We loved our time away this weekend in Seattle! It was definitely a bit out of our norm as we tend to go on a really big trip each year where we’re gone for 2 weeks- and not have any really short weekend trips along the way other than camping. This was the first time where we flew away for the weekend and I have to admit I really enjoyed it. It was nice to have a short break where we got away for a few days.
On the other hand, we did blow our budget on this trip far from what I was planning on. This was due to a few things though.
Food was a lot more expensive than I was thinking! We spent over $30 for a couple meals and that’s what killed us. But when you’re driving through the national park there just aren’t always a ton of options for eating.
We ended up spending a day in Seattle and toured the Chihuly Garden and Glass Exhibit. This added $50 to our expenses that we weren’t originally planning on but it was fun!
We were VERY delayed in Las Vegas on our way home and ended up spending extra money on food since we were getting hungry. This also cost us more for parking back at the Omaha airport.
The positive was that gas was cheaper than anticipated! While it does take a while to drive around the park, it’s not necessarily a lot of miles, just slow going. This helped keep our fuel costs down which was nice.
Here is the overall breakdown of our expenses:
Roundtrip flights on Southwest
18,492 miles and used Companion pass
Cost to us:$22.40
Retail Price: $766.40
Booked: February 2015
Thrifty Rental Car (Economy, 3 days)
7,555 Chase points (ID: PJ5GFADEQ)
$94.44
Booked 1/16/15
Hotel- Seattle Ramada Inn & Suites Sea-Tac
5,225 Chase Points (ID:R75C96X8J)
$65.31
Booked 1/16/15
Hotel- Port Angeles Inn
5,776 Chase points (ID:JR87T4D5X)
$72.20
Booked 1/26/15
1 night Camping
$25.00
Food (three days of meals for two people)
$173.59
Gas
$52.65
Olympic National Park permit (good for 7 days)
$15.00
Parking (in Seattle and at the airport in Omaha)
$34.00
Chihuly Exhibit entrance (2 people)
$42.00
TOTAL
37,048 Miles/points
$364.64
$1,362.99
Stay tuned for reviews and full details around tips and tricks learned along the way!
Located just outside Tuxtla is an adorable little town called Chiapa de Corzo. We took a half day trip out to it while we were in Tuxtla and it was one of the highlights of our trip. It’s about 30 minutes away and a popular tourist destination despite its small size. The town is mainly arranged around the square in the center with a park area. Around the edges are a multitude of shops selling all kinds of handicraft souvenirs. I absolutely love the colors and designs of Mexican handicrafts so it was hard not to buy everything from all the stores!
Sipping pozol, a local sweet drink made from corn.
We arrived mid-morning and walk slightly outside of the center area towards the indoor market place. It was full of all kinds of street food options and we I had some great empanadas for breakfast for around $2 each. The best part though by far was the fresh fruit smoothie I got afterwards! It was a blend of strawberries and pineapple for around $1.50- and it was huge and delicious! I would’ve bought one every single day if I could. Make sure to be carrying cash with you as, like most street food vendors, credit cards are not accepted.
Breakfast with Andrea and Karla and my awesome smoothie!
After breakfast we looked through the shops for a bit and I bought a pair of sandals that is currently all the rage in Mexico. They gave me some nasty blisters by the end of the day but I’ll break them in and they’ll be great- plus they were only around $10!
We then began making our way towards the Sumidero Canyon which is the main attraction here. From the moment you enter the town you’ll be accosted by companies looking for to book a reservation for this boat trip down the canyon. Check the prices ahead of time so you’ll know what to expect as far as cost goes. You don’t HAVE to go through one of these companies, you can simply walk down the streets to the edge of the river and buy a ticket for the boat there. BUT the walk would be a little lengthy, I’d guess at least 20 minutes, and it was HOT in the sun (keep in mind it was December 31st). These tour companies have an advantage in that they’ll drive you down there and bring you back into the town afterwards as well.
Beautiful Canyon del Sumidero
We booked with one of the companies who stopped us on the street after finding out their prices were pretty much equal to the price we would pay at the edge of the river too. DEFINITELY worth it to save us from walking through the sun. There are some bathrooms available at the docks before you board the boat, as far as some food and drinks you can buy. I highly recommend bringing some water with you and making a quick pit stop at the restrooms as the trip through the canyon is approximately 2 hours.
Be sure to pack sunglasses for the boat ride!
The boat trip itself was a lot of fun! It started off slow and I thought we were going to bake in the sun the whole time, but almost immediately the boat picks up speed and the wind keeps you cool the rest of the trip. We actually brought some sweaters with us just in case we got too chilly from the wind. The boat goes really fast and that was a lot of fun!
Along the way we saw all kinds of wildlife- crocodiles, monkey, iguana and all kinds of birds. There used to actually be a park in the canyon that could only be accessed by the boat, but this has since closed. It’s quite pretty along the whole way and the guides give a lot of informative background narration as well. They take you all the way to the end where the dam was built and then you turn around and return back the same way you came. At the dam, there are locals selling snacks from boats so you can also purchase some drinks or food at that point as well.
The iguana was my favorite
One of the sights pointed out along the way is the Arbol de la Navidad (Christmas tree). It was fun to see the cool way the plants had grown together. The whole trip makes for a fun morning or afternoon trip and I would highly recommend it!
By far my favorite highlight of the time in Playa del Carmen was actually the cheapest activity we did. After spending a couple of days on excursions, we were looking for something to do and started browsing suggestions online. We came across a few people mentioning that Akumal was nice and the beach was a bit quieter and away from the crowds. It was about a 30 minute drive from Playa del Carmen so decided to head there.
When we arrived it was a little confusing at first trying to figure out exactly where the beach was and which section we should head to for parking and access. We drove around a bit from one section to another and finally hit a dive shop area where we stopped. We parked there and rented some snorkel gear inside. It was mid-morning and not crowded very much at all.
We found a spot on the mostly empty beach to leave our stuff and headed out into the water. The beach was so shallow we had to wade out quite a bit but it was all sand and no rocks or coral so no problem. It wasn’t long at all before we spotted a sea turtle! We had heard there were sea turtles in the area but I wasn’t expecting it to be so easy to find them! It was amazing to swim with them, we saw all different sizes though no little babies. It’s advised not to touch them but you can still get very close and literally swim right next to them. It was usually easy to spot where others were as a group of snorkelers tended to be hovered on the surface above them.
As the day went on the beach filled up more and tour groups began arriving. We hadn’t even know about any of the tours to go see the turtles, but I looked them up afterwards and they cost around $75. The benefit these provide is direct transportation to the beach and all the equipment you need. There’s a guide the accompanies the group to help “spot” the sea turtles, but this is really not needed. It’s extremely easy to see them on your own without someone pointing them out for you.
This was practically a free activity for us as the snorkel equipment we rented was extremely cheap. I would definitely recommend doing it on your own without a tour group. There were also a lot of hotels down the beach in case you are looking to stay right there. We ate at a little restaurant in the town area and food wasn’t too pricy either.
Fun little cafe that was like a patio attached to a person’s house
It may sound super simple, but it was just so much fun to see these creatures out in the wild in their own habitat and us have the freedom to explore as much as we wanted without being surrounded by a tour group. Highly recommended activity!!
This is the first interview in a series I’ll be posting from time to time with various other travelers and budget savvy individuals. If you’re interested in sharing your story with me, or know of someone who would be great for me to talk to, let me know!
Meet Heather Bohlender
About Heather:
I’m from Colorado and met my husband in Nebraska. We were married for about a year before we came here to South Korea where we’ve spent the past 18 months living and teaching English. I like reading, blogging at heatherbo.blogspot.com about our travels and lessons along the way. I enjoy playing sports like Ultimate Frisbee and volleyball, and playing music.
Washington D.C.
What’s your top piece of advice for college graduates coming out of school with a lot of student loans?
Pay them! But do what you have to do to make it happen. When we were first married, we weren’t even making enough money to cover living expenses and loans. So I was able to temporarily lower our monthly payments to make it work. Don’t defer though, if you can help it. I know the number is completely overwhelming, but every little bit helps.
How did you determine your plan/time line for paying off your loans?
We never set forth with a well thought-out plan for when we hoped to be debt free. We just knew we had $50,000 to pay and that felt much too heavy, so we just started thinking about the fastest way to get out of debt without like selling our bodies for science or something! We’re aiming to be really close to paying them off by August.
Cruise to Bahamas
What have you found to be most effective in paying off your loans?
For us, the most effective way to pay off our loans meant moving to South Korea where the cost of living was slightly lower and the pay teaching English was better than what we were making.
Here’s some info if you’re interested: A lot of countries around the world really want native English speakers to come teach in their international schools. I researched several different options around the globe and found South Korea to be a good match for us (based on our level of education and experience). For example, through EPIK (English program in Korea) they would take my husband, Jeremy, who has a masters degree and me, with an English education degree. Each program’s requirements are different. For some you just need a college degree (in any subject) and maybe a basic, TOEFL course or something to prove you can actually speak English.
We found this to be a good route for us. This particular program re-imbursed our round-trip airfare, paid our apartment rent, and paid pretty well. So Jeremy makes $2,000 a month and I make $2,000 a month. We live off of one salary and the other goes straight to our loans. Where we live, $2,000 is plenty to live off of for a month. We don’t eat out much, we cook a lot at home. We don’t shop at the fancy indoor, markets but buy most of our basics at the outdoor, local markets. We ride our bikes almost everywhere so we don’t pay for cars or gas. We live pretty simply and don’t often buy clothes or things we don’t really need. So usually there’s even money left over from our $2,000 a month that goes into savings where we are saving up for bigger future purchases like a car (whenever we get back to the States).
As far as month-to-month spending/saving, we really try to look ahead to the future at things we know we will need. There’s no need to be surprised, for example, at needing a car when we get back the States. We’ve known for 18 months that we’d be needing one, so we’ve been putting aside a bit ever since.
Another thing we’ve been navigating recently is the cost benefit of buying cheap things versus buying quality things. We both got through college living pretty frugally and always choosing the cheaper of two options. But now as we’ve been learning more about the amount of waste and plastic that goes into the environment, we’ve been re-thinking the stuff we think we need, versus that which we can save up for (and of course spend a little more on) knowing that it will last so much longer.
Some examples:
-plastic tupperware vs. glass containers and lids
-Payless pleather boots vs. real leather boots
-cheap clothes from Walmart vs. real, handmade, guaranteed clothes from Patagonia
Just because I’m paying five bucks for something doesn’t mean it only cost five bucks to be made. Someone is always paying the difference even if I’m not. Someone in Cambodia isn’t getting paid what they should to make the T-shirt I buy from Walmart where the employee might work 39 hours a week and still only quality for part-time pay and benefits. If something is super, super cheap it’s probably because someone else had to pay the difference. That feels terrible, so we try to avoid it when we can.
If you’re interested in more information check out The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard.
Korea
What’s one thing you wish you had known or done differently in handling the loans?
I’m not sure I have any regrets. I mean, loans suck. I hate them. And, it is what it is. I don’t feel that I was misinformed about it. I’m not sure we could’ve done anything differently because at the start of our marriage, we didn’t even have enough money to pay the minimums. It is what is is. You do your best with what you’ve got and go from there.
What’s the first thing you’re going to do when you’re debt free?
Jump up and down, probably cheer! Tell our friends and family! I’m just looking forward to seeing so much less of our paychecks get sucked away into the black hole that is Nelnet. I’ll be excited to start saving up for a sewing machine and Mason jars to start canning. Yay! I think we will just feel lighter which is a beautiful thing.
What has been your top travel adventure so far?
A year ago, since we were already on this side of the world, we were able to make a trip back to Cambodia where I spent a year abroad as a volunteer when I was nineteen. It was an incredible experience I didn’t think I’d ever get: to be able to show my husband this place that changed my life forever. It really was amazing. And that trip never would’ve been possible had we not had this opportunity to live and teach in Korea.
Cambodia
Where’s your next trip going to be?
This weekend we’re going to Japan, which is only a 2-hour flight from here. We found some decent rates and are using Air BnB to stay at a place pretty cheap. We wanted to Couch Surf but no one got back to us in time.
On our way back to the States in August, we’ll go on a short, little tour of southeast Asia. Gotta take advantage of the trip since we may not be back on this side of the world for a while!
Korea
Final words of wisdom:
Don’t get lost in the burden and dread of student loans. It’s big. It’s hairy and scary, but eventually you’ll get out from under it. And please don’t live in absolute misery until your debt-free. Make that once-in-a-lifetime trip if you can still pay all your bills. Don’t deny yourself all of your favorite things, but maybe set reasonable goals along the way that can be rewarded with sweet little things, like mangos in January. Yes, you rebel, you!
Take heart, there is life on the other side of debt. We’re all getting there. Slowly.
If you haven’t already taken advantage of the U.S. Airways Mastercard by Barclay, there’s still time! This is my number one recommended card to new miles travelers right now because it offers 50,000 miles and no manufacturer purchase spending minimums to reach. These minimums are not hard to reach once you’re comfortable with playing the miles game right, but at the beginning it can be a bit overwhelming. Read about my full review of the card here.
The main reason I did this was for the miles that will convert to American Airlines miles soon, but a side perk was that this card comes with a U.S. Airways Companion Pass.
Southwest by far has the best companion pass deal out there. And I wouldn’t get this U.S. Airways card just for their companion pass, but it worked out well in this situation. We’ll be taking a cruise in May with my parents and are so excited! My parents were graciously paying for our flights there as a gift and because of that this companion pass came in handy. The U.S. Airways companion pass allows for one flight each year by the card holder, traveling within the lower 48 states, to purchase their ticket (minimum of $250) and then add 1-2 additional passengers to the same itinerary for just $99 each.
Typically, I would rather use miles than pay for ANY flights at all. But in this case since my mom had been looking for deals on cheap flights anyway, the math worked out. I used my companion pass that I had received in the mail to look at flights options on the U.S. Airways website. The first options I chose looked good, but they were operated by American Airlines. Although they are listed on the U.S. Airways site, the companion pass can only be used on U.S. Airways flights. This wasn’t too big a deal and I was able to find some alternative times that worked well too.
You have to call U.S. Airways to make the reservation when using the companion pass. Usually there is a fee of $25 when making a booking over the phone, however this is waived when booking with the companion pass. I told the representative my Companion Pass number and the flights that I wanted. The regular flight cost was $489.70 which was paid in full for my flight as the holder of the companion pass. I then added my husband and one of my sisters to the reservation as well for just $136.70 each which included the taxes and fees for the flight. This means for three people flying from Omaha to Fort Lauderdale, the total cost was $763.10. This comes out to $254.37 a person. Not the cheapest flight in the entire world but there was definitely no way we were going to find tickets for that price range.
In this case the Companion Pass worked out really well for us! Combine this with a Cyber Monday deal I got for us to stay the night a hotel suite in Fort Lauderdale for only $12 and it’s looking like this trip is off to a good start!
By far this is the best travel deal I’ve scored yet. The Companion Pass by Southwest is one of the most valuable flight perks you can get. It can be extremely difficult to earn if you don’t get approved for two Southwest Credit Cards when they have 50,000 mile offers. But fortunately I got them and now have this amazing benefit.
To earn the pass you need to fly 100 Southwest flights in one year or earn 110,000 miles. Obviously I don’t fly THAT much so instead I signed up for two cards, got 100,000 miles that way and then just spent $10,000 on the cards to get 10,000 more miles. I just received the email that I earned the Companion Pass 🙂
This mean for ANY Southwest flight that I take for the rest of 2015 and all of 2016, a “companion of my choice” will fly with me for free. This could be on flights I purchase with dollars or points. You can only change your companion 2-3 times after you designate them, but I plan on it being Pablo the whole time. The companion has to fly EXACTLY the same itinerary as you, and you both have to actually fly that’s the only way it will work. But this is a pretty sweet deal, especially since Southwest is now flying to international locations. And when we fly to Boston to visit my family, we only have to spend miles for my flight while my companion comes along for free.
The trick is to earn the pass at the beginning of the first year so you have close to 24 months of using it. If I had earned it in November of 2015, it would only be good until the end of 2016- about 13 months total. So I was thrilled to see that we got it so quickly.
Using it is pretty simple and gave me some surprise bonus miles I wasn’t expecting either. The person who earned the pass simply makes a reservation like normal. Once it processes through the Southwest website you can review your “upcoming trips”. There will be an option displayed to “add a companion” and when clicking that you simply type in the information for your companion. You simply pay for the taxes and fees (usually around $11.20) and your booking is made for free- no miles used no dollars needed. Now comes in the extra surprise!
We had already made a reservation for April as I didn’t want to wait too long for flights to disappear or prices to go up. However, even THAT booking that was made prior to the companion pass had the options for “adding a companion”. I called Southwest to ask about this and they said they would simply cancel the reservation for my companion and add him as my companion to MY reservation instead. By doing that we were refunded all the miles we used for his flight!!! Another win for Southwest, no change fees!!!!! That was around 22,000 miles back to our account that I wasn’t expecting. Pretty much enough for another trip for us. On top of that, the prices for the flights had dropped since I had booked. So I asked about that as well. The nice travel agent simply refunded us the difference of those miles as well- another 3,000!
Pretty much this weekend was the most exciting travel deal weekend for us yet! Now I need to find another destination for us as well 🙂
Hopefully you know by now what a huge Southwest fan I am. And if my top four reasons weren’t enough, here are some other added bonuses as well.
Rapid Rewards Partners.
Did you know that Southwest partners with car rental companies and hotels? This means that if you rent a car from one of their partners or stay at a partner hotel, you can actually earn Southwest miles from it. For me this beneficial if I stay at a Marriott for work (one of the partner hotels) because I hardly ever stay at them and it would take forever to get enough hotel points saved for free nights. Instead, I ask Marriott to put the points to my Rapid Rewards account instead. Same for rental cars- since I don’t pay for rental cars very often, it takes a really long time for me to save up enough points for a free rental. Instead of getting a few rental car credits here or there, I’d rather use those points towards a Southwest flight. Often times you can earn around 600 miles for one paid rental car- that’s much more valuable to me.
To clarify- if you want to use Rapid Rewards Partners to earn miles instead of car/hotel points, you forfeit earning those hotel/car points completely for that purchase. Sadly, you can’t get both- but since miles are most valuable to me, that’s usually what I choose.
Shopping Portals.
I’ve written before about the Chase Shopping Portals and how to earn free extra points by using them for your online shopping. Well Southwest has their own shopping portal as well! Since Chase points can transfer to Southwest, I would recommend simply doing a comparison of the two portals when you’re getting ready to shop. Whichever one will earn you more, use that one.
Dining Program.
Similar to the rapid rewards partners, my enrolling in Southwest’s dining program you can earn miles whenever you dine at restaurants in the program. Enrollment is free so log onto Southwest and check out which restaurants can get you free extra miles!
Free tv on planes.
Southwest is starting to implement wifi options on more and more flights. While you do have to pay for wifi, you can connect to their free tv show offerings without paying at all! Pack an iPad or Laptop to use for those domestic flights that usually don’t offer any free entertainment.
Although these perks wouldn’t be enough to be a deciding factor for me in which airline to use, they are a nice addition. Southwest offers so many opportunities for earning miles, don’t delay starting another day!
While traveling internationally has many different options when it comes to airlines and which are the best to take, domestic travel is a piece of cake. Southwest is absolutely the way to go.
In a previous post I discussed how award seat availability works on airlines- usually seats open around 11-12 months ahead of time and there are only a few available on each flight. If you snooze, you likely lose.
Southwest is COMPLETELY different. And offers huge benefits for anyone who is looking to travel within the U.S.
Seats open on Southwest flights approximately 6 months or so in advance. While most airlines update on a daily basis for releasing new seats a year ahead of time, Southwest releases seats in waves. Their next wave will most likely be this spring and will open flights for later summer and fall. I don’t know on the exact dates of these releases, but they open a lot at once- not just one day at a time like others.
This can be both good and bad. It’s good, because you don’t need to plan quite so far in advance. Bad, because if you need to make other reservations super far in advance, you won’t be 100% sure on your flights yet if you’re waiting on Southwest. However there are a number of ways to work around this.
First, Southwest flights are pretty predictable. For example, we’re planning a trip for Labor Day weekend- but flights for September have not yet been released. In order to estimate how many miles I’ll need for this trip, I pulled up Southwest’s calendar for some dates in August (pretty close to September). I plugged in my destination and the day of the week I was looking for. Since we’re planning to leave on Friday after work I looked at Friday afternoon flights for a few different weeks that were already open. And they followed pretty much the same schedule. I knew then how many miles I could estimate I would need and what kind of itinerary I would be looking at when flights for September open.
BIGGEST BENEFIT OF ALL: There is no limit to the number of award seats- if Southwest has an open seat, you have an open award seat. While most airlines offer just a few of these award seats per flights, Southwest opens EVERY seat as an award seat option. When searching, you simply click to display results in dollars or points.
So while my hopes of getting an award seat on another airline for a holiday weekend in the U.S. are next to nothing- with Southwest my options are wide open!!!!!!
There are no standard mileage requirements on Southwest. While all other airlines charge 12,500 miles for any domestic flight, Southwest has no set standard in place. Instead, everything is price based. So if the actual $ cost of the ticket is cheap, so are the number of miles needed. This can be EXTREMELY valuable for short flights. For example, to fly from Omaha to Denver or Chicago is usually only around 6,000 miles. That’s less than half of what it would cost on any other airline!!!
Of course, sometimes there are flights that are far above the standard 12,500 cost. For example, our flights to Seattle for April were 6,000 points to get there and about 15,000 to get back. However, adding it together you reach a total of 21,000- still cheaper than the standard 25,000 miles for other airlines.
No change fees charged. This means if you book and then to change your flight, no problem. You have those miles or dollars credited in your Southwest account to be used later. Additionally, if you book a flight and then the ticket price drops, you can call Southwest to re-book at the lower price. Oh, and your bags fly free! No checked baggage fees either for your first two bags- that could easily save $50-$100 roundtrip as well!
I never use any other airline besides Southwest to fly domestically. Hopefully these top four reasons clearly explain why:
Seats open in chunks rather than daily
Unlimited award seating
Price based mileage requirements
No change fees OR baggage fees
Don’t ever use miles in the U.S. on another airline again!
So many have approached me and asked how we travel so much without spending any money- and how they can do it too. This is a HUGE question that doesn’t have just a short, easy answer. So I thought it may be beneficial to put together a guide of the basic steps I follow when planning our trips. Luckily, for me, planning the trip is almost as much as going on it! I love putting together all the little details. But in case that seems a little overwhelming, or you’re just looking for some tips on where to start, read on.
#1. Figure out where you want to go.
Your destination will effect a number of planning aspects to free travel. Different airlines have different mileage requirements for different destinations (read about that here). For example, my advice would be far different for someone looking to travel around Europe, to someone looking to travel around Asia, to someone looking to travel within the U.S.
Feel free to check out my bucket list for any ideas on my dream stops! My biggest advice would be to determine what kind of travel is your style. We loved our weeks in Europe last year but quickly learned that we would rather go for outdoors and adventure type travel rather than sightseeing and visiting churches/castles/museums.
#2. Decide on WHEN you want to go.
This affects everything. If you’re looking to go to Bali, you probably want to make sure you avoid rainy season there (November-March). However, this could be prime time for visiting Australia where summer runs from December to February. Europe in the summer can be great, but you may be able to find some deals for visiting in the off season as well. If you have a school schedule to work around, that will obviously play a factor as well.
#3. Educate yourself on the airlines
Do a quick comparison of some of the major airlines (I usually check United, Delta and American Airlines) to see how many miles you would need to reach your destination you have in mind. Figure out which ones could work best for you to get to your dream location. Also, do any of the airlines have off season cheaper offers? If so, which ones and when?
Check availability if your dates are coming up sooner rather than later. Remember, these award seats go fast. So your exact dates may not work if there’s nothing available on the airlines then.
#4. Look at Current Credit Card Offers.
Before you become 100% sold on the airline you want, check the current offers out there for credit cards. If there are two airlines who are both pretty similar in mileage availability and requirements, one may be offering a significantly higher credit card bonus than the other. For instance, last year one of the American Airlines cards came out with a 100,000 mile offer! That right there was enough to get me using American Airlines.
Decide which credit cards to go for and apply for a couple! Do the same for your spouse as well if you’ll be traveling together.
#5. Check Hotel prices and award options.
Hotels have a LOT more flexibility when it comes to using points for them. There are usually quite a few rooms available for booking, even just a week or so ahead of time. I don’t worry about these nearly as much as flights.
Currently, Hilton is the only hotel chain I earn points with. I usually check on their prices for hotels in the area I’m going to. If it’s on the cheaper side (20,000 points or less) I tend to book. If it’s more than that, I usually find a cheaper hotel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and use my chase points through there. Or if the hostel route is also an option sometimes I book those with my Barclay World Arrival Plus card and get reimbursed for it later.
#6. Local Transportation
While I also book free rental cars using my Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, unfortunately trains don’t qualify for this. They make work with your Barclay World Arrival Plus instead, but you would have to check on that. We used the Eurail while in Europe last year and that was paid for out of pocket. In Asia, flights around the different countries are pretty cheap- so I would probably book those with Barclay World Arrival Plus miles as well. A lot of times local transportation ends up being one of the biggest costs to us. Subways and buses can add up but when everything else is free, that isn’t too bad.
Of course you will have to pay for your food while traveling as well- we tend to buy from grocery stores a lot while on the road to help save money and eat out at restaurants on occasion. But that is completely personal preference.
Parting words: PLAN AS FAR IN ADVANCE AS POSSIBLE. This way you can get the best deals possible. I arrange our itinerary as well before booking anything. I would hate to get our flights booked and then find one more “have to see” sight that I can’t bear to miss- yet not have enough time for it. I do almost all of my itinerary research online- through blogs, Pinterest and just general google information. So if you’re considering a trip, start on it NOW!
We spent a week in Playa del Carmen in July of 2012. As far as the city itself goes, I was incredibly happy with our choice of staying there rather than Cancun. We did fly into Cancun and rent a car to get to Playa del Carmen. Car rental prices were very reasonable and that way we had a car to get around whenever we wanted. Playa del Carmen was a little more than an hour from Cancun- BUT the top reason I was glad we stayed there is because Playa del Carmen is a lot closer to many of the excursion activities from Cancun. While many people choose to stay in Cancun because the city has a lot more nightlight options, we weren’t looking to party. So we picked Playa del Carmen for our hotel rather than driving back and forth from Cancun for the activities we wanted to do. Most other tourists we ran into were staying in Cancun and many did complain of the long trip to get to the excursions- so score for us.
We were there July 12-19 and there was a fair happening in Playa del Carmen then! I’m not sure if that is the same time it happens every year or not, but regardless it did supply for some fun times exploring the city at night. We bought a lot of different fair foods to try and checked out some of the music they had going on. We considered going on some of the rides, but the lines were taking multiple hours just for one single ride. So after finding that out we decided to just stick with walking around instead. The city was full of street performers as well which made it fun!
While there are many nice restaurants to eat in but we aimed for the cheaper side of things and didn’t have a problem finding that either. There’s something for everyone! We found an awesome pizza place with pizza slices for just 15 pesos apiece and ended up eating there twice. All the open air shops around were full of touristy souvenirs as well, it was a very fun town to be in.
The hotel we chose was about a 10 minute drive from downtown which was great because it meant everything was nice and quiet. It was not all inclusive, but we made that decision on purpose since we don’t drink alcohol and didn’t need something where the price was higher but alcohol was included. I did want a hotel that had breakfast included each morning and this one had a fantastic huge buffet for free. They options were great with traditional Mexican foods and more familiar American items as well. I wish I remembered the name of the hotel we stayed at now, but unfortunately I don’t. I can tell you that I booked it through expedia and in 2012 it was only around $60 a night.
Photos of our hotel in Playacar
The room wasn’t huge that we stayed in but it was super pretty and very nice. The hotel was always quiet and we had no complaints about it whatsoever. It was located back in a private neighborhood area with condos and things like that around- so it definitely wasn’t in the center of town where you could just walk to whatever you wanted. But it was perfect for us. It has a beautiful pool and some jacuzzis as well though it did not have direct access to the beach. Since we aren’t big beach bums anyway, this was not an issue to us and we were told you could walk to the beach about 20 minutes away if you wanted to. I would definitely stay there again.
Fire Round the World 