Before we even left the USA for our expat assignment, when begin to dream of the vacations we could take while we lived here! To organize ourselves we made a dream list. The idea of this is that we would hopefully stay focused and spend our money in the right areas! Here is our list: London, Ireland, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo, Prague, Amsterdam, Spain, Carsecone, Croatia, Istanbul, Dubai, Cologne, Dresden, Normandy, Nice, Italy, and Paris. Now obviously we can't go everywhere in 3 years but we really want to get the most bang for our buck! This is how we plan our European Vacations.
Each school break I like to pick two cities and make them compete for my money! I like to see which city ends up all around cheaper! I begin with the whole car vs. airplane debate! If we can drive it in 12hrs or less, than we do! Driving is always the cheapest solution for a family of 4 or more! If we are flying I start with German Wings, they tend to be the cheapest and easiest (with flights in and out of Stuttgart), and I will also try Ryan Air. Once I have their best price I began to search the major airlines. I pull them each up individually because I find that time and again that Expedia doesn’t offer enough date flexibility. So far I have always found a comparable rate on all major airlines. I have taken the comparable rate on the major airline because there is no hidden cost! On airlines like Ryan Air and German Wings, the extra fees can add up!
The next search I begin is for lodging! For lodging I use one of two paths. First is a hotel search. For a hotel search I go to expedia, type in my location, and my desires (rating, rooms, and breakfast). Than when the list comes up I filter through it finding hotels that match my needs. I than use Google to find the individual hotel sites. I don't use expendia at this point because they have a service fee added to that cheap hotel rate, the hotel site does not. Here I input my information and look for the price that is the best flexible rate. The best flexible rate is one that is a locked price but also fully cancelable till 4pm the day before your stay. This way I have a room, but haven't prepaid. If you like to prepay, than book the best flexible rate and 25 days before your stay book that advance savings rate! Now often times I might book 2 hotels for the same vacation using the best flexible rate. This allows be to book one really nice 4-5 star hotel and one 3-4 star hotel, that way as it gets closer I can choose how much I really want or have to spend.
If I don't want to do hotels stay and think a vacation home/rental would be better than I use that search engine Homeaway. This is a tremendous site that is available for worldwide use! Here is works the same type in where you want to go, and up pops a list that meet your requirements. Now on Homeaway I do like to filter through my results and how I do that is by reviews. I select I would like to see properties with the highest number of reviews. Then I read the reviews. Finally when it comes time to select a unit I type a very standard email off to the owners requesting a quote. If the owner response in a typical time frame than that is another good sign. The only negative with homeaway is the cash deposit upon booking! This can be a bit scary, so make sure you do your research!
Finally car rental...This is a bit harder! Cars are all generally expensive and if you want an automatic it can be more. Plus you really should plan out gas usage and insurance (Ireland, Italy, and France are a must in my book). If we are booking a car I often book in advance and than rebook the cheaper price a week or so before the vacation! I enjoy sixt, and europcar but find their prices to all be similar!
Finally the vacation that works out to be the best price wins, and off we go to enjoy and make memories!
Sites that I love:
http://www.homeaway.com/
http://www.ryanair.com/en
www.germanwings.com/
http://www.expedia.de/
http://www.europcar.co.uk/
http://www.sixt.de/
http://www.novotel.com/gb/home/index.shtml
http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/ihg/hotels/us/en/reservation
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