I have a trip to Europe booked in September where I will be
flying out of San Francisco (SFO). When I travel I like to do my research and
pick options that are not only cheaper but also convenient. I won’t sacrifice
comfort for cost. However, doing your research on the little things can save
you money that you can use on the trip.
Here is an example where doing a little research saved me
some money. I live in Sacramento and will be flying out of San Francisco. The
drive is about 1.5 to 2 hours. I picked San Francisco because it offered me
more options on flights. One thing you might overlook is parking options.
During my research I had these options.
·
Long term parking at SFO 14 days @
$18/day $252
·
Off airport parking 14
days @ $11/day $154
·
Park/Sleep/Fly 14
days $189
·
Rental car there and rental car back $129
I choose the rental car option. I will pick up the car the
night before and drive it to the airport where I will drop it off and catch the
shuttle to my terminal. To get back home I have another car rented to drive
home and drop it off the next morning.
I save $123 over SFO long term parking, $25 over off airport
parking and $60 over the park/sleep/fly option. I will also save the wear and
tear on my car by not driving it to San Francisco and back. This research took
me less than an hour and ended up saving me some money.
The length of your trip makes a big difference. For a trip
of 1 week the off airport parking would have been the cheapest.
So next time you are planning a vacation don’t forget to
look at every aspect. You could end up saving a lot of money.
(Park/Sleep/Fly is an
option where you stay one night at a hotel by the airport and then leave your
car there. They have different packages designed for the length of your trip.
In some cases this could be a cheaper option. Also, if you have an early
morning flight staying the night before at the airport means you don’t have to
get up as early.)
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