Here are just a couple of travel tips that will help stretch your travel dollar. They start with you at home. Other than making an airline reservation if you are flying, do NOT make any other reservations. There is a chance your plans may fall through, like if weather impacts your trip, so you do not want to be stuck with reservations (paid for or not) that you cannot use. The following alternatives help explain why often having NO plans is often the best plan.

This is mostly true for hotels to begin with. If you are driving somewhere, having a reservation may prevent you from enjoying a stop along the way, like to sight see or go golfing or visit with friends. In fact, visiting with friends is many times the best way to save money, as they may invite you to their home for lunch, dinner or to even put you up for the night. Right there are a couple ways to save money. If you drive and do not have a definite stop in mind, you can check out coupons for motels in different towns. For instance, if you are going to a major city, simply stopping 20 miles short may save you $50-$100 versus downtown hotel rates and yet you are only 30 minutes away. You can look for coupon guide books in fast food restaurants and convenience stores also, which may save you $10-$20 off the normal rate and that savings is usually greater than the standard 10% off for an auto club, internet or Senior discount.

If you are flying, having hotel reservations can also be a shackle for you in more than one way. First, what if you never make it to your destination? You still will have to pay for a room you do not use if it is guaranteed with a credit card. Unless the city you are going to happens to be full because of an event like a convention, it is usually cheaper to call hotels and motels once you arrive than to make an internet booking in advance. If you choose a hotel from the airport hotel board, the hotel or motel will likely have a free shuttle also, saving you cab fare. However, keep in mind that sometimes it is better to take a cab to a property that is NOT on the hotel board and the cab plus the room will still be cheaper than the hotel with a shuttle.

Reserving tours to see attractions in advance is also risky. What if you get sick or injured and can’t go on the tour that day? All tours can be reserved from the hotel or motel just as easily as in advance and at the exact same cost, so there is really no reason to book in advance anyway. If you plan on renting a car, rates for cars can sometimes be tremendously lower if you wait until the day you need the car versus reserving a month in advance. Car agencies will generally have a higher rate for advance reservations and while you may sacrifice getting the exact type of car you desire by waiting, you may pay half what you would ordering it in advance. And here also, what if you don’t make it to your destination city because of weather, flight cancellations, delays, etc? You will have to pay for the car that is reserved versus zero if one is not reserved for you.

This advice may seem risky to those who always want things confirmed – from hotel rooms to Theme Park tickets but you pay for that ease of mind in subtly higher rates and fares. You can actually save anywhere from $50 to $200 by not having reservations over a 3 day stay following this advice. Try it yourself next time and see if this is true.