Basics for trip planning on a budget

The very first thing I do is get on Google flights. Google Flights - Find Cheap Flight Options & Track Prices 

Flights are likely the biggest expense of any trip, so I like to get the flights taken care of first. 

On Google flights I leave the destination as broad as possible. If I’m looking to go anywhere in Europe, I just type in Europe as the destinations and that allows you to zoom in and out and look at different areas all around the continent. 

You can also be very flexible on dates which will help you truly find the lowest prices. I know that’s not possible for everyone because as a mom, I understand that your children only have certain times that you can travel with them.

Google flights will also allow you to track prices, they will send you emails whenever there are price changes on the routes that you are following. 

Google Flights will also show you if the price for flights are average, higher than usual, or lower than usual , that way if you have no idea what a normal flight would cost it gives you a good gauge of what the prices are doing right now. 

     Once you have the flights picked out that you would like to travel on, I recommend going directly to the airlines website and booking through them. When you book through third-party sites, it complicates any returns or credit that you may need to get in the future in case the flight doesn’t work out and you need to cancel.  

     One caveat to this rule is if you fly Southwest. Since I live near Houston, I fly Southwest A LOT. Southwest is only available for booking on southwest.com. I usually fly Southwest for all of my US and Caribbean flights. One great thing about Southwest is they have no change fees and are very flexible. I find them to be the easiest to change flights on my own without having to call and talk to someone. I routinely check my flights, and rebook them when the price or points that I booked for is lower.

I want to share a few things about booking flights that I’ve learned over the course of my travels: 

• Book early!! I cannot stress this enough, book your flights early. I try to look as soon as possible and at least set up my notifications months in advance. I will even look and set notifications of possible trips because sometimes a big price drop is enough to make the trip a possibility!

• Always be familiar with the cancellation and refund policy of a ticket before you book. Usually when I book flights I am sure that I have the time off work and that I will be going on the trip but life happens and sometimes you need to cancel trips. Always know what you’re in for ahead of time.

• Look very closely at the baggage policy for the ticket you are going to buy. I am finding more and more airlines are adding on fees for bags. Baggage policies vary widely between each and every airline. For example, Southwest allows you to bring a carry-on and a personal item on board as well as check two bags for free. United really depends on what ticket you buy. Some of their tickets won’t even allow you to bring a carry-on. Most international flights that I’ve taken allow at least one checked bag.

• Booking through third-party sites can be risky, but can also save you money. I have booked several flights through a third-party site such as Expedia or Booking.com. When I have booked through these  sites, it’s usually as part of a package where I get my hotel and airfare together at a discounted price. But be warned that it can be difficult if you need to cancel to be able to actually use the flight credit portion of the trip. I have flight credits from 2021 that were canceled that I have been unable to rebook for almost 2 years now. It’s been a huge headache and I will likely not be able to use them. But lesson learned, and that’s why I’m sharing it with you, so you don’t end up in the same situation that I am. 

Once your flights are booked, it’s time to figure out where you are going to stay. I tend to stay in hotels however, lots of people love VRBO as well as Airbnb. I’ve stayed in VRBO rentals several times and loved it. I am finding that the fees being charged on both sites have gotten very high lately, so it’s been significantly cheaper for me to just stay in hotels.

My two favorite hotel sites to book on are expedia.com and booking.com. Make sure you sign up for an account to get rewards and discounts through both sites. I don’t prefer one site over the other. I honestly just go back-and-forth and book whoever has the room I want at the best price.

• I always use the filters whenever I am searching for a room.  One thing I always look for is free breakfast because this is a budget Travel blog after all, so free breakfast is a great way to save money on your food budget.

• I also always make sure that I have free cancellation and I prefer a reserve now, pay later option, if it is available. The reserve now, pay later option gives you freedom to cancel, and rebook hotels as many times as you want to save even more money without having to worry about being credited back money to your credit card. 

• I will book and cancel hotels numerous times before I take a trip. I periodically check rates and if I find the rate on my same room has dropped I will rebook it and cancel the old booking. If you find a great price on a hotel just go ahead and book it you can always cancel it later with this option. I recently went to Hawaii, and re-booked our hotel five times and ended up saving about $500 overall by rebooking. It is a little time consuming, but I don’t mind spending time to save a large chunk of money. It’s literally how I am able to travel as much as I do. And besides, I think it’s super fun to rebook something for an even cheaper price. I kind of make a game out of it.

• Read reviews on hotels. I always always always read the reviews on hotels. I will Google the name of the hotel and look at images that other people have taken and independent reviews off of the booking websites.

• Be realistic about your expectations and needs of a hotel. I do not stay in five-star hotels. For me, a hotel is simply a place to relax and sleep. When I am on a trip I am very rarely in my room, for me it’s all about the adventure, and the place that I am visiting. I just need a comfortable bed, clean shower and free breakfast.