By Karen Galarpe
With school out and the Holy Week break coming up, the usual question is, “Where will you be this Holy Week?” Or “What will you do this summer?”
Whether it’s to the beach, the mountains or the city you’re headed for (or staying put in), here are some ways to save money on your vacation as shared by frequent travelers:
1. Book and buy your plane tickets online. You may be able to get better rates online. And if you get the no-frills ticket (no meals, non-refundable, non-rebookable, with no check-in baggage), you will get even better rates. Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines offer special promos for those booking and buying their tickets online early.
2. Make a checklist of all things you need to bring. Don’t forget stuff like camera batteries, cellphone charger, an extra memory card, hat, sunblock, etcetera. These things may cost you more if you buy them at your destination.
3. Research on the places worth visiting in your destination. Plan your itinerary for each day to save on gas or transportation fare. It will also clue you in on where to eat, shop, get a massage, and so on at reasonable prices. Check out places you can get in for free, such as museums and art galleries, parks, etc.
4. Have enough cash with you and bring your credit card as well. It can be a hassle looking for an ATM when you’re in a remote place like the beach. Abroad, you may also get better foreign exchange rates by withdrawing local currency from your bank account using an ATM rather than having your money exchanged at the hotel. A credit card, on the other hand, will make it easier for you to make purchases and settle hotel bills.
5. Stay at a hotel that offers complimentary breakfast and free Internet access. This will save you a lot of pesos.
6. Bring snacks. Buying snacks at convenience stores will cost a lot more. And don’t raid the mini-ref in your hotel room. Good healthy snacks to bring include peanuts, trail mix, crackers, and cereal.
7. Buy pasalubong at the public market, rather than the mall or airport pasalubong counters. You’ll get the freshest stuff at the most affordable prices. In Baguio, strawberries and broccoli are best bought at the public market. In Cebu, head to the palengke for danggit and dried mangoes. Another plus: at public markets, you can bargain and make tawad.
8. Instead of patronizing the tourist-y places, go where the locals go and eat where they eat. Food in places frequented by locals are usually delicious and cheap.
9. Walk more instead of taking public transport. You’ll see more sights, put in some exercise time, and save money with just one effort.
10. Make sure your car is in tiptop condition. A flat tire, a conked engine, and an aircon running low on freon will not only inconvenience you; these will bore a hole in your pocket as well. Before you leave, check that your car is in good condition.
Have a great vacation!
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10 Feedbacks on "Vacationing soon? Ten Tipid tips to make the most out of it"
pats
@ baguio, its cheapest to buy strawberries at the place where you do strawberry picking. the ones at the market are priced around twice or thrice more as high
stanley
Totally disagree with the first tip! Use the internet pricing as a guide. Usually it is better to call the airline office or the tour agents for even better rates. I prefer talking to actual people when booking flights or tour packages because these people know more than what is seen on their internet sites (i.e. some people cancel bookings, new vacation packages, etc …). Hence you will get more info. If there is no additional info from these people and there are no better rates in the internet, then that is the only time you book through their websites.
Tsk tsk tsk… FYI to the author, that is not even an advice, that is the standard approach people do this days. Hence, It cant be a tip!
nina
@Stanley,
Most airlines already eliminated the travel agent’s/agency’s commission so booking with travel agency is 3-5% expensive because of the service charges added to the actual fare. Based on my experience, it is better to book airline tickets online or through some online sites like Travelocity unless you need to arrange your itinerary (such as when traveling to multiple cities). You are right, with travel agents, you can book first and pay later and they can put you on waiting list but for regular flights only. Tickets for budget airlines (i.e cebu pacific) are usually book and pay so buying online is really the way to go.
Personally, I don’t purchase vacation packages. I find it cheaper to make my own travel arrangements. The trade off is you need to spend time to do research (for airline tickets and reasonably priced hotel at good location). You can get real savings if you plan your vacation months ahead and if you book your tickets and hotel early. You can also save money if you travel during off-peak season.
nina
On another note, buying vacation packages and using travel agency/agent for travel arrangements may be convenient for people who are busy and have no time to research. I know people who prefer package tours because they wanted everything arranged for them to avoid hassles. So it’s really a matter of what suits you and your budget.
rayla
stanley, nothing beats the econolight fares of PAL, for 136usd you can book a roundtrip to SG, for 106usd a roundtrip to HK. If u want a package tour you can always go to your favorite travel agency, they will give you the usual package (airport pick, hotel, meals, tours), they will just deduct the airfare. But for the first time travellers I suggest u get a package tour.
mzkukuro
@stanley, a lot of people do go on vacation without going with tour packages. I believe this post is for them. For the first tip, I do believe in it. For example, Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, Emirates do offer better rates when you buy online and when you buy early (say a month earlier). In contrast, Thai Airways is more expensive when you buy online (even if its a month early). So, check online. It only takes a bit of your time but it may well be worth it.
jamie
“Abroad, you may also get better foreign exchange rates by withdrawing local currency from your bank account using an ATM rather than having your money exchanged at the hotel.”
I think you’re forgetting the fact that there’s a fee for overseas atm transactions (e.g. BPI charges $3.5 for every atm withdrawal). So you may end up with the same exchange rate as the hotel’s.
Better scout local money changers, they may have higher exchange rates.
Millionaire Acts
Great tips Karen. I will keep these tips in mind when I will have a vacation.
With these tips, definitely I can enjoy vacation without it being a burden to my finances.
Money Smarts » The best of MoneySmarts and saying goodbye
[...] 10 tipid tips to make the most of your vacation [...]
Car Boy
Some money-saving tips that I find useful personally:
- Plan your vacation for the off season
- When eating out try to avoid the places that obviously cater to tourists
- Hotels are typically more expensive the closer you get to a major attraction. With some searching and a little planning you can find a good balance between price and distance
- Find the most basic insurance without being over-insured
- Avoid buying souvenirs. It’s easy to burn a hole in your pocket on these overpriced goodies that you’ll discard only a few years later.
happy holidays! -Carl
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