Planning a trip can be a lot of fun simply because you’re putting together the details of a trip that will whisk you away from the hustle & bustle of daily life. There’s just one problem – how do you figure out if the travel packages you’ve been looking at are actually good? It can feel almost a little too easy to have every detail of your next excursion planned out with a pretty good price. What’s to say that you may have missed something and you’re actually out of pocket more than you could have imagined?
Could travel packages be too good to be true? Well, yes and no. It really depends on the package you’re considering. Here are a few more things to consider:
Price Out Everything Individually – Yes, it may take a bit, but perhaps the biggest (but not the only) secret in determining if travel packages are a good deal is seeing how things look when you price out everything individually. This means plane tickets, hotel stays, travel arrangements, and even having a food budget. You will be absolutely floored by the difference in price that can come about when pricing out everything based on reasonable expectations.
Is All-Inclusive Worth It? – When some packages are put together, they are done with certain level of hotel in mind or based on particular search terms. Could you could survive without the five-star surroundings if it meant saving hundreds of dollars on accommodations? Most people would definitely say, “Yes.” This means more money for the entertainment budget, or even trying out some unique experiences your trip can now financially handle.
Consider Other Accommodations – Aside from standard hotels, there has been a rise in popularity in what are often referred to as alternative accommodations. Different vacation rental properties have come on the market & slowly pulled consumers from the standard hotel to stay to something a little nicer and homelike. When you break down pricing, you might be surprised just how much this new way of travel can save you.
Missing Out On Travel Perks – If you are a member of an organization or a rewards program with a certain hotel, you may not know that you could lose out on some of the perks you get through your membership.
For the traveler looking for maximum fun with minimal effort & expense, travel packages seem to be the way to go when planning any trip. However, if you’re like most folks, being a proactive travel planner may actually be saving you a lot of money. No matter how nice it feels to sit back & let a package deal come to you, if you’re looking to save the most of your hard-earned cash, you need to see how the numbers actually break down.
Martin Wynn
