1. DO I PLAN MY TRIPS:The answer to that is....it depends on what type of trip. For years I had to travel for my part time job. For those trips most of my travel plans, i.e. transportation, and lodging were made for me. I had very little say and couldn't really alter those plans. If I am traveling for fun and on my on, then yes I have a plan. Some times it is a very loose plan while other times its a little more extensive. Last years Kentucky trip was more of less a gas and go trip with very little planning. Two days before I left, I made a two night reservation in Lexington and picked out some distillery tours that I wanted to take in the Area. That was the extent of my advanced planning. The night before leaving Lexington I decided where I was going to go next and basically just took it day by day. On the other hand, my month long trip around Texas actually was a year or so in planning. For that trip I actually had a note book that I made and took on the trip highlighting many of the places that I wanted to go and things that I wanted to do. I also included a list of hotels all across Texas. So in Texas I had a very detailed but very loose itinerary, which afforded me great flexibility to deviate if I find something interested. In short I knew pretty close the order of my entire route before I left. So some of my trips have a lot of planning while others have very little.
2. WHY DON'T YOU JUST GET AN RV AND HIT THE ROAD FULL TIME: I actually considered it but after doing some research and talking to several full time RV'ers I talked myself out of it. The Main reason that I didn't do it was, everyone of the full timers that I talked too told me that "you are riding around in your house and while on the road the constant shaking is going to cause things to break. And unless you are handy at fixing all kind of things, from plumbing to gas and electric you are going to spend a small fortune getting a professional to come out and fix things." Another thing is that people who do RV repairs are quiet limited and you may have to wait several day or weeks for someone to come out and do the repairs. Also when you have to have routine maintenance you have to schedule it anywhere from several weeks to several months in advance. If the maintenance extends several days you may not be able to stay in you rig and have to get a hotel room. As for me, if a repair entails more than changing a light bulb, then I am lost. So I decided to forgo the RV.
3. FINDING CHEAP GAS: Well, first of all there is no such thing as cheap but I have a few little things that allows me to save on gas. First thing is download a gas finder app to your cell phone and make sure it shows pretty close to real time gas prices. For me I use the GAS BUDDY APP which is an interactive app that allows users to update the gas prices in real time. Another thing that I have found that some of the gas stations will update the app themselves when they change their prices. For the most part I have found that the information on the app is accurate about 90% of the time. Second thing is don't buy gas at stations located right off of the interstate exit. While they are convenient and easy to hop off, hop on you are probably going to pay for that convenience. Over years and years of traveling I have found that if you drive just a short distance away from the Interstate you will save a significant amount of money per gallon. Right here in my home area gas at stations located adjacent to Interstate 81 is $2.69 a gallon. Driving less than a mile the price per gallon is $2.27. That's a saving of 42 cents per gallon. If you have a 15 gallon tank that translates to a savings of a little over $6. Over a long trip you can save a significant amount of money. Another way that I save is loyalty cards. I have loyalty card (NOT CREDIT CARDS) for Pilot, Sheetz, and Shell Fuel Rewards. Depending on the card and your loyalty points you can save any where from 3 to 10 cents per gallon. More often than not the savings is 3 to 5 cents but on a couple of my longer trips I racked up enough loyalty point to get 10 cents a gallon off. Plus you can use the card to rack up free coffee and fountain drinks, and get free or discounted food. So get that Gas Buddy App and do be afraid to drive a mile or two off the interstate to get some significant savings. One Final way to find Cheap Gas is to Stay out of California. Last Year during My Arizona Trip Gas in Yuma Arizona was averaging $2.59 at the first exit across the the border in California gas was $4.39.
HOW DO I DECIDE WHERE TO STAY: This is probably my most ask question, so this may get a little lengthy. First of all when Traveling I do the most research and planning when it comes to lodging. If you travel a lot or just occasionally you should join the hotel reward programs. Most of the chains have them and they are free to join. I am a member of Choice Privileges, Holiday Inn Rewards Club, Hilton Honors and Marriott/Bonvoy Rewards. Each have different levels of reward depending on the number of stays. You earn points for each stay and those points can be used to earn free nights. Plus each one has ways that you can earn points quicker. Each program is designed to put heads in beds during slack times of the year. For example most of the time in the early fall say, after Labor Day all the way up to just before Thanksgiving, if you book two separate stays using a dedicated 800 number or through the website you will be awarded enough points for a free night. They also may run this same offer in the late winter, from Mid-February through the end of March. So in 2018 Choice Hotel ran the stay two nights and get a free night.during March while I was driving around Texas. So every two nights I stayed at a Comfort Inn/Suites, Sleep Inn or other Choice Hotel I got a free Night. So I ended up spending 28 night in Choice Hotels, and earned enough point for 14 free night. Choice and Holiday Inn offered a similar Program Last October and November while I was driving around Arizona and I ended up earning enough point for three free nights at Holiday Inn and an additional 6 nights at Choice Hotels. The number of rewards points need for each hotel varies by individual hotel and/or season. For example if you want to spend your free night points for a hotel in New England in December (excluding the holidays) your free night may cost you 8,000 to 12,000 point but if you want to go to the same hotel during the leaf season a free night may cost you anywhere from 16,000 to 20,000 point. Just like spending money, you have to check when you can get the most out of your point alson. So check it out carefully as the number of points needed are different from hotel to hotel and city to city. Last Year in Texas I wanted to stay Near Huntsville Texas. The Choice Hotels in Huntsville had a base rate of right at $100 plus tax and free night from 12,000 to 16,000 point. However a Choice Property just 15 miles from Huntsville had a base rate of $79 or 8,000 free night points. So shopping around can save you money and/or points. I also NEVER use one of those third party booking site. I have found that by being a member of each hotel's rewards program I am going to get the lowest rate offered and sometimes the rate on the hotel website for members is even a few dollars lower than the rate on the third party site. Another reason I don't use them is the hotel employees are less likely to be able to solve issues especially billing problems. All billing problems need to be handled through the third party site and the customer service at those sites can be a night mare. If I book directly through the Hotel they can most of the time solve the problem on the spot, plus you get to deal face to face with the hotel management on site. Another reason, Hotels take care of their members, with better room and often free upgrades. I can't tell you how many times that I have been upgraded at no additional charge from a standard room to a suite. And several times I have received a complimentary breakfast upgrade at hotel that have full service restaurants. If you book through third part booking site you are going to get the least preferred rooms. Like rooms near the ice machine or elevator and upgrades are not going to happen. Finally, I always check out the hotel reviews on sites like Trip Advisor and Yelp. Like most review sites you have to take them with a grain of salt. A review that sounds too good to be true or contains nothing but vague praise like "This hotel is simply outstanding," or "I really like this hotel and the employees" are usually written by friends of an employee or the employee themselves. I want to read reviews that give accurate and detailed information. For example, "The Lobby area was clean and welcoming and the employee made a point to greet guest by their names." After you read a few reviews you will be able to spot the fake ones. Also if a review is posted by a person with only one or two reviews and it is especially critical or glowing then it is written by someone who is just ticked off that they didn't get their way or just mad at the world. I ignore those reviews totally. Again, you can soon recognize the objective and real reviews.
WHEN DO I MAKE MY HOTEL RESERVATION TO GET THE BEST RATE: This is really at hit or miss proposition. Hotel rates are adjusted based on demand. I have seen rates adjusted by as much as $20 to $30 dollar in just a day or two. If demand is high for any reason then the rate is going to be high. This year the rates in Tulsa for the NCAA Tournament were originally high and stayed high. So I stayed about 10-miles out of town and got a really good rate. I usually get an Idea where I going to spend the night and start checking rates anywhere from a few weeks to a few days in advance. Last year in Arizona I knew I wanted to spend a couple of night in Flagstaff and started checking rates about 10 days before I was going to arrive. Originally, rates were running between $89 and $112. Those rates held steady until about 5 days before I knew I wanted to arrive and then rates began to fluctuate a little to $86 to $104. The Night before I left Phoenix for the drive up to Flagstaff the rates had again dropped to $79 to $94. I ended up staying two nights in Flagstaff and saved about $15 per night by waiting until the night before to make my reservation. But doing this is a gamble, as rates could have just as easily increased had demand increased. So to answer this question, if I know for sure when I am going to be in area and I get a really good rate then I may go ahead and make my reservation several days in advance. But if I am flexible then I may wait to the night before of even the day of my stay. Sometimes I win and some times I loose.
ROUTE PLANNING: Most of the time I have a general Ideal of the Route I want to travel during my adventure. I use Google Maps on both my compute and cell phone. Plus I have Android Auto and use Google Maps as my vehicle navigation. Quiet Handy. I like to travel at a leisurely pace and have a very, very loose schedule. Usually the first day of an adventure is my longest travel day. I call this my get away day because anything within a days drive I can always go back too. Usually get away day is between 400 and 500 miles. After that first day, I slow down and usually average about 250 miles. This gives me the chance to see the attractions and explore the area along my route and it also allows me to visit attractions on the spur of the moment. When I first began planning my Texas Adventure I had a general route of travel for my trip and I for the most part stuck close too it but a number of times I deviated from the route to visits unplanned attractions. My original route was estimated that I would need 24 days to make the entire journey. However, I did stick close to the route but the entire trip took me 32 days which I didn't really mind. The Key to me having an enjoyable adventure is put a reasonable limit on the amount of ground you want to cover and take the time to stop and visit the small towns see what they have to offer. Some of the most enjoyable time I have spent traveling have been in the small towns, talking to the locals. Most people are very proud of their community and are more than happy to talk to you about it. TAKE YOUR TIME, DON'T RUSH and enjoy the adventure.
Those are just a few of the travel hacks that I have developed over the years. I hope that some of your find them helpful.
WHEN DO I MAKE MY HOTEL RESERVATION TO GET THE BEST RATE: This is really at hit or miss proposition. Hotel rates are adjusted based on demand. I have seen rates adjusted by as much as $20 to $30 dollar in just a day or two. If demand is high for any reason then the rate is going to be high. This year the rates in Tulsa for the NCAA Tournament were originally high and stayed high. So I stayed about 10-miles out of town and got a really good rate. I usually get an Idea where I going to spend the night and start checking rates anywhere from a few weeks to a few days in advance. Last year in Arizona I knew I wanted to spend a couple of night in Flagstaff and started checking rates about 10 days before I was going to arrive. Originally, rates were running between $89 and $112. Those rates held steady until about 5 days before I knew I wanted to arrive and then rates began to fluctuate a little to $86 to $104. The Night before I left Phoenix for the drive up to Flagstaff the rates had again dropped to $79 to $94. I ended up staying two nights in Flagstaff and saved about $15 per night by waiting until the night before to make my reservation. But doing this is a gamble, as rates could have just as easily increased had demand increased. So to answer this question, if I know for sure when I am going to be in area and I get a really good rate then I may go ahead and make my reservation several days in advance. But if I am flexible then I may wait to the night before of even the day of my stay. Sometimes I win and some times I loose.
ROUTE PLANNING: Most of the time I have a general Ideal of the Route I want to travel during my adventure. I use Google Maps on both my compute and cell phone. Plus I have Android Auto and use Google Maps as my vehicle navigation. Quiet Handy. I like to travel at a leisurely pace and have a very, very loose schedule. Usually the first day of an adventure is my longest travel day. I call this my get away day because anything within a days drive I can always go back too. Usually get away day is between 400 and 500 miles. After that first day, I slow down and usually average about 250 miles. This gives me the chance to see the attractions and explore the area along my route and it also allows me to visit attractions on the spur of the moment. When I first began planning my Texas Adventure I had a general route of travel for my trip and I for the most part stuck close too it but a number of times I deviated from the route to visits unplanned attractions. My original route was estimated that I would need 24 days to make the entire journey. However, I did stick close to the route but the entire trip took me 32 days which I didn't really mind. The Key to me having an enjoyable adventure is put a reasonable limit on the amount of ground you want to cover and take the time to stop and visit the small towns see what they have to offer. Some of the most enjoyable time I have spent traveling have been in the small towns, talking to the locals. Most people are very proud of their community and are more than happy to talk to you about it. TAKE YOUR TIME, DON'T RUSH and enjoy the adventure.
Those are just a few of the travel hacks that I have developed over the years. I hope that some of your find them helpful.
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