This summer’s soaring gas prices, airfares and hotel rates are making the great American vacation less affordable than it’s been in years. But it doesn’t have to be for you. Here are seven secrets for saving money — and having a sizzling summer vacation — that I discovered while shooting my new TV show, What You Get For The Money: Vacations.
1. Think local. Steer clear of the nation’s gridlocked airports and visit a local attraction — a state park, museum or outdoor festival. You’ll save on gas, and you might have a lot more fun that you think. People are often surprised at what they can find right in their own backyards. Another bonus: you won’t have to wait in a long airport line or need to take out a second mortgage to pay for your tickets.
2. Camp, RV or get a condo. Hotel prices are at record highs. Don’t blow your money on an overpriced room. On “What You Get For The Money: Vacations” two families are featured who saved big money — cutting their lodging costs by 50 percent or more — by staying at a condominium, pitching a tent or driving a recreational vehicle. A little creative thinking stretched their vacation dollar a long way.
3. Don’t follow the crowds. Stay away from summer hotspots, like the beach. Prices will be unaffordable, and the crowds will be unbearable. In the show, we followed families who took a contrarian approach to their vacations, visiting ski resorts during the summer or the beach during the off-season. And it worked. They saved big money.
4. Be a picky eater. Three meals a day in a restaurant can drain your food budget faster than a cheap colander. The savviest travelers choose one meal — usually lunch — to eat at a restaurant. They cook the other two meals in their room or sample some of the less expensive local fare at the market. By skipping and expensive dinner, they avoid the “candlelight premium” (a markup of 30 to 50 percent) on the p.m. menu.
5. Do free stuff. It’s often every bit as good (if not better) than the entertainment you’d pay for. Many of the families featured in “What You Get For The Money: Vacations” spent lots of their getaways doing things that cost absolutely nothing, like hiking through state parks, beachcombing, or visiting a museum on the right day. It’s
little-known fact that most museums have a day when admission is free.
6. Consider a cruise or all-inclusive vacation. Paying one price for everything has its advantages. Booking a tour package, all-inclusive resort stay or a cruise (where all meals are included) can save lots of your hard-earned vacation dollars. Often, the best place to find these bargains is through a trusted travel agent. A competent travel adviser knows how to find these and other excellent bargains.
7. Wait. If you can afford to postpone your vacation until after Labor Day, you’ll be rewarded with lower prices. Holding off on a vacation is a great strategy, especially if you don’t like crowds. In fact, it’s a tactic that works so well, many parents will let their kids skip class to take advantage of the bargains.
✓ Get the latest travel news, tips and commentary from Elliott’s E-Mail, the subversive newsletter from industry gadfly Christopher Elliott. You’ll travel like a pro. Sign up here. It’s free.
Sign up for my 
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
As a travel marketer and resort operator with a family of five and a keen sense of value, I’ve used almost all of these strategies, but I’d always put a large “but” next to the concept of all-inclusive vacations being a bargain.
The perception is certainly that they are a great deal as food (and often drink) is included, but unless you eat and drink and awful lot, are you really getting a bargain ?
My family sure eats a decent quantity, but we barely drink alcohol and we prefer quality to raw quantity in eating, and quality and choice of food is another area where all-inclusives can fall down.
For a Caribbean vacation, why not rent a beachfront condo with a full kitchen in an island where you feel safe and comfortable shopping at a local supermarket. Eat lunch out (agree with that tip!) and BBQ on the beach while sipping a cold local beer.. then tell me you would have saved money at an all-inclusive.
Other tips :
- Plan ahead and use your frequent flyer miles for airline tickets.
- When renting a condo, consider doing a private timeshare rental through BidShares, RedWeek, EBay etc. This summer I am staying at a (private timeshare rental) at a top end resort, paying less than half the cost of two hotel rooms there, but instead getting a fully equipped two bedroom condo, and yes, we’ll eat some meals in.
Keep up the good work, Mr. Elliott !
I appreciate all of the tips except the last: as an elementary public school teacher, it makes me angry enough to spit nails when parents pull their children out for vacation during the school year. Sure, they’re saving money, but look at the message they’re sending their kids: “Education isn’t as important as saving money and going on vacation”. I figure if I can’t blow off my job — teaching your kids — for a week to take a lower-priced vacation, then you shouldn’t be able to, either.
fuel saving is what we need