners receive prizes such as bottles of champagne, certificates for the specialty restaurants, and drink coupons.
In the end, vacation is a time to relax, not to worry about penny-pinching. Don’t deprive yourself or your family of a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the sake of saving $10. However, you don’t want to come home from your cruise ship vacation knee-deep in debt with a major case of buyer’s remorse either. Use discretion when purchasing extras and you and your family will come home from your cruise vacation happy!
Having spent many of my post-college years both (a) totally broke and (b) living on the road, I know very well the financial perils posed by the seemingly-cheap road trip. In order to help you avoid some of my same mistakes, I offer what I’ve learned … most of it the hard way.
Fuel efficiency matters!
Remember when Barack Obama said Americans should pay more attention to their tire pressure? Well, it’s true. Check your tires before you start your trip and each time you stop for gas, and be sure to air ’em up if they’re running low. (Be careful not to overpressurize your tires, though. Your car’s owner’s manual should contain information about the appropriate pressure range, and most tires are marked as well.)
Also, don’t overload your car with heavy or bulky stuff that you’re not likely to use — extra weight, or odd-shaped things like surfboards stuck to the car roof, increases fuel costs.
Drive the speed limit.
It’s a sad fact for us adrenaline junkies, but according to fueleconomy.gov, “Each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.24 per gallon for gas.” Gas is one of the biggest road trip expenses, so anything you can do to minimize it is worth considering. Plus, it’ll keep you from snagging a speeding ticket, which is a definite road trip bummer.
Get to know your National Parks!
They’re not just for Ken Burns documentaries — the National Park system is there for people to use, and one thing that a price-conscious road-tripper can always use is a cheap place to sleep.Even at the most popular parks, like Yellowstone, camping fees start at only $12/night — a lot cheaper than you’ll find at any motel, and with better scenery too. Some parks do have a vehicle entry fee, so it’s also worth investigating the National Park Service’s Annual Pass; at $80, it pays for itself after four nights at Yosemite.
Check out hostels.
If your travels are taking you to more urban locations where camping isn’t much of an option, make reservations at hostels instead of hotels or motels. For a single bed they usually run about $20-$25 per night or, if you’re traveling with a group of people, you can all share a room instead of hanging out with strangers. It’s worth noting, however, that hanging out with strangers has its perks — when you’re in an unfamiliar place you can swap tips and often get some good advice.
Bring your own food.
The single biggest waste of money on a road trip is road food. Instead of hitting up pricey restaurants or unhealthy fast food, swing by a grocery store and pack snacks for yourself.
Carrot sticks, apples, protein bars, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches all keep well — and they’re cheap and healthy to boot.
Check the Internet.
Pro tip: To avoid parking tickets in large cities, set an alarm on your phone to remind you to feed the meter.
If camping isn’t your thing and you’d rather not dole out the cash for a hostel, well, it’s the Internet to the rescue! Social networking sites like Facebook make great directories, so if you’re trekking to visit San Francisco, why not search your Facebook friends and see if anyone you know has moved there recently? You never know who might be eager to see you again.
And if your social networking sites are a bust, don’t forget sites like couchsurfing.com. It can seem a little disconcerting to crash on the couch of someone you’ve never met before, but chances are pretty good that they’ll not only be happy to have you (since they volunteered for it) — but they might even be willing to play tour guide.
Avoid parking tickets.
The biggest headache of a road trip is usually also the thing that makes it great — that is, your car. Parking tickets are a particular concern if you’re visiting an urban area, where popular, touristy neighborhoods are often targeted for parking enforcement. And just because there’s not a meter on the street doesn’t mean the parking is free: many cities are moving towards parking pay boxes, which are usually spaced one per block and require you to pay and place the printed receipt somewhere visible in your car.
Pro tip: Set an alarm on your phone to remind you to feed the meter, and don’t count on leniency just because you’ve got out-of-town plates — many cities and towns rely on tourist parking tickets as a regular revenue stream.
Plan, plan, plan. The great beauty of the road trip is its flexibility and potential for spontaneous adventure. However, some careful planning can be a fiscal lifesaver on the road.
When you’re figuring out a route, be aware that things like toll roads and mountains will increase your driving costs; if you have particular weaknesses for things like outlet shopping or antiquing, steer clear of towns that are likely to lure you into big spending. Also, do some research and see if any of your destinations are hosting special events that are likely to raise lodging and parking costs — even the sleepiest small town can charge steep prices when the state fair is in town.
Set a budget and stick to it.
The easiest way to stick to a budget is to avoid using plastic. A credit or debit card is useful for getting gas on the road, but beyond that, figure out how much you want to spend each day on food and sundries and use cash to help yourself stick to it. An easy way to do that is to have an envelope for each day of your trip; inside the envelope is the amount you’re allowed to spend that day (not including gas and lodging), and once that’s been tapped, consider yourself cut off.
And if that’s hard for you, just remember: the road trip is all about adventure and self-discovery (On the Road, anyone?), not kitschy souvenirs, and nothing you buy will be as fun or as enduring as the stories you’ll have when you get home.
Saving money on a road trip isn’t that hard. And remember: the more money you save on this road trip, the more money you have for another road trip!
From the controversy that was the “Real World” to today’s situation that is “The Jersey Shore”; from the depths of “Survivor” to the details of “Amazing Race”, travel is no stranger to TV. As new reality shows continue to come to life, one new travel spot is taking another approach: the Web.
The Hostel Life is a new adventure series that offers viewers a unique experience into the adventures of hostel hopping around the globe. The website will host an interactive series in which viewers can explore various parts of the world with The Hostel Life cast members and vote on the next destination.
The series will begin in Panama City, Panama, and where the cast and crew go from there is up to the viewers. Backpackers adhere to a modest weekly budget of $300-$400 to demonstrate the options available when traveling on a limited budget.
“The most intriguing element within the show is the drama created by simply experiencing travel. We [myself, the cast and crew] are merely participants in how the story unfolds. Some of the situations and scenarios are just as surprising to us as they are to our viewers,” said Mehdy Ghannad, creator of The Hostel Life.
The concept is interesting, but I wonder if characters like Puck and Snookie can survive in a hostel world. The pilot season is scheduled to be filmed next month, and all webisodes will be viewable at www.TheHostelLife.com.
Despite only taking out as much as money from the ATM as you thought you’d need each day, you somehow managed to come in under budget. Now what do you do with this extra foreign currency you’ve got burning a hole through your picket? You could convert it back to your home currency, getting hit with exchange fees again, or you could try one of these seven options.
Save it for next time.
If the currency in question is Euros, it may make more sense to just save the bills for your next trip to Europe. By the time you convert the money back into dollars (or whatever your home currency is), the amount you lose to fees may not make it financially worthwhile, even if the exchange rate eventually changes in your favor. Obviously, with more exotic currencies, this isn’t a good option. Who knows when you’ll be able to return to Uruguay.
Sell it to another traveler.
If you know of another traveler heading to the destination soon, you can offer to sell them your leftover currency. Offer then a rate that is lower than what they pay at the bank or once they arrive in country, but higher than what you would make selling the currency back for dollars. In this way, you both win.Donate it. You were going to spend it anyways right? Why not give it to a worthy cause? At a few airports, I have seen donation boxes out near the security line. Throw your spare change in here and you may help improve life for someone in that country. You could also convert it and donate the changed bills to a charity at home.
Display it. I’m fascinated by foreign currency. I always keep one or two of the most interesting or colorful bills and coins from every country I visit. I keep them in a glass jar on my mantel, as both a unique decoration and a subtle reminder of the places I have been.
Spend it on airport souvenirs. …
After arriving at the airport and realizing that (after we took out the money we wanted to keep and take home to display) we still had close to 100 South African Rand (a little more than $10) my husband and I decided to blow it on souvenirs. Since we had some time to kill, we each took 50 Rand and set out to spend as much of the money as we could on last-minute airport souvenir tchotchkes. We had a fun time and came away with a few silly mementos of our trip that we otherwise would not have bought.
Or be a big spender at the airport
I hate spending money at the airport. After spending money throughout my trip, I hate the idea of dumping more money right before I head home. But, when I have some leftover currency to get rid of, it doesn’t seem as annoying. Use the opportunity to get rid of the cash in style. Treat yourself to a a few glasses of quality wine at the airport bar, opt for the more expensive entree, or spring for one of the massages offered in your terminal. It doesn’t make sense to be wasteful of course, but sometimes it is fun to enjoy the little extras that you normally wouldn’t.
Add it to your travel fund.
If you do plan on changing the money back into your home currency, don’t just use the money for groceries or bus fare. Put into a special fund earmarked for travel and contribute to it every time you come home from a trip. After a few trips, you may not have enough to cover a plane ticket, but you might have amassed enough cash to cover a few splurges on your next trip.