Accessorize Your Travels 6.11.11

When you travel light, in order to skip those hefty baggage fees, it’s important that what you pack is completely useful and helps to save room in your carry-on. When I go on a trip, I tend to keep the same things packed in my bag over and over, because I have found that they make my travels easier, more fun and don’t make my carry-on weigh a ton. It’s a lot less painful to get your bag into the overhead if you can actually lift it over your head. Here are 5 must-have travel accessories to make your trips easier.

1. iGo goes everywhere I do. This multi-charging device is awesome. You get a wall charger and buy interchangeable tips for each electronic device you own. Leave all your adapters at home and just take one. You won’t have a big jumbled mess of cords when you get to your destination that way. And if you want to plug more than one thing in to charge at a time, iGo offers a splitter and you can charge two at once. 

 

2. Pack less and do laundry. I carry a laundry line on every vacation I go on. Since I try to bring as few clothes as I can get away with, sometimes you have to do a bit of laundry. Do a quick wash in the sink, wring them out and hang them up overnight. If you’ve brought quick-drying items, this should be more than enough time to be able to wear them again the next day.

3. Healthy Back Bag saves your back and carries all your stuff. The Healthy Back Bag from Ameribag has been an amazing find for me and my travels. It has an ergonomic design that fits your body, a wide, adjustable padded strap and a hidden zipper to deter thieves. These bags come in so many sizes, colors and fabrics that there’s really one for everybody. The bags are water-resistant and have a big interior compartment with many pockets that can separate your stuff and a nice pocket outside to hold a water bottle. Aside from their capacity to hold sweaters and snacks and magazines, the shape totally helps relieve your shoulder and back of the usual pain that can come from carrying a purse or backpack on long travel days.

4. Stay dry with a packable rain jacket. I used to carry an umbrella everywhere I went, but it was such a pain to drag it around everywhere or I would forget it when I ended up needing it and it just took up space in my travel bag. Packable rain jackets pack into their own pocket and take up minimal space. Throw it in your day bag and it weighs almost nothing. When it rains, it covers you up and keeps your hands free, unlike an umbrella. Plus, if it’s a bit chilly, you can use it as a regular jacket even when it’s not raining. Win-win.

  

5. Find your way with a compass. Yes, this seems totally old school, but you’d be surprised how handy a compass can be, especially in cities where you know on the map which direction you’re headed, but are totally clueless which direction you’re actually pointing. This is really helpful in cities that have big open spaces, like London. If you want to go high-tech, you can always get a digital compass, which can also help you navigate back to an original starting point.

With just a few items thrown in your bag, there are many more that you can eliminate from your original packing list. It’s always great to be able to lighten your load, as it frees up your bag for other necessities, makes it easier to tote around and gives you room for all those souvenirs you plan to buy. 

We're celebrating 100 blog subscribers! Help me out by subscribing, too, and you could win a fantastic Summer Road Trip bundle worth over $150! The package includes a fun travel game, a packable tote bag, sunscreen, UV SunSense wristbands, $100 dining card, $25 hotel card and some other surprise items. Once we reach 150 subscribers a winner will be chosen. Enter here! Get extra entries by getting your friends to enter as well!   

Don't forget to join me on the awesome new Savvy Living Community sponsored by Ebates. Not only will you learn how to save money by better utilizing Ebates, but you will also be able to read Savvy blog posts and join in discussions and live chats with Savvy Leaders (like me!) to learn how to save money on all aspects of your life. With 19 bloggers who are experts on everything from travel to family life, you're sure to learn a lot of new information, find some great new blogs and even make some friends along the way. Join Ebates.

Are you in the Portland area or planning on traveling here? Well, I've been chosen as a Budget Travel Examiner for Portland on Examiner.com, where I will be posting deals and cool stuff to do in the area on a budget several times a week. Make sure you subscribe to my articles. Not only will you get some great ideas on stuff to do in Portland and the surrounding areas (including day trips), but you'll also save money and help me out by expanding my readership - which will boost my income a bit, too. Thanks for your help and I hope you enjoy my articles.

Summer Road-Tripping 6.8.11

With gas prices going up and up, it’s often a struggle to decide whether it’s cheaper to drive or fly. If you have a travel group of 4 or more, it’s often much less expensive to drive to your destination if you have time and it’s not that far away.  Calculating the number of times you’ll need to fill up the tank, eat and stay overnight somewhere is a good way to start, because if you have to travel for 3 days there and back and it’s going to cost your family of 4 $1200, it’s not worth the time and effort. You’re losing a week in transit when you could have been there in 6 hours or less and everyone will already be cranky and sick of each other by the time you get where you’re going.

If a road trip is within your budget and sounds like a rousing good time, then by all means, start planning it out and packing up your car.  There are many benefits to a good road trip and a few downsides, but that seems to be with anything. Let’s look at the benefits first, because those are the most fun:

Family togetherness – With school, sports, friends and work, you are lucky to see your kids at dinnertime. Reconnect with everyone while you have them trapped in the car for hours at a time. Play games, listen to music, talk about what you’re most looking forward to (or what you loved the most, if you’re on your way home) and plan out what you will do when you get to your destination (if you haven’t completed you itinerary yet).

You can bring your own food – Sure, you can bring your own food on the plane, but you can’t take an entire cooler full of sandwich fixings, sodas, fruit and potato salad. When you drive you can bring all that and more. It can feed you for many meals and allow for snacks without stopping every 5 minutes.

You can bring the dog – Yes, you can bring your dog on the plane with you, but at a price to both the dog and your wallet. Your dog is probably already used to riding in the car, so it’ll be less stress on everyone and you can share your vacation fun with your four-legged child(ren).

2 or 7 can travel for the same price – This is one of the biggest plusses. No matter how many people can fit in your car or minivan, it’s not going to cost you more gas to carry them. You will fill up the same amount whether there are two of you or a bunch of you.

More legroom – If you’re among the majority, your car has more legroom than your average airplane seat. If you get cramped, you can stop at a rest area and run around and use a regular size bathroom stall. Stretch your legs, eat a sandwich and then get back in the car and be on your way.

See many things along the way – Some people aren’t into stopping when they’re on the road, but I say that’s most of the fun! Buy AAA guides and search the Internet before you leave for funky and odd things along your route. You can stop at something you never would have before, like the Oregon Vortex. Maybe it’s hokey, but it can be entertaining and also get you out of the car for a bit.

No “peak” travel days – Aside from everyone trying to drive somewhere during rush hour and all day on Saturday, you won’t have to pay MORE to road trip when you want to. You might get suck in some traffic, especially if you’re driving in/through a big city, but that’s to be expected.

Pack as much as you want – As long as it fits in your car, you can take it. No one is going to tell you that your bag is overweight and slap you with a heavy fee. If you are traveling with strollers, car seats, camping equipment or golf clubs, this is awesome. If your little one refuses to go anywhere without their own pillow or blanket, you don’t have to say there’s no space. You only have to pack light if you want to.

Can stay in campgrounds or hotels – When you drive, you have the choice of where you stay. If a hotel seems like too much, you can bring a tent and stop at a campground. There’s a big difference in price here. Usually they charge around $12-15 per car at a campground. If you multiply that by the number of days you’re traveling and compare it to spending $50+ per night on a hotel, it’s a big savings. Of course, if you’re like me, after a long day on the road, I want to sleep in a bed. Pick up those coupon books at rest stops and roadside diners and find deals on lodgings along your way.

Bring your own car or rent one – If your car is in good shape, you can save even more money by traveling it in. If it’s not, you have the option to rent a car or a bigger car if it would be more comfortable for everyone traveling. This is still a huge savings over airfare.

You have a car at your destination – You don’t have to rent a car at your destination or take public transportation if you don’t want, because you already have a car to get around town. Convenient!

Family togetherness – While this can be a plus, too much togetherness can be a bad thing. If your kids are fighting the whole way or your driver doesn’t like to stop for directions when lost you may NOT have a very good time. At that point, you want to leave everyone on the side of the road and go without them. Bring your GPS, pack some chocolates, handheld games and DVDs and when everyone has just about had it with each other, let them all do their own thing for a while.

Parking fees – When you drive, you can sometimes incur parking fees, both at hotels and activities. Sometimes they are nominal and still beat public transportation costs, but other times they are outrageous.

Takes longer to get there – You “waste” a lot of time driving to your destination if you have to spend days to get there. It’s time you could have spent having a good time there already if you’d flown.

Rental fees – If you have to rent a car, the rates can be a little steep, since the larger the car, the more you pay. A compact car is always going to be less expensive than a sedan or a minivan. You have to decide if it’s worth the cost, especially if you don’t want to drive your own car.

Gas prices – Gas prices are nearing $4 per gallon in some places and in others it’s even higher. You may want to check online to see what the average cost per gallon is along your route to make sure you’re actually saving money.

If you decide to go for it and take that road trip you’ve been talking about and plan to stop at hotels along the way, make sure you check in advance if there are any conventions or festivals happening along your way, as this can really throw a wrench in your plans if you were just assuming you could find a place to stay while you were driving. This happened to us on a few trips and we didn’t have reservations and had to drive quite a long way to find a vacancy or we had to sleep in our car in a campground. It’s better to be prepared than not. Don’t forget, campgrounds can fill up, too, especially during the weekend. Many will let you book ahead of time.

Do you have other great tips to add to these? Let everyone know by either posting here or by joining the discussion in the Savvy Living Community right HERE! 

Let Shereen Travels Cheap help you out on your Summer road trip with this awesome giveaway that will save you money on dining and hotel, and includes some other useful items to keep you sane and sun protected. It’s worth over $150! All you have to do is subscribe to this blog and fill out the form with your name and email. If you’re a Facebook fan or Twitter follow, you are eligible for bonus entries! Good luck and thank you for making this blog successful!

New Deals & Cool Stuff 6.4.11

Today, I'm taking the day off to play in the sun with my husband and dog, because it's the 3rd nice day of this whole year and if we have another day out of the 60s anytime soon I'll be shocked. It's also not raining, so you'll have to excuse me for being excited. Today, I thought it might be fun to give you a rundown of the latest and greatest travel deals of the week and tell you about a new opportunity I've taken that you might also enjoy.

Since I've been slacking on the deals of the week lately, I've rounded up all the fantastic deals I've found that you might be able to take advantage of now. 

Travel to Tahiti for less and have a romantic getaway with your sweetie. This package from Pacific Holidays includes 5 nights (2 of which are free) at the InterContinental Tahiti, airfare/hotel transfers, RT air from Los Angeles, daily breakfast and more. You'll get upgraded to a lagoon room, too, all for $1555 per person. 

Want to travel on someone else's dime? Well, I'm sure we all would. The closest thing I could find was $50 off a $100 credit for Southwest Vacations through YipIt. This is only good through tomorrow, though, so order now!

Hilton Family Hotels (which is comprised of Hampton, DoubleTree, Embassy Suites and seven other great names) wants to help you travel within your budget this summer with up to 40% off rates for rooms booked by August 22. You must stay by September 5. 

Not to be outdone, Hyatt Family Hotels wants you to stay for less and do more at your destination with a welcome credit of up to $500 at selected destinations now through December 30. 

If you live in the UK, he's a fantastic getaway: 5-night all-inclusive stay at the Mitsis Serita Beach Hotel in Crete and roundtrip airfare from London Heathrow on Aegean Airlines for just £399 per person. Your stay will include all food and drinks (including alcohol), flight meals, snacks and non-motorized activities (like volleyball, table tennis and peddle boats). If you want to make it a family getaway, extra travelers and/or children can be included at a reduced price.

Do you have a bunch of pictures from vacations that you haven't printed yet? Print them for less with Snapfish. Pay just $10 for 100 4x6 prints through June 6 when you use promo code MEM100PICS. 

Do you like the outdoors and climbing? Win a trip for 2 to Aspen, CO from Marmot including 4 nights in luxurious Hotel Jerome, 1-day guided climb up your choice of 3 peaks and a Marmot 
declime jacket for each of you.

Are you in the Portland area or planning on traveling here? Well, I've been chosen as a Budget Travel Examiner for Portland on Examiner.com, where I will be posting deals and cool stuff to do in the area on a budget several times a week. Make sure you subscribe to my articles. Not only will you get some great ideas on stuff to do in Portland and the surrounding areas (including day trips), but you'll also save money and help me out by expanding my readership - which will boost my income a bit, too. Thanks for your help and I hope you enjoy my articles.


Enjoy the rest of your weekend and I'll come back strong this week with more travel tips and deals to help you save money and go on longer, better trips! If you're a regular reader and haven't yet subscribed to Shereen Travels Cheap, please consider doing so on the right. I'm less than 20 readers away from 100 subscribers (on Google Friend Connect + Networked Blogs) and once we get to that goal, I'll be giving away an awesome Road Trip Gift Pack worth over $130! Only subscribers will be eligible to enter.