Keeping vacation plans within your budget doesn’t mean you need to cut out anything on your itinerary.
Getting away from work and putting a vacation on the calendar is always an exciting time. However, it’s easy to quickly become disgruntled with the idea when the various costs start adding up. With the average vacation cost for two people reaching over $3,000, it’s become more common to establish a vacation budget prior to leaving. Use the following four tips to help ensure your upcoming vacation doesn’t set you back financially for months.
Tips to Make Your Budget and Vacation Meet
Building a vacation budget doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t stay where you want or do all the activities you had in mind. By using the following tips, you can help your budget and vacation ideas meet in the middle:
1. Look into your credit card rewards
Credit card points can be an excellent strategy for covering travel costs. Many airlines and hotel companies partner with credit card companies and allow for points to be redeemed instead of paying out of pocket. Depending on the location you travel to, there may be a wide selection of partner companies where your points can be redeemed.
For example, Vero Beach is located on a 16-mile stretch of beach paradise and features countless hotels as a result. Using your travel points on a credit card for this purpose can save hundreds to thousands of dollars. Some credit cards allow you to redeem points directly for cash, whereas others will allow you to book lodging or travel directly through their portal.
2. Visit a location in its off-season
An easy way to get a discount on your vacation is to visit during the off-season, with prices dropping as much as 20% in some cases. Assuming you have the freedom to set your vacation outside of normal times during the year, you could save a good amount of money. As examples, visit a beach town outside of popular holiday weekends or choose to have a ski weekend at the beginning or end of winter.
3. Choose activities before reaching your destination
Prices for activities will inevitably be higher if you try to book them at the location, especially if you try to book them through the resort or vacation destination itself. Book your activities online through verified sellers who may offer discounts if you book far enough in advance.
4. Keep an eye out for destination-specific deals
With certain vacation types being far more popular than others, prices will reflect this popularity. As a perspective, 52% of people indicate interest in a beach vacation, making it the most predominant vacation type. Prices will be higher for beach towns or destinations as opposed to other vacations, so consider visiting a relatively new or unheard of beach location. By finding destination-specific deals, you can save thousands of dollars.
Build a vacation to remember
Whether you’re going on vacation by yourself or with friends and family, establishing a budget has become an absolute amidst rising travel costs. Plan your vacation ahead of time to find discounts or deals on hotels, and book your activities before you reach your destination. This will help to cut as many costs as possible so that you can get your dream vacation underway.
