Budget-friendly tips for travelers
By CAROL SOTTILI
The Washington Post
Read on for a tip sheet for how to ferret out the best deals on your own.
1. Check the aggregator sites. Reputable sites that compile travel deals weekly include Smarter Travel (www.smartertravel.com), Travel Zoo (www.travelzoo.com), Independent Traveler (www.independenttraveler.com) and ShermansTravel.com (www.shermanstravel.com). You can sign up to be notified about new offerings by e-mail every week.
2. Register with the so-called big three travel booking sites — Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity — to receive e-mails about deals and special offers that they broker with travel providers.
3. Sign up for airline and hotel loyalty programs. As soon as you do, even if you haven’t earned any miles or points, the companies will send you e-mails notifying you about their special offers. Frequently, you can qualify for the bargain simply by being a member of the program.
4. Check discount tour operators. They frequently offer great deals on air-hotel packages. These include Go-today.com (www.go-today.com), which specializes in Europe, Asia and package deals; Vacation Outlet (www.vacationoutlet.com), top-brand hotels and cruise lines; Fare Deals (www.faredeals.com), general discounts; Apple Vacations (www.applevacations.com), the Caribbean, Bahamas, Mexico and Hawaii; and Vacation Express (www.vacationexpress.com), the Caribbean and Mexico.
5. Check cruise discounters. Companies such as Icruise.com (www.icruise.com) and Cruise Hound (www.thecruisehound.com) have weekly specials, clearance sales and low-price guarantees.
6. Consult a travel agent, especially if you’re interested in an air-hotel package or if you’re considering a resort like Atlantis in the Bahamas, for which companies such as Liberty Travel
(www.libertytravel.com) and American Express Travel (www.americanexpress.com/travel)
frequently offer special deals.
7. Register with sites that notify you about airfare sales to specific destinations. These include Southwest Airlines’ site (www.southwest.com), where you can download software called Ding onto your computer, and Kayak (www.kayak.com), whose Buzz program notifies you about sales via e-mail.
8. Check individual airline sites. Many airlines offer special deals to the destinations they fly to, especially in the offseason. Sign up to receive e-mail notification.
9. Check publications, in print and online, that specialize in discount travel, such as Frommer’s Budget Travel magazine (on newsstands and at www.budgettravelonline.com) and Sherman’s Travel (www.shermanstravel.com).
10. Consider renting vacation lodging directly from owners. Rates are frequently much better than at hotels, and since the properties usually have kitchens, you can save money on meals. Sites include CyberRentals (www.cyberrentals.com) and Vacation Rentals by Owner (www.vrbo.com).
Smart tipWhen considering a package deal --- weather it's from a travel agent, a third-party booking site or a vacation discounter --- always price out the individual components at the source to make sure it is an actual deal.
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