Free Travel and Vacation Information

Just because you don't have a lot of money shouldn't stop you from getting together and planning yourselves a romantic and cheap holiday for you and your spouse. With the way the economy is shouldn't keep you from getting away and enjoying each others company. After all, you've worked hard and you've earned, even if you can't afford something extravagant, you still need to treat yourselves on occasion.

One of the first things you can do is to search online for different deals that might be available. Some good sites to search on are travelzoo.com, kayak.com or hotwire.com. Some sites like travelzoo even have special getaway rates that are offered on a weekly special basis. They can also help you find places in a pinch and for very low rates. A lot of the deals they offer you will include the airfare and the accommodations.

Even your budget is simply to stretched that you can't even afford to leave town, don't fret. Why not sit down and plan a wonderful evening at home. Take time out for each other. Go out and buy your favorite meal, decorate with flower petals, roses, candles, your favorite wine and turn off the phones and play your favorite music. If you have a fireplace and it's not too warm outside, why not pack a picnic type dinner and serve the meal in front of the fireplace. Make the foods easy to eat by turning them into finger foods that you can lazily munch on while lying cozy together in front of the fire.

Something that might sound a little weird to some people might be a camp out in your own backyard. But it can be something fun to do with your spouse. Simply set up your tent in your backyard, and don't cheat. Use all of your camping stuff and cook your meals outdoors, set up the camp chairs, do the whole deal, only difference you're doing it in the privacy of your own backyard. Then pretend you are a tourist in your own town and go for an outing to somewhere you've not been before in your own town. Even take pictures of your experience to give it a more vacation like feeling.

Find a book that includes places that are in your area or state. Make it more interesting if it's one of fiction but includes factual information about these areas. Then after you've read the book together go and find these places that were written about in the book. See how close the author was in describing these places and imagine you are his characters in the book.

Take time out to visit your local museums and different specialty shops. A lot of times when we live somewhere we tend to take things for granted and we never go and see the things that tourists come to see when they are on vacation. So pretend you are a tourist and go see all of those things you've been missing all the time you've lived there.  

Gone are the days when going to Las Vegas was probably one of the least expensive destinations. Now it seems that all of that has changed with all of it's luxury hotels and high end dining along with a variety of designer shops. However; if you still want to go check out Sin City and all it has to offer, you can still do it on a budget if you plan it just right.

One way to save a lot of money on your hotel price is to plan for your holidays to Vegas during a time in which a lot of tourists don't go. If you book your hotel in July or August during the hottest time of the year or in December before Christmas you will find that even the more expensive hotels are going to be dropping their room rates to get people to come and stay with them.

You should also try to make sure that you plan to come and visit during the week when the prices are lower. If you trip includes the weekends you are going to have to pay a huge increase in the amount of money for your room. The hotels up the prices of the rooms during Fridays and Saturdays.

Also consider signing up for a variety of different email promotions that you can find on the different hotel websites. If you do this prior to your arrival date you will get periodic emails from these hotels that might offer you some deals that you might want to use in order to save money on accommodations, meals and maybe even some shows in town.

Make sure to check all of the hotels, don't just stick with the ones on the strip. You can look into the prices for the downtown hotels and those off strip. Ones off the strip often offer free shuttles to take you to the strip as part of their accommodations package. So you could save a lot of money by doing this. The key here is you need to be a smart shopper when it comes to finding an affordable room in Vegas.

When you check into the hotel that you decided upon make sure not to be shy and ask them if there are any free upgrades. Many times during the off season the hotels will allow you to upgrade your room with extra amenities or a better view for the same price of your original room.

When you are there and plan to go out to eat in Vegas make sure you fill up on their breakfast buffets. This is usually the time of day when the food is the least expensive and is offered at just about all of the hotels in Vegas.

You should also look for Happy Hours around town where you will find a variety of bars and lounges offering great deals on their drinks and a variety of different appetizers that you might be able to get full on. You will also find a lot of low prices for food if you go and visit the Food Court in the Fashion Show Mall. There's a large variety of food that's not going to break the bank.

Also don't forget about hotel coupons that all hotels offer their guests. A lot of times there will be buy one get one free coupons that will really come in handy and consider finding out where all the locals hang out. More than likely they'll be hanging out at places with good food at lower prices.

There are a ton of things you can do and see while in Vegas. One thing you can do which can take days is to visit all of the hotels on the Strip. Each hotel has something unique to offer and so much of it is free as well. From the Bellagio's water entertainment and it's botanical gardens to the Mirage with it's volcano.

When wanting to see a show see if where you're staying doesn't offer two for one coupons for these as well or go during times of the day that the prices are lower. The prices during the peak evening hours of course are going to be more expensive.

And finally, if you want a break from the hustle and bustle of the bright lights and casino noise, rent a car, take a packed lunch and drive out to Red Rock Canyon for a some quiet and lovely scenery.  

If you and your family have always dreamed of taking a trip to Disneyland but simply feel that it is out of the question because of the amount of money it will cost, never give up hope on being able to experiencing that Disney magic. With some good research and planning you should be able to pull off a trip to Disneyland and create memories for you and your children that will last a lifetime and make every penny spent well worth it.

One of the first things you should do is figure out what time of year you want to visit Disneyland. The busiest times where you will have to wait the longest for just about every ride are the summer months of June, July and August.

During winter break which is the month of December through the early part of January. Spring break which can range from March through the middle of April. Also when there are big conventions in town a long with parties for Halloween, Grad Night and other special youth oriented events.

The off season times that are good would be in the fall during the middle of September through the middle of November. It's also some of the best weather. Late spring from middle of April through the month of May and then in late winter in the middle of January through the month of February, however, this is when you will get hit with most of the rain.

After you have decided when you plan to come you should then figure out how long you are going to want to visit. If you happen to choose to come during the peak seasons than you had better plan on taking at least four or five days to see both Disneyland and their California Adventure Park. This is because the lines are going to be anywhere from a 45 minute to 2 hour wait and you simply will not be able to see everything in just a couple of days.

If you choose to go during the off season then you might be able to see everything in just two days but it's still highly recommended that you try taking three days to see everything. The last thing you want to do is to feel like your time is rushed while you are there.

It is not a good idea to rent a car during your stay especially if you plan correctly. Make sure that you have a map of the area and that it includes the ART system on it, this is the Anaheim Resort Transit.

If you choose the right hotel or motel on the route then you can get a ride from the airport to your hotel and you will also be able to take the ART from your hotel to Disneyland if you are not within walking distance to the parks. Remember, walking distance should just mean a few blocks away, because you are not going to want to walk a couple of miles after walking around in the parks all day.

Make sure that if you are on a budget that you stay away from the Disney Hotels and try to find one that is in the $100 a night range that will also include daily breakfast. There are plenty smaller hotels in the area that you will be able to find that offer this price and some even lower if you move further out away from the Disney Parks.

But you may not get the breakfast and have less amenities. It's a good idea to consider getting a suite or one that's called a kitchenette, this way you have plenty of room for the whole family and you even have a place to cook and store your own food.

You should have a daily budget that you should try to follow such as how much to spend on food, souvenirs, snacks, lockers inside the park, the ART shuttle and emergency money. This will help you stay on your budget and you shouldn't run out of money during your stay.

Note: Very few people know that Disneyland will allow you to bring your own food and drinks into the parks as long as they are in containers or packages. So consider packing a lunch and bringing your own drinks especially water when you go to spend the day there. This will help cut down on the cost of food while you are inside the Parks. If you must eat inside the park make sure that you avoid the fancy restaurants and stick with the food services you will find on Main Street.