Summertime in Branson 8.16.11

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Hiltons of Branson for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Summertime is almost over, which can be sad for those of us that love the warmer weather, but happy for those with kids and can’t wait for them to go back to school. Maybe you have a little bit of both emotions and aren’t looking forward to digging out your sweaters and boots just yet. What about taking advantage of the last part of summer and early fall with a getaway? If that sounds like the perfect solution, save some money by traveling close to home and checking out Branson, Missouri. It’s like Vegas and Anaheim all rolled into one. There really is something for everyone there.

Hilton Hotels even has some fantastic Branson packages for you to stay on your budget. The Branson Best Value package gives you a 3^rd night for free in the deluxe accommodations at the Hilton Branson Convention Center and all of the following with a minimum of 2 paid nights. Right across from Branson Landing, which has an assortment of restaurants to choose from and unique shopping experiences:

· Legend of Kung Fu – Receive a family 4-pack of tickets to the amazing show that has 60 members and features aerial ballet, acrobatics, Tai Chi and dance.

· Silver Dollar City – Receive a family 4-pack of 2-day tickets to the exciting theme park that is full of roller coasters, restaurants, specialty shops, over 40 live shows and more.

· $25 gift card for shopping

· Level 2 Steakhouse – Receive a $25 food credit to Branson’s newest fine dining restaurant. Located on the 2^nd floor of the Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel. Choose from a large variety of steaks and other delicious food, including duck, pork chops, Ahi tuna and scallops.

    

The Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing is conveniently located on Branson Landing, close to a selection of great restaurants and shopping. The Hilton Promenade features one- and two-bedroom condos, which is perfect for families, as it gives them more room to spread out. With fully-equipped kitchens, save money on dining out all the time by preparing some or most of your meals. Each condo comes complete with an outdoor balcony, private bedrooms and complimentary access to the fitness center, indoor pool, whirlpool, outdoor pool and restaurants at the Hilton Branson Convention Center across the street.

What other cool stuff can you do in Branson? You name it, they have it. From fishing and boating to wine tasting, Branson has it all, including these late summer events:

· This coming Saturday you can run in the Branson Mountain Man Triathlon (USAT) which will include a 450-yard swim in the AquaPlex pool, 20 mile bike ride and a 5K run.

· Southern Gospel Picnic gathers in Silver Dollar City to bring you the sounds of southern gospel music. Hundreds of performances will take place between August 25^th and September 5^th.          

· 23^rd Annual Branson Fiddle Festival kicks off in Historic Downtown Branson August 26-28.

Your family may be interested in shows or museums. These are just some of the wonderful options to choose from.

· Gone With the Wind Book and Film Museum

· Haunted House and Monster Asylum

· Hollywood Wax Museum

· World’s Largest Antique Toy Museum

· Branson Auto Museum

· Butterfly Palace and Rainforest Adventure

· Hank & Patsy, Together Again show

· Hooray for Hollywood show

· Joseph Hall Presents Elvis Rock ‘n Remember Tribute

· Mickey Gilley

Check out the Explore Branson website for more things to do with your family this summer and also see the Hiltons of Branson site for all the package selections available to you.

        

Happy Birthday to Shereen Travels Cheap! 8.13.11

Can you believe it’s already been a whole year since I started this site? I can’t, but then again when I started, I couldn’t imagine having enough to write about regarding budget travel for so long. The blog is super fun and I love to hear what others have to say about what I post and where they have been. In the last year I’ve completed a book, started a newsletter, gotten my blog published on Kindle, gone to some wonderful places, added too many destinations to my travel wish list and met some cool people. My Facebook page and Twitter following have grown and I’m about to be a published author.

This next year I’m looking forward to gaining an even bigger following and traveling to Hawaii, London, France and maybe a few other places I haven’t planned out yet. What else can a girl hope for? Well, let’s all cross my fingers that this book will be successful and maybe pay for a coveted Lulu Guinness bag when I go back to the UK! Okay, that’s not really my only motivation, but it certainly couldn’t hurt any.

  

All my blog asks for on its first birthday is to have all you lovely weekly readers who aren’t subscribed yet to subscribe via email, Google Friend Connect, Networked Blogs or RSS (which you can also get via email if you prefer that to RSS reader). I would also love it if you liked me on Facebook. We have some great conversations over there and it’s an easy place to ask a quick question on something you’ve been wonder, either from me or other page members. I’ve had people ask me about the legitimacy of travel sites, recommendations for hotels and a good place to get a deal on their chosen destination.

What would YOU like to see from Shereen Travels Cheap in the future? More stuff on getting cheap airfare? More beach locations? A different page layout? Let me know and I’ll see what I can do. It makes it more useful for you and easier for me. Leave me a comment! Even if you like it just the way it is, you can just as easily post about how great I am. I’m kidding…but not really. I love comments of all kinds.

Also, if you haven’t noticed, we are open to working with advertising that fits with the page. We are welcoming companies who would like me to review their travel products and/or websites, too! Go here for more info. As you know, I love to plug useful sites and items as much as possible, so go ahead and send an email if you’re interested.

Again, I want to thank all of you for coming and reading my posts every week. I truly enjoy doing it and hope you continue to enjoy reading it. Let’s do a flashback today and you can see the top 5 posts from the past year and read them again or for the very first time! (Or you can ignore them entirely and wait for my next post. I see how it is.)

Creating Your Grab-and-Go Travel Bag 2.5.11

Morocco For Less Cash-o! 4.9.11

Following the Torpedo of Truth 3.23.11

Celebrate Veterans Day By Taking a Vacation 10.20.10

Traveling With Kids and Carry-Ons  4.2.11

Runners Up (should the top 5 not be able to perform their duties):

Combating Your Vacation Rage 11.3.10

Frugal Guatemalan Adventures 5.11.11

The Traveling Vegetarian 1.8.11

Did you know we now have a weekly newsletter?! Ever miss posts because you forget? Well, now you can get a nice little reminder of what’s happening here on the blog and over on Facebook. Find out about giveaways, new posts, useful products and gadgets, my book progress and amazing deals! Sign up here.

Do you have plans to visit Portland or do you live in the area and just want to get out more and still save money? Subscribe to my Examiner feed and get 2-3 great money-saving ideas per week! Not only does it help you find affordable things to do, but it helps me increase my readership and puts a few pennies in my pocket at the same time, which keeps me writing for you guys. (I actually do it for free, but a little compensation for the effort doesn't hurt either.)

Some of my current Examiner articles:

Travel the world on a budget with Portland’s many food carts

Food cart dining is becoming the new 5-star dining experience on-the-go. Quick and delicious food at a fraction of the price. You can find food carts just about everywhere and they can save you tons of money and give you many options, so everyone in your traveling party is happy, full and has enough funds to do more awesome stuff.

BurgundyFest: A celebration of all things Anchorman

If you loved the movie, you’ll love the festival! With Ron Burgundy look-a-like contests, Anchorman Trivia, a jazz flute soloist and awesome 70s tunes, you won’t claim that it was a bad choice to show up.

A summer must: Portland patio dining

Summer in Portland is the time to get out and enjoy yourself. Hit up the Top 10 best outdoor dining restaurants of the city and also get points toward free dining when you make a reservation through OpenTable.

5 travel gadgets great for college dorms

Going back to school, but have dreams to travel the world? Here are 5 gadgets that do double-duty, so you can be successful in school, save room in your already tiny living space and not have to spend your mac & cheese money on gadgets that can come with you around the world.

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.)

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 16 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. 

Group Buying Power For Travel Savings 8.10.11

Anything that can help you travel more cheaply is a good thing in my opinion. An even better thing is something that can help, virtually, anyone save on trips. It’s rare that I find a website that works for just about everyone and also boasts a 50-90% savings on everything they offer, but I have found just that. It’s likely many of you have already found it, too, but didn’t realize how truly useful it is for traveling. I’m talking about Groupon. It’s seriously my favorite daily deal site and I’ve used it at home and away and saved gobs of money. Today is all about the goodness that is Groupon.

For those of you who don’t know what Groupon is, it’s a pretty simple concept: Each day there is a new deal put up from a local company. They can be a salon, tour company, restaurant, yoga studio, shop or any number of other things. They will offer one rockin’ deal for Groupon customers. The discount is always AT LEAST 50% off. They will have a minimum number that need to be purchased for the deal to be valid, which means if you “buy” and they don’t reach the number they need, then your card won’t be charged for your order. If they do reach their desired number of purchases, then everyone who buys that day will get the awesomely discounted whatever they are offering. Groupon means “group coupon”, so that explains why they need more than just one person to take the deal in order for it to help both you and company offering the deal. Companies get their name out to customers, customers try them out and everyone wins!

I have been posting deals on Facebook that I buy via Groupon, but I haven’t really talked too much about it here. I can attest to the money-saving aspect of Groupon on vacation, because this year we are going to Hawaii and we’ve booked all of our entertainment and some dining by using Groupon Honolulu. We’ve purchased 2 tours (one full-day and one half-day) and snorkeling trip that also features an on-deck BBQ. How much have we saved on just those 3 things? Almost $250. We did think about buying a Go Card for our trip, but we will only be there for 7 days, so we know we’ll be doing other activities that are either free or inexpensive on their own: the Dole Plantation, Honolulu Zoo (which would be ½ off if we had a current zoo membership, the beach and the International Marketplace. I love a GoCard, but if I can’t get the full benefit of it, then I would rather not spend the money on it. What do do with the money I saved? Possibly a few extra lava flows are in my future!

Not only are we saving on activities, but when I receive emails from Groupon that include restaurant discounts, I look at where they are located in relation to my lodging and then purchase accordingly, since going out to eat in Hawaii can be relatively expensive. We have a purchased a few certificates for dinners at nearby restaurants and one for Wahoo Fish Tacos for lunch to mix in with our expected trip to both Chili’s and Hard Rock Café (we have neither, so we do look forward to eating at these when we travel), our lunch at the Dole Plantation and then whatever we choose to make ourselves in our included kitchen. Our trip is going to turn out to be much more affordable than we first expected, with the help of Groupon, which will allow us to save even more for our big trip to Europe next fall.

One of the cool things about Groupon – among many – is that it’s not just for the U.S. Nope, it’s available for the U.S. Canada and 40 other countries around the world including Colombia, Uraguay and Singapore. Pretty much anywhere you go, you can purchase Groupons to save you big time on your trip. If I want to do a bike tour in Mexico or get a manicure in Greece, I can do it, providing those things come up as discounts before I go. So, I’ll be watching Groupon UK and France like a hawk after I come back from Hawaii.

And now Groupon has teamed up with Expedia to bring you fantastic(er) deals on travel! With amazing discounts on luxury hotels and accommodations, you can’t afford NOT to travel well while still on a budget. The rates may not be slashed to 90% off, but they will be great and you’ll drool over their gorgeous photos and long to go everywhere all at once.

So, how do you sign up for Groupon? It’s easy and free! In fact, you can use your Facebook account to sign in if you want. Use either your home location or your next vacation destination as the one you wish to get deals for and then look for them in your email. I get updates for Honolulu, but click through to look at my local area as well, and I can change my preferred destination anytime I want.

Use Groupon all over! Use it to save on date night at home, be a tourist in your own city, get pampered or save on everyday things. That’s right, you can purchase BOGO certificates for bowling, 50% off dinner, discounted massages or facials and even save on oil changes for your car. The possibilities are virtually endless. Today I just saw a deal for $10 for $20 worth of organic produce at a nearby farm.

Do you know what’s even cooler? You can get 3% cash back on all your Groupon purchases by using Ebates, too, to make your savings even larger.  Why NOT save as much as possible on everything you do if you can?

So, soon I will be Hawaii-bound with my carry-on, sunglasses and tons of sunscreen where I might just snorkel in the company of some cute little bottle-nosed dolphins and get to see where Jurassic Park was filmed. Would I get to do that without Groupon? Maybe, but surely not at 60% off! How have you used Groupon to save on your travels or around your hometown? Maybe you haven’t tried it yet. Sign up and tell me what you think!