Photo Credit: TripAdvisor.com; The Bellagio

Photo Credit: TripAdvisor.com; The Pantheon

During a time of continued economic turmoil and with personal budgets being reduced a few luxury items such as vacations might be reduced or even eliminated. There are attractions and things people can do on their travels for free to help supplement the vacation experience.

Across the country there are free attractions available to not only make travel more cost effective, but by providing unique opportunities that travelers might not normally think of. From Seattle to Las Vegas and from Chicago to New York City, there are opportunities to help extend a vacation budget.

Karla Slate takes advantage of taking her nieces to Seattle, Washington often and purposely engages them in free activities. On her last trip, Slate embarked upon Pike Place Market. “The Market is great because it is free to enter and enjoy the sights, smells and random entertainment from fish throwing to street performers throughout the market. And best of all, we get to visit vendor booths and talk to crafters that make their own wares,” Slate explains. “It is fun for the kids to watch them in action sewing or weaving. The only cost is buying souvenirs and parking, if you can’t find free street parking (which is rare).”

A free Seattle adventure for Slate and her nieces also included a visit to what is known to locals as the Ballard Locks (official name is the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks) and to the Freemont Troll, which lives under Seattle’s Aurora Bridge. “It is a gigantic cement sculpture of a troll (about 18 ft. tall) that has a Volkswagen Beetle in his left hand,” according to Slate. “The kids can climb on it for a photo opportunity, or sometimes they just like to wave as we drive by.”

For Slate, these free Seattle-based attractions were a great way for her to “save money and be able to have more to spend on souvenirs and dining out. With the economy the way it is, I will still do these things with my nieces by likely packing a lunch or scouting out a cheap dining option to pair with it, so we can save a little more,” she adds.

Zoos often top the top travel favorite list for many when traveling. Deb Howes from Dubuque, Iowa says her family visited the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison, Wisconsin. “This is a great zoo and offers free admission. We spent at least a half day here. There is a remodeled children’s zoo, a park next to it and a public beach across the street on the lake.”

Another famous U.S. attraction that extends free and unique opportunities is the breathtaking National Park system. But, beyond the vistas and Old Faithful, Barbara Heller from Afton, New York, discovered an enriching experience during her six month road trip.

Photo Credit: www.nps.gov

“The best free attractions are at National Parks…Yosemite especially. With the usual free guided hikes with park rangers to a free-two hour morning photography class led by a photographer from the Ansel Adams gallery, we so enjoyed free art classes at the art association there,” Heller says.

Yet, even big cities have bargain travel attractions. Anna Fader, from New York and editor of MommyPoppins.com, says “People have this perception that NYC has to be really expensive, but it’s really not true. New York has amazing opportunities that are completely free, like taking world-class art classes at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. You couldn’t pay any amount of money in another town to be able to do all the amazing things you can do for free in NYC. The only trick is to know about them.”

One New York City resident, Lisa Hanock-Jasie, says her family and friends always visit attractions (be they historic, cultural, or entertaining) on ”free admission” days/evenings. ”In these challenging times the total admission for an entire family is often cost-prohibitive,” she adds.

Some NYC freebies Hanock-Jasie advocates for frugal travelers with children include:

• Bronx Zoo – Free Wednesdays (normally $15)
• Museum of Modern Art – Free Fridays 4:00pm-8:00pm (normally $20)
• Brooklyn Children’s Museum – Free Saturdays to families 10:00-11:00am (normally $7.50)

With some advance planning and preparation, traveling to top U.S. destinations such as New York can be enhanced with free attractions.

Hilary, editor of Less Than a Shoestring who resides in Berlin, Germany, says “I will be traveling to NYC over New Year’s and will visit the major museums for free, simply by planning my visits for when they have their free days. Armed with a solid guidebook and the Internet, there is no reason why travelers shouldn’t be able to take advantage of similar offers in their destinations of choice.”

New York is not the only city to offer free admission to its awe-inspiring museums. Zachary Morrison, Chicago, Illinois, says “With some of the most influential pieces known to the art community, many of Chicago’s museums have free days…you just need to know where to look.”

For example, Morrison points out that The Art Institute of Chicago, renowned for its extensive collection of Impressionist and American art, is free on Thursdays from 5:00pm to 8:00pm. Additionally, the Museum of Contemporary Art is free all day on Tuesdays.

To help travelers plan out a budget-friendly trip, TripAdvisor®, has announced the top 10 free attractions in the U.S. and Europe, according to traveler popularity and TripAdvisor editors.

Top 10 Free U.S. Attractions

1. Bellagio Fountains, Las Vegas, Nevada
2. Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia
3. Waimea Canyon, Waimea, Hawaii
4. Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California
5. Angel’s Landing, Zion National Park, Utah
6. U.S.S. Arizona Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii
7. Pacific Coast Highway, Route 1, California
8. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C.
9. Freedom Trail, Boston, Massachusetts
10. Central Park, New York, New York

Top 10 Free European Attractions

1. Pantheon, Rome, Italy
2. National Gallery, London, England
3. Museum of the Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham, England
4. Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, France
5. St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral, Brussels, Belgium
6. Duomo – Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence, Italy
7. Retiro Park, Madrid, Spain
8. Westminster Abbey, London, England
9. St. Mark’s Basilica, Venice, Italy
10. Giant’s Causeway, Bushmills, Northern Ireland

What is your favorite FREE travel attraction? Do you plan on experiencing more free attractions in 2009 due to the economy?

Frugal Travel Destinations: Free Attractions Exist to Help Vacation Budgets was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Keeping Travel Incidentals Low

One way to cut costs is by bringing your medicine cabinet on the road with you – or at least a miniaturized version of it. Since the weather is unpredictable at this time of year, it is not uncommon, especially for kids, to come down with a cold or worse. Being on vacation with a sick child is not pleasant but it can be even more disastrous of you have a sick child (or adult) and nothing in your suitcase to help them feel better in the middle of the night.

In many places, there is no such thing as an all-night pharmacy and even if there is, you could up spending a lot of money on things you could have just as easily brought from home. Remember as you are packing up your suitcases and make up case, to prepare a first aid and medical travel kit for your family.

Some of the more common items you will want to include are:

• Thermometers
• Acetaminophen such as Tylenol in both adult and child strength
• Ibuprofen
• Cold medicine
• Cough drops/sore throat spray
• Band-aids
• First Aid Cream
• Antibacterial towlettes
• Hydrocortizone for itch relief
• Insect repellent if you are going somewhere warm
• Lip Moisturizer
• Diaper rash cream if your child is in diapers
• Tissues
• Gauze pads
• Motion sickness tablets for car or boat trips
• Gum for chewing during airline flights to help keep ears open

Also remember to pack any prescribed medications that you have access to immediately whether you are traveling by plane or by car. You might want to include a list of medication prescriptions and your physician’s phone number in the event you lose any of your prescribed medications. You should also ensure you have copies of medical insurance cards for each member of your family.

If you leave your house prepared, your trips to the convenience store will be limited and you will be able to keep more cash in your pocket to enjoy your vacation. The kids and adults alike will be able to feel better without extra stress of finding medicines or waiting for a store to open for business.

Update Your Supplies

When you arrive home after vacation, make sure you replenish any items you took from your case during your trip before you forget and then store the case with your suitcases. The next time you travel, the kit will be ready to go when you need it. If there is a significant period of time between trips, remember to use the medications before their expiration date or you will waste your money. Keep a simple list of the contents of your medical kit and the dates of expiration on your refrigerator to remind you what you have if you should need it.

Create A Traveling Medical Kit and Save Money was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

More often than not when you stay at a hotel now, during the check-in process you will be asked for a credit card.  The hotel is keeping it on file in order to cover any incidentals you may encounter.  Incidentals include:

• phone calls made from room phone
• drinks and snacks from the room mini-bar
• internet usage
• room service
• room damages

This almost always results in a “hold” on funds available with your card.  If you were hoping to use that card for all trip expenses, you could be in trouble should you be nearing your card limit.  Here are some tips for avoiding the hidden costs on your next trip:

• When making your hotel reservation, find out how much money they place a hold on during check-in.  It probably won’t tell you this on the hotel website or when you call the 800 number to reserve- but feel free to ask customer service and they will tell you.  Knowing how much they’re going to hold will let you know how much extra to bring with you on vacation.
• Instead of using a credit card when you check in, pay with cash.  They will probably try to tell you they need a credit card, but cash is an acceptable form of payment everywhere.  Ask to speak to a manager.  You can pay for the incidental deposit using cash and be billed upon check-out for anything that doesn’t cover.
• Choose a pre-paid credit card.  There is really no way around the incidentals “holding” of funds, so one way to make sure it doesn’t distrupt your trip is to place just enough money on a pre-paid card to pay for that deposit and use other sources of payment for the rest of your trip.  If it takes the hotel a long time to refund the money they “held”, you’re trip won’t be effected because you budgeted to cover these costs and have other methods of payment for the trip.
• Instead of staying in a hotel or resort, you could choose a campground, bed and breakfast, or hostel- these accommodations are not known for placing holds on funds for incidentals.

While there may not be away around the incidentals, if you know they’re there and you’ll likely have to pay for them upfront (and be reimbursed later) at least you can plan for them they will be less likely to ruin your trip!

How to Budget for Hidden Travel Costs was created by and is property of American Consumer News.