How to Save Money Traveling During the Holidays

Hello Dinks. Many people will be traveling during the holiday season. This year the holiday travel season is forecasted to be one of the busiest ones in years. With it being extremely busy, I can imagine the prices getting higher each day. In this post, I will share with you a few ways that you can save money while traveling during the holidays.

Book in advance

Booking your flights and hotel rooms in advance is one of the easiest ways to save money. Flights get more expensive the closer you get to the departure date. A good rule of thumb is to try and book your flights about 6 weeks in advance.

Travel on the day of the holiday

For some reason traveling on the day of the holiday such as Christmas or New Year’s Day yields a lower price. In the past, I’ve saved lots of money on my New Year’s trips by coming back home on January 1st. This may not work for every destination, though. When you’re booking check different dates to make sure you do get the cheapest price.

Drive, ride the bus or train

You have a few other options besides flying when traveling during the holiday season. If your destination is close enough you can drive, ride the bus or catch the train. With gas prices in most places being under $2.30 per gallon what better time than now to do a holiday road trip. If you don’t want to drive you do have the option of catching the bus or the train. Both of those should be cheaper than flying in most cases.

Pack Light

Packing light can help you save money when flying. By packing only a few items, you won’t have to bring a large suitcase. You could bring your bag on your flight as a carry-on. That way you will save money by not having to check it in. Just make sure that you’re not flying an airline carrier that charges for carry-on bags!

Check multiple sites

When booking your holiday travel make sure to check multiple sites for price differences. You may be surprised to see that your tickets may be a few bucks cheaper on another one. Every dollar counts. I usually check the prices on 3 different sites. If the price is the same on all of them I will book the flight or hotel on the brand’s website. An example of this is if I’m looking for a Marriott hotel room I’d check Marriott’s site, Priceline, and Expedia. If all three of the sites have the same price I will book the room through Marriott’s site.

Stay a day or two longer

If you’re flying somewhere over the holidays check to see how much your ticket would be if you stayed at your destination a couple extra days.  I’ve seen ticket prices go down by a good amount if you leave a day or two later. I know trying to stay longer during the holidays isn’t an option for everyone, but if you have the flexibility you should consider it.

How have you saved money traveling during the holidays?

Jason Butler

Jason Butler is an Atlanta native, as well as businessman, blogger and teacher. Not only is Jason a prolific flipper, marketer, writer and side hustler his number of years in higher education and student support have given him expert knowledge in understanding the economics of the student loan industry.