How to Save Hundreds on a Vacation

During recessions, we all still want to go on vacation. In fact, overall spending on some forms of entertainment actually goes up during hard times, perhaps as a way to escape from the pressures of the real world.

But invariably, when budget cutbacks affect the family's entertainment budget, we all look for ways to tighten up and get more enjoyment out of every dollar - or Euro, as the case may be. There are some great ways to stretch your vacation budget - whether that includes a fishing trip or a jet ski rental - and have more fun with every dollar you spend. But you do have to do some digging to find the deals.

One of the best ways to find those deals and get far more sightseeing for less money is to buy a discount card with pre-negotiated deals for local attractions. These often provide wonderfully inexpensive ways to squeeze more bang out of your vacation buck, often putting hundreds of dollars back in your pocket. Wouldn't you rather spend an extra couple hundred bucks on your family than give it away by paying full price?

The way a discount card works is a local company negotiates exclusive deals with local vendors like parasailing companies or sport fishing charters and makes them available to card owners. The amounts of the discounts can vary widely, but 10 to 25% or more is common. For instance, for one discount card in the Key West, Florida region, hotels and bed and breakfast accommodations are discounted 10%. When you are staying a week, this can be a substantial discount.

Fishing charters and snorkeling excursion can often be discounted $100 or more off a full day trip that would normally cost $700. Often, vacation discount cards can be obtained for free if reservations are made for specific excursions.

You can see that the amount of money you can save on travel arrangements is substantial if you look for a discount card program put together by knowledgeable professionals in the area. Because many travel discount cards are good for up to six members of your party, a card can easily cut $500 to $1000 off your vacation.

Kevin Harper is a writer specializing in covering locations and local real estate topics around the United States. For more information on Key West discounts on hotels, sport fishing charters, Dry Tortugas charters, and more, see http://www.goldcardkeywest.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kevin_Harper