My name is Suzana Rowland. I have been expressing my thoughts about saving the Zlittle Frugal Life b

Summer and vacation time are approaching and I think it s a perfect time to share some of my tips on how to do a successful road trip on a frugal budget. These tips are based on our road trip experiences.
This summer we are planning a road trip to Canada. It may sound crazy to you, but we both love traveling by car. Road trips are a lot cheaper than flying. Besides that, we can also visit many places during one long trip. Killing 2 birds with one shot.
Planning tour of ancient egypt a road trip can be a hassle sometimes, especially if kids are  involved. In this article post, you will read our experiences, both good and bad dealing with all the situations during our last extreme road trip . Hope this article will help you plan a better road trip!
In this road trip planner, I wrote every single detail involved in road trips, such as: The route, stopping point, road map, where to stay, top 10 places to visit during the stay, any other activities (if available), where to contact in case of emergency, tour of ancient egypt second plan in case of emergency, safety requirements, etc.
Another document I prepared as well was a  Travel Essentials document. Here s the list of what to bring for the trip such as, clothing, camera, books, music, cooler and etc. The hotel choice and other things were decided based on research, reviews, price, and location .
Once everything in place, a few days before the actual road trip we'll send our "Road Trip Planner" to parents and family. The reason is because we want them to know where we are. In case something happens,  they know where to contact us. All for safety reasons. tour of ancient egypt It's better to do too much than, not enough. I am a believer in preparing the umbrella before it rains. Better to be prepared than sorry.
The reason is because we need a reliable car. We want to minimize stopping on the road due to a car break down. Car Rental companies usually provide you with a replacement car in such situations. And they do check all the rental car before it goes out.
They will also provide you with road side service or change your car in case of emergency. It's hassle free and you don't need to worry about anything. You just need to focus on your road trip instead of worrying about your car.
Last year we rented a car from Budget Car Rental. We rented Ford Escape but the Budget car rental was really nice to upgrade our car to a luxury one, a Lincoln MKX! Oh boy that's a really sweet ride. Not just roomy, tour of ancient egypt the car also has ergonomic seats, good stereo, XM Radio and all other nice features tour of ancient egypt that help you enjoy your trip.
Limited mileage means more money (be aware of that). Check and read carefully the terms and conditions before you rent a car. Gather as much information from the Car Rental Company as possible. Why? Because you don't want to get shocking tour of ancient egypt news or hidden fees at the end of your trip.
Stick to the highway most of the time. It's always best for your safety. tour of ancient egypt It s not just that you have easy access to everything (hotels, restaurants, rest stop, police etc) but it s also good for phone signals.
We drove from Utah to Colorado Springs, it was late a night around 2: am and we found no phone signal because we were in high elevation in the middle of nowhere. The road was so quiet and dark. Just a very few trucks passed from the opposite direction. We thought oh God if something happens to us, nobody will help us.
My suggestion is, stop driving when the dark approaches. Even earlier than that if you have children traveling tour of ancient egypt with you. It s not just good for your safety but also good for your body. Remember! Safety is one of the top important considerations in road trips
Here s our experience : In our last road trip, we made a mistake; we drove up around 7-8 hours before we stopped. A few times we arrived in hotel around 2 am. For safety, that's not good.  Our next trip will be arranged differently.
There are several key things to consider when you book a hotel. Ask yourself this, what is important for me when I get a hotel? Location? Convenience? Price? Service? Those are the top priorities, right?
Based on my experience, when you book a hotel trough tour of ancient egypt a travel agent or site, the hotel can't guarantee the room you've ordered. Everything depends on availability. They can put you in queen bed if you book for a king. There is no agreement between you and the hotel. When you complain they tell you to call the travel agent. Duh!!  Also travel agents in fact mark up the price.
During our trip to Santa Fe, we stopped in Arkansas overnight. The next morning when we were ready to pay, the customer service desk gave us a total price $50 cheaper than the price we got online. I was shocked and told him the actual online price we got and it had already been paid in full. And he told me sometimes is better to call the hotel directly to book the room.
As for me, here is some of consideration of choosing a hotel. When we transit tour of ancient egypt in one city, we want to get a medium tour of ancient egypt star hotel with good bed. After long driving, nice comfortable bed will rejuvenate your body for the next day of driving. Of course a hotel must come with a complimentary breakfast. It will cut your time running around looking for a place to have breakfast.
I am usually a fanatic about convenience. I like to choose the closest hotel to the venue/tourist area within walking distance to the main tourist spots. But after a bad experience we had last time, I think I need to reconsider my fanatical view.
I chose this hotel after reading tour of ancient egypt all the reviews. It got good reviews by the way. When we got there, tour of ancient egypt the hotel was far from good. It's an old hotel and the room had a strange odor. Combination of mildew and smoke smell together (I can't explain the smell).
We called tour of ancient egypt customer service once again, reported the odor and the hair on the bed. I was upset because the reason I wanted to pay extra was because I thought it was a good hotel (based on the reviews). I guess maybe we are just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe others tour of ancient egypt didn't get that kind of experience but we did. And that experience was enough tour of ancient egypt for us to decide to move to another hotel even if we didn t get refund (think about how bad it was).
We planned to try to get our money back. Since it was late at night we decided to just stay for one night and move to another hotel the next day. We tried to call another hotel in the Flagstaff area. It is about 1 hour drive from from Grand Canyon and we found a Comfort Inn. And it was the best hotel we got 40 % cheaper, cleaner and had nice customer service.
Once we were sure we had our hotel, we then called customer tour of ancient egypt service and told them our situation, about how unhappy we were. We told them that we wanted to cancel our stay and asked them to refund our money for the rest of the stay. Based on the fact (they saw it with their own eyes), they couldn't tour of ancient egypt argue and agreed to refund our money.
Oh yea, another bad thing was all restaurants at Grand Canyon village (Tusayan) closed at 9. The exception was Mc Donald s at 11PM. And they charge you $7 for a burger. And when I asked the server why, he was just flat out rude.
That's what happens when you go to area where you don't have any choices/options. They don't need to care about service or being nice because they know people will buy from them anyway (because there's no other option).
I'd rather get a good hotel and service at a cheaper price (drive 30 minutes or 1hr farther) than staying in a smelly hotel with bad service and more expensive tour of ancient egypt in the location. The convenience is not equal to the satisfaction I got. You just need to choose one or another. Priority is the key.
If you can, try to take your trip after school starts or before summer break (ignore this suggestion if this road trip is for taking your children during summer break). The occupancy of the hotels tour of ancient egypt are going down and the hotels are a lot cheaper. A lot more bargains are out there and the tourist area is not as busy/crowded tour of ancient egypt after school starts. The weather is nice and the heat won't stop you from going to more places.
Be a smart traveler. tour of ancient egypt Be nice but don't let your guard down. You just never know who you might meet with. It can be a killer, tour of ancient egypt sex offender, or kidnapper out there. Just be careful and use your own judgment. Be nice but be wise at the same time.
Don't bring a big cooler. Bring a small one, enough tour of ancient egypt for 3-4 drinks. You can always stop at a gas station and buy some more drinks. Make your trip as light as possible. It will cut your packing time in half.
The right time calculation can really maximize your stay if you know where to go. Even after you plan it sometimes in reality it does not always go as planned out. It is always something that changes your plan or elongates the time you have planned.
My name is Suzana Rowland. I have been expressing my thoughts about saving the Zlittle Frugal Life blog since 2006, but a regular job and a busy schedule prevented me from blogging about things that [More...]