In recent years, millions of Americans have opted out of making any big vacation plans. This has been for obvious reasons as the economy has been in dire straits and national income levels have either dropped or remained stagnant. This, however, is not an effective long-term strategy, because it’s important for families to travel together and let off a little steam. Saving money while traveling has been a top priority for vacationing families, but there are things you can do to make your travel dollars stretch further.

When traveling, many people end up enuring a certain amount of debt after going on vacation. This is for various reasons, and if you’re traveling out of country, one of the biggest costs is through costly exchange rates. Whether you’re on a Club Med vacation to Europe or going elsewhere in the world, getting a no-fee credit card is a good way to curb exchange rate fees. Several different credit companies already offer these services through rewards programs where using the card doesn’t put any currency conversion fees against your balance. Depending on how much you plan to use the card, you don’t have to be concerned with hefty fees for paying for hotels, eating out, or enjoying the sights.

Transportation is one of the largest expenses when you’re moving around a foreign city. When vacationing abroad, families usually steer clear of public transportation out of fear that they’ll get lost, and instead end up taking taxis. This is an incredible cost that can eat away at your budget. Most people aren’t aware that the public transit systems in other countries are usually very easy to understand. Many designations and travel instructions are posted in English for the express purpose of helping tourists. Check with sites that give you detailed information about the public transportation in Europe. The cost is much less, and very often you can get an unlimited travel pass for a period of time. For example, you can get a card that allows you unlimited access for a week or two.

Entertainment is another big cost for travelers. Even if you’re vacationing in-country, you still need somewhere to go that isn’t going to nickle-and-dime you to death. Throughout America and Europe there are many amazing tourist spots and attractions that don’t charge travelers anything. Of course, once you get to any of these places you’re going to be bombarded with merchants trying to get you to buy their wares. Whether you do this is really up to you, but check out all of the free entertainment attractions that are free to the public. Including these destinations in your itinerary can give you a rich experience without killing your travel budget.

There are many other things that vacationing families can do to whittle down their travel budget, but these tips are a good start. Look at other travel sites that can help you save on your lodging, travel, and food expenses. You don’t have to be rich to travel with your family. You just have to plan ahead when mapping out your vacation.

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 20th, 2011 at 3:32 pm and is filed under tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

• Weekly Roundup: Frugal Home Office Edition I've been spending some time looking for a secret hideaway where I can get more writing done. I've accepted a couple freelance opportunities, in addition to my writing here at Frugal Dad, in an attempt to sprint to the finish...
• How To Save on Vacation Costs I don't know about you but I love to travel. I am one of those people who dreams about travelling the world for a living. But current reality says this is not an option, so yearly vacations have become my...
• Gift Card Madness I've always found gift cards a bit odd. Don't get me wrong, I like gifts and never turn them down. But it seems to me a gift card is the giver's way of saying, "I wanted to give you a...
• Saving Money with Your Credit Cards pt 2 Continued from part 1... Another type of credit card that you can use to save money is one that offers frequent flyer miles or air fare rewards. Airfare is expensive, and if you fly relatively frequently then you are probably...
• Credit Card Overlimit Fees Taking a Hike? When I worked in a credit card customer service call center a decade ago I bet I took a dozen calls a day related to overlimit fees being charged to cardholders' accounts. I was of course trained to toe the...