Everyone loves a vacation. You get away from the world, and have time to relax, and recharge. The stress seems to melt away, and when you get back, you feel refreshed. Well, sometimes taking a real vacation is just impossible. Maybe you can’t get off work, or you just don’t have the money to pick up and go away for the week.

The truth is though, you can go on a vacation over the weekend, and still get the exact same benefits. You leave Saturday morning, and come back Sunday evening. You will only have to pay for a hotel for one night, and you’ll get 2 full days of vacationing.

No matter where you live, there has to be something that you would find enjoyable within a 2-5 hour drive. Maybe it’s a city you’ve never been to that you want to, or an amusement park that would be fun. It could be a beach, or even just a small bed and breakfast. It could even be outlets you’ve never been to before. Whatever you consider fun and relaxing, that’s what you should do.

I’ve found personally that it helps if it’s someplace I’ve either never been before, or haven’t been in a long time. Also, I like to pick 2-3 things to do.  For example, living in NJ there are a million things I could do from Saturday morning until Sunday night.  There’s always going out to Hershey Park, Philadelphia, Boston, and the Jersey Shore just to name a few!

It might sound right now like that’s a really quick trip, but when you come home, you’ll feel like you were away for a longer time, and you’ll feel recharged, renewed, and more relaxed like if you had been on vacation for a week. It doesn’t matter what you do while you’re away, as long as you have fun and relax. I’ve done this a bunch of times, and a few months later when I think back upon them, I almost always think they were for longer than just the weekend!

It’s a nice inexpensive way to get away, and have all the same benefits of a long vacation, without having to spend the time or money!

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Looking to save money when renting a car while you’re on vacation?

Well if you’re going away for a full week or more, you can get $25.00 off your total price with Budget Rent A Car. They have a lot of locations, so you shouldn’t have a problem finding them at the airport that you’ll be flying into.

Having a rental car can make a trip a lot easier and more convenient, since you will be able to go where you want, when you want without having to rely on either public transportation, or cabs.

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This is a picture of the car we rented for the week. We ended up getting it through Advantage Rent-A-Car, but got the best price by using Kayak. I had checked out a bunch of different websites, and Kayak gave me the best price.

It was easy to get the free shuttle from LAX to get the car, and then we dropped it off in San Diego and took the free shuttle to the airport. They made it very easy. When we dropped the car off, by the time we got our luggage out of the car, they gave me my receipt and we were done. I’d definitely use them again.

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When you travel, no matter where you go, there is almost one thing that always happens. You have to wait. You can be stuck in an airport waiting for them to call your flight, you can be on that 9 hour flight that doesn’t feel like it will ever end, you can even be sitting in a car driving to your destination. No matter how you travel though, there will always be time that you don’t have anything to do.

A lot of people like reading books, watching DVDs, or even listening to music while waiting. Have you considered listening to books or podcasts though?

These days almost everyone has an mp3 player. You can easily download some of your favorite podcasts, and listen to them on your trip. Sometimes you can even find a podcast about your destination, so you can listen while you’re on your way to your destination!

Even better, podcasts are free, so you can just download them and go! You can get great entertainment (and learn a lot as well) without having to spend any extra money. Sounds good to me!

Here is a perfect example. Here is a list of podcats by Frommers.com. You’re sure to learn something great from them! Just taking a quick glance, they have a podcast about taking better pictures, saving money in Washington D.C., standing up to the airlines, and a lot more. You can be sure that the next time I travel I will be downloading some of these podcasts and will be bringing them with me. What a fun way to pass the time!

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After reading this article on ABC’s website, you might want to reconsider your summer plans if they involve driving a long distance.  The article mentions that while we don’t know what the gas prices will be like this summer, there is a “strong possibility” that it could be $4.00 a gallon for gas. 

I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t sound very promising to me!  If I’m not happy about paying ~$2.50 a gallon, I don’t want to imagine how unhappy I would be paying ~$4.00 a gallon. 

So, if you are starting to think about your summer vacation now, why not consider booking an airline ticket, or a cruise - now, before the prices rise?  Cruises and airline tickets are still pretty inexpensive.  It might be a good idea…or consider vacationing closer to home!

Who knows if it will happen?  Hopefully it won’t, but this way you can be prepared!

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Depending on how far away your next vacation is, you might be trying to decide if you want to drive, or fly to your destination.  While there is no right answer, there are many different things you should think about.

One of the biggest reasons people choose one over the other is cost.  Normally, a plane ticket is more expensive than paying for gas.  Of course, you have to take into account many things, including how many people are going, if you will need to get hotel accommodations if the trip will take more then one day, and the cost of wear and tear on your car.

It is also a trade off between cost and time.  While it might be cheaper to drive to your destination, if it will tack on another 2-3 days of travel time, either you need to take a longer break from your job, or you will have less of a trip.

Plus, one thing people do seem to forget about, is a 3-hour plane ride is much longer then a 3 hour plane ride.  First you must drive to the airport, or have someone take you.  Then you have to go through security, and of course you must be there somewhere around 2 hours before the flight leaves.  We all know that flights can be delayed, and that once you get to your destination it will take time to get your luggage and get to your hotel.  So a 3-hour plane ride could easily end up being 7-8 hours, door to door.

Which do we prefer?  It totally depends on the situation.  There are many times where we would rather fly, get to our destination sooner, and not have to worry about driving the long distances.  Other times, we prefer to drive, enjoying the sites on the way.  Just remember, when trying to decide, you should take everything into consideration, and do what’s right for you…as others may have a totally different opinion!

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