Get More Vacation for Less: Part 1

A travel industry insider shares her nine best rules for stretching your budget during vacation.  Suzanne Rowan Kelleher states that everyone wants a great summer vacation, bu no one wants the steep credit card bill that can too often tag along.  Does that mean you have to Google yourself into a frenzy and invest countless hours in trying to find the lowest airfares and hotel rates? Not at all.  Below part 1 of Suzanne's vacation saving tips:

1. Account for Deals: Create a new e-mail account specifically for vacation planning by using your name combined with a relevant word like "travel". Sign up for e-alerts at a few deal-finding websites.  Suzanne's picks include Travel Ticker (travelticker.com), Travelzoo (travelzoo.com), FareCompare (farecompare.com), and Priceline (priceline.com).  Also enroll with your favorite resorts, airlines, cruise lines, and hotel chains, plus state and city tourism websites.

2. Find Flights on Wednesday: Sales on plane tickets don't just pop up randomly.  There's a pattern to the pricing, and it often looks something like this:  On Monday, Aline A announces that  it's having a sale.  On Tuesday or Wednesday, Airlines B and C jump on to the fray with lower prices too.  By Wednesday morning, you have a much wider selection of low sale fares to choose from.

3. Get Your Coupon On: Before you head off on a vacation, make sure you consult the Entertainment Book (entertainment.com), a compendium of local deals and discounts that was available in 154 geographic editions at press time. These books usually contain hundreds of pages of coupons and savings like free admission to museums, half -off restaurant deals, and dollars off on shopping.  The book cost $35 or less, which can be quickly recouped.

4. Whittle Dining Cost: Eating out is not cheap, and it's way worse when you do so for almost every meal on vacation.  Choose an extended-stay hotel, like Homewood Suites by Hilton, Residence Inn, or Hyatt Summerfield Suites, whose accommodations usually will b equipped with a kitchen so you can cook up some meals and save.  Their rates can be on a par with standard hotel rooms, plus rather than being cramped in one hotel room, you and your family can use the extra space to spread out and relax.

Check out 4 more vacation tips tomorrow.