Welcome to another edition of “Trip Planning”!
I love researching and planning trips and thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite resources and tips as I plan a trip to Italy for Jason and I in March.
Today we’re talking savings tips!
I really enjoy taking tours when I travel. I truly believe that a good guide will give you an experience and understanding that you just won’t get out of a guidebook or audio guide (I was especially convinced of this when Jason and I visited Arlington National Cemetery this fall, our guide was FANTASTIC!).
I knew there was certain sites in Italy that I wanted to experience with a guide (such as the Vatican), so I researched tours on TripAdvisor, in guidebooks and on travel blogs to make sure we’d find just the right one for our interests. Once I had an idea of what tours I was interested in, I followed these few tips I’m sharing to make sure we got the best value!
Sign Up for Newsletters
Clogging up your e-mail with random newsletters can actually pay off!
I signed up for the newsletter from the company that leads the food tour I was interested in doing in Rome (yum, right?!) and a couple of weeks later I got an e-mail with a holiday offer for 25% off all tours – over a $40 savings for the two of us!
**Note – if you really don’t want to clog up your e-mail, consider a “junk e-mail” account, I have a separate e-mail address that I use only for store discounts, newsletters, etc.**
Follow on Social Media
Follow the companies you may be interested in and you never know what deals may pop up!
A tour company I was interested in posted a 15% off offer on Facebook for Cyber Monday – since we were taking multiple tours with this company it added up to over a $50 savings!
Search for Discount Codes
If you’re not already using a site like RetailMeNot.com WHENEVER you shop online you are DEFINITELY missing out! You can search any company or site and see if there are any discount codes out there you can add to your order – instant savings!
I searched several of the tours companies we’re using and found discount codes for a few of them – I saved over $20 on our Venice food tour with a code from this site!
It Can’t Hurt to Ask!
Taking multiple tours with the same company? Ask about a multi-tour discount – one company we’re using offered me 10% off for booking multiples tours!
Live, Run, Grow 
I love saving money on tours and travel. I spend hours searching the internet for deals and then feel it is okay to splurge on a great meal or special souvenir. You will have a fabulous time in Italy. So excited for you and Jason!
It’s amazing how much you can save with a few quick internet searches! (And I love adding up the savings!)
Good ideas, girl! We were able to save a TON of money on our Thanksgiving luau because we booked it in advance. I was shocked when I saw a sign in the hotel lobby advertising it for more than double what we paid. I cautiously looked at Adam and said, “that’s now what we paid, right?” because it was ridiculously expensive if you booked the day-of. Good job on all your planning and saving!
Oh yes, book early is a great tip! One of the things I really liked about a lot of these tours is that they had very generous cancellation policies – some you could get a full refund up to 48 hours before the tour, so I didn’t mind booking far in advance knowing I could cancel or make changes!