Cut your travel costs during any time of the year!

Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Tue, Oct 27 2009 | 21 Comments

Are you going over the river and through the woods this holiday season to travel? How about taking that trip down to Florida just to recuperate from all the Turkey and overindulgence of Thanksgiving? Just because it’s not summer anymore doesn’t mean that people stop traveling. And because a lot of people are still traveling, I’m sure that they would like to save some money doing so.

That’s why if you’re looking to travel during any time of the year you can save some money following some basic tips.

Here are some tips from Yahoo! Personal Finance.

1. Try the next generation of travel websites. By now, we’ve all used sits like Expedia and Priceline. The author of the original article recommended sites such as SideStep, Kayak and Mobissimo. I have never heard of these sites, but if they help you get the best price on your trips then why not look into them?

2. Take a train (if you have the time). Driving is getting more expensive again thanks to the price of gas increasing so much over the past few weeks. The author suggests Amtrak as a good alternative to driving. If you are traveling along the coast (because the cost of gas is higher along the coasts) it can be cheaper (and more scenic) to take the train.

3. Travel to places that are pedestrian friendly. If you can walk around at your destination, then you don’t have to worry with the price of gas. If you want to go overseas for your holidays try a European city like Paris or London. They both have great subway systems and flights to these places are still cheaper than they have traditionally been.

4. Pick a place where your dollar stretches. If you follow this rule, you aren’t going to be seeing the Eiffel Tower or Big Ben…The dollar just isn’t strong against the Euro and it would be really hard to follow a strict budget in Europe right now thanks to the exchange rate. However, places like Nicaragua are really inexpensive and it offers beautiful scenery and is just as laid back as Costa Rica, it’s neighbor.

5. (And this one is just for the holidays and on my own list) Try to have your family come to you. If you’re blessed with having a central location to your family and haven’t had the pleasure of having a holiday at your own home, try it out this year. My husband and I have family that live close (only about an hour and half away) and thought it would be interesting to have Christmas at our house this year. We will extend the invitation to our family and if they want to come over they can. Staying at home means that the holiday will be more comfortable and we don’t have to worry at all with the cost of traveling.

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The airlines have decided to gouge you during the holidays this year.

Tags: subway systems, personal finance, travel websites