10 Great Sites to Find Travel Clothing

I know other websites suggest bringing your favorite pieces with you when you travel, so you know that you'll wear what you take, but when travel I love to buy new things for my trip. I count it as part of my travel budget and purchase items throughout the year when I find them on sale. This is not to say that I don't take things I already own. I do. Especially when I know they are comfortable and going to be a great addition to my travel bag. The reason I buy other items is that I do laundry at my destination and even though some of my normal clothes are quick-drying, they aren't really fantastic at being breathable or moisture-wicking or suitcase-friendly. They might be too bulky or wrinkle way too easily. 

Having travel-friendly clothes are convenient in a lot of ways: lightweight, packable, wrinkle-resistant, quick-drying, moisture-wicking, odor-resistant. The list can go on, but these are my basic needs in a travel wardrobe. So, though I have some pieces I wear everyday that are perfect for vacationing – because they are that comfortable, like my stretchy Hudson jeans – it helps to have more than a few items that are travel-ready...and it's also fun to have something new. This is why I have a list of go-to merchants to pick up those necessary pieces I don't own or need to be replaced.

REI

Lucky me, I am close to an REI store. I love going in and browsing their racks and racks of fun outdoor clothes, accessories and goodies. This is one of a few places where you can find all the top brands and some you may not have heard of yet. I go there looking for Patagonia, Lolë and Arc'teryx, but have often come away with many other gems. If you don't live near an REI, shop online. They have even better discounts on sale items online, so you can save more. Or buy more. Another thing I like to do is shop online and then have it ship – for free! – to the store nearest you for you to pick up at your convenience. You can use Ebates this way and get your cash back. Double bonus!

Columbia Sportswear

I am also lucky to live in Portland, home of Columbia Sportswear. We have the flagship store right downtown, several outlet stores nearby and, my favorite, the employee store. You have to know someone who works at Columbia to be able to shop there, but if you have someone like that in your life, they can take you or give you a pass and you can go hog wild. with everything 50% off. Columbia is a great place to pick up lightweight (and attractive) sweaters and amazing jackets. Again, you can shop online. Once you know your size in tops and pants, this is super easy, as they are very rarely off. Plus, you can shop the outlet section for deep discounts. Sign up for Greater Rewards – for free! – and get free shipping on everything + exclusive membership discounts throughout the year. Again, use Ebates for cash back.

Backcountry & Department of Goods

Though I don't shop there often, this is genuinely one of my favorite online merchants. Backcountry has all the outdoor brands in one place. This site has ah-mazing discounts, al ot times you can get free shipping and an extra percent off. Before, you used to have to go between BC and Department of Goods (their outlet website) in order to snap of deals on discontinued items and colors, but now they pull them all into the regular site to make shopping easier. You can find clothing, shoes, camping and hiking gear here for the whole family. Save even more with Ebates.

Athleta

This is only for the ladies. They are an offshoot of Old Navy and Gap and they feature feminine activewear pieces that are great for travel to the beach or to the city or if you want to just wear them to yoga. All the items very well made and flattering for your curves. You can save more by using Ebates here as well.

Lucy

This one is also just for ladies. At one point, I had more Lucy clothes in my closet than anything else. They are comfortable and sporty and are the ideal place to get shorts, capris and tanks. No matter how much you buy, you always pay a flat rate for shipping, which is a bonus, since the difference in weight of $100 worth of clothing and accessories and $300 worth is not that much. Of course, if you sign up for their newsletter, you can be notified of sales first, and Ebates can also get you more discounts with cash back and promo codes.

Bluff Works 

Only for men, so far, they sell amazingly flattering travel pants that don't look like travel pants. In fact, they can be worn to the office one day and then rock climbing the next. You can see my review of their pants here – well, Eric's review.

Magellan's

You probably don't like to look like a tourist when you travel. I mean, who does? Unless you're off in the jungle, you don't need zip-off pants and similar clothing pieces. Magellan's has both attractive and functional clothing that you can wear everyday as well as on vacation, for both men and women. I have done a few reviews for them here and here. Ebates can help you out here, too.

ExOfficio

This is one of the first "outdoor" clothing sites I purchased from. Eric has had many of their shirts and they last for years, even with regular wear. I've purchased many of their sweaters and button-up shirts for travel and they make Eric's favorite boxer briefs. they aren't cheap, but they are comfy and last forever – you can take just a few on a trip and they pack small, resist odors, wick moisture and dry super-fast. They are a favorite among many travelers. 

Anatomie

This is another one just for the ladies. They sell luxury travel clothing, that look awesome and feel just as good. They are perfect for finding what can be considered resort wear, but they have lightweight pieces that work for all sorts of travel situations and help you blend in as a local. You can view a previous review of their clothing here.

Fresh Produce

I'm still trying to get this company to send me some pieces for review. They are more affordable than some other travel clothing sites and they have some on-trend items in between classic and more offbeat pieces. I feel like they offer something for all age ranges and sizes, so it might be a place you'll want to check out when hunting for new travel duds.

Need to know more about Ebates? You can learn about it on this post. Do you have a favorite travel clothing shop or online merchant? 

Easier (and Cheaper) Travel with Kids

Just because you have children doesn't mean you can never vacation again or have to pack up the tent and go camping. Of course, I'm not opposed to camping. I did it all the time as a kid, but nothing beats a good old fashioned family vacation. One where you don't have to do all the work and take freezing showers for a week. Sure, traveling with more than two can be hard on your wallet, but you can save on things to make it more manageable. There's also plenty of things you can do to keep your kids occupied in between "entertainment".

So, you want to go on a real vacation, but don't think you can afford it with your whole family? Well, you're wrong. Your first step is to pick a destination and your second is to start a vacation savings account. If you can set aside a bit of money each month, it makes it much easier to deal with the cost of a trip of any size, because you can chip away at it all year long. Below are some ways to save that can allow you to stay longer than a few days at your vacation and make the airfare worthwhile.

• Rent an apartment, house or condo. This is always a great option, but especially if you are traveling as a family, because it offers many advantages like cheaper rates than a hotel if you stay a week or more,  more space for everyone to stretch out in, a kitchen to save on your dining budget and more privacy than most hotels offer. Here are some ones to check out.
• Visit a city that offers a pass card where you can visit many attractions for one low price. Here are just a few awesome ones. You buy one card for each person in your party (some even include transportation options) and then you skip the box-office queues at each location and just present your city pass as a ticket.

• If a city is safe to drive in, renting a car might end up being less expensive than public transportation in some cases. Do your homework, because in some cities, it would just be more cost-effective to drive your family around than to get multi-day bus/subway passes.
• Does your family love the beach? Instead of heading to the ocean, look into lakeside locations. They almost always have just as nice a beach and many of the same watersports, but at a fraction of the cost.
• Can your kids miss a few days of school? Travel in the Fall, Winter or Spring. Summer rates for everything can be double the price (or more), because that's when families can travel.

• Rent strollers and other baby equipment at your destination. They are available all over the world and can be much less than having to check through your personal ones and risk them getting damaged by baggage handlers. One of the best websites that has links to rental locations is Babies Travel Lite.

• Don't overpack. If you need diapers and formula, buy them at your destination. You don't need to spend an extra $15+ for each bag that needs to be checked through. Carry only what you need for the flight, plus a bit extra in case in case of delays. If you'll be traveling somewhere that might not have convenient stores nearby, you can also use Babies Travel Lite to to send "baby care packages" wherever you are.
• Children under the age of 2 fly for free if you aren't opposed to them sitting in your lap the whole flight. Probably not so doable on a trip across the Atlantic, but not too bad on a flight that's only a few hours long. 
• Don't order off the kids' menu in restaurants. They are almost always overpriced and have a very limited (and repetitive) selection. Choose an entrée that you and your child can share. Not only will there be no waste that way (as can often happen when one is faced with another bowl of mac and cheese or pizza) but there will be a wider selection for them that normally includes a vegetable of some sort. Add a salad if it turns out that the one plate isn't enough.
• If you choose to stay in a hotel or resort, stay in ones where kids eat free. Almost all places offer kids STAY free, so it's not really a good deal. Kids can eat you out of house and home, so that's really the bargain you want to look for. If an all-inclusive is in the cards, find ones where kids stay, eat and play free. You'll be surprised how much that will save you over the course of the week.

• Stock up on snacks. Kids always want to eat when it isn't snack time and can get super cranky if they don't get something in their tummy pretty fast. Vacation is no different than at home. Bring snacks on all your outings to tide them over until it's time to actually sit down and have real food.

How do you save when you travel with your kids?

Making the Most of Your Cruise Dollars

Do you dream of getting on board a cruise ship with your bag full of shorts and bathing suits and sailing the seven seas, all while being completely catered to and visiting new ports of call? With Summer fast approaching, there are cruise deals galore! Of course, not all of them are for Summer, many are for late Spring and even Fall. Luckily, with the exception of Alaskan cruises, the weather will be warm and (hopefully) beautiful. I learned a lot on my first cruise, both while I was planning it and while I was on it. Here are some tips to help you get the most from your money both onboard and in port.

The price you see is not the price you pay – It’s true! When you see a cruise rate that seems too good to be true, it’s because it isn’t listing the taxes and port fees that each cruiser has to pay. The more ports you visit, the more fees you incur. One could, theoretically, pay twice as much as the listed price once fees and taxes are added. Don’t let this scare you, though. I was able to Google port fees for my chosen cruise and find out exactly how much they would add to my rate. It may take a bit of detective work, but you can find it. If you don’t want to take time for that, just assume the cost will be twice what you see and anything less will be a nice surprise when you’re ready to book!

Get involved – Your cruise is (mostly) all-inclusive. You’re paying for activities and entertainment whether you use them or not. My suggestion? Use them! If there’s miniature golf or a shopping talk or a trivia session available, go do it! Unless it sounds like you’ll hate it, mark all the things on the daily schedule you want to do. It’ll keep you busy, keep you moving, keep you from being bored and give you the most value for your dollars spent. We never once set foot in the pool on our cruise. Not because we didn’t plan to, but because we ended up being so busy that by the time we thought about it, it was time to go to sleep. Also, the water slide was shut down practically the whole time we were on board. Some activities do cost money, like some exercise classes, rock climbing and dinners you need to make reservations for, but there are a lot of free things to do. Between crushing other passengers at trivia, going to the rivalry party, dancing, taking in an art auction, playing extreme dodgeball, watching all the entertainment and sleeping and eating, we didn’t really have time to be sitting around doing nothing.

Book your own excursions – No, don’t book it yourself through the cruise line, unless you want to pay double or triple the going rate. Book it completely on your own. There are many reputable excursion companies out there and you’ll find them if you look. I employed Google for this one again: (destination) excursions. You’ll get a whole host of companies that specialize in excursions that fit into the cruiser’s schedule. In my quest to find something fun and affordable to do in Grand Cayman (which we ended up being refunded for, because the ship couldn’t dock), Belize City and Isla Roatan (Honduras). I found some fantastic tours that were highly recommended by other cruisers and similar, if not exactly, to what the ship offered, but at a fraction of the price. Two tours were half the cost of the similar one offered onboard and through the Carnival website and the other was only one-third the listed price! The cruise line takes a cut of each excursion you book online and on board with them, so they mark the prices up higher than retail.

Most people don’t realize they can book on their own, or they are scared of doing it. As long as you find a reputable company with good reviews, you are safe in booking and also on your tour. My husband and I were the only two on our Isla Roatan tour and we ended up getting an extra 90 minutes out of it. Our Belize City tour only had two other people on it and we all had a great time. All the tours I booked were guaranteed and only required a 20% deposit. My Grand Cayman tour was cancelled due to weather. I was sad that I didn't get to go swimming with the sting rays, but our deposit was refunded to our credit card, as it wasn’t our fault that we couldn’t dock.

Book early – The earlier you book your cruise, the better chance you will have of getting a great deal on a good cabin. You’re bound to be given some extras as well, like onboard credit, cabin upgrade and more. If you aren’t sure what cabin is right for you, take a trip over toCruiseCritic and you can get the low-down on which decks have bigger and/or quieter rooms, which cabins and decks to avoid and more.

Get an inside cabin – Since we had never been on a cruise before, we weren’t sure if we were going to like it or not and decided that spending more money to get an oceanview or balcony cabin wasn’t really something we wanted to do. Oddly enough, those rooms don’t tend to be that much bigger and we figured we could just go up on deck to see the ocean. Besides the big drop in price, inside cabins are very quiet and VERY dark when you turn off the lights. If you have trouble sleeping with any sort of light coming at you, an inside cabin is the way to go. I might suggest bringing a portable nightlight with you, though, as trips to the bathroom can be super tricky without turning on a bedside lamp or the overhead light.

Don’t tip the staff – This sounds really mean, doesn’t it? Well, it’s not. You want to know why? All specialty drinks (soft drinks and alcoholic beverages) are charged an 18% gratuity right off the bat. If you throw extra money in the tip jar, you’re actually tipping twice and making that drink – that’s already cost you twice what you would pay in any restaurant or bar – even more expensive. Also, you will be charged a certain amount of money for each guest for service gratuity. This includes tips for your awesome steward, maitre‘d, waiter staff and more. I think it generally costs $10-15 per passenger per day, so on a 7-day cruise for two people, you’re paying an extra $140-210 for those people to do their jobs. Of course, you can contest this at the purser’s desk and have them lower the amount if you feel the staff didn’t deserve so much, but I think you’ll find that they go above and beyond your expectations.

Save your drinking for the ports – I know you’re on vacation and you want to do some drinking, but alcoholic beverages are marked up quite high. Seriously, I had a piña colada and it cost around $15 after their added gratuity. Add up several of those per day across your stay and you’re in for a heart attack come “cruise bill” day. Port cities are depending on your business, so get several drinks on land for the same price as one on sea and keep your wallet happy. You’ll help the economy and have a fun time with your fellow cruisers.

A good way to get free drinks on your cruise is to attend the captain’s welcome party. Anyone can go and they generally serve free snacks and alcoholic (and non-alcoholic) beverages. There is also the goodbye party at the end of your cruise where you can take advantage of free drinks. And during your cruise, if you take advantage of any tastings they are offering, you can get drinks for much cheaper. On our trip there was a deal for a tequila tasting. Six different tequilas for $20. What a bargain compared to my ONE piña colada. At least I got to talk to a lovely waiter from Bahrain.

So, while it seems like a cruise can be a money pit, there are a lot of ways to make it affordable and even a cheap vacation. You can meet a lot of different people, learn to be more outgoing and even discover more about countries around the world both on the ship and off. Keep an open mind and make sure to participate in games and other things around the ship. You’ll be surprised how much fun you can have if you just let go. Hey, you’re never going to see those people again probably. I made quite a fool of myself during the sail away party and again at a blindfolded trivia and probably several other times over our week, but so did other people and I just laughed about it and had a great time.