I hadn’t realized that I know a lot of frugal tips for travelling.  Some I learned from going home all the time, some from having a rabid traveller for a roomie.  We share tips all the time.   Recently my mom and grandma visited from Hawaii to New England for $475 including all taxes roundtrip.  That is a fantastic price.  Here on a thread I responded to, I made a few suggestions for how to save money, but decided to post them and include a few more.

First, buy traveller’s insurance.  This sounds stupid and trust me I used to think so as well.  But it’s a good idea when you are going somewhere exotic or a once in lifetime expensive trip. What happens if you get sick before and are unable to go? Or during? Right now my roommate’s mom is ill in Dubai, and thankfully for traveller’s insurance she’s covered for her hospital stay.  He’s the one who turned me onto traveller’s insurance after telling me all the tales of things that have happened to him.  Further research and talking to people, often when you plan a trip say 1 year in advance, it’s very possible that you will get ill or unable to make the trip.

Second, look for rock bottom airline tickets. Do this by not being brand loyal.  Do not always try to fly the same airlines to rack up reward miles.  Often redeeming these miles are hard to use and not worth it. 

Third, have flexiblity when you travel.  Instead of travelling on a Friday/Saturday, being able to leave mid-week will save you hundreds.  Also try travelling during off peak times like March, April, October, September.  Times when people travel less.  Christmas and summer are peak travel times.

Fourth, us www.kayak.com to determine the absolute lowest fare during the time period you’re searching during.  Do a search then look at the chart to see the lowest average fare for the month. This will help you determine what the lowest fare you can hope to nail.  Sign up for fare alerts and be ready to pounce on rock bottom deals. This is how I got a deal for my mom’s visit earlier this month.

Fifth, stay at hotels which have kitchenettes.  This will allow you to eat breakfast and maybe even dinner in the hotel for less money than eating out.  Or rent a condo where you are able to cook.

Sixth, use priceline for a hotel room. Use this site www.biddingfortravel.yuku.com to determine the best price you can get a hotel room for.  This site allows other users to share with others how much they paid for a room over priceline.

Seventh, use the same bidding for travel site for priceline a rental car.  This however might not be the cheapest method.  Another method would be to search online for a coupon for a rental car company.  My roommate has rented a car for 2 weeks for $200 from budget, unlimited miles.  He used a coupon he found online with Budget. 

Eight, use a credit card for your overseas travel.  It will be easier than carrying cash, or using a debit card to secure a hotel room.  The holds from hotels could cause you checks to bounce or not allow you to withdraw money.  Also if your credit card is stolen you are only responsible for $50, instead of potentially losing everything with a debit card.

These tips should help making travelling cheaper.  As I write this, I just won on priceline 2 nights in New York (Manhattan), 4 star hotel (Hilton) in Midtown West area for $120/night.  Fantastic.  The location makes it awesome, at least according to reviews.  I might make DH take me to sex and the city movie opening.  I am thrilled!  And this will coincide with my birthday.