There are lots of factors in play when you plan a vacation - when you will have the funds available, when you can get time off, etc.  So those are decisions that I can't help you with, but I do often get questions about when the best time is to book a vacation.  When people ask me this question, it's because they've already picked their travel dates, and they are looking for the best time to get the lowest prices on their trip.



In terms of hotel rooms, unless you are booking for a "sell off" discount travel site that sells off un-booked rooms, I haven't found a particular time frame offers better deals than others.  Sales and offers can come and go, and there doesn't appear to be a "magic formula" related to how far in advance you book your room. 



Rental properties are a little different than hotel rooms, however, the closer your get to your dates, the more prices tend to come down (not always, but frequently).  The difficulty is, as you get clo…

We've covered accommodations, flights, entertainment, and now I will talk about rental vehicles.  But first, have you missed any of the previous posts in this series?  I will link to the previous posts below so you can catch up on all of the previous tips.



I realize this post will not apply to everyone, but it's an area that if you are planning to rent anyway, you can save some money here.

Many travel points programs allow you to redeem for rental cars.  We did that for the first time this year.   Just as a rough example, when we used Air Miles for a rental van in November 2018, it was roughly 3400 miles plus roughly $100 in taxes and fees.  Pretty close to what you would pay and redeem for a round trip flight from the Atlantic Provinces to Orlando.  If you don't require a van, smaller vehicles were nearly half of that redemption amount.  To also put in perspective the cost - we priced the same rental period, with a minivan, and it would have cost us approximately $750.

If…

I've given you some tips on how to save money on your accommodations (Part 1 - http://www.overtiredmama.com/2019/01/travelling-on-budget-series-part-1.html) and how to save money on your travel (Part 2 - http://www.overtiredmama.com/2019/01/travelling-on-budget-series-part-2.html), so next, we are going to cover "activities" that you may do on your vacation.

This post was a little more difficult to put together, as not everyone is interested in the same types of activities, so hopefully I've covered a wide enough range that you may find some information that would apply to your vacation.


Activities
Amusement Park Tickets
The discounts you can get on amusement park tickets can vary from park-to-park.  That may seem obvious, but, just as an example, it's very rare to get substantial disounts on Walt Disney World tickets.  There are a few exceptions - if you are a resident of Florida, Disney usually offers "Florida Resident Offers" that offer discounts if yo…

Welcome back to "Part 2" of my travelling on a budget series.  If you missed "Part 1", that post covered accommodations, a pretty critical part of any trip, so be sure to check that out (you can link directly to it by clicking here or copying the address: http://www.overtiredmama.com/2019/01/travelling-on-budget-series-part-1.html

In case you didn't read my previous post, a little disclaimer - It's important to have an in depth understanding of your own budget.  It's important not to travel "beyond your means".  So that being said - Understand that in addition to my regular full-time job, I have taken part-time jobs in the past (fitness instructor, paid contributor to blogs, etc) to help us save for vacation.  I am not a financial adviser or any kind of financial professional, but my best recommendation is to go through a budgeting exercise first, before you start planning for vacation.  We revisit our budget every year (sometimes more frequen…

My family and I have been fortunate to be able to travel regularly.  I often get asked about how we can afford to travel.  I'm going to share my money saving tips to help you reach your travel goals.  I have a lot of information to share so this will be a series of posts.  In this, part 1, I will be sharing my tips specific to accommodations - I will follow up with tips on flights, eating on vacation, activities/entertainment, and rental cars.

Before a continue, a little disclaimer - It's important to have an in depth understanding of your own budget.  It's important not to travel "beyond your means".  So that being said - Understand that in addition to my regular full-time job, I have taken part-time jobs in the past (fitness instructor, paid contributor to blogs, etc) to help us save for vacation.  I am not a financial adviser or any kind of financial professional, but my best recommendation is to go through a budgeting exercise first, before you start planning…

Welcome back to you, to me.... to the bots that roam my blog.  I know, I know... another long absence... what's up with that?  I won't get in to all the reasons I needed a break, but we had a break, and now here we are.

I've been browsing some travel websites which has motivated me to get writing again about how to travel on a budget.  Especially since this seems to be the time of year that people make promises to themselves about budgeting.



If you've read this blog before, you know that I am a travel enthusiast.... some would say I'm obsessed (not me... but some... *ahem* my husband *ahem*).  Travel provides opportunities for rest, relaxation, learning and time to bond as a family.  Unfortunately, it also tends to be one of the first things on the chopping block when people are looking to save money.  I think the benefits of travel are numerous, so I'm here to help you find ways to save money so you can travel more often.

I want this blog to be useful to you, …