If you haven’t made vacation plans for this Summer or Fall, it’s not too late!
Never fear, we’re here to help.
Whether you choose to travel locally or abroad, our tips, tricks and hot list of apps and sites are sure to make planning a snap!
Consider an Overseas Trip in 2016
- If you’ve opted to vacation stateside in past years based on the expense of international travel, 2016 is the year to branch out on a new adventure!
- Foreign travel is more of a bargain this year due to the current strength of the dollar. Travel and Leisure has rounded up the Top 10 international destinations where you can get the most bang for your U.S. buck.
- If you’re considering a trip to Canada, where the dollar currently stretches further than previous years, Lake Louise near Banff is a top pick! This absolutely breath taking destination is a gem and makes for a lovely vacation experience. If you’ve never been there and Canada is of interest, I highly recommend Banff!
Apps to Make Travel a Snap
The following apps will help you keep track of flights, hotel bookings, plan your itinerary, and even share your travel plans among family and friends.
- Tripit – keeps all your flights and hotel bookings organized in one place.
- Tripomatic – helps you plan your time in any given city with a mapping feature showing attractions with hours of operation.
- WorldMate – This app is offers mobile flight check-in, maps, and real time flight status in addition to other features similar to Tripit and Tripomatic.
- Pineapple – This app allows you to research travel ideas and add them to your notebook, kind of like a travel version of pinterest. Then you can share your ideas and discuss them with friends and travel companions to narrow your ideas. Once you’ve decided on your plans you can add your choices to your itinerary.
- Trip Hobo – similar to Pineapple, TripHobo also features trip itineraries that others have created which can be customized and adapted to your own preferences.
- RoadTrippers – Similar to the above listed apps, RoadTrippers allows you to select a starting designation and add attractions, hotels, restaurants etc…to your plan and creates a roadmap for your trip. It’s available worldwide but has the most to offer for road trips within the U.S.
- TripAdvisor – Offering over 225 million reviews, TripAdvisor is great for discovering where others have had a successful experience. You can also find deals on flights and hotels along with recommended attractions.
Look for your app of choice on Google Play, iTunes, Windows Phone Store or BlackBerry App World.
SAVE ON AIRFARE
Use Economical Airlines
- If you’re considering a trip to Europe or even the Caribbean, check out Norwegian Air and WOW Air.
- Also try AirAsia, Tiger Air, Ryan Air and Jet Blue which are other budget carriers. You won’t get any perks with these airlines but it does make airfare more economical.
Be Flexible
- If you’re willing and able to be flexible by changing your schedule by a day or using a nearby alternate airport, you can sometimes save hundreds of dollars. You can benefit by looking for flights between 5am and 7am
- The experts recommend the best fares by booking on Sundays. Also try for flights between 5 and 7 am or after 8 pm, when fares are typically cheaper.
- Great times to travel that allow you to take advantage of more economical rates are the first two weeks of June before school gets out for families with kids and the last two weeks of August when many families are staying home as most schools are starting back up in late August.
Try Flight Search Sites/Apps
- The Flight Deal, Airfare Watchdog, Holiday Pirates, Momondo, and SkyScanner. You can download an app for most of these sites which even offer alerts when prices drop for flights to your preferred destination.
- Momondo doesn’t use cookies so the prices won’t go up when you go back based on previous searches. These types of sites typically offer an app as well available on your phone/device through iTunes or GooglePlay.
- Be sure to avoid “basic fares” from American and Delta which don’t let you choose a seat and offer no options to change a ticket.
SAVE ON LODGING
Use A Hotel Booking Site
- Use search engines such as: Priceline, Expedia, Travel Pony, Agoda (for Asia) and Tingo (“which searches a ton of sites at once”, Kayak, Trivago, booking.com and The Bidding Traveler.
- I’ve found that when I call a hotel I’ve found on a discount site, the company will often match the deal because they avoid sharing percentage with the booking site. Calling also allows you to get more personal service by asking about the specific room location options.
Try A Discount Cruise – Vacations to Go is a great resource for cruises on every line you can imagine for incredible discounts up to 80% of retail prices. The nice thing about a cruise is that most of them are all inclusive and can allow you to visit multiple ports on your vacation.
Use Alternate Lodging
You can save a ton on lodging by renting an apartment, home, or guest cottage through sites like:
- AirBnB
- WIMDU
- VRBO (Vacation Rentals by Owner)
- Roomorama
- Homeaway
Most of these sites also provide an app you can download on your device or phone.
Consider Camping or Glamping
Have a unique experience anywhere in the world by staying in unusual accommodations such as a tree house, a yurt, a safari tent, or a tipi.
Head on over to GlampingHub.com to discover a vast array of adventurous options!
What kind of destinations are you looking into for Summer and/or Fall?
We hope you find these tools and recommendations helpful.
Happy travels!
