More Bang for the Family's Buck

Families traveling with children face many special challenges. I'm not just talking about the little tykes. I'm also talking about your teens. Entertaining, feeding and landing decent lodging accomodations that appeal to everyone is difficult at best. Here are a few tips on how to cope:

Watch the ads for freebies. Breakfasts, resort credits, kids-stay-free and other promotional savings can chop off hundreds from your vacation budget.
Book early. Last-minute deals are great for people who are flexible and travel off-season. To get what you want at a price you can afford, book early.
Check out the free attractions. In Washington D.C., entry into dozens of Smithsonian facilities is free (and pretty amazing) as well as the National Zoo. In London, most of the main museums are free, including the British Museum and the National Gallery.

Book a Package. With airfare, hotel and rental car bundled together, you can shave costs. The reason you ask? The sellers do not have to disclose which firm gave the discount thus able to keep advertised individual higher rates valid to general public.

Stay in Business Hotels or Locations on Weekends. Ever wonder how you booked that reservation at the Intercontinental on Hotwire for $100? Intercontinental sells its empty weekend rooms at business locations in bulk to discount websites like Hotwire. Sometimes the hotels are a little out of the way, maybe in a deserted downtown business district or near an executive airport. But these unused business hotels are great for cutting costs.

These are just a few of the tricks to save some money while tripping with the clan. Visit our website at http://www.thetravelvalet.com/ to find more ideas.

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