Ever been in the position of desperately needing a vacation but the cash flow or the budget is limited when you want to book?  I haven’t been back to Mexico since March 2024 (I chose to do more local trips with my toddler grandson and hold taco pool parties at my home so it’s not like I’ve haven’t had any fun), but I’ve had the “travel itch” like crazy lately.  By the way, if you want some great street taco recipes let me know, I’ve got some good options…

But here’s the issue–not only is Christmas coming up with presents to purchase, but I’m paying off the last of my upcoming March cruise to the southern Caribbean (lovely St. Lucia here I come!).  And here I am right in the middle of Black Friday travel discounts with $ flowing in the wrong direction…what’s a traveler to do??  It’s not like I don’t have the $, but since I run my own business cash flow is always an issue.

Here’s some suggestions to give you some choices about how to book an upcoming vacation without totally destroying a budget or creating more $ flow issues for yourself. I don’t typically recommend using wholesalers to purchase vacations, but in situations like this Booking.com can be extremely helpful with some of their resort choices offering paying for your vacation when you arrive at the resort.  That means no paying a deposit when booking, no paying the total price when booking, it just means you can now look forward to your resort stay without the hassle of seeing the price on your next credit card statement.  Now that certainly doesn’t include all listed resorts, you have to check at the bottom left of the resort choice to see if that option is available.  When you book online you will have to give a credit card number but that is to hold your reservation, not immediately pay for your stay.

If you don’t want to use a wholesaler (and I don’t really blame you, I’ve had a horror story or two using them), then consider that some resorts allow you to always book a room and pay for it when you arrive.  Riu resorts do just that, I’ve never had to purchase a stay in advance with them since I primarily book Riu properties directly  on their website.  I save additional $ because I belong to their free loyalty club (Riu Class); resort loyalty clubs abound because there is such fierce competition right now for business in general and repeat visitors.  So next time you want to book any resort check their website and see if you can get a better deal by using their free loyalty club.

So here’s the scoop on my next vacation…I will be traveling the end of January and have booked Riu Caribe and SLS Playa Mujeres.  At first I was going to book Garza Blanca but could not find any website which allowed me to delay payment; since this is a luxury property that would have been a considerable amount due all at once. Surprisingly I found that the brand new family-friendly luxury property, SLS Playa Mujeres, offered “pay at the resort when you arrive” at Booking.com, so I jumped at the chance.  A new property to cover plus I want to check out as many of the Riu parties held at Riu Caribe as I can since this is the resort host for Riu theme parties in Cancun’s Hotel Zone.  I was sad about not staying at Garza Blanca, but it will have to be at a later date.  Hopefully the SLS property will more than justify my decision.

So there you are, a few ideas about how to look forward to a great vacation without immediate $ shock to your budget and wallet.  What do you think?  What tactics do you use to save money on vacations?