Florida villa cost cutting before you go
I thought it would be useful in the credit crunch times we live in to note a few ways of reducing the cost of next year’s family vacation to Florida.
Yes if you are coming from the UK the exchange rate of the £ and dollar is not as good as it was last year. Recession is around the corner, but with a little planning and research you can still have a fabulous holiday, for less than you might first think.
Here are a few of our tips;
1 The internet is a great tool for finding flight bargains. If you are flying from the UK remember that English and Scottish school holiday season vary, so peak season in one country might be mid season in another. Personally we have saved £100’s per ticket by simply crossing the boarder!
2 If you are going to use a credit card to pay for your holiday use a card which is commission free such as the Nationwide Gold card, otherwise you will come back to a credit card statement with a few £’s added to each transaction.
3 Sign up to airline company newsletters such as Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, Flyglobespan, often these give you advance warning of special flight sales or sign up for our own newsletter.
4 Don’t stay in an expensive hotel, stay in a privately owned villa, not only do you get the space and luxury accommodation, it can often works out cheaper than hotels even for smaller families.
5 Book a villa directly with an owner and not through a travel agent, why pay them commission when you can book direct and talk to the owners. There are many great vacation rental sites out there to choose from.
6 Only book theme park tickets for parks which you are certain you will have time to visit. Often families particularly on their first visit do not allow sufficient time for each park and therefore do not get to visit all the intended parks or simply scratch the service of the parks offerings by the end of their stay.
7 Consider annual passes, particularly for the water parks around Orlando. These often work out cheaper if they are not included in your regular ticket bundle. A year ticket might work out cheaper than buying tickets on 3 occasion, lets face it, visiting a water park 3 times in 14 days is quite possible.
8 Search the internet for your car hire and buy all the insurance you want before you go, rather than deciding at the car rental company desk, when you are tired after the flight, you will be in holiday mood, this allows for better budgeting and decision making.
9 If you intend to book your vacation rental property at short notice don’t forget to checkout the late deals at Wannavilla.
10 Again don’t forget to check the internet for travel insurance, its so easy to use price comparisons tools rather than taking the first product you come across, 10 minutes research can save a lot of cash!
11 Think about the currency exchange rate and take into account any fees which might wipe out the advantage of the headline currency rate, compare by asking what is the total amount of net cash you get back?
12 Now go off and enjoy a great vacation with more spending money in your pocket.
Tags: Holiday Saving, Money Saving Ideas, Save Money Holiday, Save Money Vacation