How to Save Money on Your Summer Vacation

For over a year, the thought of spending a week basking in the Caribbean sun or even taking a short drive to rent a cabin for the weekend and unwind by the water, away from all the stress and anxiety of home, has carried nearly all of us through a difficult period in our lives. 

Everyone wants a nice vacation this summer. To be quite frank, everyone deserves a nice vacation this summer. You know it, your employees know it, and most importantly, airlines, hotels, and Airbnb owners know it. Which is why many people will be disappointed to find that the current prices of flights, hotel rooms, and Airbnbs are not typos. They really are that expensive. 

Do not despair. In this blog, we’ll provide you with tips to reduce the cost of that vacation you’ve been waiting so patiently for.

Make Price Your Priority

People find themselves paying more money when they have a fixed idea of where they want to go, when they want to go, which airlines they’ll travel with, and the specific hotel or resort they’ll stay at. 

Instead, you switch your mindset to finding less expensive flights, destinations, and hotels. Perhaps when you initially started daydreaming about your summer holidays, you imagined yourself sitting on a patio in Greece. But it turns out that flights are $1,500 and hotels not much better. Instead of forcing your Greek vacation to happen, look around at what’s more affordable. It might turn out that flights to Rome are half as expensive, a week-long stay in Nice fits much more comfortably within your budget. 

If you look for affordable flights rather than fixating on a destination, you may end up in a beautiful part of the world that you didn’t expect to visit. 

The best way to find cheap flights to desirable destinations is to use a flight aggregator. Websites like Skyscanner, Expedia, Google Flights, and Kayak are all reliable and allow you to search across airlines and airports for the best deals near you.

Stay Local

Last summer we dove into the benefits of a staycation. This year, we aren’t advocating people vacation from the comforts of their own home—just that setting your sights a little closer to home will save you a fortune on your vacation. Almost everywhere has opened up enough to allow for non-essential travel. If you’re in Vancouver for instance, you could travel to: 

• Vancouver Island
• The Gulf Islands
• Kelowna
• Kamloops
• Pemberton
• Penticton
• Osoyoos
• Jasper
• Revelstoke
• And more...

That is a much more extensive list than last summer, where vacation options were limited to day trips to lakes, mountains, and beaches within your health authority. Though some of these destinations may be more expensive than they usually are this time of year, you’ll still save yourself a bundle. 

Many local vacation spots also have a wide range of Airbnb's available, allowing you to save money and plan a bigger, more exotic trip when the prices cool down, which leads us to our final tip. 

Plan a Winter Holiday

Understandably, nobody wants to be told to wait just a little longer to go on their big vacation. 

It’s well known that flights are at their cheapest the further you get from the date you plan to travel. (Last minute deals on airfare do occur but they’re rare, and the money you save on flights will more that likely go towards booking a last minute hotel, which will not be cheap). Typically international travel is cheapest between 4-6 months out from the day you plan to take flight. So if escaping Canada’s dreary winters in favour of a sunny beach in Mexico sounds appealing, now is the perfect time to start looking. 

There are some other reasons why planning a holiday for the winter may be a good idea. Unlike last summer, this holiday isn’t an ephemeral event that might happen someday. The flights are books. The hotels are booked. The trip is happening, it’s just happening in a few months rather than a few weeks.

Another benefit of being patient is that as more of the world gets vaccinated, international travel becomes easier. Canada is already removing the requirement that Canadians coming home from international travel must quarantine for 14-days so long as they are fully vaccinated. Hopefully, travel will be even simpler in a few months' time. In the meantime, there’s nothing wrong with spending the summer locally, unwinding at a less expensive Airbnb or campsite. 

Final Thoughts

Typically, the earlier you book your flight and accommodations, the more money you’re likely to save. With the unpredictability of covid, many people weren’t comfortable booking a vacation that may not be able to go on and now prices are sky high. However, a flexible itinerary and a little bit of luck can help makeup for a lack of advanced planning and allow you to go on the vacation you’ve been dreaming of without breaking the bank.