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Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Budget San Antonio with SAVE

This post brought to you by SAVE . All opinions are 100% mine.

So, you’ve always wanted to go to San Antonio, Texas! Wait, no? You think the tagline “Everything’s bigger in Texas” must also encompass vacation costs? Well, guess again. I’ve been told about this fabulous new website called SAVE. I mean, I like it already just based on the name, but going there, I was bombarded with a whole site full of awesome discounts to help families plan their own affordable San Antonio Vacation Experience. You’re going to love the ease of using the SAVE – San Antonio Vacation Experience website to save on everything from hotels to activities. You can’t find these discounts anywhere else, as they are exclusive to the SAVE program and you can also save huge with Limited Time Offers.

You know how much I enjoy planning trips, so using this fabulous site, I found a whole bunch of things I would do if I were going to take a trip to San Antonio (and, of course, this makes me say “I want to go to there.”)

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Using the Deal Map, I found several hotels that I could fit in my budget, including the Microtel Inn & Suites Airport by Wyndham. I love the Wyndham properties I have stayed at (which have been many) and this one includes a free hot continental breakfast – Woo! DIY Waffles! – free Internet and a BBQ area where I can save some bucks by grilling out. If I get a suite, I can also take advantage of an in-room microwave and mini-fridge. Rates through SAVE run just $59-89 per night. That’s at least a $20 difference from the cheapest rates I found online, which really adds up when staying multiple nights. {{You may want to spend a bit more when it comes to your hotel. With that in mind, you can find them in all price ranges. SAVE partners include: Grand Hyatt San Antonio, Hyatt Regency San Antonio on the Riverwalk, San Antonio Marriott Riverwalk Hotel, Hilton Palacio del Rio, The Westin Riverwalk San Antonio and many more!}}

With my lodging out of the way, I can get down to business. What I want to do when I get there! With so many attractions to choose from – including SeaWorld, Six Flags, Schlitterbahn – it may be hard to narrow down your list to how many days you will be in San Antonio. I decided to plan for a six-day trip and want to save on anything possible.

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  • Day 1 – I have to hit the theme parks, so we’re going to head to Six Flags Fiesta Texas to ride all the thrill rides we can handle. We can use the BOGO coupon and only pay for one of us and spend that second admission fee on food or another activity! That’s a savings of $58.99, which is even better than the deal you can get for purchasing your tickets ahead of time online ($43.99/each or 3+ day advance purchase at $38.99/each)
  • Day 2 – Since the last time I visited San Antonio was when I still needed to hold an adult’s hand to get around, I certainly want to see the sights. We’ll take advantage of the convenience of the hop-on, hop-off trolley and also take $2 off the $19.95 rates thanks to SAVE. Our guide will take us on a relaxing tour of the city, where we will see The Alamo, Tower of Americas, the Mission Trail and River Walk, among other things.
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  • Day 3 – My husband, Eric, loves waterparks and because I’ve heard such great things about the one in the Midwest, we are going to pack up our swimsuits and check out Schlitterbahn. It’s full of awesome looking water rides and is also fun to say! Regular entry is $69.97 and SAVE gets you $2 off up to 5 admissions. {{If you are looking to go way more budget, do Splashtown instead, where you can save $7 off their much more affordable $29.99 admission prices.}}
  • Day 4 – I love a good creepy and weird museum, so Eric and I are going to get a $1 off coupon to visit Ripley’s Believe it or Not! and Louis Tussaud’s Wax Works Museum, where I might chicken out and freak out at the lifelike celebrities and historical figures. This is a twofer, because there are two museums in one location and only costs one admission price. At $19.95, that’s a pretty good deal, especially with that dollar off.
After we grab lunch, we’re going to head over to the Texas Transportation Museum which houses a train depot, fire trucks, horse carriages, cars, tractors and a full-size train we can ride on! SAVE gets us $1 off admission and we’ll go on a Friday to save even more off regular admission ($5 instead of $8).
  • Day 5 – We’ve decided to learn more about the Texan life and history today by hitting up the Institute of Texan Culture. Through exhibits, stories and live demonstrations, we’ll be brought up to speed on how Texan culture has evolved from its beginning. We’ll also keep $8 in our pockets by using the SAVE buy one get one free coupon.
Our feet our tired so we'll take the rest of the day to relax in our room or hang out by the pool and recharge for the last day of our trip.

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  • Day 6 – We’re going to spend our last day going back to The Alamo and taking a stress-free sightseeing tour that includes a riverboat ride, a visit to the Japanese Sunken Gardens and more cool stuff. At $54.50, it isn’t cheap, but then how can you put a price on seeing some beautiful sites and having a tour guide take you around the city and tell you about the places you visit for a whole day? Well, apparently you can, and it’s $54.50, but with SAVE, you only have to pay $49.50!
If you add it all up, SAVE discounts made our trip so much more affordable! We could have spent $1,202 on our hotel and sightseeing (that’s over $600 per person!), but with all the deals we found, we actually saved $200 overall. Woohoo! If we stayed in a standard room and substituted Splashtown for Schlitterbahn, that easily could have been almost $300 still in our bank account. Imagine how much you could save if you brought your whole family.
There’s still time to plan a summer getaway, so why not check out a city in your own “backyard” and see how SAVE can help you create the perfect budget vacation for you and your family! See for yourself how easy it is to find activities and get discounts on your perfect San Antonio vacation.

You can also follow SAVE on Twitter at @SAVEinSA to keep up with new deals and Limited Time Offers.

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