how to decide where to go
How to Decide Where to Go
When deciding where to go next, we utilize a few resources that you might find helpful including the following:
- Trip Advisor - For discovering domestic & international travel options check out Trip Advisor. Input the location in the where to section and trip Advisor provides top things to do, where to eat, etc.
- Rick Steves is a great resource for European travel. Check out his website below.
- Lonely Planet Books - Once you have decided where to go, we recommend purchasing Lonely Planet books to acquaint yourself with the location. Lonely planet books include recommendations in an easy format. We use these books as a guide frequently when we travel. You can find these books on Amazon.com. They have the hard copies or the kindle version.
- Weather - When you are considering where to travel be sure to take a look at the weather. A great resource for this is weather.com. There you can input your destination and see the weather by month.
- SpotHero - This is a good app to download when you are trying to find budget parking in large cities.
How to get there
How to Get There
Deciding how to get to your travel destination is paramount to saving money & enjoying your trip. We have used each of the resources below and recommend them.
- Google Flights is one of the best resources available for booking airline tickets in the United States and Internationally. We have saved thousands of dollars each year by booking in advance and using the google calendar to find the best fare. When using this tool be aware that initial prices may not include bags, assigned seating, etc. Also this website does not include search results for Southwest Airlines.
https://www.google.com/flights
- Southwest Airlines is our favorite airline for travel within the United States and the international locations they service. With advance planning the prices are cheap and they include bags. Although assigned seating is not an option we always check in 24 hours in advance to get into the first or second boarding group. As long as you are in those 2 groups (A&B) there should be overhead bin space. Southwest also has a great rewards program called Rapid Rewards. We have the Chase credit card which is linked to rapid rewards.
- Trip Advisor Flights - Another resource we have used for booking flights which is easy to use is tripadvisor. Go to the link below and select the flights tab.
- Escape Flights - Another great site we are listing is for residents who fly from New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and Milwaukee. This website lists amazing deals from the locations they have listing for.
Parking
As a residents of Los Angeles we either fly from Los Angeles Aiport (LAX) or Burbank (BUR). For those who fly from these airports we recommend the following parking locations.
LAX - LAX Official Airport Parking - Prebooking the parking at LAX economy is very reasonably priced. The distance to the airport is 15 minutes and the buses come every 7-10 minutes. (Economy option). If you prefer to be closer or further away from the airport there are 5 other options to choose from.
BUR - We use Burbank long term parking economy lot A. The shuttles come frequently and the price is very reasonable.
https://hollywoodburbankairport.com/parking/long-term-parking/
where to stay
Where to Stay
Deciding where to stay when you travel is another exciting and important decision you make. Below are a few considerations we have used and recommend.
- Airbnb has saved us a lot of money compared to major hotels in most situations. Airbnb offers many options including having the entire place to yourself or sharing the space with the owner. We find that sharing the space is okay if we have our own bathroom.
- HotelTonight - For those situations where we don't have time to plan ahead we recommend Hotel Tonight. The deals they provide are excellent especially if you are searching for same day booking.
- Google Hotels - A great way to compare hotels with a wide range of filters is to use google. Their site compares prices on the dates you select and they provide a map view to the right which is very convenient.
https://www.google.com/travel/hotels
- Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy both have great loyalty programs. If you prefer earning points with a specific hotel chain, both of these companies provide what you are looking for.