Saving on Summer Travel

Are you looking for summer travel savings before you head out on a much deserved vacation? Don’t let cost keep you from taking a break from your routine. From exotic getaways to staycations, VacationMaybe offers tips, ideas from fellow travelers and money saving ideas from the frugal and savvy writers that contribute to this site.

You may have read a recent post “Save on your Summer Travel,” where researching your trip and using a travel agent to help with summer travel savings was highlighted. If you are going to do your own research, here are a few of my favorite sites:

Compare Prices Easily for Summer Travel Savings

1. Cheap Tickets aggregates the best prices for airfare, car rentals, hotels, cruises, tickets and more. The search functions are easy to use and just using this site can help save money on summer travel.

2. Kayak is another site that compares prices for over 100 travel sites giving you easy access to travel savings. You can also use their Baggage Fee Comparison Chart here, to find out how much each airline is charging for baggage.

Rent a Home or Swap Your Home for Summer Travel Savings

3. Renting a vacation home can often accomodate large groups easily. Think about how much money you will save cooking meals instead of dining out three times a day. Three of the largest sites for vacation home rental are VRBO (Vacation Rental by Owner), Homeaway.com, and FlipKey. Search these sites to find a homes, condos, beach rentals and more.

4. Swap your home – you have someone else stay in your home while you stay in theirs. Lovehomeswap.com and HomeExchange.com are two sites that specialize in being your matchmaker.

Additional tips for Summer Travel Savings

5. Maximize your frequent flier miles. You can track and manage all of your award miles with a free site or a free app from AwardWallet. Once you have all of your award miles organized, you can access them for maximum savings. Often just purchasing a magazine or making a small online purchase while logged in to your frequent flier account can extend the expiration of pending airline miles.

6. Find the lowest gas prices along your route with GasBuddy.com. The site is free and they also have a free app. Just plug in your location and find the closest, and cheapest gas prices along with information about restrooms, convenience stores and ATM’s.

Free is the Best Price for Summer Travel Savings!

7. Global Greeter Network provides volunteers who proudly show you their cities at no charge. Typically your tour guide will travel with you for a few hours to show you their city from an insiders perspective. These friendly residents can show you special neighborhoods, restaurants and insider tips all with the goal of making you feel welcome in their city. This is a terrific way to go sightseeing on your vacation plus it is free!

Topic: Summer Travel