by Stephanie
Scot and I are both traveling this weekend, but in different directions. Scot is flying to Richmond, Virginia for a funeral. The girls and I are driving to St. Louis for a little Spring Break Getaway. Of course, we are doing both trips on the cheap. Here’s how:
Scot’s trip to Richmond, Virginia – Unfortunately, Scot’s trip is for a memorial service which means there was not really any advance planning, but here is what I managed to pull together for him.
Airfare – I found an inexpensive ticket on Continental (our airline of choice) for $140.
Housing – free because Scot is staying with friends. Thanks Josh and Jamie!
Rental car – I found a deal at Alamo so the grand total for the two day rental is ….$28.72.
The girls trip to St. Louis – We decided we wanted to do something for Spring Break, but not spend a lot of money since we are trying to save for our summer vacation to the Walt Disney World Resort which is only a few months away. We considered Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis with the latter winning out. One key advantage of St. Louis is the amount of attractions that are free. We also invited the grandparents.
Transportation – driving the van
Housing – I scored a Priceline room at a Doubletree for a bid of $37 a night, total with taxes and fees for three nights is $133.22.
Activities – St. Louis Zoo (free), St. Louis Science Center (free), shopping (free?), Gateway Arch (found a coupon to get the girls tickets for free).
Food – We will eat breakfast in the room and pack snacks. I have found some other deals for dining like 40% off at The Old Spaghetti Factory on Tuesday. I’m getting me some Spaghetti with Browned Butter & Mizithra Cheese. Yummy!
Tomorrow I will share my Priceline bidding tips and strategies.
An interesting update to our cheap travels. If you look at Scot’s post How to Fly for Free, http://www.trekeo.com/how-to-fly-for-free-without-using-frequent-flyer-miles/, you’ll see that he actually got a $300 voucher for a future flight on Continental by volunteering off an overbooked flight. In the end we actually made money on his trip. I love that!