Sweet Endings – Traveling for Dessert 7.6.11

Book coming soon! Has Shereen Travels Cheap helped you save money through the blog, Facebook or Twitter? Would you like a free book copy? I’m looking for positive quotes for my book cover (or maybe the inside) and need your help! Leave a comment – or use the email me button on the right – with your quote, your first name and your location (city/state or city/country) and if I choose yours as one I use, I’ll contact you to get you a free copy of my book!

So, you all probably know by now how I love eating on vacation. Heck, I love eating at home, too, but on vacation it seems more special and exciting. Plus, there are usually new cuisines that are local to where I’m traveling. And, since calories don’t count on vacation*, I often have dessert. It’s not something you have every day and it can also really end your awesome meal on a high note. It also gives you a chance to try sweets from a different region, which can sometimes be completely different than what you’re used to. Like in London, we had to try sticky toffee pudding and in Ecuador we had the chance to try eucalyptus ice cream. The verdict? Sticky toffee pudding = yummy! Eucalyptus ice cream = oddly soapy tasting. I wouldn’t recommend it.

So, while you don’t always get something super delicious, you can at least say you tried it and have a fun new experience to tell your family and friends (or readers!) about. I like to try something new as much as possible, so when I see something on a menu that I’ve either never tried or never heard of, if it’s not something I would find disgusting, I’ll try it! Of course, sometimes if you can’t particularly read a menu (as in you’re in a foreign land), you might get a surprise, like raw egg on your pizza, but that’s to be expected. Chalk it up to bad luck and order something else if you don’t share or trade with someone else.

Let’s look at some deals and desserts from around the globe!

*Okay, I know this isn’t true, but with all the walking I do on vacation, it should count for something. Coming home weighing the same or a few pounds lighter confirms that I’m at least doing my part to exercise off those extra carbs and sugars.

Thailand

Kao Niaow Ma-Muang – Sweet Sticky Rice with Ripe Mango and Coconut Cream might be something you see in a lot of Thai restaurants. It’s a common dessert and I find that most Thai desserts tend toward the fruity side of the sweet spectrum, making them fairly healthy, but still a fun end to a meal. If you can’t go to Thailand, you can make it yourself.

Take advantage of SniqueAway’s amazing offer to stay a Lebua at State Tower in Bangkok. Room rates start at just $85 per night for a balcony suite, which means you can get a great view of the city and also have a separate bedroom and sitting room. Lebua has the world’s highest al fresco restaurant called Sirocco, plus there’s a beautiful pool (and kid’s pool!), Skybar, a café, fully equipped fitness center, complimentary daily breakfast, free WiFi, shuttle bus service to Saphan Taksin Station and more! It was even used as one of the filming locations for The Hangover Part II. All suites have a kitchenette, in-room Internet access, large floor plans and balconies. So, when you’re not enjoying the cuisine provided on-site or around Bangkok, you can grab some groceries and make a bit of your own cuisine. Book by 7/11.

France

Crepes – This probably isn’t the most popular of the French desserts, but it is one of my favorites and one I found stalls for on many a street corner in Paris. You can get a variety of delectable fillings from strawberries to chocolate, fold it up and eat it while you stroll through the city. Of course, you can also get them in restaurants and enjoy them sitting down. Crepes aren’t hard to make, but they do take practice to master. You don’t need to have a fancy crepe pan like I do though – I can guarantee you it won’t make you a better crepeier! (yes, I made that word up.) Here’s a recipe to get you started.

Get your crepes right from the source and leave the baking to professionals and take on the best part – eating them! TopTable is will get into that fabulous French restaurant or café with 2-for-1 deals and special pricing/menus for reservations made through them. It’s free to sign up and book tables and on top of your discounts, you get points for each reservation you complete, which brings you closer to free dining certificates!

American Airlines has last-minute international getaways on sale. Jump on a plane next weekend and get your travel fix! Book by midnight on July 10 and start your trip between July 12 and July 15, returning by July 20! Make sure you pack your passport!

You’re going to need to plan some stuff to do in between eating crepes, so don’t forget to pick up your Paris Pass before you go. Gain entry into many attractions and museums, such as the Musee Dorsay, Arc de Triomphe, Palace of Versailles and the Louvre. Skip the ticket queues, pay one price for everything on the list and also get a 120 page guidebook and discounts for dining, shopping and transportation.

Mexico

Flan – Not known for their overly sweet desserts, flan is a perfect example of Mexican meal-enders. A soft custard that is topped with caramel. It can be vanilla flavored, but also coconut or fruit is common. The word “flan” actually comes from France and you can find the dessert in many other countries as well. Try your own hand at it with this simple recipe.

American Airlines would like to help you realize your flan-devouring dreams with their all-inclusive resort event. Choose 3-, 4-, or 5-star resorts in Cancun, Puerto Vallarta or Los Cabos from just $461 per person. This includes a flight and 4 night’s lodging. Of course all your food, drinks, entertainment and some activities are also included, so you won’t even have time to worry about being bored! You can even add more nights if you want. Book early for best deal availability.

If you live in Southern California, Hotwire has a 3-night Mexico cruise for 20% off. Cruise to Ensenada from $349 per person.

You can also take advantage of Mexico with CheapCaribbean's all-inclusive packages. 4-nights lodging (with food, beverages, entertainment and more) and RT airfare from $399 per person.

Download a TripLingo language app. Today (7/6) you can get each language app for just $2.99. Regular price is $9.99. TripLingo apps allow you to communicate like a native and get by in all situations when you aren't fluent in a language.

Australia

Lamington Cake – Australia knows how to do dessert! The lamington cake is a vanilla sponge cake filled with jam and rolled in chocolate and coconut. It pretty much has everything in it a dessert can have. Depending on the size, this might be a good one to share with a friend. Make it at home if you’re dying to try it before you get a chance to head to the land down under for the authentic version.

Get $500 off vacation packages with AAVacations. Use promo code SYD500 to save off your trip deal that includes flight and hotel, plus any activities you choose. Sydney packages per couple can start as low as $2,800, which is almost as much as just the airfare would cost you if you booked it separately. Book your package by July 31 and travel now through May 31, 2012 to take advantage of this offer. Hold a koala, dive off the Great Barrier Reef, drive the Australian Wine Trail, see the Sydney Opera House and eat lamington cakes to your heart’s content!

Plan to visit to Melbourne with my budget OneNote! Great money-saving options in the city for one day or MORE. You can also see my blog post on using OneNote for your travel planning.

Greece

Baklava – I love the sticky crunchiness of baklava! Good thing my in-laws are Greek and make this for many occasions. Although filo dough layered with chopped nuts and honey doesn’t sound all that hard to make, and it isn’t, it’s so much better when someone else makes it. Traditionally, it’s made with walnuts, but I’ve also had it made with almonds and it’s just as delicious. If you don’t have a local place to get it or you want a whole batch to yourself, here’s a great recipe.

Budget Travel is offering its readers a fantastic deal on Greece. $700 for a 7-night trip to the Greek Isles. Spend 2 nights at the 4-star Golden Age Hotel in Athens and 5 nights at the 4-star San Marco Hotel on Houlakia Bay in Mykonos. Your package also includes round-trip island transfers, ferry transfers from Athens to Mykonos, Mykonos to Athens flight, daily breakfast, hotel taxes and travel insurance.

It's going to be a book soon! That's right, my book is finally going to be available for you to purchase. This leads me to ask you two things:

• What tips are most useful or interesting to you? Leave a comment on this post to let me know.
• Have I helped you save on a trip? If so, I'm looking for positive comments to use on my cover. Use the "email me" button or leave a comment with praise, your first name and where you live (city and state). If I end up using your awesome comment, I'll contact you for your other details and send you a copy of my book when it comes out! It will also be available on Kindle, if you would rather have that version. 

Want to see your trip photos on my blog?  I can always use great pictures, especially from my readers. Use the email me button on the right to send me a few of your favorites. I'll credit you if I use them! (Make sure you include what or where it is.)

Help me make it to 1,500 Facebook fans and be a winner! I'm giving away travel games for your summer trips. They are fun and help pass the time. Here's what you need to do: "Like" Shereen Travels Cheap (if you haven't already) and enter to win the travel games giveaway. Then, suggest Shereen Travels Cheap to all your Facebook friends and tell them they can enter to win, too. When they enter, they enter your name as the one who referred them and you get another entry for each friend who names you! When we reach 1,500 fans, 2 lucky winners will be chosen via Random.org.

Getting Paid to Book Travel and Shop 7.5.11

I am positive you think that I'm making this up and you can't possibly get paid to do either of these things, but it's totally true! If you haven't heard me talk about Ebates before, you'll want to know about it. If you have, perhaps you'll learn something new today. I never buy or book anything without first checking Ebates. So, what IS Ebates? It's a fantastic - and free! - site that offers you cash back for purchasing from online merchants. If you plan to make a purchase anyway, you might as well get something for being a loyal customer (or even a new customer). 

Here's how it works: Sign up is quick and easy, then you're ready to shop! When you have a hankering to buy something, say, at Sephora, go to Ebates, sign in, click on Sephora and it takes you straight to the main website. You must go through Ebates, so they can track your purchase. At checkout, make sure you use the same email address you used to sign up on Ebates and within a few days, your purchase will show up in your account. You can track your cash back total to see how much you saved and then every quarter, Ebates sends you a Big Fat Check (if you choose that method) or a Big Fat Payment via Paypal. You even get $5 just for signing up! Who else does that? If there are coupon codes available or special sales, Ebates will show them to you, helping you save even MORE!


I like to use my cash back as a travel savings supplement. Each time I make a purchase, I rack up cash and then it gets deposited right to my Paypal account. I use that money to purchase travel stuffs, like Groupons, clothing, tours and more! If I can get more cash back with it, even better! Of course, you can use it for whatever you want. 


Stores you can shop at: Ebates has, literally, hundreds of online merchants you can choose from, including a long list of travel merchants. Just a sampling of those include: TravelSmith, Holiday Inn, Avis, Alaska Airlines, Camping World, Orbitz, Air France, Delta Airlines, HomeAway and even SkyMall! Keep your eyes out for the Daily Double. Each day one awesome merchant offers double cash back on your purchases for the day.

 

Learn to get more from your Ebates membership: How do you do that? Join me, 14 other fantastic bloggers and the rest of Ebates' members on the Savvy Living Community. Not only will you learn to use Ebates to your full advantage, but you can also learn how to live more savvy by saving money on your whole live from travel to your kids' lunches. Community Leaders (like me) are there to answer your questions, get you involved and start informative and fun discussions. Just this week I joined in discussions about Your Summer Goal, Dealing with Pan Handlers on Travels, Shoes Sales and Stockpiling Food. Make friends, save money, have fun and find some great new blogs to follow!

Pull Down On The Shoulder Restraint 7.2.11

It’s summer time, which means summer vacation, warm weather and theme parks for a lot of families. I’ll be honest, I wish I was one of them today instead of being stuck inside at work. I’d love to be on my way to Disney right now to check out the new Star Tours, the Little Mermaid ride and catch the World of Color show at California Adventure. Looks like I will have to wait another year before I get to check them out, but that doesn’t mean you have to. Even if you don’t get to Disney, I bet there are a lot of you planning a theme park trip and hoping to save money on it.

I am a fan of trying to budget a trip like this, but you also have to remember that it’s a theme park and their primary goal is to separate you from your dollars – whether it’s with churros, t-shirts or pictures – and then to make sure you have fun. Sadly, there are some parks that have a huge gap in between the two and need to work a bit on their customer service.  (Ahem! Universal). So, don’t be overly surprised by the amount of things that cost big bucks. Feeding the dolphins will probably cost you $5-10. It’s just the way it is. Plan to cut costs somewhere else and spend money on such things. Kids – and spouses – may understand that you’re on a budget, but it’s a drag when you say no to everything. Pad your budget a little bit and save by bring in your own snacks and drinks. That will make the $4 ice cream cone a little bit bearable. So, what else can you do to not go broke?

Skip the ticket booth - Purchase your tickets through a discounter, like Costco or AAA before you go. Sometimes you can also get a better deal if you purchase through the park’s site ahead of time (and this is true of other attractions as well), like Universal Studios. Any savings is better than no savings and will also allow you to go straight to the entrance gate, saving you time, too. Now you’ve already spent the money, so you don’t have to worry about figuring your tickets in your “budget” once you get there.

Eat breakfast before you go – Food always costs twice as much as you think it should at a theme park. Instead of forking out $12 for 2 bland scrambled eggs, a biscuit and floppy bacon or greasy sausage, grab a bagel before you leave your room or hit up the continental breakfast at your hotel. If you’re lucky and are staying in a place with a kitchen, you can even have a real breakfast before hitting the parks and keep your crew’s tummies full until lunchtime. You can probably buy an entire week’s worth of breakfast stuff for the price of one of those unsatisfying meals at the park.

Get your money’s worth – If you’ll be spending the same amount of money no matter which restaurant you choose on the property, get as much as you can. Pick the buffet or the one that has a show or a character meet and greet. If it’s just a few bucks more, think if it might be worth it to you to continue your theme park experience while you also re-energize and carb-up for more walking.

Stay off-property – I know the Disneyland Hotel is magical place where you feel like a kid again and get treated like a princess. Unless you have a chest full of treasure you can bring with you to pay for it, save money and stay at a nice hotel off-property for about half the cost. You can use some of the money you save to take the bus or shuttle to the park. (Sometimes this isn’t true, like with Disneyland Paris properties. Stay at one of the further out ones that is still Disney owned, but not the “Disneyland Hotel” and you’ll actually save money over other area hotels, plus shuttle service, continental breakfast and park passes are included. As with everything else: compare, compare, compare!)

Buy multi-day passes – If you plan to stay more than 1 day – which, to be honest, you’re going to do unless you live right down the street and have a season pass – you’ll need a multi-day pass. These passes offer you a discount for going more than one day and sometimes, as is the case with Sea World, you can get two days (or more) for the price of one. It’s rare to save 100% on your 2^nd or 3^rd day admission, but again, any discount is a good discount, so why spend the extra money if you don’t have to. Another benefit? You only have one ticket anyone can lose.

Buy souvenirs at the grocery store – If this sounds wacky, believe me that it's a common practice, especially among those with small children. You can save at least half off of souvenirs by going to the local discount store (like Target) or nearby grocery store. Buy everything from stuffed animals to t-shirts. Take them home for family and friends that you promised something to or do a run before you go to the parks and dole them out each day in the mornings or pack them in your day bag to give out during the day. It will save you money and also keep your kids from the 'I wants'. 

Make dining reservations – When possible, make dining reservations if you plan to eat inside the parks. It won't save you any money, but it WILL save you time. If you make your reservations a little bit before actual lunch and dinner times – say, 11:30 and 5:30 – or after regular eating times – say, 1:30 and 8:00 – you won't have to wait for others to finish eating before you can get your table. This also means that when the majority of people are fighting for a table at the dining venues, you'll be zipping right through ride lines!

Bring snacks and drinks – There's nothing worse than spending $12 for a pretzel and a soda, but multiply that by as many people in your travel party and your wallet can be empty by dinner time. Buying some snacks are okay, but not all day everyday. Almost all theme parks allow you to bring your own food and even drinks (in plastic bottles). Even if you plan to eat in the parks, you can bring snacks to supplement sandwiches and wraps bought at window service restaurants. think of how much you can save when you don't have to buy chips or fries or fruit or a drink! You'll also have more control over the things you and your children eat.

Take the bus, shuttle or walk – If you're headed to a theme park that is close to hotels, like Disneyland is, skip the rental car and save parking and rental fees. If you can walk or take public transportation, then do so. Use the money you save to pay for your box of popcorn! 

Use Ebates! – I know you keep hearing this from me, but you can, in fact, purchase Disney gift cards through DisneyStore.com and get cash back, making them 5% off (sometimes more if there's double cash back). If you haven't signed up for Ebates, do it here. This is also a good place to get discounted souvenirs, by shopping the sale and clearance tabs.

Want to know which theme parks are hot right now? See Budget Travel’s 10 Must-Ride Theme Park Attractions. I’m not sure I agree with Flight of the Hippogriff, unless you have little ones that are too young to ride Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. The lines may always be long, but with everything there is to see, it’s definitely worth the wait. (Make sure you take your wallet with you when you leave all your belongings in a locker. You’ll need it to pay the fee when you return. The wait is always longer than the “free” locker time rate.)

It's going to be a book soon! That's right, my book is finally going to be available for you to purchase. This leads me to ask you two things:

• What tips are most useful or interesting to you? Leave a comment on this post to let me know.
• Have I helped you save on a trip? If so, I'm looking for positive comments to use on my cover. Use the "email me" button or leave a comment with praise, your first name and where you live (city and state). If I end up using your awesome comment, I'll contact you for your other details and send you a copy of my book when it comes out! It will also be available on Kindle, if you would rather have that version. 

Don't forget that you can get Shereen Travels Cheap blog on Kindle via Amazon. If you don't have a Kindle, it's okay. You can download the free Kindle Reading App for your web-enabled device, like your iPhone, iPad, Android, netbook, or Blackberry. As soon as a new post is published, you'll get it right away on your device!

Help me make it to 1,500 Facebook fans and be a winner! I'm giving away travel games for your summer trips. They are fun and help pass the time. Here's what you need to do: "Like" Shereen Travels Cheap (if you haven't already) and enter to win the travel games giveaway. Then, suggest Shereen Travels Cheap to all your Facebook friends and tell them they can enter to win, too. When they enter, they enter your name as the one who referred them and you get another entry for each friend who names you! When we reach 1,500 fans, 2 lucky winners will be chosen via Random.org.

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.