Vacation Savings

Keeping The Cost Down On Your Next Rental

When it comes to renting out a cabin for your next vacation there can be so many hidden costs and expenses. With a little planning there are a number of things you can do to reduce the final bill of your vacation, so here some suggestions to get you started:

Booking Research

Sometimes you just find THE perfect rental. Everything looks perfect – except the price tag. Suddenly the perfect place seems even further away.

Could you go at a different time though than when you originally planned? Prices for out of season vacations can be much lower outside of the traditional weeks. Even a week or two either side of when you originally planned on going could mean big discounts. Plus if you can go out of season then other seasonal prices, like prices for flights can be lower too!

If you don’t have a specific location that you want to stay in then often the best thing to do is wait until the last minute. Many cabins and other vacation rentals that are still empty at the last minute will normally offer discounts to fill a property. Just have a look at sites such as lastminute.com or why not see if you can snap up a bargain by using Ebay?

If there doesn’t appear to be a discounted price actually advertised, then you can always contact an owner to see if they would be prepared to lower the price. Although negotiating prices can sometimes seem a little awkward most rental providers would rather accept a reduced price for a weeks rental rather than seeing the property left vacant.

Phone Expenses

On occasions the worst part having come back from a fantastic vacation is discovering your phone bill! If you’re travelling to a foreign country the mobile phone charges can be incredibly expensive, sometimes to both make and receive calls, so the best thing to do it to check with your mobile phone provider before you head off to see the charges. Often companies can offer a number of options to keep your bills down while you are away.

Alternatively, if you’re able to you then it’s worth using Wi-fi connections instead. Although it might cost more to sit in a cafe for an hour you can send messages or video chat with friends and family back home by using Skype or social networking sites.

Eating Out

Food and drink can easily add up on vacation. But if you’re on a budget that shouldn’t stop you from eating out. Depending on where you want to eat you can often find restaurants which offer fixed price menus if you eat at certain times. Although there isn’t as much variety on a fixed menu, you can still enjoy a good meal at a reduced price.

Alternatively it’s well worth looking through sites such as TripAdvisor to see where other people recommend. You can often find places which you never would have found out about otherwise – which can often be cheaper too!

If there are certain restaurants you particularly want to experience, then it’s well worth doing some online research beforehand. Have a look at a restaurants website – occasionally offers and vouchers can be found there either directly or by signing up to their mailer. Sometimes it does take some digging around to find but you can find discounts.

Alternatively, why not eat in? Local markets often provide a fantastic range of cheap and interesting produce you could use. And depending on the facilities that are available you can normally rustle up something which is tasty for a far cheaper price than eating out.

Out & About

With any vacation there are always plenty of places that you want to explore – but can easily add to your overall bill.

If you can do the research before you go though there it’s well worth signing up to websites such as Groupon which can often offer significant discounts on local attractions. Plus, in the same ways as restaurants it’s well worth looking through attractions websites to see if there are vouchers available, which can make big savings to the cost of a day out. It could be 10% off for signing up to a newsletter or a voucher for kids under a certain age to go free it can all make a difference.