During peak travel season, Denver travel agent says you can save money on next vacation
Lukas Rahnau has been a travel agent for about 10 years and said that whether it's saving money on your flights, your activities, or your meals, there are plenty of ways to travel on a budget. He first recommends booking everything as far in advance as you can.
"Book as early as you can. Flights usually publish a year before you want to travel. So, if you can make that commitment, I would definitely do it as early as possible, as early as a year before. For cruises, you can even go years in advance, because they publish years in advance as well," said Rahnau.
Also, he recommends buying travel insurance. While it might be an up-front cost, it'll cover flight delays and cancellations, lost luggage, or if you get sick.
Rahnau said it's usually cheaper to travel during April and May and September and October. Stay close to city centers, so you don't have to spend money on transportation. Take public transportation instead of taxis or car-ride sharing, and take advantage of free parks, attractions or museums.
"If you really want a low-budget travel, it's definitely possible by bundling all your attractions, all your flights, and your hotels. If you bundle them all together and pre-book everything you can before you travel, you will save the most amount of money," said Rahnau, who added bundling flights and hotels together could help you save up to $800, depending on the destination.
Rahnau said you can also save some money by staying in a more budget-friendly hotel compared to an all-inclusive that offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It all just depends on what kind of traveling experience a person is interested in.
Pack as light as possible and bring a water bottle. For food, he recommends eating local, because they tend to have the best prices and best quality.
Use credit cards or travel credit cards to book your trips. If you usually fly only on one airline, sign up for their credit card. It's much easier to rack up points and use them for baggage fees or upgrades.
He also recommends having a travel credit card, as most travel credit cards do not have international transaction fees and come with money-saving benefits.
"Travel credit cards are really great because most of them don't have an international transaction fee. And whatever you purchase with that credit card, you will earn points, and those points you can use for either hotel stays or flights. So, you will be able to save some money with that, because you're spending the money anyway, but if you can get cash back for those, you'll save some extra bucks," said Rahnau.
He also recommends using a travel agent, as many travel agents do not charge a planning fee and have access to more prices and hidden pricing.
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