Lee Dobbins asked:


Do you love to travel but don’t have the money to take all the trips you want? What if you could cut your travel costs? You might be able to take more vacations or finally visit that special destination you’ve been dreaming of.

Finding travel discounts does take a bit of legwork, but in this age of computers you can do a lot of the legwork right in the comfort of your own home. You can find discounts on airfare, hotels and car rentals at major airline and travel web sites if you want to invest a little bit of time in surfing the web.

But getting discounts on your airfare and hotels aren’t the only way to save on vacations. Here’s seven things that might help you cut costs the next time you take a trip. 1. Shop around for the cheapest flight online either at the airlines website or the big travel sites. Airlines offer discount tickets periodically so you should check their sites often. The big travel sites have specials as well and it can really save some time if you register to receive an email when a discount to your destination comes up. Don’t forget to check these sites often since you never know when a good deal might pop up.

2. Look for web-only discounts offered by hotels and airlines for people who don’t mind making reservations online. You must commit to your reservation but sometimes you can save half the cost with one of these specials.

3. Check on detour flights other than the straight one you’ll most likely get when you inquire. Your total flight prices can be cheaper when you take two flights instead of one. Some people save thousands booking their flights this way.

4. Check out package deals for your dream vacation as you can usually save a bundle and it’s a bit more convenient for you too. Packages that combine airfare and hotel can be had at a steep discount compared to what they cost when paid for separately. Even better, try to get a trio package that combines airfare, hotel and car rental for a really great travel.

5. If you’ll be staying in the same hotel for more than 7 days, call ahead and ask if they have any week long stay discounts. Sometimes you can get a free day or a bit off your overall price.

6. Travel to great vacation places that have a low cost of living – the prices there will tend to be a bit less than other vacation spots. Malaysia and the Philippines are good examples where both have great scenery and tourist spots but prices are reasonable. Make sure there is plenty of English speaking people there unless you enjoy the challenge of communicating with people who do not speak your language.

7. Once you’ve gotten all your travel discounts on hotels and airfare, you can still save some money on your vacation by buying food at the grocery and cooking it yourself instead of eating out for every meal. Restaurants tend to have cheap food that might not be the healthiest so do your wallet and your health a favor by eating in. Of course, you’ll want to make sure to get a hotel room that has refrigeration and allows for cooking too.