Memorial Day weekend is a big time for BBQ’s and travel.  My mother-in-law had a heart attack while visiting in Monterey, so, while it wasn’t a vacation, we did do some traveling of our own.  Normally, I’m all about a road trip; but on this particular journey, we left with only an hour’s notice.  Those of you who do the planning for the family know that last minute travel is the quickest way to exhaust your travel fund.  If you follow five simple principles, last minute travel doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg.  Keep to a few unyielding guidelines and you’ll find out your vacation dollar is a lot more flexible than you may have thought.

Do Your Research
Thanks to smart phones, we are virtually never without access to the Internet.  The best way to save is to get access to the lowest prices.  Even on short notice, the Internet has the best deals.  You can also look up the Internet prices and use them as leverage when speaking with non-virtual personnel.  For lodging, hotels.com gets my vote.  We needed a hotel in a pinch & found TONS of rooms at 25 to 50% off what the other sites presented along with reviews and photos.

Look for Coupons
As an ex- rental car agent, I can say all too well that you can find coupon codes that will shave a lot of green off your bill.  If you’ve got paper coupons, by all means use them.  Otherwise, a quick Google search can yield a lot of money saving codes.  Play around with the combinations to see which ones get you the best deal.  It won’t take long and you won’t regret it.

Proximity = Pricey
You may already know this, but the allure of the fancy, themed hotels right next to the attraction can tempt even the normally savvy traveler to stay there.  Getting a hotel that is 5 to 10 miles away from large attractions will cut 50% off of your average bill.  As a bonus, these hotels know they are competing with the convenience factor, and offer you extra amenities in return.  We were able to find a king-size  room with a fireplace for 1/3 of the regular price by being willing to drive the extra 5 miles to the hospital.  Those 5 to 10 miles only take 5 to 10 minutes to drive, btw.

Go Where the Locals Go
We had family in town, so we had the inside track on the best restaurants and didn’t have to resort to chains.  For those of you that don’t, make a quick trip to the store.  Not a convenience store, a real grocery.  Here, you’ll find literature for the locals, giving you a great on-the-run guide.  There is invariably a host of gas stations near any local attraction or, in my case, hospital.  Like hotels, food and gas found anywhere near these places are going to be higher.  You can just ask any clerk, sales lady or nurse and they’ll be happy to point you where they buy these things themselves.

Remember the Markup
Lastly, a bit about shopping.  I’m near this charming little area in Monterey called Cannery Row.  Though it makes for a lovely afternoon and a great walk, I had serious reservations about buying anything that I could find somewhere else—especially considering that the sales staff are some of the most practiced and vicious of the trade in places like this.  I’m the last person to hold you back from something I really want, but remember the markup.  If you see something you are completely in love with, have the sales staff write down the item number and the description on the back of a business card “so you can get it later”—then look for it online.  You may have to wait a bit, but you’ll save a bit too.

If you use these five tips, you can get a lot more vacation bang for your travel buck.  With a little bit of research and a little bit of restraint, you’ll be able to have more experiences for the same money you would have spent for half as many.  We’re heading back home now and about to fill up before we leave town, avoiding truck stops to reduce the amount of money we spend on the drive home.  Next week, we’ll get back to fixing up that credit report.

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