Sunset over Pier 60 in Clearwater Beach.
Part of my job description as a Family CEO is to be our family’s travel director. So when we decided to schedule a quick family getaway for early June, I knew I needed to plan something that was fun, relaxing, and affordable as well.
A quick poll of the family determined that a beach vacation was what we wanted. With that in mind, here are four things I did to keep our vacation costs in check.
1. Booked a direct flight.
Our time to get away was short, so I limited our options to places we could get to easily. That meant a direct flight, with no significant driving to do to get to our destination once we had landed.
Eventually, we decided on a direct flight to Tampa, with an easy drive to Clearwater Beach.
2. Flew on Southwest Airlines (no baggage fees).
As it turned out, we had several affordable flight options to Tampa, including Southwest Airlines. I ended up choosing Southwest because of their “bags fly free” policy.
With four travelers, baggage fees add up quickly.
3. Used hotel points to book our hotel.
We are Hilton Honors members and had accumulated quite a few hotel points to use on this trip. We were just a little bit short of what we needed for our stay, but I was able to purchase extra points.
In the end, four nights at a beachfront hotel (Hilton Clearwater Resort) cost us just $200.
We’ve had a great experience with the Hilton Honors program. Using our reward points is easy and Hilton and all of its brands (Doubletree, Embassy Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, etc.) always provide us a variety of options to choose from when we travel.
4. Chose a location with attractions within walking distance.
One of the advantages to staying where we did was that there were many restaurants, stores, and attractions within walking distance. This eliminated the need for a rental car.
Not having to book a rental car not only saved us money, but simplified our travel planning and saved us time as well.
What do you do to save money when you travel?
This post is part of Works for Me Wednesday.
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m most impressed with using the points for your hotel. I’ve gotten a free room a couple of times, but find if I used various chains, it’s tough to build up the points. That and keeping track of all the programs is almost a full time job.
That’s why we stick with Hilton, Barb. As long as it’s one of their properties – which include Doubletree, Embassy Suites, etc. – it all counts. We can also use our points on any of those Hilton properties.
I imagine other major chains would work the same way, although I don’t have experience with any.
I would add using frequent flier miles for the airline tickets too. You can buy breakfast items from the grocery store to avoid the high prices of going out.
Both good suggestions. We don’t fly enough to make airline miles work, but we have friends who travel extensively for business and they almost never pay for their airfare when they travel on vacation.
I second the “keep things close” strategy. Not only does it save money, it saves time and headache. We have 2 little ones and the less moving around we have to do once we get there, the better. One way that we save is by sharing the trip with another couple (family or friends). Lodging and meal costs can usually be cut in half.
Philip, like you, I find that many of the things I do to simplify traveling are also money savers. I try to find the things that will result in both.
Great tip about sharing costs with another family.
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