1 . Travel in shoulder season. This is when that $300/night condo goes for half price and the crowds are gone. It’s also when the airfares from LA to Honolulu drop below $250 ($222 to be exact!) and you can show up at Yosemite without a reservation. 

Consider this: In an average year Yosemite receives 60% of its visitors between June-September. This means the other 40% are spread out over the remaining eight months of the year. Fewer visitors, means better availability of campsites, cabins and parking spaces. 

2 . Take the kids out of school. This can easily be done by giving your child’s teacher advance notice (one month) of a trip. This gives them time to prepare a packet of take-along assignments which your child can easily complete by working an hour a day. It serves the dual purpose of ensuring that the school (if public) gets paid for your child’s enrollment when they are out and ensuring they keep up with their peers.

It works is like this:  You subscribe to the website, enter the airports from which you're willing to depart, and sign up for  alerts. So for example, I live in San Diego and prefer to fly from there. But if the price is right, I will drive to Los Angeles (LA) or Orange County. If you're traveling with children, the savings can add up quickly. Google Flights also allows you to sign up for airfare alerts so you can purchase tickets when they go on sale. 

Update: With the expansion of algorithmic pricing, Google Flights, is no longer my "go to" for low airfares. Now, I suggest shopping around for the schedule, destination and route you want and purchasing it from the lowest cost supplier. Lately, this has been directly from the airline. I recently saved $600 on a flight just by buying my ticket from the airline. The savings alone paid for my ENTIRE 3-WEEK TRIP!!! 

The downsides? Plenty!

1. Taxes & fees. Airlines may route you through airports like London's Heathrow, that adds $200 to each touchdown.  

2.  Airlines routinely devalue miles, so a route that might have cost 60,000 miles last year, will cost 85,000 this year.  

3. Cancelled flights. You might have booked that award travel months in advance only to find the flight cancelled a couple of weeks before your departure. 

4. Inconvenient routing. Depending on your finances and schedule, you may prefer to pay for an 11-hour non-stop flight rather than endure 24 hours of travel with connections for "free". 

7. Share Expenses with Another Couple/Family: For couples who enjoy each other's company, especially if both have children of similar ages, sharing a vacation and expenses my make sense. The kids entertain each other, giving the adults more uninterrupted time together. 

9. If you're going to eat out, opt for lunch rather than dinner.  Many countries have fixed price lunches that are a very good value. Most include soup, an appetizer and a main course. And since you're out sightseeing anyway, they can be very convenient.  

11. Purchase airline tickets directly from the airline. Why? Two reasons: to avoid hidden fees and to be alerted of schedule changes. Let's face it; you never really know what you're getting if you buy through a third party, and communications is at best delayed. 

For example, during my recent trip to Taiwan, I encountered problems with the English versions of two airlines: Hong Kong Express and Scoot. In both instances-- even though I knew better-- I was compelled to purchase tickets through e-Dreams and Expedia. 

12. Consider Rail Passes: Students age 27 and under pay up to 25% less for Eurail passes than the adult fare; seniors 60 and over pay 10% less.  These passes periodically go on sale for 10% off.  

That said, I have generally found point-to-point tickets purchased in advance to be lower than buying a rail pass. The primary advantage of a Eurail pass is convenience of not having to purchase individual tickets and flexibility. 

Like everything, AFVC has it’s downsides.  

• You must compare condo costs with the broader market, because they’re not always the lowest cost.  This is especially true in Hawaii, where we usually do better by searching online for weekly condo rentals. 

• Some properties charge per person/per day resort fees, whether all amenities are available or not. (Think 60 F degree pool.)  

3) Pick up the rental car in town rather than at an airport to avoid the high concessionaire charges that some airports charge, or consider a car-sharing service like Turo (see below).

4) Avoid one-way drop off fees by returning the car where you picked it up.  This can save you hundreds of dollars. 

5) Chose a manual transmission over an automatic if you're renting a vehicle outside the United States. 

Why? Gas is more usually more expensive outside the US and  manual transmissions are more fuel efficient. So, manual transmissions are widely available from different rental agencies and you can shop for the lowest rate. 

If you must have an automatic-- as I must when driving a right-hand-drive vehicle-- book early and be prepared to pay 30% over what you'd pay for a manual transmission.  

6) Take a video of your car before you drive away. This way you won't be charged for existing damage to the car.

7) Consider renting from a car-sharing company, like Turo. Similar to Airbnb, which allows hosts to rent out their homes, Turo is a peer-to-peer vehicle renting service (available in the US, Canada, UK and Germany) that allows owners to rent out their vehicles on their own prices and terms. Hosts will often deliver the car free of charge to your door if you're renting for a minimum of 1 week. Savings are generally 25%, but the minimum age is 21. 

8) If you're under 21 or Just need a car for a few hours consider another vehicle sharing service,  like Getaround, Zipcar and HyreCar.