Frugal Travel Tips From My Dad!

November 14, 2007 · Filed Under , · 2 Comments 

Frugal CampingAs many of you know, and as I have documented on this blog, my Dad is a pretty frugal guy! In early October, he flew from San Jose, CA to Portland, Maine and spent 23 days with a good friend touring New England, Philadelphia, Boston, and Washington D.C. His total bill for this great vacation was just under $1300! That comes out to approximately $56 per day, that includes airfare, rental car, food, admission fees, EVERYTHING! I love it! So I had to ask him how he did it, and he agreed to reveal his frugal travel secrets to all of us. So with no further-ado, straight from the horses mouth, I am proud to present, once again, my Dad:

  1. Airfare Bargains. The key to getting a good rate on air travel is to book online as you can find some great deals. Try Cheap Tickets.com, Orbitz.com, and Priceline.com. I spent $290 round-trip from San Jose, CA, to Portland, Maine. In addition to booking online it helped to take a red eye out and to put up with a 3 hour lay-over on the return.
  2. Go When Everyone Else Can’t. Going off season is a big help! I know this is not an option for everyone, but you can save a lot of money by doing this.
  3. Set Up Camp! My friend and I enjoy tent camping which is obviously much cheaper than hotels. Because it was off-season, two of the camps we stayed at closed for the season at noon and we left at 10am that very same day. Close call! Camping also provided the opportunity to talk with fellow travelers which hotels cannot match.
  4. Prepare Your Own Food. The camping allowed us to prepare our own meals which not only saved money but allowed us to get an idea of the diversity of foods in the Northeast versus California cuisine. One break was when buying groceries at Shaw’s food stores we got 15 cents per gallon off at a particular gas station. There were many of these stations on the highways and they saved us a lot of money at the pump.
  5. Use ALL Resources Available. It is an excellent strategy to ask for AAA, AARP, and senior discounts for any tours, cruises, or other activities. For those senior citizens who may not be aware of the Golden Eagle pass, it allows you free admission to national parks, national seashores, and 50% off purchases or tours in the parks.

Thanks Dad, great tips. As for #4, I had no idea Spam in New England tasted different than the stuff we get on the west coast. ;-) Please feel free to leave a comment with additional frugal travel tips!

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Comments

2 Responses to “Frugal Travel Tips From My Dad!”

  1. Travel Tips on November 16th, 2007 2:03 am

    Great tips from your dad.Thanks for those tips.When I was in Chicago, I wanted something local and cheap. We asked some random person on the sidewalk for ideas and they directed us to a Russian-run deli down the street. It was fantastic, and we spent less than $15 per couple!

  2. GP on November 27th, 2007 9:21 am

    i’ll have to pass these on to our guests here in Montana… I cant wait to get on the road again :)

    gp in montana

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