How To Save Money On Your Romantic Getaway

As someone who hasn't celebrated Valentine's Day since I was a teenager, and even then didn't love it, I say make the holiday whenever you want and skip the crazy prices on the day/weekend/week itself. Take a getaway later in February or even March. Your money will go a bit further and you won't be fighting with a ton of other couples for overpriced "romance packages". 

Here are ways you can get away for less:

Use Groupon for things to do or places to eat

Groupon is an amazing site that offers deals on a wide assortment of things, not least of which is dining. I always set up notifications for my upcoming destinations and have the app on my phone, so I never have to print out a certificate if I don't have to. Dining certificates can be purchased quite often and many times you can grab a half-off gift certificate to a new local restaurant or one just trying to bring in new customers. 

We've used it for city tours, dinners, escape rooms, and even concerts. Sign up at Groupon for the destination of your next vacation (they cover many international locations as well as the United States and you can change your notifications at any time) and eat and go to attractions for less!

Scour Travelzoo's Top 20

Travelzoo has a Top 20 each week that they put out with their best deals, but you can also search for trips and portions of your trip directly on their site for cheaper activities, tours and more!

 

Invest in a city attraction card

If you have a list of must-dos on your list, check the ones offered on the city card of that destination to see how many are offered on that card. You can save up to 55% on a list of attractions and activities when you use GoCards or CityPASS. If they aren't available for either of these cards, because you're going out of the country or just because they aren't, just Google "city card [destination city]" and often you'll find something that works.

Get a vacation rental

Hotels can be expensive and don't give you great privacy or make you feel like you're that far away from others, so I usually opt for a vacation rental. You can find something for any budget and for however you like to travel. We almost always go for Airbnb when we aren't staying in a timeshare and are doing a stay of more than a couple nights. We've stayed in everything from a studio up to a three-bedroom, apartments, homes and even an Airstream trailer, from one night to one week and have been happy with our choices and always felt safe and like locals. 

Pick one splurge meal

If you're on a strict budget, pick a splurge meal and go to affordable restaurants the rest of your trip. If you have a bit more leeway in what you're spending, choose one meal to go big on. I do some research before I go and try to make reservations at restaurants I definitely want to eat at and choose the meal that won't totally break our bank. When we were in Palm Springs, I mostly chose breakfast to reserve and then filled in with more affordable options. If you're on a really tight budget, I recommend using the kitchen in your vacation rental.

Rent someone else's car

I try to use my own car when I can, but I am a big car renter. Rentals have almost always been kind of expensive, but since the pandemic and the rental companies sold off most/all their fleets they have been outrageous pretty much at all destinations now. I have been exclusively using Turo for my rental needs for 4 years now. Cars are owned by individuals and you rent from them through the app. I've had cars dropped off for me and also done contactless pick-up. Both have been great and all the cars we've had have been awesome. Think of it like Airbnb, but for cars.

Sign up for Turo for free (they will ask for your driver license info to do a quick background check on your driving record) and get a $25 credit, + refer a friend and you both get a $25 credit once they travel with Turo.

Hopefully, these tips can help you take an alternative Valentine's Day getaway, or even a regular trip another time of the year. What are your favorite romantic destinations?

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through them, I may be compensated monetarily. Thanks in advance for any purchases you make. It helps me continue to run this blog and bring you my best budget travel tips.

LGBTQ+ Friendly Palm Springs

Queer/gay couples looking for a quick getaway in a very friendly city should absolutely look to Palm Springs, especially if you want a destination that's warm, easy to navigate, and doesn't require a passport or too much time to get to. The city caters to all types of visitors, including the queer community, and I loved it.

I picked up two city brochures with 'best of' lists when I got to town. The first one was specifically for the Palm Springs gay scene and the other one was, too, though, I didn't realize it until I opened it up. It had quite a few things that would be of interest to most people, but the bars, hotels, and nightlife were targeted to the gay community. Both claimed that Palm Springs celebrated Pride everyday, and I could definitely see that while exploring the city.

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A post shared by Shereen Travels Cheap (@srayle) 

If you know me at all or follow me on Instagram, you know I love brunch. Almost every restaurant in Palm Springs that was open for breakfast served brunch, even outside of the weekend, which is rare. Not only can you find a great brunch all over town (I recommend the one at Farm), but I saw a whole list of drag brunches as well. We weren't in town long enough to get in on one of those, but I would love to go to one next time we visit.

The city has it's own Walk of Fame, with stars that had a connection to Palm Springs and I noticed many of them were gay icons, like Elizabeth Taylor, Lynda Carter, and Kathy Griffin, and then famous gays, like Rock Hudson and Ross Matthews. I loved how they celebrated their famous residents and guests this way. It made walking down the street even more interesting.

The city is so colorful and exudes cheer that you can't help but feel happy looking around at all the vibrant colors of buildings, houses, and shops. Trixie Mattel, of Drag Race fame, purchased an older hotel that needed a lot of love with their husband and turned it into the Trixie Motel. The small lodging is bright Barbie pink and welcomes guests to their one-of-a-kind rooms by way of a private entrance and cactus garden. Celebrities, gay and straight, have stayed here, and the late great Leslie Jordan even handpainted lamps in the guest rooms. Though expensive, rates are not entirely out of reach for the regular person to enjoy a secluded getaway here.

A bit down the block and around the corner, you'll find Piazza di Liberace, an old residence of Liberace's when he wasn't living in Vegas while performing. It's now privately owned, but the front of the home is opulent and gorgeous with a mailbox that's a piano. I love that the new owners didn't change this part of the home. Liberace actually owned two other homes in Palm Springs, but this is the only one that still looks as it did when he was alive. Some years, during Modernism Week, this home is opened to the public for architecture tours.

Though small, Palm Springs has it's own dedicated area for gay shopping and nightlife. Arenas Road is an entire block full of fetish-gear, gay bars and more. The title pic at the top is from one of those bars that has a whole mural in front of the many faces of Freddie Mercury from Queen.

Another photo op was this pair of colorful sparkling wings. Even on a week night this street was hopping and I can't blame them. I imagine later it would be even busier. Everyone looked to be having a great time and if you drove down there, the parking was full and we had to park down the block on the street in order to pick up food we ordered around the corner from there. They were cranking out the jams and I'll admit that I danced down the street on my way to get our dinner.

So, if you want a gay-friendly getaway that's not too overwhelming, but also has opportunity to go hiking, skiing, dancing, and more, Palm Springs may be for you. And if you're traveling solo, I believe it's just as easy to navigate, since you know where all the hottest spots are, can stay at all-gay accommodations, and might even meet someone special while you're there.

If you've been to Palm Springs, what did you love most about it?

Everything Eiffel Tower

So, I've been saving some of my Paris trip for this month, because I wanted to get through the holidays, but I also wanted to post for Valentine's Day, since most people think Paris is a very romantic city. I'm not saying I disagree, just that I think any place can be romantic if you're with the right person. This trip saw us visit the Eiffel Tower. This was our third visit, but the first time we did everything.

We saw so many people taking photos in the middle of the street in front of the Eiffel Tower and I just want to say STOP IT. Don't do this. It's dangerous and ridiculous, and there are tons of other places where you can get an amazing photo of you and the tower and you're not in danger of being hit by a car, or just stand on the sidewalk on either side of the road. We took this photo across the bridge and I think it's beautiful with the water behind us. 

Hold on to all your belongings in the crowded platforms and elevators

We didn't buy tickets ahead of our trip, like we would normally do. I did try to book early, but they were sold out for months out, so I decided we'd get up early, head over right as the tower was opening and do our visit that way. We still had to wait about 30 minutes to get in, but that wasn't horrible. You will be going through two security checkpoints, so try not to bring a bunch of stuff with you if you don't have to. 

You don't actually save anything by buying tickets online, and I noticed this time that ticketed and non-ticketed guests merged into the same line at one point, but those with tickets got to bypass the line once it split after the first security point. 

You will go up in a tiny elevator packed with people, so keep this in mind on your visit. I try to bring as little as possible with me and we both wore our masks the whole visit, except for a few photos and while eating.

Behind us is one of the tower's lightning rods

While you don't have to go all the way to the top, I don't see the point of only going halfway up the tower, unless you've already visited and just want to hang out on the second floor where all the food is. The top floor has an inside and and outside portion. Both of them offer a 360-degree view of the city. Inside, look up and you will see how the Eiffel Tower compares to other towers around the world. It can be very windy at the top, so plan accordingly. We were blessed with nice weather. 

You can see quite a lot from the inside and outside platforms, but if you want to see more, pop a coin into one of these gorgeous telescopes. I took some lovely photos through the fencing though. I try not to linger, since I've visited several times before and there are so many people coming out to try to get their own romantic photos and selfies on this iconic landmark. So, I usually pick a spot that isn't crowded to take a break and enjoy the view, then move along the platform until I make it back around.

You'll find a cozy little gift shop at the top. It will always be packed with people. It has cute stuff in it, but I also recommend heading to the bigger shop on the lower floor by the bathrooms. Not only is it bigger, but we actually were able to shop all alone, despite how many people were visiting that day. This bigger shop has higher quality items as well, in case you're looking for gifts to take home. We bought things from both shops and the larger shop was just so much easier to navigate.

Not everything to look at at the top is facing outward. Make sure you take the time to look in the windows so you don't miss this awesome little room. This is an office that Gustav Eiffel designed for meeting important people. You'll see that he maximized the cramped space with a small desk, comfortable chairs and a library wall. It's very cool.

We did something different this time on our visit, which was to take the stairs. Down. We saw people walking, and we decided to check out the stairs between the 3rd floor and the 2nd floor, because the elevators were very busy and it's always nice when we can get extra exercise. We saw quite a few people walking up the stairs while we were going down. I wouldn't suggest doing this unless you are in top shape, because if you change your mind, there's no way to bail. You just live on those stairs now. Going down felt like forever and I saw people out of breath coming up when we were over halfway down and I wanted to tell them there were So. Many. Stairs. to go. Just keep that in mind if you think that walking up will be a fun time.

       

The second floor is full of interesting things, the least of which is this "glass floor". You can see through it if you look at an angle, but because it has this dotted safety glass, it doesn't really allow you the cool experience it could have. I thought it was funny though, so I took a bunch of photos of our feet.

This floor also has a step down where you can walk around the platform on the outside for (slightly less high) views of the city. Parts were being refurbished, so we couldn't walk along all of it, but if you hate crowds, this is a nicer experience of the tower. 

If you want to eat on the Eiffel Tower, there are a few options. I wanted to eat at Madame Brasserie, but the main dining room is very expensive. If you're lucky, you can get into the café. I wasn't optimistic, because it's first-come first-served, but there wasn't really anyone there right after opening and we were able to get a lovely table, with an amazing view, and get to dive into a French breakfast. (Eric was ecstatic.)

The inside of Madame Brasserie is so plush and feels like you're dining in the 1940s. The menu is small for breakfast, but what you get is excellent.

Our French breakfast consisted of coffee, juice, croissant, and baguette. Usually, you only have the choice of orange juice for this breakfast, but Madame Brasserie had two other selections, including apple juice. I was real skeptical by the color of it when it showed up, but this might be the best apple juice I've ever had.

Your breakfast comes with a selection of personal jams, honey, and real butter. So delicious! I don't know why I always forget how good this combo is when I get home. 

After you're disappointed by the glass floor, go check out the view from the overlook in the middle of the floor and you can see the same thing, but, you know, see it. This is a great catwalk and there were very few people walking around when we were there.

There's a grab-and-go food shop here and outside there's a bar that sells snacky foods, like big pretzels, and there's tons of seating. The view here is also lovely. This might be a great place for a romantic drink date if you don't want to spring for Madame Brasserie and can't get a seat in the café. 

If you visit with little ones, grab a free passport for them and let them do educational activities around the tower. They can learn more about things like architecture while having fun. You'll see these little peeps around that correspond with things in their passport.

We took a second to be nerds and take pictures in the kid back drops. Here's Eric rollerskating down the tower, I guess. It wasn't meant for us (clearly, because we were both way too tall and had to crouch), but we still love a good photo op, so we did it. We're fun like that.

Make sure not to rush through your visit and read the visitor guide. You don't want to miss anything. We didn't see half of these things on our last trips. It's possible some of it is new since 2013, but I don't know. 

The Eiffel Tower can be excellent for everyone. Whether you're a tourist trying to see all the sights, looking for a romantic experience, or just want to learn more history, it's worth the price of admission in my opinion. We have visited in both the day and the evening. If you'd like to do both, I suggest purchasing tickets in advance for an hour or so before sunset and that way you can experience both on one ticket.

What's a touristy landmark that you can't help but love?