TripAdvisor asks... Forum: How to save money on vacation

I never go on excursions or tours through an agency. I research what I want to do and where it is before I am there, usually on boards like these. I end up paying half the price by just getting a taxi..Example, I went to Zijuantanejo (sp?) and wanted to go to a beach that can only be reached by boat, I could have gone through the travel agency and paid 40 dollars per person, but through research came to know that a water taxi was 4 dollars per person. HTH!

Well if your staying at a resort never buy anything from the gift shop. Everything is always over priced. I stayed in Mexico once at the 5 star Gala Resort. And there gift shop stuff was so over priced. But in the local village nearby, there was authentic Mexico souviners, for good prices. And it was reall stuff made by locals, not cheap plastic stuff made in Taiwan that says "Mexico" on it. There were so many bargains there! I love shopping for the rugs though! They were so pretty.

Some other tips for saving money on vacation, is don't get room service at the hotel unless your really really lazy lol! The room service is always expensive, and you only get little servings of the food! It's best to go to the hotel restraunt, and get a nice meal, you get more for your money. Or sometimes it's better to go to a local restraunt as even the hotel restraunt can be expensive. Once I stayed in the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa Ontario, and the restraunt was extremly expensive, almost as expensive as a one night stay in one of there rooms!!!! So we just went to a little restraunt around the corner, and found it just as nice.

A little secret I have for getting a better room in a hotel is this: When your checking in say something like "well this is actually our first time staying at this hotel! We usually stay at the Hilton when we visit here, it's just around the corner I think" And then the person behind the desk might say something like "Oh well, We actually have a Bay view Suite avaiable for you!" It's there way of trying to get you to come back to the hotel, and they only charge you for the room you paid for!! I do that all the time, an it works alot!! lol. Don't expect it to work in a Holiday Inn Express or something. It only works usually in the nice 4 star hotels and up.

If your hotel includes breakfast, eat up! You will probably only need a small snack in the afternoon and then you can afford to have a nice dinner.

I would suggest using a local travel agency. One that has been in the industry, and in your home town, for many years! The agents have plenty of experience in traveling, and recieve hundreds of faxed and emails daily with the latest specials and bargains! Do you homework first. If you enjoy doing the research, that's a plus. If you have prices from the various web sites, take them in to the agent. They can oft times meet or beat the web prices. Plus, you will know exactly what you are getting-like transfers included, and all the taxes.........I am amazed at how often clients will tell us they recieved more for their money by using the agency. While we can't always get a cheaper price, we may have info that isn't on the web, such as "the main pool will be drained during your stay", and you can then choose another resort! At least give you local agent a chance. Also, nothing against the young people that are going into the business, but older agents had the opportunity to do a lot of traveling, especially before these last few years, and they oft times know the areas extremely well. Travel agents are just about the only business that works extra hard to save clients money, thus-cutting their commissions, but keeping happy clients!

I use my travel agent for flight bookings as she's a member a broker group that can get wholesale tickets etc.

Hotels I search on the internet and book early, you can usually cancel without a penalty if done a few days in advance of scheduled arrival so don't fear grabbing a booking even if you aren't sure you'll actually stay there. I've booked several hotels before and after further research decided which to keep and which to cancel.

Don't waste money on impulse souvenirs. Souvenirs I'm quite particular about now, looking at the longterm value of the item helps me decide whether it's worth purchasing. The plastic trinkets that sit on shelves are costly and once home simply collect dust until someone one day throws them in the trash.

Planning in advance and allowing a cushion in budget planning works best.

Coming from an insider in the hotel industry: If you are travelling by car in the slow season, and you have a chance to look around at different hotels without a reservation - you can get a cheaper rate at a hotel if you just come as a walk-in. If you call in, we'll quote you our rack rate (the standard, no discounts rate). If you come as a walk-in, we sell at a walk-in rate, which is quite a lower price. (for example - in the winter time the rack rate might be $99, but we'll sell to a walk-in for $69). It all depends on how many rooms are occupied.

We tend to stay in hotels that are just slightly out of the centre but not too far out. We stayed at a hotel in Madrid that was about a 10 minute metro ride to the centre, but was much cheaper than the central hotels, it was a fantastic hotel aswell. We just did the same in Paris, again about a 10 minutes metro ride to the Eiffel tower, and we got a four star hotel for the price of a 2 star in the centre, with buffet breakfast included (which would have cost 20 euros pp per day)!

If it's possible try picnicing at lunchtime, find a nice park or beach and pick up your food from a local supermarket (although try to avoid the overpriced tourist supermarkets)!

Use the local supermarkets where possible! In Paris, we bought bread, wine and cheese from the Monoprix supermarket across the road and enjoyed it back in our hotel room.

When we travel we always take snack items such as granola bars, tato chips, small bottles of water and if we know the room will have a fridge/ microwave then we bring milk, popcorn, cereal, hotpockets. With these items we only spend money on two full meals a day. Usually an early breakfast, then snacks and finally our dinner. We also search websites for any coupons for our destination and try to find attractions that are free or give discounts. Also doing research for your destination is helpful. For example we were going to rent a car while in vegas but after doing some searching on "mapquest" we figured it wasn't even necessary.