Free Travel and Vacation Information

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.  

For a lot of people the thought of holidays to Hawaii is just a dream, something they think they probably could never afford. They more than likely have heard from others how expensive it is to visit Hawaii and to plan on spend more money on this type of vacation than if you were going to Europe. But if you plan it just right, you too can have your dream vacation in Hawaii, even on a budget.

The two biggest costs that you are going to have when planning travel to Hawaii are the airfare to get there and a place to stay. So the first thing you should do is to visit all of the different travel websites and see which one might be offering the best deal. One of these sites is bound to be offering a deal that you should be able to fit into a tight budget. Your best bet is to look for deals that are during the off season times. The slowest months for travel to Hawaii are September and October and this could be the best time for you. So if you are use to going on vacation in the peak summer months, convince yourself to change the time you go on vacation.

After you have found the best deal on the tickets then you going to have to figure out where you are going to stay during your vacation. There are a variety of different ways you can do this. Most of the resorts in Hawaii have all of the same amenities and accommodations so it's best that you simply choose the one with the lowest prices available. Whatever you do, don't pick the hotel because the shops, beaches or restaurants offered there or in the vicinity. Remember all beaches are public beaches in Hawaii so it doesn't matter where you stay you will have access to any beach you want. One suggestion is to rent a condo since there will be less amenities to be paying for and it will also be more private.

You also might want to check out expedia.com and travelocity.com for some sort of package deal. Sometimes you can find combination flight and lodging deals that are far cheaper than what you could put together yourself.

The next thing you'll probably want to do is include a rental car in your plans. The best thing you should do is pick the smallest car with the best gas mileage available. If you think gas is expensive here, wait until you see how much it is in Hawaii.

When you are traveling on a budget it's probably a wise think to limit your stay in Hawaii to just one or two of the islands. It is actually cheaper to fly to another island after you get to Hawaii and even if you stay on just one island there is plenty to see and do even on one island.

Before you get there you should figure out what kinds of things there will be to do and how much they are going to cost. Make sure to set up a budget just for the things you plan to do and then make sure to book reservations for those things that require them. Try to limit the things you do that will cost money because there are still a lot of things to see and do that won't cost you a dime. Try not to fill up your vacation time with all the pay tourist things to do because sometimes you can have more fun simply checking out the island or islands on your own.

If you want to do a little shopping on your trip make sure to stay away from all of the shops in the resorts, you're going to pay double or triple the amount you would elsewhere. So shop where the locals shop. When eating, try to stay away from all of the resort restaurants, there are plenty of other great places to eat locally. Also consider buying your own food and preparing it yourself a couple of times while you are there.  

The economy is pretty lean right now and it probably has you wondering whether or not you shouldn't cancel your next vacation that you were hoping to take with your family. Everyone needs time to get away and get refreshed and it wouldn't be fair to yourself or your family if you canceled the vacation they may have been looking forward to. You can still go on that vacation if you just sit down and try to create a budget that will allow you to take that vacation and still enjoy yourself.

Probably one of the best things you can do when you are on a budget and planning a trip is to start early and begin saving money right away and keep saving it until it's time to take that vacation. Of course the more money you are able to save the more you'll be able to spend on the vacation. You should set down a savings total goal and try your best to meet that goal. Anything over that will be a special surprise.

With that total goal in mind you can then make a budget for your vacation based upon the money goal you set down for yourselves. Be sure to include different categories on your budget to represent different kinds of expenses you think you are going to encounter. The most common categories would be “Travel”, “Hotels”, “Food” and “Attractions”. Try and estimate how much you might expect to pay for these different categories.

Look at all of the categories that you come up with and make sure that you can cover it all and if not, are there some ways that you can trim down some of the cost of the items within the categories you are budgeting for.

While you are planning for your holidays to wherever it might be, try and find different coupons that can be used at your destination. Coupons can save you money on a variety of different things like hotels, tourist attractions and even places to eat.

Another way that you can help yourself save some money is to plan on preparing some of your own meals. As much as that doesn't sound like so much fun, it will save you a lot of money when it comes to how much it will cost you to eat out every day while you are on vacation.

Make sure that you decide early with regards to how you plan to travel to your destination. If you plan to travel in a plan you are going to need to book your reservations early if you are hoping to capitalize on getting any kind of fares that might be discounted.

If you are going somewhere that you might have family or friends living at try to arrange with them to stay with them while on vacation. If the whole time you are there is not good for them, at least try to arrange a few days with them so you can cut down on the hotel costs.

Try to visit as many tourist spots and attractions that simply don't cost any money to go see. A lot of museums for example don't charge entry fees and instead have donation boxes that people can donate money in.