Vacations: Budget Travel Tips

Everyone has vacation dreams: to bask in the sun on a picturesque beach, explore forests, climb mountains, roam the streets of a strange city, taste exotic cuisine, make new friends or simply get a much-needed break amid new surroundings. But, in the current financial climate, it’s becoming more difficult to make your dreams come true. House sitting is the solution. By taking a house sitting assignment in the place you want to visit, you can save yourself a great deal of money. House sitting wipes out accommodation expenses completely.

I love budget travel. Maybe it's from watching too many episodes of Europe Through the Backdoor and drinking the Rick Steves Kool-Aid, but I wonder if you'll believe me when I tell you that I wouldn't travel any other way.

With the enormous expense of travel, your travel dollars need to go as far as possible. There are a number of ways to keep travel costs low to allow you more trips and longer stays without straining your budget. Here are 6 tips for getting the best value for your traveling dollar.

Savvy travelers know that if you play your cards right, you can get nearly every vacation expense, from transportation to lodging and food, without shelling out a single penny. Follow these tips for finding free vacation travel perks.

By traveling to popular places when most people don't, you can save on airfare, hotels and meals.

Ever had a vacation hangover? No, I’m not talking about how you took a trip to Cabo and drank waaaay too many umbrella drinks. I’m talking about a vacation DEBT hangover. The best way to take an anti-hangover vacation (at least debt wise anyway) is to save up throughout the year and pay cash. Of course, that means doing things a little differently than most people.

Piggy Bank with Star Fish photo from Shutterstock

In today's economic times, planning a dream vacation may seem like an unaffordable option. Yet, experts point out that the only thing separating the "dream" from "reality" when it comes to a vacation is the right plan. Follow these tips on researching, planning and saving money for the trip of a lifetime.

My old vacation mentality was “I’m gonna splurge, and I’m gonna like it.” Well, that model flipped upside down and crashed with the economy in 2008, so my friends and I decided to test-run a new vacation strategy. We planned and executed Spring Break 2011: “Road trip on a Budget.” Our destination was post-Katrina New Orleans.

Do you feel frazzled and find yourself daydreaming about vacations on the beach, only to watch the dream dash on the rocks because you remember your bank log entries? You need to get away. But how? Here are some great tips to bringing your dreams to reality.

Does the thought of taking a family vacation make your wallet cringe with fear? After arranging transportation and lodgings is there little money left for sightseeing, eating, and purchasing souvenirs? Don't give up on the idea of a family vacation because there are ways to keep them affordable.

Vacation Fund Jar photo from Shutterstock

Whether it's a day's drive for a week at a relative's lake cabin or an around-the-world cruise, everyone would like to have more money to spend on vacation. That little extra cash usually isn't difficult to find. It's probably already in your total vacation budget -- you just need to figure out how to save on some things so you have more to spend on others.

• Travel for Less
  Guylaine Spencer
• 10 Ways to Save on Your Vacation
  Robert W. Belsky
• How to Have a Free Holiday
  Colleen Moulding
• Keeping Family Vacations Affordable
  Gladys Strickland

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