Automotive

Last Updated on Saturday, 02 March 2013 04:54

(NAPS)—The next time your family is thinking about travel, a few suggestions from Stephanie Oswald of Travelgirl magazine can help you go farther and spend less:

Prompt and proper planning can make family trips seem like child’s play.

Expert Advice

• Book travel during off-peak season to avoid large crowds in airports and popular attractions.

• Embrace technology, using age-appropriate and parent-approved apps, games, movies and books for children during flights. Also, headphones can eliminate noise for sleeping babies and young children.

• Pack healthy snacks, such as your own mix of nuts, raisins and pretzels, to save time and money.

• Reduce stress by incorporating time into your schedule for random stops and exploring. State parks, famous homes and historic sites are scattered across the country. Kids can feel empowered when choosing an unplanned excursion.

• Consider borrowing or renting bulky items at your destination, such as car seats in rental vehicles and strollers from family or friends.

• Email important travel documents to yourself to avoid searching for them during your journey. Use your phone or tablet to easily access travel itineraries and important identification documents.

• Kids travel happier when they have their favorite toy, stuffed animal or blanket with them.

• Join loyalty programs. Even if you only travel once or twice a year, join the frequent-flyer program for any airline you fly. You will not only accrue valuable miles for future trips, you’ll also be able to check in online, a huge timesaver. The same goes for hotel frequent stay clubs and rental car loyalty programs; they are free to join and offer great deals and discounts.

For example, Alamo Rent A Car offers members of Alamo Insiders a guaranteed discount of 10 percent or better on every rental. It also recently introduced the Alamo Deal RetrieverSM on Alamo.com, which allows you to compare coupons and deals specific to your travel plans and then select the one that best fits your needs. You also receive the benefits of advance online check-in and self-service kiosks at 63 U.S. locations.

You can find further advice and sign up for Alamo Insiders at www.alamo.com.