For those of you that read my blog, you know I love traveling, especially to different countries. But traveling internationally is VERY expensive. Here's a few ways to make it a little easier.
Obviously the closer you are to a destination, the cheaper it is to travel there. So think about where you are in relation to where you want to go. For instance, someone living on the west coast is going to be able to go to Hawaii much cheaper than someone on the East Coast. Just like someone on the East Coast can get to Europe for less, and those in the Southern region can get to the Caribbean the cheapest. That extra couple thousand miles to fly across the entire United States can add a couple extra hundred or even thousand dollars.
Searching for Deals
I search around a lot before making any major purchase. While I have a few sites I often rely on, I still check other places before buying just to make sure I am getting the best deal. Sometimes another site can be having a sale! Here are some of my favorites:
General Travel Deals
Most of you have probably heard or even use Groupon to get great local deals, but you can also find deals on vacation packages. They offer highly discounted complete packages, often with hotel and airfare and even activities! If they don't have a package for the place you want to go, they also have discounted hotel rates at virtually every major city.
This is basically the same as Groupon Getaways. Make sure to check both sites as they can have very different offers at the time!
*Make sure you read the fine print for all these offers, there can be specific dates that you can use it and often the deal is only for specific airports and you will have to pay extra to get to one of those airports. But the savings can still be worth it!
Caribbean Packages and Cruises
This site has great deals for Caribbean resorts and cruises!
Europe
This is a fantastic site that I actually ended up using to create my honeymoon to Ireland. I love that it is totally customizable: you get to chose what cities to go to, you can chose your mode of transportation, you can upgrade hotels, and you can even opt out of their hotels for one or two nights if there's a specific place you want to stay and they don't offer it. Plus you can buy excursions here too (though do check to see if there are better deals). And it's all in one place!
Cruises
This site must be run by the same people as Cheap Caribbean because it has a very similar layout. Look for good deals on cruises!
Most of these options are for complete packages that include flights and hotels and more which is a great option to bundle to save money. But if you do buy things separately, here's what I recommend:
Flights
Check out my previous post, Traveling Cheaply Part 1: Flights.
Where to Stay
Instead of hotels, I recommend hostels and vacation houses. Check out my previous posts Traveling Cheaply Part 2: Hostels and Traveling Cheaply Part 3: Vacation Houses and also Top 10 Places to Stay on Airbnb for Under $140.
I hope this helps you plan out a fun trip! Do you have any more helpful information?
