Hello, and Happy Monday! How was your weekend?

The highlight of my weekend was visiting Temecula wine country with my hubby. I just love the vineyards right before harvest – lots of grapes ready to be picked and made into wine!

This is a short workweek for me – really short. I’m in the office today, and then tomorrow I’m flying 12 hours to Ireland for vacation for the rest of the week! I’m sure today will be a busy Monday full of wrapping up work things and packing, and I also have my Fantasy Football Draft this evening (Woohoo for the start of football season being upon us!).

I truly love to travel. I love everything about a trip – from the planning and booking aspect of it, to exploring, adventuring, and experiencing, and even the coming back home and getting back to normalcy part.

While I’m not a clipping coupons type of saver, I certainly enjoy a good deal and like to save money when I can in my travels. This trip I’m actually meeting up with family and crashing in a hotel room with my mom and sister. I think it’ll give us more time together and I’ll also save money, so it’s a win-win!

There are some routine things that I do when traveling to save a few bucks here and there, and today I thought I’d share them with you. Let’s get to it!

1. Skip breakfasts out. When on a trip, I usually eat breakfast in my hotel room because 1.) it saves $$, 2.) it’s quick, so I can get a head start on exploring wherever I am, and 3.) it’s bound to be a healthy start to the day. I typically pack things like bring protein bars and dried fruit from home. For instance, I’m planning on packing some rice cakes + peanut butter for Ireland, and in Mexico earlier this summer, I bought a box of cereal when I first arrived to munch on during my mornings there.

2. Bring snacks from home. This is similar to the first one, but I always bring a lot of munchies with me when I travel. It saves me some hangry emergencies, and I know that I’ll always have something healthy to eat – especially when traveling to places that might not exactly be known as being health conscious and/or vegetarian friendly. My snacks always seems to come in handy when I’m in my hotel room getting ready for dinner as a little something to hold me over for an hour or two.

3. Look out for promos & deals. I definitely don’t mind spending money to do something really cool, but I also keep my eyes open for a good deal. Sometimes you can haggle with tour groups for last-minute excursions or get a deal if you book more than one excursion with the same company. Sometimes hotels collaborate with local businesses to steer you their way and offer discounts.

When I went to Mexico earlier this summer, we booked it through our timeshare at a really low cost. The timeshare company will often have promotions that are really great for travel a couple weeks out, so if the occasion arises where we can pick up and go, I always am on the lookout for timeshare deals. I also check out booking sites like Orbitz for deals and promotion codes. The incessant emails from them can get annoying, but then when I save 20% on my hotel using a code they emailed me, it’s worth it!

4. Bring a water bottle from home. I like to pack my reusable water bottle in my bag so that I can fill it up throughout the trip whenever I get a chance. In my experience, restaurants are happy to fill it up in the airport, where water is like $5 a pop. Most hotels that I’ve stayed at have cold water for use in the lobby or in the gym. Since I drink a ton of water, I otherwise find myself buying bottle after bottle during the trip.

5. Take advantage of free events. I can think of three different hotels I’ve stayed at this year – on my trips to Sonoma, Las Vegas, and Cabo San Lucas – that offer complimentary happy hours. Some also offer munchies that can be a late afternoon snack when you’re coming back from your daytime activities, or an appetizer on your way out for the night. I take advantage of these events whenever I can because…free booze! Need I say more? 

Looking for more travel chat? Check out these recent posts:

• Cabo San Lucas Travel Review: Staying at Hacienda Encantada
• My Current Top 5 Travel Snacks
• Vegas Girls’ Night: GIADA at The Cromwell [Restaurant Review]
• California Wine Country ’16 Trip: My Favorite Sonoma & Napa Wineries
• Cabo Adventures Luxury Sailboat Excursion
• A Trip to Lundberg Farms During their Rice Harvest
• Wine Tasting in the Santa Ynez Valley

Any cost saving travel tips you’d like to share? Spill it!