Happy Saturday, Beautiful!
I’m so excited about the first WANDERLUST post! *Waits for you to ask me why.* Well, I got to make a list, and boy do I love making lists! I also got to talk about one of my very favorite things in the world and half of the namesake of this blog: traveling.
After all, as every Pinterest pin ever said:
Travel is the only thing we buy that makes us richer.
(I like to imagine that we all just said that together in our sorority voice while holding hands.)
Honestly, who doesn’t love to travel? There’s nothing quite like placing yourself in an entirely new setting and watching yourself grow through the memories you make. Likewise, there’s nothing like returning to a place you’ve been before – that, too, will show you how you’ve changed since you were there last. I believe it is imperative to see and experience new places and people, to get out there in it + maybe realize just how small we really are compared to this big wide world we’ve been given.
So, if that’s all true . . . why the heck does it cost so much money to travel?! I mean, for all of us ballers on a budget out there, how do we still make this dream happen without being some professionally-paid-wanderlusting-model-goddess?
“I just want to travel, get paid for doing something I love, be around genuine people, and find new ways to love the same man over and over.”
If I could pick one mantra to live by for the rest of my life, it’d be that one. So, if your heart is always yearning for adventure like me – but your bank account isn’t the unlimited kind (Black AmEx goals, amIright?) – then keep on reading this post for some quick tips about how to travel on the cheap!
Tip #1: Did You Guys Want to Start Off With Any Apps?
I love food (hi, Bae), but that is not the kind of “App” I’m talking about, unfortunately. My favorite thing to do when I first get an idea about a trip I’d like to take is make a Pinterest board. If I’m planning the trip with other people, I love that I can add them to the board and we can collaborate together. You can even make the board “private” if you’re planning a bachelorette, birthday, anniversary, or another kind of trip involving the element of surprise! The “private” setting allows you to collab on the down-low without spoiling any of the details for your bestie or significant other. This not only helps gather preliminary information about an unknown city quickly, it also helps set expectations for everyone on board.
There are sooo many great pins out there in list format – I know, “it’s lit” as the kids say – detailing all the must-tries in every city imaginable. I like to save a couple of these so I can compare different authors’ view points; if there’s one restaurant or tourist spot that made every list, that tells me it’s an absolute must.
Once you’ve got some restaurants and adventures in mind, don’t underestimate the power of Groupon and Yelp. These apps allow you to search based on location, so you can even use them while you’re traveling if planning your stops in advance doesn’t work out. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve opened Yelp, searched locations “nearby” based on reviews/stars, and just went with it . . . and was not disappointed. Yelpers keep it pretty real (just watch the “South Park” spoof – lol), so it’s a pretty reliable source. You’re bound to find amazing local activity deals and even full vacations available for certain travel dates on Groupon, but this is an app better used in advance. Buying a Groupon doesn’t necessarily mean your Groupon is scheduled and guaranteed when you’ll need it, so make sure to read disclaimers and deets about limits on usage before you purchase. Groupon is a really beautiful (and strange, unexpected) place if you scroll enough . . . . .
I’ve noticed a lot of people using the newer Facebook Recommendations feature lately (you know me, trolling for literally anything but political arguments), and boy does that getcha some results! Look, people generally love to give their own advice + the commenters are typically people who want to stay connected with you and care about you in some way. It’s sort of like what I said about Yelp: if these people are taking the time to write an unsolicited, unpaid review, that means their experience was either great or it wasn’t. And we need to know either way. The people who will take the time out of their busy lives to give you recommendations on Facebook either: 1) may not know you very well but had such an amazing or terrible experience that they want to make sure you experience or avoid the same, or; 2) are your friends or family, and they love and care for you. Either way, you’re going to drum up some valuable feedback, and that can help keep you moving in the right direction as you plan your trip.
HomeAway, AirBNB, and VRBO are your new best friends. My favorite is probably HomeAway due to the app layout and the fact that you can browse without even creating an account or signing in! Most apps these days, I tell ya. You download it, open it, and before you can even use it, it wants to know your username, password, Facebook, email, age, gender, and blood type (too much?). HomeAway allows you to browse rentals, check available dates, and even message property owners without any of the new-account-set-up-hassle.
If you’re new to non-hotel rental apps like these, a word to the wise: read with caution. Some of these “rentals” are actual homes. With people. People who live there. Now, they may live in the basement and you’d get to stay in the entire rest of their house (and it won’t be too weird and nobody will get murdered and it’ll all be fine) . . . but if that crosses the line and creeps you out like it does me and my hubby, then make sure to look for properties where owners leave you with the key and skedaddle.
Even better, look for apartments and condos in complexes that are perpetually for rent on these apps at great nightly prices. We used HomeAway for our recent trip to Denver, Colorado, and found a fantastic apartment with 3x the square footage we would’ve had in a hotel room. We found “The Station” through the HomeAway app, and here’s where using an app like HomeAway instead of Google is important: when I Googled “The Station Denver” to get an idea of the setup, the top result was “The Station at Riverfront Park Apartments.” The apartment complex’s website is 100% just that: a place for hopeful potential long-term residents to explore and inquire about filling out a leasing application and moving in. We would’ve never known without the HomeAway app that this bad boy could actually be rented for $202/night. When we split that with the other couple we planned the trip with, that was just $101/night for our half!
For a place that sleeps six + comes with sooo many other money-saving benefits – like an entire kitchen, on-demand TV/Netflix/Hulu Plus logins, high-speed internet, prompt maintenance responses, and a fireplace – that is not a bad deal at all. Ya’ll, the Courtyard Marriott by the Denver airport is $122/night. For a room with a bed and a mini fridge, which you can enjoy to the sound of constant airplanes. “Treat yoself” by saving money. Book a home, not just a room.
Another great money-saving benefit about booking a home or apartment instead of a hotel room is the full kitchen capabilities. Now, I’m the last person in the world to tell ya not to go out to eat. One of the best parts about traveling is trying new foods and restaurants you may never get to try again! But, if you’re like me and can’t quite afford to go out to eat for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner, three times a day for however many days you’re traveling, then having a full kitchen around is the way to go.
On our recent trip to Denver, we took an Uber to the nearest Safeway (moment of silence for the fact that there are no Safeways here in beautiful Charlotte) and split groceries for the weekend with the couple we traveled with. We bought fresh coffee for the coffee maker, breakfast foods, snack foods, sandwich foods, frozen foods, our favorite drinks, you name it . . . and still, the money we spent on groceries was the same as – if not less than – what we would’ve spent on groceries had we stayed in Charlotte that weekend.
Now, if you’re a major foodie and going out to eat for three meals a day is non-negotiable, this next tip is for you.
Tip #2: What in Transportation?
(Sorry, couldn’t help myself. Those are probably my favorite memes ever created. “What in Destination? What in location?”) But, while we’re on the topic of Uber . . . . .
Our Uber driver was such a nice guy who was willing to wait for us while we shopped at Safeway (for a minor waiting fee) and add on our route back to the apartment complex.
A quick note here on a few things I’ve learned from using Uber in more than 10 different states:
- Uber is always cheaper than a taxi. Always. (Trust me on this. I’ve taken the same exact route in a taxi and an Uber on many a work trip to compare, and Uber always wins.)
- A large portion of Uber drivers are retired dudes from all kinds of interesting places – even all over the world – with the coolest stories to tell.
- I have been pleasantly surprised by not only the cleanliness of Uber drivers’ vehicles, but also by the amenities the vast majority offer. I’m talking boxes of Kleenex, mints, chocolates, Tide-To-Go Pens, cough drops, Wet Ones. I mean, that’s about as close to a personal chauffeur as it’s going to get for me, and I’m okay with that!
- I’m going to mention the obvious downside about taxis: the fare is calculated based on distance, so it behooves taxi drivers to take you on the longest route possible to your destination. I’ve even had taxi drivers pretend to be lost and drive in circles on one-way streets thinking I won’t recognize the area or know any better. I hate the rigmarole I feel like I have to go through when I first get in the cab: “Hi, the address is ____, and I’m in a bit of a hurry. I’ve got the fastest route pulled up on my phone GPS for you.” *”So today’s not the day and I’m not the one,” I silently finish as I hand over my iPhone I won’t get to enjoy using to catch up on work this entire ride.* With Uber, you’re sure to have a flat fee calculated upfront, and your driver’s Uber app will automatically direct him/her to the route with the shortest distance.
Another way to save money on transportation is to sign up for discount flying websites like Airfare Watchdog and Allegiant Air. My mom and her best friend (whose daughter is one of MY very best friends, but that’s another story!) recommended these sites to me, and they both offered the affordable prices I had been missing using regular “money-saving” travel sites. Allegiant Air only offers routes to certain cities on certain days of the week, but it’s really not as restrictive as it sounds. We used Allegiant Air for our honeymoon and had great customer service. Our flight attendants brought us a bottle of sparkling wine to enjoy together and took pictures of us, which meant a lot to me us as honeymooners. Our flight was even at 6:00AM, but they didn’t hesitate to celebrate us at all. Do keep in mind that the weight limit with Allegiant Air is 40lbs instead of the typical 50, so we had to pay an unexpected $50 checked bag fee each way for my let’s-just-say-it-wasn’t-40-pounds suitcase.
Another small thing we didn’t expect with Allegiant Air was the $5 “printing fee” for each boarding pass printed at the airport instead of at home or downloaded via the mobile app. We downloaded to the app and went with it to avoid the fee, but if you’re someone who doesn’t have a smart phone or maybe does but has a cracked phone screen, you’re going to miss the price of a latte each time you print at the airport.
Airfare Watchdog has been featured on various news and media outlets for its helpful route suggestions and top fares. I love that when I visit the homepage, I can scroll down to find “Today’s Top Fares” from my particular city, Charlotte. When I search based on departure and destination location, the site provides me with information on the cheapest months to fly the particular route. It even includes the airline and the website where the information was found, and the exact dates the traveler booked the route. There’s also an option to sign up for email alerts when the price drops, which is a great way to get notified without having to check back on a daily basis.
I learned about Ryanair while studying abroad in law school, living in Lithuania for the summer. Ryanair is a crazy-affordable Irish airfare company based in Dublin with all kinds of amazing European deals for traveling from country to country. Ryanair has flights to Belgium and United Kingdom for € 14.99 + flights to Germany and France for € 16.99! That’s $15.87 and $17.99 . . . !!! Rome, Italy is € 39.99, a little pricier but still a great deal for international airfare. One thing to be aware of with sites like Ryanair and Airfare Watchdog is flexibility is key. These prices are so great because they’re only available on certain days of the week, so you’ve got to be willing to go with it. You’re just not going to get a cheap flight from Dublin to Manchester on certain Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays because that’s when most people can and will be down to pay higher prices to travel.
SuperShuttle is a great way to get from the airport to your hotel room if the distance between the two points just wouldn’t make sense to call an Uber or a taxi. We love to use SuperShuttle because we can pay in advance, receive text notifications, and ride comfortably (in a commercial van) for longer distances. For example, we used SuperShuttle for our honeymoon when we landed at the Ft. Lauderdale International Airport because we needed to get to the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables (located in a gorgeous suburb outside of Miami). The Ft. Lauderdale airport was approximately 45 minutes from our destination at the Biltmore, so taking a taxi or an Uber for that amount of time just didn’t make sense because it would’ve been incredibly costly. Instead, we planned ahead and paid a set fee for each of us ($30 each); input our flight number, arrival time, number of bags, and a tip; and had a pre-paid, professional ride service ready and waiting for us when we landed. I love that we don’t have to worry about the stresses that come with traveling when we use SuperShuttle! If our flight is delayed or early, it’s all gravy: they’ve got our flight number and can keep track of our arrival, so there’s no one to update . . . nor is there a worry we’ll miss our ride.
If you’re wondering why we flew into Ft. Lauderdale just to go to Miami, which also has a perfectly good international airport, then HI! This post (and the novel on my life) is called “Travel on the Cheap!” We used Allegiant Air, which only flew to Ft. Lauderdale . . . and it was HUNDREDS of dollars cheaper, even with the SuperShuttle (which we would’ve needed regardless)!
One more note here (because no one explained this to me until law school when I started traveling with my trial team) just in case. It is completely FREE to sign up for awards programs likes American Airlines’ AAAdvantage, Hilton’s HHonors, Marriott Rewards, and other similar points systems that reward you for your travel (and the money you’ve spent!). It never hurts to rack up miles and points like these because most programs don’t allow the points to expire for 12-18 month cycles. That way, if you can’t travel as much as you’d like to (welcome to the club, we should make jackets!), you’re not signing up and typing in your AAAdvantage # for nothing – you’ll get to use those points for a free flight eventually, and that gives you something to look forward to!
Pro tip: I’ll never forget the moment one of my best girl friends and I were traveling for work together. We were early to our check-in, so we were playing on our phones in the lobby, making moves. We called Hilton’s customer service to really learn about the rewards system (okay, now we just sound really bored and travel-weary and sad) and we discovered that we could LINK our HHonors account to our AAAdvantage account. Ya’ll. TOTAL. GAME. CHANGER. We started racking up what felt like double the points because we were getting rewarded for using American and Hilton together when we traveled. Double-dipping policies like that really get me going in the best kinda way. (Someone teach me how to coupon!)
Tip #3: “You got a banana, you don’t need no Snack Pack.”
I love “Billy Madison,” and if we’re being honest here, Adam Sandler’s character’s nanny had a point. What I mean here is that if you’ve already got yourself a perfectly good snack, you won’t need anything else! You’ll be good to go. And when you’re traveling – and in general are an avid snacker (guilty) – not needing to buy any snacks throughout the day can really add up saved money that can be spent on souvenirs, and even better, experiences.
Two things I always pack with me are a glass water bottle and a box of granola bars. I keep a few bars in my purse throughout the day and never have to worry about snacking unhealthily or – WORSE – wasting money I could be spending on something else. (If you’ve ever been hungry around me and I’ve pulled a smushed granola bar out of my purse, ya welcome.) A $4 box of Kashi bars can go a long way when you’re traveling! I also constantly refill that glass water bottle and thus avoid having to buy an inordinate amount of bottled waters throughout the day. Plus, it’s important to stay hydrated while you travel, and there’s an even better bonus: drinking lots of water will help keep you from feeling hungry when your body really isn’t. Don’t like the taste of water but like where I’m going with this? Spend an extra $3 on a box of flavor packets and you’re golden. Spending that extra $4-$7 at the grocery store in advance for items like this will seriously cut the costs of a long weekend away.
Tip #4: Put Those Subscription Boxes to Work!
Subscription boxes are LIFE, amIrite? Anything that comes in the mail and gives me something to look forward to is exciting, but I also love that subscription boxes allow us to try new products we may otherwise never get to try! Plus, after I subscribed for a few months the deliveries started to feel like a suhWEET surprise. I mean, of course I (somewhat) know what’s going on inside my bank account; over time, I kept in mind approximately what day of the month the money was coming out. Sometimes I would see the emails exclaiming my box had shipped, but for the most part . . . happy mail surprises for the win! Life gets crazy-busy, so as the months & years passed, I loved being “surprised” with little unexpected yet expected treats at my doorstep.
I started subscribing to a few subscription boxes – gosh – back in 2008 (time FLIES!) and canceled them just last fall right before we got married because I knew it would be a crazy few months. Plus – and this is a story for another time – I planned our entire wedding and either ordered or handmade almost every piece of décor, so ya girl had priorities. And you know what? I haven’t missed them since! “Whyyy?” you ask as you confusingly tolerate me talking about samples without quite knowing where I’m going here. (You’re a literal angel, by the way.) That’s because, like I said, life gets crazy-busy and I just didn’t have time to use them all up before more goodies came in the mail. Over time, I accrued an entire drawer full of sample babies just waiting to be used – and I still have plenty to go before ANYONE needs to allow me to subscribe again.
So, how do I play this “collection” off to my husband like I’m not a hoarder? (Cue me brushing my hair with a fork asking Hubby to look at my sample stuff, isn’t it neat?) We bring a handful of samples with us every time we travel and use them right up! They’ve become our go-to toiletries for trips and MAN do I feel like I’m putting them to good use! I wish I could say, “My toiletry bag is much more than a Ziploc bag full of Birchbox and Ipsy tubes,” but I wouldn’t lie to ya. Over the years I’ve accumulated sun screen, toothpaste, shaving cream, lotion, shampoo, conditioner, hair treatments, mini eye shadow tins, under-eye concealer, mascara, moisturizer . . . you name it, I got it! Whether it was what I’d been hoping for that month or not. (I know some other ladies out there have to feel me on this! Like, toothpaste, though? Why did my boxes never look like the ones on Insta?). Now, it doesn’t matter what subscription box cards you’re dealt because you’ll always have a reason to put your goodies to good use!
Plus, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a subscription sample weighing more than 3 ounces, which makes them all perfect to place in your carry-on bag – another huge money-saver when traveling! Trust me, I know: We have nothing to wear at all times until we need to pack our entire closet for a four-day trip, complete with 10 pairs of shoes. But that extra $50 each way for a checked bag can really add up over time . . . not to mention all the benefits that come with packing a carry-on versus checking a bag! For example, when you land in a new place, the last thing you want to do is wait 30-45 minutes for your luggage to get sorted and placed on the carousel (carelessly, I might add – why are they always upside down? Like, are we in a fight?). With your samples packed in your carry-on, security will be a breeze at your departure, and getting your adventure started will be just a matter of you getting off the plane and walking through the airport to the great beyond. Nothing kills a wanderlust vibe like a lost or delayed bag!
Tip #5: Take Turns Sitting on Dogs
“Wait, WUT?” C’mon, it’s like sitting on babies! But with dogs.
So, we made it one post without me talking about my dogs. One.
I’m so proud and so strong. Anyway! Look, my hubby and I have tried checking our babies in to dog-boarding facilities before, and we ultimately always leave unhappy with our babies’ experience. Obviously, nothing could ever be good enough for our babies, but it’s not like that. It’s the fact that they always come back to us stressed out or with kennel cough, or that something else annoying/disappointing happens.
For example, one time we were in Kansas City for a high school friend’s wedding and I got an email from the Charlotte boarding facility where our babies were staying. “Rosie’s Having a Great Time!” the e-mail subject line promised, and I couldn’t wait to open up the attachment to see my sweet girl’s face. But when I did *dramatic pause* . . . it wasn’t even my dog. It wasn’t even Rosie’s older brother, who is ALSO a golden retriever, bred from the same golden parents. A mix-up like that would’ve been funny and made sense, since they’re both my babies – their boarding was paid for with the same card, the reservation was made under the same owner name, and due to their breeding, well . . . they look alike!
But the photo I received wasn’t any of that. It was an entirely different, scraggly-looking golden retriever. Not our red little Rosie girl, not her older blonde brother bear Coheed, and not even our third pup, our chocolate lab-pit bull mix princess named Cambria.
It may seem like a small misstep to non-furbaby parents, and if you’re not an “animal person” at all, you definitely won’t understand. It felt like a literal kick in the gut to open that photo, and it really drove home the reality that boarding facilities are just businesses in disguise. These businesses promise individualized attention, updates on your baby’s stay, plenty of play time, and all that good stuff, but . . . at the end of the day, it’s just what it seems like: a business with business hours and employees who go home at night.
My recommendation is to develop an arrangement with your other furbaby-parent besties. When our bestie Chase decides to go out of town, we’re always down to watch his doggo Lukey. When we go out of town, he watches our babes in return. Sometimes we buy each other a pack of beer or bring each other back a souvenir, but none of that is expected. No money is exchanged, because it’s not about that. We just always know that we’re there for each other and will certainly love each other’s babies a heck of a lot better than Texting Tina over there at the pet hotel. Plus, when Lukey stays with us, he still has plenty of pups to play with: all 3 of ours! Chase brings his crate, his favorite toys, his food, and everything else he needs to feel comfortable in our space for the length of his stay.
Lukey, Chase’s dog, is just over a year old, whereas our pups are all about 5 years old. They don’t need their crates anymore during the day or night, so they’re able to stay at our place when we go out of town, where they’re comfortable and familiar with their surroundings. We always make or buy them lots of treats to keep them occupied, and we have a fenced-in deck to enjoy all the “squirrelies,” “birdies,” and deer that mosey by. Chase comes over to hang out with them three times each day, and it means the world to my hubby, Chase, and me that we can be there for each other’s babies and travel worry-free. Peace of mind like that is everything. There’s nothing like getting Snapchats throughout the day of your pup, knowing they’re okay. When it comes to my babies, seeing is believing.
I hope these travel tips were helpful you!
“Please understand, I have wanted to leave ever since I figured out there were roads willing to take me anywhere I wanted to go.”
Until next time, Wild-Hearted Wanderer.
xo
eg
