TheAmericanTravelProject
Level 2 Member
I like to find ways to save money in every aspect of my life, and family vacations rank very high on that list. One of our biggest vacation expenses (in addition to transportation, lodging, and food) is attractions or activities that we do while we are away. These things can end up being very expensive, and can add up very quickly on a long family vacation.
These are some of the resources I use when I am looking for good deals, or even ideas for things to do in different cities when we are traveling. I also use these same resources at home:
There are often some great deals on LivingSocial, and you can search by location to find things to do (and restaurants) in the cities you are visiting (or where you live). They also often have coupons & promo codes that you can add to the already reduced price. At the time of this writing, you can use the code laborday20 to get an extra 20% off of your order.
An example of a really great deal for a family activity is this one for the Garden State Discovery Museum in New Jersey (the kids loved it there):
This is such a great deal for a family of 4! The normal ticket prices are $12.95 + tax per person, so this is obviously a great savings. Also, don’t forget to use Ebates (and thanks if you use my link, in particular) so you can get cash back as well. I just did that on a purchase I made at LivingSocial, and I got 6% cash back (at the time of this writing).
Very similar to LivingSocial, Groupon offers deals for different types of activities, restaurants, etc all over the place. You search by area, the same as above. Before I shop, I always check to see if there are any current promo codes (the one for Groupon that I recently used just expired….it was 15% off). I also always use Ebates or another shopping portal to makes sure that I get cash back or bonus points for my purchase.
I have also found out about some interesting events that I would not otherwise have heard about, for example:
This one is different than the others. You can earn points for doing things like taking quizzes and clicking on things. In our community, we also earn points for recycling (this is automatic, each week when we put out our recycling). There are lots of ways to earn points though, even if your community does not participate in Recyclebank for actual recycling. The cool thing about the points that are earned (that is different than some other survey sites like E-Miles and E-Rewards) is that they can be used to “buy” tickets to some popular tourist attractions. Key West seems to be a popular one (you can find some of those options here).
I have redeemed my Recyclebank points for tickets to some attractions in Philadelphia:
There are so many more choices as well, like movie tickets, bowling, restaurant coupons and magazines.
This one is similar to LivingSocial and Groupon. The site seems to have a greater selection of attraction and show tickets in certain areas though. I found several events that were interesting and a good deal for our family. One was for one of our favorite science centers (The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, PA).
Another site for finding deals in various cities/areas is Amazon Local. Once again, you can find cash back or points at different shopping portals, and you can sometimes get promo codes as well. I have used Amazon Local several times, both at home & while on vacation. On our first trip to Hawaii we gave my husband a certificate for a surfing lesson similar to this one:
StubHub is a fabulous site for getting discount tickets to sporting events and other shows like concerts. We went to 5 different baseball games at different stadiums this season, and (aside from when we used SPG points for Cubs tickets), we used StubHub each time. We really were able to score some amazing deals. At times we were able to get great prices in advance, and other times the prices went down as the date got closer. It’s also convenient that the tickets are printable, so you can buy them at any time. Tip: You can purchase StubHub gift cards at some grocery stores, so if you have a credit card with a grocery bonus, this can be a nice way to get some extra points.
AAA is another membership organization that often sells discounted tickets to attractions.
The post How to Save Money on Attractions, Tickets and Activities appeared first on The American Travel Project.
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These are some of the resources I use when I am looking for good deals, or even ideas for things to do in different cities when we are traveling. I also use these same resources at home:
There are often some great deals on LivingSocial, and you can search by location to find things to do (and restaurants) in the cities you are visiting (or where you live). They also often have coupons & promo codes that you can add to the already reduced price. At the time of this writing, you can use the code laborday20 to get an extra 20% off of your order.
An example of a really great deal for a family activity is this one for the Garden State Discovery Museum in New Jersey (the kids loved it there):
This is such a great deal for a family of 4! The normal ticket prices are $12.95 + tax per person, so this is obviously a great savings. Also, don’t forget to use Ebates (and thanks if you use my link, in particular) so you can get cash back as well. I just did that on a purchase I made at LivingSocial, and I got 6% cash back (at the time of this writing).
Very similar to LivingSocial, Groupon offers deals for different types of activities, restaurants, etc all over the place. You search by area, the same as above. Before I shop, I always check to see if there are any current promo codes (the one for Groupon that I recently used just expired….it was 15% off). I also always use Ebates or another shopping portal to makes sure that I get cash back or bonus points for my purchase.
I have also found out about some interesting events that I would not otherwise have heard about, for example:
This one is different than the others. You can earn points for doing things like taking quizzes and clicking on things. In our community, we also earn points for recycling (this is automatic, each week when we put out our recycling). There are lots of ways to earn points though, even if your community does not participate in Recyclebank for actual recycling. The cool thing about the points that are earned (that is different than some other survey sites like E-Miles and E-Rewards) is that they can be used to “buy” tickets to some popular tourist attractions. Key West seems to be a popular one (you can find some of those options here).
I have redeemed my Recyclebank points for tickets to some attractions in Philadelphia:
There are so many more choices as well, like movie tickets, bowling, restaurant coupons and magazines.
This one is similar to LivingSocial and Groupon. The site seems to have a greater selection of attraction and show tickets in certain areas though. I found several events that were interesting and a good deal for our family. One was for one of our favorite science centers (The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, PA).
Another site for finding deals in various cities/areas is Amazon Local. Once again, you can find cash back or points at different shopping portals, and you can sometimes get promo codes as well. I have used Amazon Local several times, both at home & while on vacation. On our first trip to Hawaii we gave my husband a certificate for a surfing lesson similar to this one:
StubHub is a fabulous site for getting discount tickets to sporting events and other shows like concerts. We went to 5 different baseball games at different stadiums this season, and (aside from when we used SPG points for Cubs tickets), we used StubHub each time. We really were able to score some amazing deals. At times we were able to get great prices in advance, and other times the prices went down as the date got closer. It’s also convenient that the tickets are printable, so you can buy them at any time. Tip: You can purchase StubHub gift cards at some grocery stores, so if you have a credit card with a grocery bonus, this can be a nice way to get some extra points.
- Professional membership & other organizations
AAA is another membership organization that often sells discounted tickets to attractions.
- Township Recreation Departments
- Redeeming Miles/Points
How do you save money on attractions and activities for your vacations?
The post How to Save Money on Attractions, Tickets and Activities appeared first on The American Travel Project.
Continue reading...