I love to travel. My dream has always been to work 6 months, travel 6 months, and still have a home base. This tends to be a lot for most people to comprehend and was even difficult for my husband to digest when I first met him. But he is slowly coming around. Although, I have not actualized my travel dreams yet, we have done our fair share of traveling. I really have no complaints. Fortunately, Mathew is a great traveler too; perhaps it’s genetic.
It seems like I have always lived on limited budget and needed to shop for economical ways of traveling to support my habit. As my role as a domestic engineer has evolved, so has my role as a travel coordinator. This is okay as I have several tools in my travel chest, which have grown over the years with internet access. I’ve never been a fan of travel agents, but with the internet there is very little need for them now except if you do not have the time or inclination to coordinate your travel plans. I find that there is always an investment when you travel – whether it be time or money. The more time you invest in research and coordinating the trip, the less money you will spend on the journey itself. But if you do not have the time, you might need to spend more money. Not a hard and fast rule, but it tends to work out that way.
The most important advice I can give you in finding affordable travel arrangements is to do a lot of research and to start early. If possible, start at least 2-3 months, if not more, before you want to travel. This is probably the most valuable advice I can offer. There are many search engines out there nowadays but one of my first and favorites is still Travelocity (my husband prefers Expedia). You can program alerts, so if there is a price change for a desired trip you will receive an email alert. Another thing I like about Travelocity is that the price they give you includes all taxes and fees, so you know the real cost of the flight. When I first started using Travelocity, they were able to get better prices than if you booked directly from the airlines, but this is no longer the case. I know people love Expedia but I have never found their prices could beat Travelocity. I now use Kayak and compare it to Travelocity. Kayak offers more options, allows you to refine your search, and is very user friendly. However, once I find the flights I want, I go directly to the airlines to book it, as it tends to save us a few dollars. Another helpful hint is that, airlines generally release new sales early on Tuesdays, and if other carriers match existing sales, they will do so by the end of business on Tuesday. Therefore, Tuesday is one the best days to start looking for a flight.
Our favorite airline is JetBlue. They have retained some semblance of customer service; where as other airlines have discarded the idea. The seats are comfortable; they have cable TV (which is lovely during long flights) and still offer some free snacks. I love the Blue Chips. One really nice option with JetBlue is that if you book the flight and the price is reduced before you fly, you can call them and they will give you a credit for the difference. You do have to continue to watch fares, which costs time, but it could save you quite a bit of money, especially if you are booking flights for several people.
What do you do to save money on travel? Please share and I will too.