How to save on your next vacation

Thursday, 18th of June 2009 (by Vered)

Photo credit: shazwan

Vacations are important. They give us a chance to relax, unwind, and reconnect with our loved ones. A nice, long vacation where you actually relax and forget about your daily stress is good for your health too: stress is a known contributor to various illnesses.

Vacations, however, are expensive. If you're, say, a family of four, it's not easy to plan a week long vacation that includes flights, hotels and excursions in addition to a rental car and restaurants. It's especially difficult if you're on a tight budget. Try the following tips for saving on your next vacation:

1. Shop online for airline tickets. Plan in advance and visit discount websites such as Expedia. You can also get cash back deals from various airlines when buying tickets through Quanti.

2. Look for online deals on hotels. For example, Marriot and Hilton offer a great cash back deal if you make the reservation through Quanti. Take advantage of such deals and save. Discount websites such as hotels.com are also a great place to find deals on hotels. These websites are able to offer you significant online savings because they contract hotels in advance for volume purchases.

3. Save on car rental: when renting a car, always ask for the smallest car that will accommodate your family and your luggage, and don't forget to fill it up before you return it, using regular petrol. In addition, sometimes car rental companies offer discount codes. Look for them online before making the reservation.

4. Save on food: when it comes to dining, stay away from the hotel's breakfast. It's usually expensive and bland. Instead, go out and have breakfast at a local café or restaurant. It's also a good idea to have a big breakfast and lunch, then eat something light for dinner, since lunch at a restaurant is generally less expensive than dinner at the same restaurant. When we visited Paris a few years ago, we had great breakfasts of fresh, flaky croissants, and lunches at Michelin-Star restaurants, which we could never afford for dinner. Dinners were light: a sandwich and a piece of fruit.

As you can see, having a great vacation on a tight budget is doable. The secret: careful advance planning and finding online deals. Enjoy!

Quanti helps you save money when shopping online by offering a huge selection of online deals, online coupons, and cash back offers.

Posted in Gassing corner

The above information was correct at time of publication