Strategies For Taking A Vacation Without Cashing In Your 401K

A Vacation With No Surprises

When planning a vacation it is always a good idea to know just how much it's going to cost - before you go. Not just the vacation itself but things you might have to do prior to getting on that silver bird, like boarding Fido, transfers to and from the airport (get a friend to take you to and from). Use hotels that provide free shuttle service to avoid the taxi fees. If you do need a cab try to find others to share the ride (cost). Then, once those things are factored in (we are talking hard numbers here folks), you can start adding up all the other little costs involved; hotel taxes can be a big expense if you are staying for a week or more at anywhere between 12 and 18%.

Just What Is Included In That All-Inclusive Vacation

Watch out for built-in gratuities where you can find yourself tipping twice for the same service. If you are an American traveling in Europe and you spend money there you will run into the V.A.T. tax which is 15% of the purchase price of whatever you are buying. This tax is refundable when you get back home if you know the procedure. What activities or tours are included in the vacation package price and which ones are not. What meals are not included, etc? All-inclusive may not be exactly all-inclusive. A cruise can be all-inclusive and break you with the liquor and soda tab!

Last 5 posts in Travel Insider

• How To Go On Vacation Without Breaking The Bank - November 9th, 2008

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.