Europe for Less

If your bucket list includes a trip to Europe, now is the time to make your dream a reality.  A number of reputable European hotels are offering deep discounts just in time for the busy summer travel season.  According to popular travel aggregate sites, such as Expedia and Hotwire, several five-star properties are slashing prices to entice visitors to spend part of the summer across the Pond.  Lodgings in some European cities are going for less than $100 per night. Among the most amazing deals are properties in Berlin, a city that has added more than 3,000 new hotel rooms … Continue reading

The More the Merrier

One way you can save a substantial amount of money on a dream vacation is to travel with another family or gather your friends and escape as a group. Discounts for larger groups are available for lodging, airfare and popular tourist attractions. The trick to making this money saver work for your clan is to select your travel companions carefully. Finding a destination that will appeal to a wide range of age groups can also be challenging. In addition, you have to consider other people’s preferences, as well as safety concerns. Would you feel more comfortable vacationing with your group … Continue reading

Spend Less, See More

Thank goodness for my neighbor. Each year he decks his halls and the rest of his property with thousands of holiday lights. It’s a dazzling display that my family gets to enjoy viewing without having to travel far or pay the outrageously high electric bill. Massive holiday light displays are being erected around the world right now, and the best part is that you don’t have to break the bank in order to soak up the seasonal scenery. Some of the most popular include: California: Newport Beach is home to one of the most unique holiday light displays. The city’s … Continue reading

Get Paid to Share Your Travel Nightmare

Remember the travel nightmare I experienced trying to get from Wisconsin to Hawaii for my beloved grandmother’s funeral? I’ll never forget it. Also, I was never compensated by American Airlines for it. Cough. Cough. Ahem! However, I could still win for losing, and so could you. Thanks to a contest being sponsored by MedjetAssist, you could win a major prize if you have what the company deems “the most engaging and harrowing travel tale.” The more horrific, the better your chances of claiming the grand prize: A free five-night vacation for two at Lost Iguana Resort and Spa in the … Continue reading

Hot Travel Sales

Timing is everything when you’re looking to save money on family vacations. One of the best ways to preserve your bottom line is to travel during the off-season. For example, instead of jetting off to Hawaii during the busy summer months, consider waiting until the kids head back to school. Airfare to the “Aloha State” is typically reduced by 40 percent during September and October. Likewise, if you’ve been dreaming of sailing away on a cruise, now is the time to reel in super savings. For instance, small-ship line Compagnie du Ponant is offering $500 per person discounts on winter … Continue reading

Travel Dollars and Sense

Do you feel like you’ve just won the lottery after scoring a super deal on a flight, hotel room or rental car? Sadly, these days, it seems like you need lady luck or divine intervention to snag a decent deal when traveling. With sky-high gas prices and astronomical airfares, you’re not crazy to think that the deck is stacked against you when it comes to finding deeply discounted rates. Fortunately, there are ways you can stretch your travel dollar without ending up with a pulled muscle, including: Bundling: These package deals combine flight, hotel and rental car fees, so you … Continue reading

Where Will You Spending Memorial Day?

If you are like the majority of Americans, you will be waking up in your own bed on Memorial Day… or on your relative’s couch. According to a new survey, most families won’t be traveling too far from home during the holiday weekend, and of those taking to the skies, rails or highways, less than 40 percent plan to spend the night in hotels, motels or inns. Respondents to Atmosphere Research Group’s online poll say they plan to stay with family or friends rather than forking over money to sleep at a hotel. Others say they plan to stay at … Continue reading

Organizing Travel Scrapbooks

With the busy summer vacation season kicking off in just a few weeks, many scrapbookers are getting into prep mode. After all, travel scrapbooks need just as much planning (if not more) than other themed memory albums. Whether you are traveling to the beach, Disney or the Summer Olympics, you’ll want to make sure you have your ducks in a row in order to craft a stunning scrapbook when you return home. Consider bringing along a small folder or pouch to keep mementos of your trip. For example, if you are planning to take a summer cruise you’ll want to … Continue reading

Prepping for Summer Holiday Travel

Memorial Day is the official kick-off to the busy summer travel season. However, surging gas prices don’t paint a pretty picture for families looking to hit the highway or take to the air to visit grandma while school is out. Fortunately, there are ways to save if you plan on making travel a top priority this summer. According to experts at Travelocity, despite insanely high fuel prices you can still find a decent deal on domestic flights if you book early. And by early experts mean now. The online agency claims that you can score reduced rates on airline fares … Continue reading

Holidays, Travel, and Family Expectations

Holidays can be tricky for anyone, in any family situation. Married couples without kids, however, face a special conundrum: with whom to spend the day(s)? Again, this can be tough for anyone, but childless marrieds face a particular pressure: you don’t have kids, so it falls to you to drive sometimes long distances to attend the family get-together. Of course that returns us to the initial question: with whose family do we spend the holidays? We pick one side of the family for Thanksgiving and the other for Easter, because Jon’s parents and my parents live far enough away from … Continue reading