By: www.originalcouponbook.com
- Research your Maui destination. Before you leave, make a list of sightseeing priorities. Use the internet to find free and inexpensive attractions. Every city we visited featured free museums and tours. You can spend a fortune on guided tours if that’s your thing, but the frugal traveler can find plenty to do on her own.
- Budget for Maui. When you travel overseas, you generally know how long you’ll be gone and where you’ll be staying. I don’t keep a budget for daily life, but I did for our Maui vacation. Before I left, I saved $2100 for the week we’d be gone. I spent some of that in cash, and charged some to a credit card. When I returned, I used the remaining cash to pay the credit card balance. By planning in advance, I knew exactly how much I could spend.
- Carry a guidebook Maui . A travel guide is worth its weight in gold. You’ll pay $20-$30 for a good one, but ultimately the book will save you money. Travel guides feature information on tourist attractions, local customs, and cheap places to eat and sleep. They can give you the inside scoop on the best days to visit museums, or tell you how to find seldom-visited free events.
- Pack light for Maui. Experienced travelers always offer this advice, but rookies seldom heed it. Even if you’re staying in the same hotel for, packing light can prevent headaches. My father-in-law brought 2 bags for one week of travel. He over packed. Within days he had to pay to ship things home. Even I took too much: a small suitcase and a knapsack, both of which were crammed with stuff. In the future, I’ll take the knapsack, but when I use it as a carry-on, it’ll only have the essentials: a change of clothes, a book, and my iPod.
- Pack smart for Maui. Take items that serve double duty. Don’t carry stuff you can buy at your destination. (You can buy shampoo on Maui.) Leave room in your bag to bring home things you purchase while on vacation. Don’t neglect your sanity — there are a few items I like to have with me at all times: earplugs, an eye mask, my iPod (with noise-canceling earphones), a book, and comfortable shoes. Armed with these essentials, I can be happy almost anywhere — even when stuck for eight hours in an airport terminal.
- Manage your money on Maui. Know which money source is best for each situation. I didn’t understand this, and was dinged with unnecessary fees. For example, you should know that Visa charges a 1% overseas usage fee regardless of whether you’re using debit or credit. Some cards waive this fee. If I had understood my accounts better, I would have used my credit card for most transactions — I would have received the best exchange rate and avoided a common fee. But because my credit card charges 3% to withdraw money from an ATM, I should have used my debit card to obtain cash. Some of this you learn with experience, but it never hurts to review your account policies before making a trip.
- Carry a money belt on Maui. You’ll hear conflicting advice on this one, but I believe a money belt is cheap insurance.
- Sleep cheap on Maui. My wife’s parents paid for us to stay in centrally-located hotels. This was great, but if I were traveling on the cheap, I’d explore other options.Research and ask questions.
- Eat cheap on Maui. Of course you’ll want to try good restaurants. But for many meals, you can save money by picking up food at the grocery store. We stocked up on our first day, and were able to eat light-and-easy meals throughout our trip. We didn’t have a fridge, so we purchased things that didn’t require one: fruit, crackers, etc. This food was especially handy on the days we were rushed.
- Relax on Maui. Don’t be a slave to an agenda. Some places will be more interesting than you expected; others will be less so.
5 Ways A Tourist Is Getting Exploited
1. Unaware of the hidden deals.
2. Prices are artificially inflated during the tourist season.
3. Rely on high priced tour guides and their expensive activities.
4. You become a target with a dollar sign on your head.
5. It is difficult to find the best places to visit in such a short time.
Redeem Your Free Article Click On Link: