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How To Save Money On A Trip To The Bahamas

How To Save Money On A Trip To The Bahamas

Everyone deserves a vacation. The Bahamas is an ideal destination for budget travel. Whether you are

traveling for Spring Break or simply taking a much-needed vacation, here are some money saving tips for

your Bahamas vacation on a budget.

Shop Around for Flights

When booking a flight for your Bahamas vacation, allow plenty of time if you want to find the best rate.

Start your flight search up to 6 months in advance for best results. In addition to checking discount travel

sites like Expedia and Kayak for flight rates, be sure to check out smaller airlines like Spirit Airlines. This

ultra-low cost carrier specializes in deeply discounted rates to places throughout Florida, the Caribbean,

South America, Mexico and much more.

Find the Right Hotel Room

Now that you have your flight secured, the next step is to book your accommodations. If you are traveling

solo, use a discount travel site to find an affordable room at one of the many resorts and hotels in the

area. To minimize your food and beverage expenses, try to find a room with a kitchen. This allows you to

purchase and cook your own food if necessary.

If you are traveling with friends, consider using a vacation rental site like VRBO.com (Vacation Rentals by

Owner). Prices start as low as $100 a night for a property that sleeps 5 or more. Properties like the

Westwinds Club, Westwinds II or the Best Western Paradise Island resort all offer full kitchens and top-

notch accommodations.

Have a Food Plan

Food and drink are two of the biggest expenses when traveling away from home. To help minimize the

impact of this expense on your travel budget, plan your meals ahead of time. Sites like FoodStore2GO

allow you to order groceries and have them delivered ahead of time. This can save you valuable vacation

time trying to find and navigate a supermarket nearby. Packing healthy and affordable snacks is also

a great way to stay in shape while traveling. Saving money and staying fit, a two-for- one deal!

Make a schedule of what you plan to eat and drink each day. If there is some wiggle-room in your travel

budget, leave a meal or two for dining out. The rest of your meals should be prepared in your room. Once

you have finished the food schedule, make a list of the groceries you will need. If you do not choose to

have your groceries delivered, make sure you map a nearby grocery store prior to arriving.

Figure Out How to Get Around

Scooters are a popular and affordable mode of transportation in the Bahamas. Before you arrive, call a

scooter rental company and arrange for a scooter to be available at the airport. Scooters rent for as little

as $25 a day, much cheaper than a taxi.

Another option is to take advantage of the local public transportation system. Jitney busses are

available for travel throughout the island at just $1.25 each way. The number 10 will take you from the Western end

of the island to the downtown area. While downtown, be sure to check out hot spots like the famous

Straw Market, the Queen’s Staircase and Marina Village.

That is it! Follow these tips and you are well on your way to enjoying a budget-friendly Bahamas vacation.

Logan Peterson is a writer and contributer for USS Sports Machine

Why I’m Taking Downy Wrinkle Releaser Plus On Vacation This Year

We only go on a for real vacation every other year. Mostly because it is a big cost for a family of 6 on a budget and also because I don’t think I’d ever be able to talk my husband into it every year. One reason I lobby for a vacation at least every other year is because. This momma needs a real vacation. You moms know, that being at home for a week is never going to be relaxing. We always have the need to clean, cook, do laundry, iron (oh I loathe ironing), use the time to take care of things we’ve been meaning to take care of like maybe making that appointment we’ve been putting off. I told my husband, when we go on vacation and stay at a hotel or in a resort someone else is doing the cleaning, someone else is making the beds, we go out to eat more (so less cooking for me). Sure I’m still picking up after the kids, yes I’m still using the hotel laundry machine, but I’m expected to do less when we’re on vacation.

My hubby told me if I could find a place for us to stay under a certain amount then we could go out to eat every night. That was a challenge I accepted gladly. Not only did a find a nice place with prime location but I found several. I showed him. He liked all of them. So he says yep we stay somewhere like that we can go out to eat every night we’re there. So, now I don’t have to cook, Yay!
Then the ironing thing. I try not to take things with us that need ironed but I usually take at least one nice outfit with us in case we need it for a particular restaurant or something. And there’s always at least a couple of those things that need ironed. This year I’m taking Downy Wrinkle Releaser Plus travel size with us.

Not only will Downy Wrinkle Releaser Plus travel reduce or possibly eliminate the need for ironing, it also makes clothes smell great. The convenient travel size make it easy to stick in a purse, suitcase, duffle bag, whatever.

Get a coupon for Downy Wrinkle Releaser Plus HERE and save $1 when you buy it for your travels!

Oh and my beach travel tip. If you want to be close to the beach but don’t want to spend an arm and a leg, try less commercial beaches. I initially was searching Myrtle Beach, Rehoboth, Outer Banks, etc. I was starting to get frustrated until I started doing broad searches like “North Carolina beaches” “South Carolina Beaches” Places like Topsail Island, Wrightsville beach, and Isle of Palms were about half the cost of the more commercial beaches for the same time frame. The one place I found even has several ocean front rooms still available and it was one of the most affordable of all of them!

Check out more travel tips from Downy Wrinkle Releaser Plus

I received product samples to complete this post. Any opinions expressed are my own.

How To Discover A Whole New Affordable Way To Vacation

If you’re stuck in the city in the middle of a January snow storm and wishing you could be anywhere else in the world, why don’t you put that impulse to good use? Perhaps the powers that be won’t care much for you using up your saved vacation days to leave them behind for a while, but so what? You expect and deserve to use the vacation time that you’ve earned with your hard work and sweat, so why not take some time to yourself and live a little? There are a million places in the world for you to explore, so get moving and get gone!

Determining How You’re Going To Live When You Get There

Of course, it’s one thing to just decide one day that you’re going to go to a certain place on the map, but a whole other to have a well worked out plan in advance of just how and where you’re going to live when you get to your chosen destination. This is precisely why you need to have an accurate idea of where you want to go, and what kind of place you want to stay in while you enjoy your well earned vacation. Without a plan to work from, you’ll find yourself adrift in a sea of overdrafts that will sour all your plans.

Vacation Time Is Not The Time To Settle For Less

For example, if your present apartment or condo in the city is your favored style of living, it makes no sense to lower your standards by staying in a mud hut or run down motel room. Just because you’re paying for space overlooking the beautiful beaches of a tropical island or Southeast Asia peninsula doesn’t mean that you need to sit still for being gouged for an outrageous fee for a motel room that barely qualifies as being fit for a wild animal. In a word, vacation time is not the time to settle for less.

How To Get The Best Possible Deal For The Best Possible Price

The key to planning and then enjoying the benefits of a successful vacation is to make well sure that you are getting the best possible deal at the best possible price. When it comes to planning for your vacation lodging, there is a wide and comprehensive variety of options to choose from. For many world travelers, the idea of owning a time share property is the best policy. Indeed, time share property firms, such as Bluegreen Resorts and many others, are well known for the convenience and reliability that they offer to their customers. The benefits of going the time share route are many and obvious.

Alternative Solutions To The Vacation Destination Dilemma

Many people have solved their vacation destination issues by deciding to rent or own a time share. Others have simply purchased a small seaside cottage or condominium. While there are plenty of alternative solutions to the vacation destination dilemma, there is no one definitive answer. The solution that is right for you will depend on a variety of factors, including your temperament and the size of your budget. It is an excellent idea to compare and contrast the available solutions until you happen upon the one that is right for you.

This is a sponsored guest post.

Protecting Your Vacation With Travel Insurance

Today’s post is sponsored by Allianz Travel Insurance through the Bloggy Moms Network.

As a family of 6, it can be quite expensive to go on a real vacation. We only go on vacation once every 2 years. We didn’t go this year so next year should be our vacation year. We only go domestic, usually do a beach on the east coast, and we drive but it’s still not cheap. To fit our whole family comfortably we usually have to get a 2 or 3 bedroom condo or suite. We prefer to stay at an ocean front resort that has amenities so we have easy access to the beach. Then the resorts usually have extra things like swimming pools, restaurant, resort events, etc.

Last year we went to Ocean City and stayed at the Princess Royale. They had movies on the beach, an indoor swimming pool, outdoor hot tubs, a sauna, a gym, restaurant, gift shop, and we got an ocean front 3 bedroom room. That set us back $1500 just for the room for 4 days. One thing in the back of my head when you think of the southern east coast in August is the possibility of hurricanes or some other issue coming up. That’s why I consider travel insurance with our vacations. I hate to be the pessimist but what happens if we invest all this money, something happens and we’re out all that money?

Allianz Travel Insurance offers peace of mind when booking your vacations. They are the leading travel insurance company offering financial protection and 24/7 travel assistance. Allianz Travel Insurance has conducted a Vacation Confidence Index Survey every years since 2009. What they found is that more Americans will travel but plan to spend less on their 2015 trips.

They can help with things like emergency assistance in a number of areas both travel and medical, helping you recoup some or all of your money depending on your policy and more.

There’s also Concierge service for help with things like event tickets, gift arrangement, restaurant reservations, and more. There are so many more benefits that I could make this post go on for a long time but I think you get the idea.

Allianz Travel Insurance can be purchased through many leading travel agents, most airlines, online travel agencies, other well-known travel suppliers, and www.allianztravelinsurance.com

While you’re here check out these money saving tips for travel from Allianz Travel Insurance too!

6 Tips to Save Money on Your Cancun Trip

This post is brought to you by Hipmunk

Traveling to Cancun can be very relaxing and exciting. With its beautiful beaches and warm breeze, the island is a perennial favorite destination for vacationers. There are several things you can do to save money on your trip. Helping people save money on hotels in Cancun is what sites like Hipmunk try to do. Here are six tips that you should keep in mind for your own vacation.

cancun commons wikimedia — cancun picture credit to commons.wikimedia.org

Hop on a Bus

The public buses are everywhere and they are reliable and cheap. Don’t hesitate to use them to get around the island, as they only cost around 50 cents or less.

Consider an All-Inclusive Package

While it is true that in some destination trips, piecing your trip together can save you money, the opposite is true for Cancun. Many all-inclusive packages combine your hotel, meals and all drinks, including alcoholic ones, in one price.

Be Mindful of Data Roaming Charges

Most cell phone plans will charge you steep fees for international data roaming, so make certain you take the time to turn off your data roaming on your cell phone. Only turn on data roaming if it is absolutely necessary to avoid unpleasant fees on your cell phone bill.

No Need for a Phrasebook

You don’t need to go out and purchase a phrasebook. It is easy to find workers who understand and speak English. While a phrasebook may not cost much, it’s one expense that is unnecessary for your trip.

Travel Light

Try to travel only using a carry-on bag. By choosing the right bag, you can take full advantage of the space while saving additional checked baggage fees. You can do so by choosing clothing that is lightweight and wrinkle-resistant, layering items to change up your look. Try to minimize the number of shoes you plan to bring, as shoes take up lots of space. Choosing to travel light can also save you the time you would otherwise spend waiting in line at the baggage claim area.

Use Credit Cards for Better Exchange Rates

Using credit cards can give you better rates of exchange for most transactions. Be aware that some credit card companies do charge foreign transaction fees, however. Think about getting a card like the American Express Platinum card or another similar one that does not charge such fees.

Following these simple tips can help you save money on your next vacation. Remember to relax and plan ahead to gain the best vacation experience while also saving money.