25 Ways To Save Money On Your Next Boating Vacation
by Alan Jones
June 1, 2007
A boating vacation is a great way for families to relax and spend quality time with each other. But
as prices for expenses like gas, lodging and meals rise, it's easy to go over budget, and when
you're overspending on a trip, the fun tends to disappear at the same rate your wallet gets
emptied. But with some careful planning, not only can you get the most for your money, but you'll
also find better ways to have fun.
PRE-TRIP RESEARCH
1.
Consider a trip close to home. Just because you're on vacation doesn't mean you
have to travel all the way across the country. Get a regional map, and start researching places
close to you that you've never been to before. Not only will you save gas money, but you'll also
extend vacation time and cut down on the fatigue of travel. Kids don't care how far you go;
it's the shared experience that counts.
2.
Go off-peak. Many places offer significant discounts for off-peak travel. An added
bonus is the lack of crowds where you're going. If you can't plan an off-peak trip due to the kids'
school schedules, at least try to avoid the high-season rates.
3.
Contact the chamber of commerce. Once you have several possible destinations
you're considering, call the local chamber and request brochures, or go online to their websites to
obtain general information about the area. Many resort areas have agencies that promote the region,
and they can give you great tips on low-cost or free entertainment such as museums or local events
like festivals.
4. Read a book. Once you've narrowed down your choices, go to the library or
bookstore, and obtain a travel or cruise guide. Most give great insider information about where
you're going and give you an accurate idea of the cost of attractions, lodging and meals.
Read magazines like Boating World or visit
www.boatingworld.com to find unique and
affordable adventures.
5.
Get free nautical charts and navigation software. Paper charts cost around $20,
and often you only use them for one trip and may actually need several (a 100-mile trip across the
Everglades requires three). The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Association (NOAA), the
government chart folks, now offers them free on the Internet, along with a list of third-party
professional navigation software, which includes tide and current information and can be used free
for 30 days. Click on
http://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/mcd/Raster/resources.htm.
ACCOMMODATIONS
6.
Take your first step on Sidestep. If you'll be staying in a hotel or resort,
there's no reason to pay rack rates with the plethora of websites that will allow you to research
the lowest rate. Start with
www.sidestep.com. Here, you put in the basic
information of your trip, such as dates, the area you wish to stay, and the class of hotel you
want, and it searches several travel agency sites simultaneously.
7.
Check it out on TripAdvisor. Once you find a hotel that looks good on Sidestep,
see how others feel about it on
www.tripadvisor.com. Here you can
fine-tune your choice by looking at the highest-rated hotel for the money and read user feedback.
8.
Get the best deal on Priceline. One of the least-expensive ways to book a hotel is
to do it on
www.priceline.com. Although you can
sometimes get a great deal on a listed hotel of your choice, the best rates will be in the
name-your-own-price section. Although you don't get to choose the exact resort or hotel, if you
select your parameters carefully, you'll get a great place at a price that's often half of or less
than the going room rate.
9.
Research before you bid. Before you use Priceline, check out
www.biddingfortravel.com, where
you'll learn all the tricks of bidding at a site like Priceline. There are many great tips from
travelers who use this service, and you'll know you're getting the absolute best deal possible.
10.
Stay at state parks. Even if you don't like to sleep in a tent, many state or
national parks offer conventional condo-like cabin accommodations for less than you would find
elsewhere. If you do like to camp in a tent, you'll be stretching your dollar while being able to
take advantage of the park's services. Of course, if you camp at a primitive, non-park site right
on the water, you don't have to pay anything.
11.
Use resort dockage. If you have a boat large enough to sleep on, consider docking
at a resort. Often if you're paying a dockage fee, you can use the resort's facilities. If you're a
bit cramped, get one hotel unit and have some people sleep inside while the others sleep on the
boat.
12.
Swap your house. This growing trend in vacation accommodations is a great way to
get a fantastic waterfront house for only the cost of listing with a site like
www.homeexchange.com, which runs between
$50 and $100. Don't assume that your modest house in the city won't attract swappers, because
experts say many people enjoy urban or suburban getaways. Many folks list their vacation homes,
which are available nearly year round. It can take a while to arrange, so plan far in
advance.
FUEL-SAVING TIPS
13.
Clean your hull. Having a clean hull and waxing it with a high-tech polish like
Star brite Teflon Polish makes for a hull that's more slippery and reduces drag for better economy.
14.
Service your vehicles. Schedule your boat and tow vehicle's annual service just
before your trip, and check out your trailer thoroughly because any repair on the road will be a
budget-buster. Make sure the service includes a tuneup to ensure your boat and tow vehicle are
getting the best mileage possible. A properly tuned engine can save you 10 percent or more on your
fuel bill.
15.
Get the lowest fuel price. There are several websites, like
http://gasprices.mapquest.com/index.jsp, which will allow you to find the best
fuel price all along the route you're taking. Try to avoid tankering up your boat before the trip
because it takes fuel to transport fuel.
16.
Go slow. When you get to your destination, avoid running your boat fast.
Know your boat's most efficient cruise speed, and make sure you have your boat trimmed high enough
to reduce drag. For scenic runs, consider cruising at idle speed, which usually gives you the best
mileage. As an added bonus, if you like to fish, you can troll on the way to your destination.
MEALS
17.
Cook your own meals. A large portion of your budget will be for food, and of
course, it'll be cheaper to cook your own meals. But oftentimes the cooking facilities on the road
are subpar, so cook meals at home, and freeze them in plastic bags, which you can reheat in boiling
water with a portable Coleman stove. Plus, the frozen meals will help keep your other food cold in
the cooler without buying ice.
18.
Get the local deal. Buy your food at your destination, but before you leave, check
out local supermarkets' websites to find out what's on sale. You can often get coupons online from
places like
www.couponsalacarte.com. For big
savings, get the store's discount card just by filling out a simple form.
19.
Freeze your drinks. Non-carbonated beverages like water and Gatorade can be frozen
to help keep your cooler cold at no extra cost. Make sure to leave a little room for expansion.
20.
Use three coolers. Have one large, efficient cooler like an Igloo MaxCold or
Coleman Xtreme, and store your food in this one along with some block ice if needed. Open this
cooler only once a day to move that day's food to another smaller cooler. The third cooler should
be for beverages only.
21.
Dine smart. Occasionally you'll want to dine out, and you can do it cheaply if you
do some research. Check hotel lobbies for coupon books, and ask locals where the best
bang-for-the-buck dining opportunities are located. If there's an exceptional but expensive must-do
restaurant, eat lunch instead of dinner, or catch the early-bird special. Sometimes getting only
appetizers makes sense since they tend to be the chef's signature dishes, often sold near cost.
FISHING
22.
Conserve fuel. If you like to fish, there are some good strategies for saving
fuel. If you face a run to your fishing grounds, go slow and troll along the way with deep diving
lures. Instead of continuing to troll when you get where you want to fish, try drift fishing to
cover area, or better yet, chum the fish to you.
23.
Research where the fish are biting. To save gas while fishing, call around,
because you may find the fish are biting near another boat ramp rather than the one near where
you're staying.
24.
Catch your own bait. Many species of baitfish can be enticed to your boat with
chum like oatmeal or Cozy Kitten cat food. Learn to throw a cast net, or use a sabiki rig to catch
your own.
25.
Go artificial. Modern artificial lures like Berkley's Gulp soft plastics baits are
impregnated with substances that fish can't resist and often out-fish live or natural bait.
New-generation hard lures feature realistic images on the sides and are deadly to fish. As an added
bonus, cooking your freshly caught fish will stretch your dining dollar.
Remember, just because you're on a budget doesn't mean your family can't have a fantastic
boat-trip adventure. If you do your homework and plan carefully, you'll be able to get more
vacation fun for your hard-earned money. And coming back tanned, rested and ready for work is a lot
more fun when you can come home with some money left over in your wallet.
