Tag Archive for travel

It’s not often that the cheapest option is also best option

November 12, 2013 financial literacy No comments

I’ve been doing a lot of business travel lately and hands down have the best way to get to my hotel in most every large city…the train/subway/metro!  Not only is taking the metro usually a fraction of the cost of a shuttle or taxi, but I’ve found time and time again it’s usually the fasted way to go.

Here are some real life examples I’ve had (one way travel):

City                             Taxi                Shuttle                  Metro

Washington DC         $20                 $15                 $2.80

Atlanta                    $30                 $16                 $1.75

San Francisco           $40                 $17                 $3.50

Not only is the metro option usually, by far, the cheapest option, but I’ve also heard from several others of their long journey from the airport to the hotel via shuttle or taxi because of traffic.

Most recently the hotel I was staying at in DC, the President of Iran was staying the next block over so there were several streets around us closed.  I heard one person say he was dropped four blocks from the hotel after a 45-minute and $60 cab ride.  I on the other hand was dropped two blocks away after only 20 minutes and $2.80.

Twice I’ve been dropped in the middle of San Francisco during the gay pride parade and again saved time and money not having to deal with taking a taxi or shuttle.

Most hotel websites do a good job of outlining your travel options and giving you detailed directions on what trains and stops to take.  Usually they will list the information under “Maps & Transportation”.

Something to check out the next time you are planning how you’ll get from the airport to the hotel.

Vacation in Northern California on a budget (part 1)

September 20, 2013 Savings No comments

I recently took a trip to San Francisco and Napa Valley.  It was a mother daughter vacation as I flew my mom in from Wisconsin to join me for the trip.  My flight only ended up costing me $50 because I had some money left over on a flight voucher (see my blog Delayed flight could lead to a perk for your pocket book).  That allowed me the opportunity to pay for most of my mom’s flight as a birthday, Christmas, mother’s day present for her for the next year…or two.  I will admit I really didn’t do much research on the cost of taking a trip to San Francisco until after the flight was booked.  When I started looking into booking a hotel room I began to realize how expensive it was going to be to stay in downtown San Francisco.  After lots of research and reading many reviews on Tripadvisor, I was able to find a good rate on a great little boutique hotel in downtown San Francisco.  This great deal did come with a bit of a catch, I had to pre-pay to get the rate and it was non-refundable.   If you are willing to take a risk when you travel, you could end up saving a few hundred dollars by prepaying for your hotel room. 

Stay posted for my next blog where I will share other ways I was able to stick to a budget and save money while vacationing in Northern California.