Transportation, lodging, food, and entertainment are all a part of your vacation, and all add to the expense. Learning how to save in each of these areas will help you learn how to save money on your vacation as a whole. Even if you can't find ways to save in some areas, you will be able to save in other areas. There are ways to save in each of these areas, and some of the best tips are listed below:

Transportation:

There are basically two areas of transportation when on vacations. You have your initial transportation for how to get to your destination. Second, you have your transportation for when you get to your destination. In some cases, it is going to be the same, but in other cases it is not.

If you are going to be driving to your destination, you will only have one transportation cost to consider-gas. Obviously there is not a whole lot you can do to save in this area. If you are going to be driving a lot, consider getting a gas station credit card where you get a percentage back in cash. So, in this case, consider this option. Of course, make sure that you get a gas station credit card for gas stations that are easy to access, and that there are several of in the area.

If you intend to fly to your destination, over another option, save money by booking online and booking in advance. There are last minute deals out there, but the fact is that usually they are going to be to off-season destinations, and they are going to be so last minute that without significant flexibility they will not likely work for your vacation plans. However, there are times when you will get lucky. It is also a good idea to look into possibly flights to nearby airports. If there is a smaller, lesser known airport nearby you can sometimes save money by flying into that destination instead. Book using an online ticket broker, like Expedia, Travelocity, etc. You can also try the route of frequent flyer miles, borrowing them, using credit card rewards, etc. This is a good wave to save every once in a while.

If you need to rent a car to get to your destination, or to get around once you are there, the best way to save money on that is to book it in advance. If you try to get a rental car when you need it, you will pay through the nose for it. Instead, book it ahead of time. It is also smart to book it through a travel club, or online. If you book it directly there are very few options, and a poor chance to get a good deal. So, try renting through an online site like www.carrentals.com. You can get a car for an exceptional deal, like around $10 a day.

Lodging:

When you vacation you have to stay somewhere, and that somewhere is going to cost something. To save money on your lodging you can try any number of things. You can always try to stay with someone you know, but this is not always a good option. Instead consider more viable options like combining your lodging with your flight for a great discount. You can consider using multiple-stay discounts with the same chain. You can book online through a discount broker that gets deep discounts on hotels because they buy large quantities of stays. You can call the hotel directly and ask for their best rate. Then when they give it to you, ask if they have anything less expensive. You can get discounts through travel clubs, through your car company, through the military, or by being a senior citizen, etc. There are tons of ways to get discounts, so if you are looking to save money on a hotel, ask how to get a discount.

Another great option is to book a time share instead of a hotel. A lot of times people own specific weeks of stays in popular destinations, and there is a good chance they can't use their week and would be willing to sell it at a discount. There are plenty of places to go to buy other people's time share stays. Get online and simply type something like "book a condo" or "timeshare rentals" into Google. You will get millions of hits, so just make sure you give things their due diligence to ensure you do not get ripped off.

Food:

The fact is that a lot of times you spend more on your food and entertainment, than you do on the rest of your vacation combined. One of the very best ways to save money on a vacation is to get a condo or hotel with a kitchen. If you can cook yourself a few meals, and have a refrigerator to put your leftovers into so that you can reheat them and eat them later, you will save a fortune. Think of it this way, if you were to go out to breakfast, even if you ate somewhere inexpensive, it would run you around $5 a day. If you went somewhere nice that required a tip, it would cost far more than that. However, if you stay somewhere with a kitchen you can stock your kitchen with a few boxes of cereal and a carton of milk. Or, a dozen eggs. Or, some pancake mix. All of these things are going to cost you less for the entire week then one breakfast out. Now apply this to other meals, including dinner. For the price of one dinner out you can probably make yourself dinner for an entire week. Of course that can take a lot of the fun out of vacationing, however, in some cases, BBQing by the beach or a nice romantic dinner in can be very relaxing and fun.

If you want to eat out you can save money there as well. One of the best ways is to look for coupons. Even nice restaurants have coupons. Most hotel lobbies will have a place with brochures, and they will usually offer coupons. Most hotel lobby personnel will be able to give you good advice on cheap places to eat that are great. They may have a stack of coupons for you as well. In addition to that you can usually find local coupon books, or get some sort of discount card that has percentages off at various restaurants.

Another way to save money is to eat out at the cheaper meals and in at the more expensive ones. For example, a lunch portion is going to cost far less than a dinner portion of the same menu item. So, if you are going to eat out while on vacation, and limit it at all, eat out during the less expensive meal times.

Entertainment:

One of the best ways to save money on your vacation is on your entertainment. Start off by making a list of the things you want to do while on vacation. Next, look for coupons and ways to get discounts in that area. Get coupons by looking online. Get coupons by checking the brochure rack at your hotel or condo.

Next, consider how to get the same entertainment for less. For example, see a movie during the day instead of at night so that you get the matinee price. Go to a weekday event instead of a weekend event. These are usually less money. See if you can get a group discount, or a discounted rate for combining all of your activities together.

Another good way to get your entertainment for less is to attend a time share presentation. In most popular tourist destinations there are going to be time share opportunities, and usually they will give you big incentives to attend their presentation in hopes that you will buy. These incentives can make your vacations entertainment far less expensive, and in some cases even free.

Another great way to get your entertainment for less is to purchase GoCards. GoCards are not available everywhere, but most popular destinations are going to have one. These cards get you into several different activities for one low price. Some destinations have lower prices than others. However, if you take advantage of the options listed you will usually save a lot of money. For example, you can get a GoSanDiego card for less than $100, and with that you can attend the Zoo, Wild Animal Park, LegoLand, and tons of other attractions. If you were to actually visit all of these places you would save immense sums of money.

If you want to save money on your vacations you need to be money minded. For example, take the time to do the research, and do not let your pride get in the way of allowing you to use coupons or ask a friend for their leftover sky miles. The savings can mean more money for future vacations, and less stressful vacations because you won't be getting into debt while having fun.