Monday, February 2, 2015

FAQ: Traveling

Traveling at a young age can be really tough but I've been determined in the past year so I have a few tips to share with you!! I know a lot of people who travel often probably know about these things already! This is for those of you who haven't done much traveling but are hoping to soon!



First of all, you should check out Kayak! I used to get so overwhelmed thinking about flights because I was always confused as to which airline to book and how I would know which one was cheapest. With Kayak, you type in the departing airport, the arriving airport, and which dates, and it brings up the best prices! There might be a better option but this has worked great for me!

When booking flights, I've found that booking mid-week (Wednesday) is usually the cheapest. Also, leaving on a Wednesday and coming back on a Wednesday is a good place to start if you want cheaper flights. This isn't always true but a lot of times it is.



Leave out of bigger airports and fly into bigger airports!! The closest airport to you is probably small unless you live in a big city and I don't recommend flying out of small airports because flights are going to be pricey! I usually fly out of Richmond or DC but DC is usually cheaper. And because I'm so determined to fly cheaply, I'm actually driving to Philly for a flight in March because it was way less expensive than DC. Anything to save money. :) Just so you know, flights to San Diego are like $290 round trip right now out of DC for March. :) I'd totally go but I'll be gone.

Sign up for every airline's frequent flyer program. Just type in "American Airlines frequent flyer" into Google and it should pop up. Sign up for AA, Delta, United, Alaska Airlines, US Airways, Southwest, and Virgin America if you're flying in the US. It's free and although it might take a while to earn miles, it is possible. 



If you're spontaneous like me and don't really care where you go or when you go somewhere, check out the Flight Deal! Type in the biggest airport near you and it'll show you cheap flights to really amazing places!

And here comes the tough part... Renting a car under the age of 25. UGH. It's horrible and there's really no way around it unless you know someone willing to loan you a car. You could also use Uber but I've found that I just love to drive around and explore so Uber would be outrageously expensive. When I went to California, I rented from Hertz and it cost $315 for a week. Thankfully Hannah was with me so we split the cost of that and gas so it wasn't bad at all! But it can be way more expensive depending on where you are and where you rent from. Some places won't let you rent under 25 and some places charge a crazy large underage fee so just check around. I use Priceline when finding cars and then whatever one is cheapest, I call the place and ask them to give me the final price with the underage fee. You also have to be careful when renting because some places require a credit card (in your name) and two forms of ID. So just ask what they need when you get there so that you're not left fighting the people who work there. Haha! I speak from experience. Also, if you have AAA, there's usually a tiny discount when renting.



Stay in an Airbnb or ask friends who might know people living where you're going! Don't pay for a hotel!! Seriously, this is so much more fun if you're poor and want to save money! Haha. Not only do you get to meet locals and ask them what to do but it's cheaper and there are so many options!! Make sure to check reviews before booking! And plus, some of them are SO nice and so adorable! All the hosts I've stayed with have been so nice! And if you're weird about staying in the same place as someone, just book a private room or entire place.



Travel with one or two people! That way you can split the cost of things! I don't recommend traveling with more than a couple people, as it gets hard to decide on things to do but it's so nice to have a couple friends! I've even traveled with people I don't know and it's a great way to get to know someone and become friends quickly!!

2 comments:

  1. ugh. now i just want to travel!

    xx, rn

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  2. Thank you so much for sharing, Meredith! Super helpful stuff. :) Yay for adventuring!!

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