How to Save Money on Summer Vacation

Those who are adept at saving money are also equally opportunistic from a financial perspective.

Saving money can come with smallest of purchase to the large-scale buys, from a bottle of water to buying the home of your dreams, and everything in between, and if you’re accustomed to shopping around, price comparing, online coupon codes and, often overlooked, timing when you buy.

Of the top 10 cities (Orlando at number one, followed by Washington and Charlotte), an estimated 259 million dollars was saved just in coupons alone.^[1]

But what makes certain individuals accustomed to saving money and a fierce acumen for their own bottom line also is to know when to lay off a sale, not to jump at every single percentage discount or weekend sale, too.

Simply put, they buy with purpose, poise, research and savvy to get what they want on their own terms.

Price shopping, thanks to the inception and progression of the world wide web, has become that much easier for the general public. We price shop online, and perhaps compare prices between an online outfit and a brick-and-mortar retailer to get the best price, or we’re more inclined to order online exclusively due to pricing being more competitive and convenience ranking as a perk, if not the utmost importance to some.

A staggering, but albeit not surprising, 96 percent of people shop online, but ultimately might order in person because they can’t touch or feel the product, try it out (49 percent) or are deterred by shipping cost (58 percent of online shoppers).^[2]

Shopping online is almost the equivalent of browsing without being bothered, whether it’s a car purchase, clothes or even a vacation. Once you find what you want, you can either make a buy or ultimately continue to find the best price possible.

One element of shopping for the best deal, aside from online shopping and coupons, both of which are huge draws among the masses, is timing, and when to determine the exact moment you buy.

With the Spring season in full swing, most individuals and families are already eyeing up a summer vacation but aren’t quite sure how to find the best deal, whether that means a hotel, car rental, plane tickets or even a general area they should key on, perhaps a location that is ripe to give major discounts to tourists.

Planning a vacation on a budget or trying to save the most in the preparation and planning of a summer vacation takes into account the online coupon codes, coupons and the online shopping piece, a cavalcade of all the things that make smart money savers so good at it, and often times what separates those who aren’t so good at saving, but rather are too quick to buy without a little patience and knowing exactly where, when and who to shop from in order to secure a summer vacation that isn’t going to turn your savings account into a human sieve.

Here are the ways to save on summer vacation, so you can still enjoy the trip and maybe keep yourself from breaking the bank in the process:

Time Tested: Know when to buy, book and ultimately save

Anyone who has planned a vacation or paid attention to various web sites that offer better rates on flights, hotels, cars, etc., knows that the sales pitch you’ll always hear is that web site A has rooms that a hotel can’t fill or are leftover, and they get a great price as a result. Then web site B says something similar, but they’ll also show you an entire list of other web sites so you can price shop through them (smart, right?).

We’ll get to that business model in a minute, but let’s not forget, too, that when you buy is a savings plan that you can’t ignore.

Let’s take a look at your flight plan, for example.

If you plan to travel domestically, the best time to buy your flight is 54 days before you plan to travel, with the number growing to the 59 to 119 day range if you’re flying internationally for your summer vacation.^[3]

This planning stage allows you to get the best flight possible as far as spending goes.

To get more specific, if you’re flying and you want to book the best possible rate, you should not only keep in mind the time prior to the trip, days wise, but also the day of the week you book your flight.

Studies have shown that booking on a Sunday is the best time of the week to secure your flight plan.^[4] Another popular day of the week is Tuesday, but Sunday, as of the most recent data, trumps all.

Unlike flights, hotels are a little easier, timing wise.

The general rule of thumb is you should be booking a hotel about 30 days before your trip.^[5]

While that might seem a little short of notice, you’ll on average save about 15 percent off if you use this timing technique.

Another tip, one that isn’t always at the forefront due to the ease of booking online as far as hotels go, is to talk to the hotel direction. Novel idea, right?

But often times hotel managers and general managers of these establishments are more inclined to offer special rates and approve what can’t be done or seen online by the consumer.

Yes, sites like Travelocity, Priceline, Orbitz, just to name two, are good at letting your who is offering what, and those can’t be forgotten about, but a good, old-fashioned phone call might do more than you floating aimlessly around the web.

Much like flights, booking hotels is best done at the tail end of the weekend, Sunday specifically.^[6]

Online battleground: Travel sites battle for your business, and you win

From the Travelocity to Priceline, hotel battles are big business for these companies, because they’re always quick to fight for the almighty dollar.

Your almighty dollar.

So the trick to saving money often times is to find the best one, too.

As mentioned earlier, you often can find a great deal by calling the hotel directly, but alas some are so computer savvy and would rather do it from the comfort of their favorite chair or the couch that they want the convenience of booking a hotel online

No problem.

The trick is you’ll want to pick the best possible web site to do just that.

While Priceline, Travelocity and others of that ilk are a one-stop shopping platform for all your vacation booking needs, you’ll want to make sure you avoid cancellation fees or if you would need to change the parameters of your trip or cancel altogether.

One issue you’ll run into is that all booking sites aren’t created equal, and you often are better served to find a site that offers a more expert search engine and really does an admirable job at finding the lowest rates.

Sites like booking.com come to mind simply because they’ll find the most affordable hotels ($200 or less), but also is extremely accurate at its reporting, opting to include fees and taxes with the numbers being quoted, so the honestly factor certainly is there.^[7] They won’t waste your time with pricing that looks impressive but simply isn’t accurate.

Cheap Tickets and Priceline are also the most accomplished and overall best rated sites you’ll find for all your summer vacation booking needs, whether it’s car rentals, hotels or flights.

Like with any travel plans, flexibility is key, too.

Using the holiday travel prototype as an example, and one that also is highly applicable to summertime travel, you can save an average of $249 over the holidays if you shift your flight around and booking details as well by choosing to travel when it’s best to get a better rate.^[8]

Any time you can travel on certain days, stay in hotels on certain days, you’ll save.

Tourist Traps: Don’t forget that saving money also means doing so while on the trip

The phrase “tourist traps” is nothing new.

They’re typically reserved for those sites that you have to see as part of a destination, but often are littered with high costs associated with seeing or visiting them.

While a lot of attention is brought to saving money while booking and planning a summer vacation, you can’t turn your back on saving money while you’re actually on the trip itself.

You’ll want to steer clear of high-priced destinations or “traps” as previously referred to, such as zoos, amusement parks, and things that cost over and above what you’re already investing on the trip.

You’ll want to look closer at free activities and tours, rather than spending $100 an hour to rent a jet ski, walk on the beach at sunset, take guided tours that are complimentary or simply relax and enjoy your down time.

Those considering trips to places like Disney World might be a bit short on cash, with tickets to get into the park around $107 per person.^[9]

Cruise vacations often are popular due to the fact that they have quite a bit of entertainment and some are all-inclusive as part of booking, and you can get rates as low as $50 (although that isn’t ideal) but more so in the $400 to $1400 per person rate.^[10]

All-inclusive trips also are highly welcomed, since overall the initial sticker shock might scare you away but overall you can easily save more on going that route. Adding up a five-night stay in a hotel, plus airfare, activities and meals can cost well over $500 per person, but the average all-inclusive vacation for a family of four is $2,096 versus more than $6,000 if you did each item individually.^[11]

If you’re inclined to skip a summer vacation, so be it.

Maybe that decision is brought upon a shortage of funds or maybe you had a huge, large-scale vacation the year before (think honeymoons, family vacations, etc.) and you’re not in the budgetary state to put forth thousands to go away this year.

Keep in mind, for example, the average cost of a honeymoon is between $4,000 and $5,000, which accounts for between 11 and 14 percent of the total cost of the entire wedding.^[12]

Trips like that are often paid for by parents or wedding gifts are used as a means to splurge, but if you’ve dipped into your own pocket recently for this sort of vacation, you might be inclined to stay in this summer.

If you’re going to follow the saving money tips to have a summer vacation and do so with money and your financial future in mind, that’s ideal. But always keep in mind that not taking a trip is an option, too. Less than four years ago, 62 percent of Americans opted to stay in for summer trips and vacations, opting for the “staycation” instead.^[13]

The trick to saving money on a vacation might be not to have one, but if you’re determined to hit the beach, the open road or fly to paradise, you certainly have that option even if you’re not rolling in the proverbial dough.

You’ll just have to channel your inner savings guru and take a lesson from those who are able to save, spend and have something to show for it once they’ve taken that summer vacation, returned home, dumped the sand and sea out of their shoes and clothes, respectively, without taking a bath money wise.

Keep reading with: Why These After Christmas Sale Items Can't be Ignored