Super Useful Travel Links 6.22.12

Summer is officially upon us and that means ¾ of the country will be traveling somewhere. I don’t make this up – it’s an actual factual statement! That is a good portion of the American public packing up their things and vacationing for several days to several weeks. Of course, that also means that a lot of places – the beach, the mall, the pool, any theme park or water park, museums, zoos – will be overrun with tourists, and even locals. And those places aren't stupid either. They try to suck as much money out of you as possible. The hotels and airlines get in on the action, too. Actually, they might be the start of the action, and the rest follow suit because they know you will pay $22 for a bottle of sunscreen if you forgot yours at home and are already at the beach and probably won’t go back, put on pants and drive to Target to get some at a quarter of the price. Your wallet weeps, the seller cheers and so goes the sounds of summer. In case you need a more realistic description, it’s you going “Gah! $22?!” and then the happy “ching” of the cash register.

Now that you’re frantically scribbling down “sunscreen” at the top of your packing list (with three underlines and an exclamation point), lest you forget it and be an example to others, I am here to bring you some links to things I also find useful or thought-provoking this week. If you still haven’t planned a summer vacation yet, but are dying to go somewhere to spend your hard-earned dollars, here is a good breakdown of where to go this summer to save big and still have fun. (These are suggested by the good folks at HomeAway):

• June – Yes, it’s almost over, but there’s still a week to go and I know there are plenty of travelers planning road trips, so these are still feasible: Yosemite, Phoenix, Santa Monica, Oregon (woot!), Atlanta, Seattle, Santa Cruz, Connecticut, Boston and Great Lakes (Michigan). That’s a lot to choose from with completely different landscapes and things to do.
• July – AAA estimates that cheap gas prices are going to encourage more travelers to get out on the road over Fourth of July. If you want to be among them, check out these affordable destinations: the Jersey Shore, Miami Beach, South Padre Island (Texas), Kennebunkport (Maine), Long Island, Santa Monica, Dayton Beach (Florida), Cape Cod, Hilton Head (South Carolina) and Pebble Beach.
• August – It’s getting hot now, so it’s so much easier to pack lighter on an August trip. Here’s where to save some bucks (and lose some) this month: Carmel, Boston, Las Vegas, San Francisco, New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, Buffalo (New York) and Chesapeake Bay (Maryland).

Speaking of road trips, there are a bunch of apps that can make car travel so much easier. With everyone having a smarty phone nowadays, Techlicious has rounded up their favorites to help you make the most of your time crammed in with your loved ones, from finding cheap gas to finding things to do while you’re on your asphalt adventure. Make sure to remember your car charger!

While you’re driving across this great country of ours, you'll want to pack some food stuffs, because stopping at greasy spoons and fast food joints not only gets old, but it also gets expensive and unhealthy. A good old fashioned road trip should include a big cooler full of eats from home. I like stopping at nice rest areas, national parks or scenic overlooks and busting out my sandwich making skillz. Citibank’s blog also suggests these things.

Have you ever misplaced your cell phone and started freaking out that your “whole life was in there!”? You’re not alone. In fact, according to a study, more people get upset over losing their mobile than they do about losing their wedding ring. On that list are many other techie flip-out moments, like “outlet rage”. How attached are you to your gadgets when you travel? See if you are in the new norm, according to Intel Corp.

Sears wants you to travel more…and also make more money off you. Starting in July, they’ll be offering select vacation packages that you can purchase through their site SearsVacations.com. The catch? You can put your vacation on layaway, make payments and make it more affordable…or think it’s more affordable if you make payments and end up paying more than you can actually afford. This is where you will definitely want to price compare. It’s always better to put away funds and still save money on your trip than pay over time and spend more.

Are you in need of luggage for your next trip? FareCompare wants to make sure you get the right carry-on bag for your needs. I am very picky about my bag and with good reason. I use it, a lot. If I don’t want to look at it and it’s inconvenient (not enough pockets, no compartments, wonky handle height), then I’m not going to get my money’s worth out of it before I start shopping for a new one. Make sure you learn before you buy. Rick Seaney wants to help!

So, have you found anything cool or interesting on the interwebs of late? If so, make sure you link up in the comments!

Join Ebates and Win $100

You read my blog, so I know you like saving money. Not joining and using Ebates is leaving money on the table that you could be keeping in your pocket. It’s super easy to use, too. Sign up for free and log in through Ebates anytime you even think about making a purchase.

There are hundreds of stores available, including many travel sites, that give you cash back just for letting Ebates track your order. Each store offers a set amount of cash back, ranging from 1% to 26%. I’ve gotten 52% once on a Daily Double! Your cash back accumulates in your account and every 3 months they cut you a “big fat check” or send you a “big fat payment” via Paypal. Easy, right? Plus, with your first purchase, you’ll also get $5 deposited into your account or a gift card of your choice. Who else pays you to shop?!

Want more incentives besides free money and discounts on your buys? Ebates shows you all promo/coupon codes available for each merchant on their page and gives you $5 for each friend you refer. I never buy anything or make travel bookings before checking to see if my preferred merchant is listed. So, what are you waiting for? Sign up now!

Now through Wednesday, you can get double cash back at a dozen stores during Health and Beauty Week. You can earn up to 40% back on your purchases. I like to use my big fat payments for my vacations, but what you do with yours is up to you! Get a head start by entering now to win $100 from Ebates. You only need to have a valid account and enter with your email account used to sign up at Ebates.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I’m Going to Disneyland! 6.20.12

Remember to enter our open giveaways: Runnur mini "backpack" | $400 in Paypal cash

It’s true. As a fellow budget traveler, we discovered that the newly imposed airfare taxes on flights to and from London were just too high to make the trip fit into our budget, so we went to Plan B. It’s hard to be disappointed, though, when you’re going to The Happiest Place on Earth. Looking at the numbers, we’d be paying the same thing for a week in Anaheim as we would have for just the taxes and fees on our airline tickets to London. Crazy, right? While we’ve been to Disney World twice since, we haven’t been to Disneyland since 2008. We have missed out on the return of Captain EO (in Anaheim), the brand new Star Tours story, a delicious crepe stand in Downtown Disney, World of Color and, now, Cars Land. Perhaps we waited just long enough, as it appears that renovations are done for quite some time now.

So, this fall will see us traveling back to one of our favorite places and, hopefully, taking part in Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party in a whole new location. This will be our fourth trip to a Disney park in 6 years that has taken place over their Halloween season and will be the third where we will dress up for the party. In celebration of my new travel plans, and knowing that a lot of you will be hitting the parks this summer, I have decided to bring you some of my favorite ways to save money (and time) when visiting theme parks.

Plan ahead – So, the first rule of them park trips is to always have a plan. Go online and find what’s happening on the days you will be there and what rides are open/closed and what restaurants are available to you. Make a list of everything you want to see and do and then make yourself a schedule – or at least a list for how you want to see them all – so you can make sure to hit everything that is important to you. If you can make reservations for shows or dining ahead of time, do it. This will save you time standing around that could be spent doing something else.

I like to find shows or parades I want to do and put them on the list first, with the times they run. Then I make reservations for dining and then plan everything else around those. I have been known to make a schedule so detailed that we know exactly what we are doing at any point during the day and can go from one thing to another without thinking about it first. Sure, it seems militaristic, but we get to everything on our list and usually have time to go back and do things a second, third or fourth time. When we go to California Adventure, we know both Soarin’ and Midway Mania are the “it” attractions, so we get a FastPASS for MM first thing, get on if there isn’t a line, hit Soarin’, then come back. While everyone else is queuing up for those, we are off to something a little less popular.

Another way to go, if you are doing something like Six Flags or Busch Gardens, is to start at the back of the park and work your way to the front. People want instant gratification, so they head to the nearest ride when they arrive.

Buy tickets before you leave home – Nothing is worse than going somewhere where you have to stand in line before you go in to stand in more lines. Eliminate one step of the process by purchasing tickets before you go. Many times you can get better deals this way, too, so you are saving time and money. Why would you ever by at the gate again? I see Knott’s Berry Farm has a deal through the month where you can get almost $20 off a ticket if you buy online. Universal ticket prices are always a little less on their website as well and Disney tickets can be purchased at a discount from your local AAA travel store (if you’re a member), Costco, your credit union and even on BookIt with the purchase of a travel package, which could save you even more.

Get there early – This is especially important when visiting parks during the summer, because they are super busy all day, but if you get there before the gates open, you won’t have to stand in a crazy long line to get in and you won’t have to face pushing and shoving for a little bit once inside the park. Many guests don’t show up until mid-morning or early afternoon, so make the most of the time before the big crowds show up and get up early to get there early.

Take an afternoon nap – Midday is the busiest time in any park. Use the time to go back to your hotel/house/timeshare and take an hour or two to relax. The parks are open for a really long time, especially in the summer. You and your kids can’t really be on the go for 14, 15, 16 hours. Leave the property, get something for lunch, take a nap or swim in the pool and then come back after your feet don’t curl up at the sight of putting your walking shoes back on again. If you have children with you, do this during their normal nap time, so they don’t get all cranky and start throwing things. It’s not fun at home. It’s, so much less fun everywhere else.

Bring snacks – You may hate to carry around a bag when you want to go from roller coaster to roller coaster, but you’ll think it’s way less inconvenient when you can just dig in your bag for some fruit or a granola bar instead of shelling out $15 for a soda and a soft pretzel. Walking around all day is going to make you hungry. Don’t assume that it won’t. The parks allow snacks, so bring enough for at least two snacks a day per person and not only will you laugh at the sign that says one of those Mickey ice cream bars is $6, but you’ll eat better, too. Make sure you also stock yourself with a couple bottles of water. We bring some ice tea packets, in case we want a bit of variety. You have no idea how much money this can save you until the day you don’t bring anything and have to pay for it all.

Stay tuned for my next five ways to save on Saturday. In the meantime, in the comments, tell me what I should not miss on my trip to Anaheim, even if it’s not theme park-related (though we’ll be hitting up Universal and possibly Knott’s as well).