Bebes' Money Saving Travel Tips

I know, I know… It’s been over a year since my last post and we’ve been on many trips since that I have neglected to share. All those stories are still coming, I promise. But, in the meantime, I’ve been inspired to share some of our travel tips and tricks on saving money and making the most of our adventures.

We just booked a two week trip to New Zealand and got an incredible deal. A lot of people may think that a trip like this would break the bank. That it might be something you have to save all year (or a few years) for. But, if you’re willing to make a few compromises and do a little foot work, a trip like this can be very affordable.

Here are the details:

3 People (Myself, Bebe, and my Father)
Depart LAX (Los Angeles) Sunday, May 23rd
Arrive AKL (Auckland) Tuesday, May 25th
11 Nights in a Two Bedroom Suite (includes full kitchen, washer & dryer)
Depart AKL and Arrive LAX Saturday, June 5th
Price Per Person: $1125

The compromise:

We are traveling in New Zealand’s Late Fall/Early Winter Season. Or the “Off Season”. If you are a beach bum and are interesting in lying out on the beach and soaking up the South Pacific rays, then this probably isn’t your vacation. The temperatures are typically between 50 and 60 degrees, so the weather should be, by no means, miserable.

The foot work:

A key factor in getting a good deal on travel, something that not everyone has the luxury of having, is flexibility. In this instance, I am not talking about last minute, pick up and go flexibility (which is a great thing to be able to do), I am talking about figuring out the ideal Depart/Return Combination. This was our scenario: We knew about when we would have time off work, starting sometime around the third or forth week in May for about two weeks. We were originally looking at only 9 days, searching for Friday thru Sunday, Saturday thru Monday, and so on… looking to see what the cheapest flight combinations would be. (On a side note: It was only on accident while searching that we came across the fact that if we wanted to add another week to our vacation, it would only cost about $60 more per person, total!) And the cheapest combination was to fly out on a Sunday and return on a Saturday. The point is, if you have just a few days flexibility, it may save you a few hundred dollars to leave a day before or after.

Here are a few examples of this from a simple Expedia.com search:

Search Criteria:
Based on Double Occupancy
9 Days of Travel/7 Nights in Auckland
Same Hotel Room

Results:

Sun 5/23 thru Tue 6/1 = $982 p/p
Mon 5/24 thru Wed 6/2 = $1028 p/p
Tue 5/25 thru Thur 6/3 = $982 p/p
Wed 5/26 thru Fri 6/4 = $932 p/p
Thur 5/27 thru Sat 6/5 = $907 p/p
Fri 5/28 thru Sun 6/6 = $982 p/p
Sat 5/29 thru Mon 6/7 = $982 p/p

If you choose the Thursday through Saturday choice, you could save $25 to $121 PER PERSON!

So, the moral of the story is, if you put a little thought into planning and you're willing to compromise some things, you don't have to break the bank in order to take that "trip of a lifetime" every year.

The Secret Trip

So, we have this tradition. Secret Trips. It all started three years ago when Bebe decided to book at trip. He told me we were going somewhere but he wouldn't tell me where. It was so excruciating! I probed and probed, to no avail. Finally, the day came when it was time to leave. Bebe packed my clothes for me, as to not give away any hints to where we were going. He blind-folded me and loaded me in the car. A bit later we arrived somewhere and I was allowed to take off my blindfold. We were at the Sheraton by the airport. It was then that Bebe told me we were flying somewhere in the morning and that I wouldn't find out where we were going until then.

Curses.

So, in the morning, I had to stand far away from any counters as Bebe checked us in and he walked me around the terminals, finally arriving at one that read "San Francisco".

"WE'RE GOING TO SAN FRANCISCO!!!"

And the tradition was born.

Last year, it was my turn. I told Bebe that I was planning a secret trip. He didn't know where we were going or when we were going. So, while Bebe was at his last day of work, I was packing his things. And when he got home, it was business as usual. We relaxed, ate and watched some TV. At around 8pm I asked Bebe if he wanted to go on a secret trip. He said, "okay!" So I blind-folded him and blasted music into some headphones. (Payback is a bitch!) I put him in the car and drove to a "park-n-ride." We left our car and boarded a shuttle all while Bebe is still blind and deaf. The shuttle took us to The Radisson by the airport where I allowed Bebe to remove the headphones and blindfold. He knew what this meant. He wasn't going to find anything out that night.

The next morning we made our way to the airport where I walked Bebe around the terminal where he saw gates heading to Orlando, Chicago, New Orleans and New York. All of which are on our radar as places we'd like to go, so Bebe had no clue. I handed him a gift bag, his clue. Inside were Mardi Gras masks.

"WE'RE GOING TO NEW ORLEANS!!!"

Which brings us to this year, rather, last Friday. December 19th...

Full story to follow.

Nostalgia

In anticipation of our new cruise, I've been thinking a lot about our very first cruise. Also to Mexico. We set sail on April 27th, 2004 from the Port of San Pedro aboard The Monarch of the Seas. We went for our 2nd Anniversary. And we've been hooked ever since!

We boarded the ship, dropped our stuff off in our room and headed right out to the upper decks. Everyone was already in their bathing suits, sprawled out on deck chairs sipping fruity cocktails. It was so exciting!



As we began pushing away from shore, we took photos and waved goodbye to the onlookers. We sat out there until it was time for the emergency drill. We had to go to our cabin and put on our life jackets. Then we proceeded to one of the outside decks to listen to the emergency evacuation instructions. It was then that we really started feeling the ship moving under our feet. We didn't feel nauseous, but it took us a while to get use to having to compensate for the movement.

After the drill, it was time for dinner. We arrived at the dining room where we were sat at a table for six. I couldn't tell you anything about the other people we ate with, we weren't very social. And one of the couples never came back to dinner after the first night. (I guess they didn't enjoy our company!) What I do remember is the food! It was great. Bebe and I each ordered an appetizer and a entree, but we noticed that someone else at our table ordered two entrees. We asked them about it and they informed us that we could order whatever and how much of whatever we wanted. In hindsight, I wish we never learned that! Anyway, we each ordered another entree! With our full bellies, we headed back to our Deck 2, dark as dark can be, stateroom to crash. It was the best night sleep we had ever had. The gentle swaying of the ship coupled with the pitch black was a great combination!

We woke up the next morning in San Diego, CA. We had booked an excursion to Balboa Park at 8am so we dragged ourselves out of bed and headed out. Just off the ship was a trolley that took us the Balboa Park. It's filled with museums and beautiful landscapes but we were so tired, we wished we had stayed on the boat. But we dragged ourselves around. After waking up a bit more, we had more fun! After a few hours, our trolley was back to take us on a tour of downtown San Diego. And then it was back to the ship.

Again, we over-indulged at dinner and went back to our stateroom, exhausted. We had two excursions planned for the next day in Catalina, so we went right to sleep.

The next morning, we woke up about a mile form the port of Catalina. Their port isn't big enough to accommodate such a large ship, so we had to be tendered to shore. We boarded tiny ships and rode them in. Our first excursion was a rafting tour around half of the island. We learned all about Catalina and attempted to look for wildlife. It wasn't very successful, but it was a fun ride.

After the raft tour, we had a bit of time to do some shopping and sightseeing before our next excursion. We walked around the small island, grabbed a bite to eat and bought some souvenirs. And, before we knew it, it was time to go snorkeling! I had been before, but it was Bebe's very first time, so I was excited, especially for him. We got all the safety spiels and had to get into wet suits. They were cold and uncomfortable, but I guess it's better than the freezing cold weather. We grabbed our gear and headed out to the water. Bebe started freaking out immediately! I could see his eyes getting huge through his mask as he began panicking. I tried to help him but the combination of the buoyancy of the wet suit and not trusting the snorkel was making Bebe hyperventilate. Earlier, before we got in the water, our instructor told us that if anyone panicked, they would just have to sit out the excursion. So, knowing that, Bebe was panicking even more because he didn't want to miss out. But after a brief chat with the instructor and a little help from me, Bebe calmed down and and was able to breath normally. He said later, that he was so glad he was able to do it, and that he had fun!

Once again, exhausted, we headed back to the ship for dinner and bed. This was becoming a habit.

We woke up the next morning in Ensenada, Mexico. We didn't have an excursion planned because we were planning on just getting off the ship and finding something to do. And we did. We found a tour to La Boufadora (The Blowhole) for $15 per person. The ship was offering the same tour for three times the price, so we were very happy! We hopped on a bus for the hour long ride to La Boufadora as our tour guide told us all about the city. Once there, they pointed us in the right direction and told us when to be back to the bus. We saw La Boufadora, it was cool. Every couple of minutes, a huge spout of water would blow into the air. It was good for a few photos. On the way back to the bus was a little shopping area. Pretty touristy, with people shouting at us from every direction to come look at what they were selling. We bought a few souvenirs and headed back to the bus.

The tour bus dropped us off in downtown Ensenada and we had an hour or two to kill before we had to be back on board, so we walked around and checked out all the shops. We stopped into a Papas & Beer and ordered a few drinks and helped ourselves to the small buffet of tacos and chips and salsa. It was pretty yummy.

Then it was back to the ship, where (you guessed it) it was dinner time. But this time, it was formal night! So I got into my gown and Bebe got into his suit and we made the rounds to all the photo booths before heading to the dining room. Again, we had more great food, and plenty of it! It was our last night on board, so we went outside and enjoyed our last bit of vacation. Then it was off to bed. We'd be home by morning!

It was such a whirlwind! We loved it but we vowed that next time we'd take it at an easier pace and book a cruise with some days at sea.

Little did we know, that three years later, we'd get exactly what we asked for!

Honeymoon story soon to follow...

Finally...

We have another cruise planned!

It's just a small 3-day cruise to Ensenada on Carnival, but it's an extra special one because my Dad is coming with us. And we embark on his birthday, February 19th! It'll be our third cruise, though our first with Carnival. And it's my Dad's very first cruise. Let's hope he doesn't get sea sick. *fingers crossed*

Here are the details:


Thursday, Feb 19

Port of Call: San Diego, CA

Depart: 5:30pm

Friday, Feb 20

Port of Call: Ensenada, Mexico

Arrive: 8:00am

Depart: 6:00pm

Saturday, Feb 21

Day At Sea

Sunday, Feb 22

Port of Call: San Diego, CA

Arrive: 8:00am

Stay tuned...

Our Very First Post

Welcome Friends and Family!! Thank you for visiting The Bebes' Travel Blog!

As I am still figuring all of this out, there is very little here. Please be patient and I'm sure we'll have all kinds of crazy and exciting stories from our many journeys around the world!

Thanks again for stopping by and check back often, as it will always be a work in progress...