Save on Travel Costs

Ever since I planned a high school senior year Spring Break trip to... you guessed it, Cancun, I've been obsessed with deals on travel. In March of 1996, our group paid $700 each for round trip airfare, rooms at the Cancun Palace, and all inclusive food and beverage. While that charter flight was not the most professional or timely, the package included alcohol, so we basically flew and stayed for free!

While what constitutes a vacation for me has certainly changed in the last 13 years, the booking principles are the same: shop around and book in advance. There are of course last minute deals to be found, which is great if your travel plans are flexible, but for the purposes of this post I'm assuming they're not. (I did once book a $1300 week-long trip to St. Martin on Expedia 10 days before I left that included airfare from SFO and lodging.)

The first step is to plan your trip budget. Then how you will you spend it. Are you happier eating fabulous meals and staying in a less-than-stellar hotel? Or do you prefer upscale accommodation and like to bring take out to your room? Will you be in a place like the beach where you won't spend much time in your room, or does the property and/or location matter? What will you need? Does an apartment or home rental make sense, or is the best bet a hotel.

After you've answered these questions, you're ready to use Google to find a deal. Google might lead you directly to a booking site, or perhaps to a rental property manager. When getting price quotes, be sure to ask when payment is due, what the deposit amount is, and what extra (hidden) fees there might be. Be up front about your lodging budget -- i.e., help them help you.

If your trip requires airfare, my favorite site is Kayak. Here you can compare deals on all flights available and specify time windows. You can also set up a travel "alert" if you travel frequently to a particular area -- for example, I have one set up between Portland, OR and Oakland, CA since I'm often en route to California for work. The one thing to note is that Southwest Airlines does not display, so I advise you to check the airline site directly to see its rates as well.

If your trip is bringing you to a particular city, check out its associated travel and tourism site. For example, this site has fantastic deals in the Portland area. There are pre-pay hotel discounts that include parking, breakfast and a $75 gift card. The packages change but the idea is the same -- take advantage of deals designed to lure tourism. If there are particular sites or museums you want to visit, chances are there will be coupons included, and you can always ask.

Travel can be fun and exotic, just like a Chilean Carménère, which is this post's wine pairing! Carménèreis a "noble variety" in Bordeaux but is almost always a minority part of the blend. In Chile, it is arguably "king". Carménère is a medium-bodied wine with red fruit, spices and softer tannins than in a Cabernet Sauvignon, for example. This Casillero del Diablo is a great value from one of the bigger producers, Concha Y Toro and costs less than $10.