Money Savings Travel Tips Applied to My Trip

I recently posted an article about money saving travel tips. I thought I would share with you how I applied some of those tips to our weekend getaway to North Conway, NH.

MONEY SAVING TIP:
Ask Friends and Family Before you Book The best way to find out information about an area you plan to visit is to ask people who have been there. They can let you know what they liked or disliked about the hotels, sites or other relevant information. Compile a list of questions and ask as many people as possible.

MY TRIP:
I asked friends and family about their experience traveling to North Conway, NH. After doing so I was able to book a hotel which would best suite our needs. I also learned that if we went to Storyland (an amusement park for children) at 2:00 pm, the next day would be free.

MONEY SAVING TIP:
Travel Off Season The day and time of you year you travel will influence the price of transportation, hotels and restaurants. Sometimes if you are able to travel on a Wednesday instead of a Saturday you can reduce your expenses. Even if you travel during the high season, these rates can vary according to the time of day, day of the week (weekend vs. weekday) or month (May vs July). Ask travel agents, hotel staff, or airline representatives when the least expensive rates are available. You can also do an on-line search with different dates/times to compare prices.

MY TRIP: Even though we went Memorial Day weekend which is considered the summer season or more expensive, this time was less expensive then visiting in July or August. Even the admission to Storyland was $4 less per person or $16 less for our family. The hotel rates were about $100 less per night then if we had visited in July or August.

MONEY SAVING TIP:
Purchase Souvenirs and Other Items Before you Travel The more preparation and items you purchase before you travel, the more money you can save. Souvenirs and other items are expensive at tourist location. You can purchase souvenirs before you travel and you children will never know the difference. You can also purchase restaurant gift certificates and attraction fees prior to your travel to save money. Here are two websites which offer reduced fees for purchasing restaurant or attraction tickets Citypass and Restaurant.com


MY TRIP: We did not purchase any souvenirs before or during the trip which is the best way to save money. The Restaurant.com and Citypass websites did not offer any discounts in the area we visited.

MONEY SAVING TIP:
BYO Drinks and Snacks Even if you are traveling without children, when you bring your own snacks and drinks you will save both money and time. If you are driving, you will avoid the need to stop to purchase these items if you already have food and drinks in the car. Ideally bring food items which could be a snack or a meal such as cereal bars.

MY TRIP: This was a wonderful money and time saver for us. I brought enough snacks and drinks for the entire weekend. I used them in the car, hotel and at the amusement park.

MONEY SAVING TIP:
Ask Your Hotel About Amenities If you are staying at a hotel when you check in ask about the hotel amenities and if it is possible to get a free upgrade. Some hotels offer free Internet service, free movies, free childcare/children’s activities or free toiletries upon request. Also if you become sick ask if the hotel offers medical services or medicine before you purchase it.

MY TRIP: Our hotel offered some great amenities such as free make your own ice cream sundaes every night, free movies and DVD’s and children’s activities.

MONEY SAVING TIP:
Browse Local Guides and Newspapers Local newspapers will list events or activities (which may be free) available while you are visiting. Both guides and newspapers also contain coupons for restaurants, activities or site-seeing.

MY TRIP: I found a coupon for Pizza Hut (which we were going to anyway) in a free travel guide pamphlet.