What’s a ‘staycation’?

With the rising price of gas and airline tickets, many of us can’t afford to travel long distances for vacation. Try the alternative – a staycation. Staycations – just like they sound – are stay at home vacations.

One of my favorite staycations took place last fall. We visited the local zoo, the beach, a maritime museum, a casino, and tried two new restaurants. All of this was accomplished on a budget and using coupon deals.

Check out these money-saving sources when planning your next staycation.

• Restaurant.com provides deeply discounted restaurant certificates to eateries in your own backyard. Read more about Restaurant.com in one of my recent blog posts.
• Groupon offers discounts to many attractions in your area including sporting events, winery tours, and amusement parks. Visit their website to search by zipcode for deals near you.
• Entertainment.com serves as a large database of printable 2-for-1 coupons to restaurants and attractions. You must subscribe to their online catalog to access the coupons.

© Jessica Leigh Rosier 2013

A staycation allowed me to discover treasures in my own backyard, like this WPA-era tower at the local zoo.

$5 for a $25 Restaurant.com certificate

Restaurant.com is having another sale! This is a great way to save money on dining during your next vacation. Simply search by city to find participating eateries.

Deals

They’re currently offering a $25 gift certificate for $5.

Learn more

Learn the ins-and-outs of Restaurant.com certificates on my blog, http://travelingsaver.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/restaurant-com/

Details

The discounted dining certificates are $5 until May 3, 2013. Use the code CINCO at checkout.

Visit http://www.restaurant.com/ to search for certificates.

©Jessica Leigh Rosier 2013

Chicago’s Walnut Room is one of the dining establishments featured on Restaurant.com. Photo courtesy of smartdestinations.com

FREE Travel + Leisure magazine subscription!

Although nearly every hotel and restaurant mentioned in Travel + Leisure magazine is out of my price range, I subscribe to the publication for a reason – I enjoy making these fancy-smanchy destinations a reality by searching out deals on my own. The magazine definitely caters to the upper-class tourist, but the destinations highlighted in each issue are reachable if you are budget savvy!

See if you qualify for a free subscription to Travel + Leisure magazine by clicking here.

© Jessica Leigh Rosier 2013

Do you qualify for a FREE subscription to Travel + Leisure magazine? Image courtesy of Travel + Leisure.

For even more deals, “like” Traveling Saver on Facebook

There’s a new, easy way to follow Traveling Saver – become a fan on Facebook!

Fans will receive up-to-date information on hotel deals, promo codes, and more!

Please forward this information to anyone interested in traveling for less.

© Jessica Leigh Rosier 2013

“Like” Traveling Saver on Facebook for even more deals! Image courtesy of http://www.facebook.com/TravelingSaver

FREE admission to your National Parks – April 22-26, 2013

My husband and I share a love for America’s beautiful and unique national parks. The National Park Service manages 401 (and counting) parks all over the US. These places range from flagship parks such as Yellowstone and Great Smoky Mountains to gems such as Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas – the smallest national park in the system!

While a handful of National Park Service properties are free, most charge admission. I’ve paid anything from a few dollars up to $25 at Yellowstone. Great news for fellow park enthusiasts - admission fees to all parks will be waived from April 22-26, 2013 in honor of National Park Week.

Find your national parks at: http://www.nps.gov/

© Jessica Leigh Rosier 2013

Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park in Hawai’i will offer free admission from April 22-26, 2013 as part of National Parks Week.

FREE Disney Vacation Planning DVD

Is your family planning a trip to a Disney park this summer? Order a free Disney Vacation Planning DVD through their website. The DVD will help you assess different lodging options and ticketing packages so you can get the best deals.

Any theme park, including Disney, can be expensive. To save costs, pre-plan your meals choosing more affordable dining options or simply bring a backpack with a picnic lunch. Equipping the family with refillable water bottles will save countless dollars at vending machines too!

What other ways do you save money when taking the family to a theme park?

© Jessica Leigh Rosier 2013

Planning a family trip this summer? Order your free Disney Vacation Planning DVD.

Coupon code for 5% off Priceline.com!

Here’s a great coupon code that I’ve used three times this month already! Save 5% on Priceline bookings by using the coupon code SPRING through 3/31/13. Five percent might not seem like a lot, but it really adds up when booking multiple nights!

Want to learn how to score great deals through Priceline? Check out my previous blog post.

© Jessica Leigh Rosier 2013

My dog enjoyed staying at a La Quinta recently. I got the 3-star room for $39 using Priceline’s coupon code!

The 10-day, $400 road trip

I’m a big fan of the all-American road trip – especially when it means packing up the car (and husband and dog) and visiting some of our nation’s best parks. A cooler full of food and a trunk full of camping gear can make road trips a very affordable way to travel.

A few years back, we took 10 days off work and headed west. We visited eight national parks, feasted on freshly caught trout, toured a cave, photographed wild horses, saw sacred Native American quarries, and cruised around a mountain lake – all for $400 per person (including gas and souvenirs)!

Here are a few of my best money-saving tips when it comes to the all-American road trip:

1. Pack a cooler! We only dined out twice in 10 days. Otherwise, all food came from our cooler and was pre-purchased before we left home. This allowed us to avoid pricey groceries on the road. Who wants to pay $5 for a bag of marshmallows at the campground store anyway?

2. Camp! On our last big road trip we paid as little as $8 per campsite at Theodore Roosevelt National Park to over $25 at Yellowstone National Park. We would have paid well over $100 per night if we were staying at park lodges.

3. Buy a pass! – Most parks require entrance fees which can range from a few dollars to $25. Because we knew we’d be visiting so many parks, we opted for a National Park Service pass for $80. It ended up saving us about $20, plus it was good for a year so we were able to use it in Florida a few months later!

© Jessica Leigh Rosier 2013

Road trips can be an affordable way to see some our country’s best natural wonders!

Valentine’s Day Freebies

Are you traveling with your sweetie on Valentine’s Day? A variety of businesses are offering freebies in honor of this amorous holiday. Here are a few of my favorites:

Starbucks – buy one get one free specialty drinks after 2 pm.

Qdoba – buy one get one free meal – if you share a smooch!

Chili’s – free dessert when you purchase an entree.

See a complete list of Valentine’s Day Freebies here.

© Jessica Leigh Rosier 2013

Traveling on Valentine’s Day? Take advantage of some freebies!

Free Travel Apps

Check out a few of my favorite free travel apps!

Finding a clean bathroom while traveling can be a monumental task, especially when touring a big metropolitan area. I remember a trip to New York City a few years back that entailed a harrowing bathroom-seeking experience. After searching for a bathroom for over an hour, I finally decided to pop into a national coffee chain and use their facilities. I patronized the coffee chain back home, so I assumed their amenities would be satisfactory. I was wrong, however, and found a filthy, one-stall unisex bathroom strewn with endless unrolled toilet paper after a 45-minute wait. Today, thanks to the app, Sit or Squat, I never worry about facing this problem. Sit or Squat is a free service sponsored by Charmin that relies on users to review bathrooms in a given area.

Those of you adventurous enough to embark on a road trip without any plan intact will love Hotel Tonight. The free app for Androids and iPhones allows travelers to make last-minute hotel reservations at deeply discounted prices. Rates are revealed at noon on the day of check-in. Simply open the app in the afternoon to book your discounted hotel for that same evening.

It has happened to all of us at one time or another. We’ve forgotten to pack our toiletry kit or we’re hungry for a midnight snack – we just don’t know where to go. Next time, instead of going to bed hungry, try the app AroundMe. Frommers highly recommends the app, which provides a list of nearby pharmacies, supermarkets, theaters, restaurants, hotels, and more based on your location.

© Jessica Leigh Rosier 2013

Looking for a clean bathroom while traveling? Try the app “Sit or Squat”.