I have had the awesome opportunity to travel quite a bit so far this year. Since February, I have traveled to Punta Cana, Chicago, Los Angeles, Hawaii/San Diego, and Austin. God has blessed me with family, friends, and a great job which have put these opportunities in front of me, but I want to say life is short. The end is near. So take the trip! #WANDERLUST
We all know traveling can be expensive, but the experiences you’ll have and the sights you’ll see are in priceless. Here are a few pro tips I’ve come to learn during my recent travel. And because you can’t have a fashion blog with no fashions, I’ll share a few tips about my vacation style.
Be smart when booking your airfare
Explore all of your options when it comes to finding the best flights for your trip. By this, I mean check the prices of multiple airlines and play around a bit. Sometimes purchasing two one ways can come out to be significantly cheaper than opting for a round trip ticket. Also, be sure to CLEAR YOUR COOKIES. I don’t quite understand how this works because it’s like little trolls are in your computer saying, “Muhahah she looked at this airfare twice today, let’s increase the price!” But it happens. To avoid a jump in price after searching for the best deal, be sure to go to your settings in your computer to clear your cookies.
Make friends
Once you touch down and get settled in, scope out the neighborhood. You’re essentially going to be living in this place for a few days, so why not meet people? Meeting people just might be the greatest secret because they can fill you in on the hot spots and the dos and don’ts of your vacation location. In Hawaii we met a super fun couple while we were sun bathing in the ocean who gave us a tip about FREE activities. So be nice to people. It can save you money in the long run.
#Protip: One piece bathing suits can also double as a top when paired with the right bottoms!
Get Groupon deals for activities
This is pretty much self explanatory. You can log on to Groupon in any city and search activities. You can also find food deals too! But do this prior to your trip just to make life that much easier.
Check the reviews before you make Open Table reservations
You may want to splurged a little when you take your trip by having a fancy night out at a 4-5 star restaurant. But be sure to check Yelp or Open Table before you make those reservations. Prime example – in Austin we went to a pretty classy place (especially for 6th street) but the service wasn’t that great and the food and drinks weren’t totally worth the price. This all could have been avoided and a couple dollars could have been saved with a quick look at a review website.
Bet you thought that’s a bracelet cuff I’m wearing posing outside of SUR. Nope! That’s the wrap from getting inked up hours before. Cute accessory, right?
Use Customer Service as a crutch
We experienced a travel nightmare on our Hawaii/San Diego trip. Long story short, flights were delayed and then missed, and we spent the night in the airport with no offer of hotel accommodations. It was cold. And sad. So I say this to stress that expressing your experiences, both good and bad can result in some sort of compensation. In my case, I received a $150 voucher from American Airlines and a $50 voucher from Spirit Airlines. Luckily the AA voucher was able to offset the costs of my recent flight to Austin. But seriously. Don’t fail to mention good things that happen, either! You never know when a nice review can get you a little surprise and delight. 🙂
Have fun on your next vacation, friends!
*Thanks for reading; you’re F.A.Bulous
