|
|
|
Beach Breaks - The Quick Tan Top Up
When most British holidaymakers think of a weekend break abroad, they tend to think of a city break. Indeed, city breaks have rapidly become one of the most popular short holiday choices for the British public. Cities such as Amsterdam, Paris and...
Booking Holidays Online - Cheaper than Travel Agents?
Booking Holidays Online - Cheaper than Travel Agents? by Keith
Barrett
The way in which many of us book holidays has changed
dramatically in recent years. Ten years ago many of us would
have relied on our local travel agents to find us a...
Find best deals on cheap hotels and flight in Milan at My Milan
Flights to Milan, hotels in Milan, Bargain holidays, cheap flights, hotels, city breaks and last minute package holidays departing from the UK,mymilan.co.uk About the Author
web...
Florida Vacation Villas
Florida Vacation Villas Ah! Dreaming of staying in Florida vacation villas, while the snow is flying and the wind is kicking up outside your window? Who wouldn’t like to make a quick escape to balmy, sunny Florida? No waking up to dark days with...
Jet Lag - Coping on arrival at your destination
With the best preparation in the world before leaving home, and having taken a few simple precautions during your flight, you will inevitably suffer the effects of jet lag, unless you also continue your "no jet lag" plan once you arrive at your...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Traveling on a Budget? Try These Money-Saving Vacation Ideas
If your spirit of adventure is larger than your travel budget, these money-saving tips might just put your next vacation within reach.
1. Swap homes with other vacationers
If you prefer to mingle with the locals rather than other tourists, look into a home exchange vacation. One couple spent their eight-week honeymoon touring Europe without ever staying in a hotel; instead, they stayed in private homes while their European hosts stayed in their New York City apartment. Sound risky? Maybe—but tens of thousands of people have exchanged homes since the 1950s. For an annual membership fee (usually around $50), home exchange clubs help members arrange exchanges, as well as offering tips to make the exchange go smoothly. According to ExchangeHomes.com, a home exchange can cut travel costs by as much as half. More importantly, though, a home exchange vacation makes it possible for you to live like the locals, and perhaps make some life-long friends.
2. Rely on the hospitality of others
In a slight twist on the home exchange idea, look into joining a hospitality club that will hook you up with people willing to host you on your next vacation. The largest hospitality club has more than 23,000 members in 148 countries. Membership is usually free, although members are asked to provide hospitality to others (on a voluntary basis) in return sometime in the future. In addition to saving money, staying with others is a great way to meet locals who can give an insider’s perspective on your destination.
3. Stay in a monastery or convent
Monasteries and convents have a long tradition of providing hospitality to travelers. Aside from being a lot more interesting (and affordable) than the local Holiday Inn, a monastery can be a great place to explore your spiritual landscape. Many monasteries and convents ask for a donation of $40 to $80 per night; others only ask for a free-will offering. In addition to simple accommodations, monasteries and convents often offer their guests simple meals as well as opportunities to participate in daily prayer and work. Reservations may be required in advance. You can research this vacation idea by looking up individual monasteries or convents online. Or get a guidebook such as “Europe's Monastery and Convent Guesthouses: A Pilgrim's Travel Guide” or “Sanctuaries: The Complete United States: A Guide to Lodgings in Monasteries, Abbeys, and Retreats.”
4. Win a free vacation
Nothing in life is free, the old adage goes, but the vacations many companies are giving
away as part of promotional sweepstakes and contests come close. True, the odds of winning a free vacation are remote, but if you’ve ever played the lottery, you may as well spend a few minutes searching the web for “vacation contest” and related terms. The only cost of entering will probably be the time it takes to fill out online entry forms. (Be forewarned, though, that providing your e-mail address virtually guarantees unsolicited e-mail in the future.)
5. Sleep under the stars
Hoping to vacation in Hawaii or the U.S. Virgin Islands? Rather than spending a fortune on hotels or resorts, why not slash the cost of your accommodations by camping on the beach? Both destinations have parks that offer beachside camping for about $20 per night. Camping is an affordable alternative at virtually any destination, in fact. And camping doesn’t necessarily mean “roughing it.” Modern camping equipment can keep you as warm and comfortable as if you were sleeping at home (decent sleeping bags and sleeping pads are a must), and many campgrounds offer conveniences such as showers and running water. Some even rent basic but comfortable cabins.
6. Travel in the off season
It may be obvious to seasoned travelers, but those with less experience may not be aware of how affordable it can be to vacation in the “off season”—basically, any time other than when most people travel to your destination. Certain destinations’ accommodation and airfare prices may be slashed by 30 percent or more during the off-season compared to the peak travel season.
7. Consider your airline alternatives
When booking airfare online, don’t overlook discount and international airlines—some are not listed on the big travel portal websites, even though they might have a lower fare to your destination. Also be sure to compare rates for alternate airports within a reasonable traveling distance. You might live half an hour from a major airport, but the smaller airport a couple hours away might have substantially lower fares. Check for alternate airports near your destination, too. Finally, be flexible about your arrival and departure dates; the major travel portals all have options to search for the cheapest flights within a range of dates. Any one of these alternatives could potentially save you hundreds of dollars.
About the Author
Jerry Windley-Daoust profiles cheap honeymoon ideas at Creative Honeymoon Ideas, a website featuring off-the-beaten-track honeymoon ideas.
|
|
|
|
|
| Holidays on the Net - Welcome |
| Includes music, graphics, historical information, suggested activities, kids pages, links, and other features for most holidays. |
| www.holidays.net |
|
| Kids Domain - Holidays |
| HOLIDAY FUN with crafts, recipes, printables, games and activity suggestions for your family to enjoy. |
| www.kidsdomain.com |
|
| Earth Calendar |
| Every day is a celebration! The Earth Calendar is an online calendar of holidays and observances around the world. |
| www.earthcalendar.net |
|
| Federal Holidays Calendars from 1997 to 2010 |
| Offers a list of federally-recognized holidays celebrated in the United States. |
| www.opm.gov |
|
| TELETEXT HOLIDAYS : Cheap Flights, Last Minute Deals, Ski Holidays ... |
| Search for package holidays from over 250 tour operators, find last minute charter flights, ski holidays, snow reports, cruises, destination guides and ... |
| www.teletextholidays.co.uk |
|
| Thomson.co.uk - Great Value Holidays from the UK's no.1 Tour Operator |
| Thomson Holidays Online offer cheap package holidays, flights, sun holidays, faraway holidays to exotic destinations, late deals, city breaks, hotel booking ... |
| www.thomson.co.uk |
|
| Holiday - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| 4.1 Holidays traditionally in the winter holiday season ... Public holidays can be either religious, in which case they reflect the dominant religion in a ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
|
| Bargain holidays and cheap flights from Bargainholidays.com |
| Choose from 2 million+ late availability cheap flights and last minute bargain holiday packages departing from the UK. Order online from an ABTA bonded and ... |
| www.bargainholidays.com |
|
| First Choice - Book your dream holiday online - Great value ... |
| Find great value package holidays online with First Choice. Book last-minute holidays, all inclusive holidays, family holidays and villa holidays. |
| www.firstchoice.co.uk |
|
| Holidays Around the World for K-12 |
| Holiday Internet links for US and international holidays, religious holidays, and a holiday calendar for K-12. |
| falcon.jmu.edu |
|
| Holidays - cheap holidays, bargain holidays and bank holiday deals ... |
| Book your cheap holidays and bargain bank holidays at lastminute.com. |
| www.lastminute.com |
|
| Cheap holidays and package holiday discounts - Holiday.co.uk |
| Cheap Holidays and package deals from all the major UK tour operators including Airtours, Argo, Avro, Balkan, Club 18-30, Cosmos, Crystal, First Choice, ... |
| www.holiday.co.uk |
|
| Virgin Holidays |
| Tour operator offering holidays to mainland USA, the Caribbean, the Far East, South Africa and Mauritius as well as a ski programme in California and New ... |
| www.virginholidays.co.uk |
|
| Saga Holidays, Travel Insurance, Short Breaks, Vacations, cruises |
| Specialists in providing travel services to people over 50. Details of river and sea cruises, resort holidays, tours, short breaks, special interest and ... |
| holidays.saga.co.uk |
|
| Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators - Holiday Information |
| A categorized, annotated list of over 2500 sites to help educators, teachers, and parents enhance instruction and support the curriculum. |
| school.discovery.com |
|
| Queensland Holidays - Queensland Holidays |
| Queensland Tourism & Travel Advice - Find accommodation, events & activities as well as special packages & deals - Queensland Holidays. |
| www.queenslandholidays.com.au |
|
| BBC - Holiday |
| Information on worldwide destinations as covered in the series, plus advice and travel information, presenters, message boards and postcards. |
| www.bbc.co.uk |
|
| COSMOS - Package Holidays, All Inclusive Holidays, Self Catering ... |
| Looking for cheap holidays online? COSMOS offer great value deals on package holidays, all inclusive holidays self catering holidays, villa holidays ... |
| www.cosmos.co.uk |
|
| Late Holiday Deals and Discount Holidays at DirectHolidays.co.uk |
| Book late holiday deals online at Direct Holidays - discount breaks to destinations around the world. |
| www.directholidays.co.uk |
|
| Contiki Holidays - Holiday packages for 18 to 35 Year Olds |
| Contiki Holidays offers holiday packages and budget travel tours for 18 - 35 year olds including destinations to Europe and the UK, Asia, Latin America, ... |
| www.contiki.com |
|
|