Ultimate Vacation Spots

posted by Travel Cat on Sep 3

When Not To Save Money on Vacation!

We are always on the lookout for a cheaper flight, or a cheaper vacation package to Mexico of wherever, but there are definitely some parts of your vacation that you really shouldn’t be trying to scrimp on.

By all means look for a cheaper price for the same thing - like the cheaper of 2 flights going to the same place, or the same hotel through 2 different agents - but when there are several different versions of what appear to be the same thing - you need to choose wisely.

I have found a few areas of travel, where you really need to make sure you are getting what you pay for.

Travel Insurance:
Not all policies are the same. Yes, they are all insurance policies - but they do not all cover the same things. You need to read the small print, and you need to make sure it covers everything you personally need - not just what they offer.

If the policy is really cheap - there might be a reason for that - just make sure it’s your health and safety that will be compromised for a $20 saving - or £10 - off a second policy…….

Tours and Tour Guides:
I went on a 2 day trip with the recommended tour guides in Venezuela (LTA) at what I thought was a reasonable price. The tour guide spoke perfect English and all 6 people in the group were English speaking too. The tour was definitely 5* and I would recommend it to anyone.

Someone else from our hotel booked a similar trip from a street vendor - to save money. They went to all the same sites as me, but they were the only English speaking person in the group of 8 (3 languages in total) so they had to wait for the descriptions that they could understand. They also couldn’t communicate with the other people in the group for the 2 days they were away.

They saved a small amount of money (about $50 or £25) off the amount I paid - but their trip was a total waste of time.

Car Hire:
Obviously every company has their ’small print’ and you must read and understand this 100% before taking out a policy otherwise you could end up really out of pocket on that cheaper car rental.

Many companies offer extra ‘add on’ extras and waivers for everything. Make sure you find out which ones are essential and which are just precautionary. If you are not fully insured on the car you hire, you may end up paying a small fortune for a bump or scrape. Even if you are the best driver you know it makes no difference - don’t forget, you are not insuring yourself against accidents - you are covering the stupidity of the person that hits you!

Footwear:
Only really essential for active holidays, but if you are heading off for a long adventure on rough terrain or trekking up mountains, you need to make sure that your boots or shoes are the most comfortable and hard-wearing you can afford - and you get them worn in way in advance.

Waterproof footwear is also worth the extra cost, otherwise you could step in one small puddle at the start of a trek and end up with blisters and sores regardless of how good the boots were dry.

It’s not always easy to find great footwear when already abroad and (as usual) you are probably in the middle of nowhere when you need to replace them!

Outdoor Equipment:
Needles to say - your life could be at risk if you buy cheap or potentially ill made equipment for adventure sports or long and remote trips. The same goes for something as simple as your tent and sleeping bag. If it starts to leak or cannot protect you from extremely low temperatures or bad weather, you could find yourself in serious trouble.

If you invest in second-hand equipment, always make sure that is 100% effective and safe before heading off anywhere. Never rely on someone else’s word as it is your trip that is in jeopardy if things go wrong.

A Once in a Lifetime Experience:
With all things added together, the importance of a ‘once in a life time trip’ should not be made cheaper by cutting corners. By all means find the same tour or flight for less money, but don’t gamble on ‘lesser used’ guides or companies that have not been recommended by people you trust.

If you are going to spend a large sum of money anyway, make sure every penny counts. Imagine getting half way around the world to find that your flight over the canyon is cancelled and they offer no alternative, or the overnight accommodation included on the tour is unsafe or in the ‘wrong part of town’.

Sometimes breaking down the cost of an organised tour with a reputable company works out the same if not cheaper than your own creation. Take the following 15 day tour of Southern Africa from the UK with Kuoni Tours, including everything like transfers, flights and guides but not all meals. Brochure price: £2100.00

Taking a rough estimate of the combined parts which you will have to research, coordinate, link with internal transfers yourself and deal with at least 3 different companies:

£600 return flight to Cape Town
£600 for accommodation at around £60 per night in standard hotel for 10 nights half board
£1400 for 5 night safari in Kruger park
£500 internal travel and sundries

£3100 Total - per person (estimate).

That could be around a £1000 extra than just booking it all through a reputable agent and having just one person to deal with throughout the whole trip.

It’s alright to mix and match when just traveling, as it allows you to change your plans and stay for longer or shorter than planned depending on what you find there. But when it is an important vacation to celebrate something one off - it’s better (and usually cheaper) to leave all the planning to someone else, and just enjoy yourself.

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