Clark's Big Book of Bargains (18 page)

You can score even better deals, but with even less service, by dealing directly with the owner rather than a resort operator or a real-estate agency. During the summer of 2000, I rented an efficiency on the ocean for a month for $1,000, or a little more than thirty dollars a night. There was no maid service for the entire month, but washing your own sheets and towels is a small price to pay for that kind of savings.

You can find real-estate agencies and individual property owners online by typing in the city and the phrase “beach rentals” at your favorite search engine. This works well in Florida and also in Hawaii.

Accommodations are the primary cost of a beach vacation, because most people drive to the beach rather than fly. If you’re already on the road, it may make sense for some travelers to consider driving another few hours to South Florida rather than North Florida. You could cut the cost of your vacation in half. On the Gulf Coast of Florida, look from Clearwater to Marco Island. On the Atlantic Coast of Florida, look from Melbourne Beach down to Miami.

Florida, which has some of the world’s best beaches, is a good choice even for people in the Northeast United States or in California. Southern Californians can fly to South Florida, and pay for their airfare and accommodations, for about the same amount as a beach resort in nearby Laguna. And they won’t have to deal with the crowds. For people in the Northeast, why pay a fortune for a rental on a crowded beach on Long Island or Nantucket? Get a bargain airfare and fly to Florida.

Prices in the Caribbean are lower in the summer also, but they’re still very expensive.

There are other costs to a beach vacation, and other ways to save. People look at me as if I’ve lost my mind on some things, but here’s what I do: It’s much cheaper to buy your own beach chairs at a discount store and take them with you to the beach than it is to rent a beach chair. Sunscreen is a lot cheaper at Wal-Mart than at the beach, and so are beach towels. Take a trip to your neighborhood dollar store and see what you find there. My co-author, Mark Meltzer, picked up some name-brand children’s sunscreen for $1, along with a number of pool and beach toys.

Sunglasses are a good item to buy at the dollar store as well. People think they need to spend a lot of money to protect their eyes from the sun, but it isn’t true. All sunglasses are required to meet certain standards for sun protection, and they do. We bought four pairs of sunglasses for $9, $19, $49, and $109, and had them all tested at a lab. All four blocked at least 90 percent of ultraviolet rays. In fact, the $9 pair blocked the most UV radiation.

When you pay more for sunglasses, you’re paying for styling.

Amusement Parks

Both the regional and national amusement parks offer season passes that allow unlimited visits for people who live in the area. Or you can buy a less-expensive pass that’s good for certain times of the year. If you think you’ll visit the amusement park two or more times, it makes sense to buy one of these locals’ passes.

In Florida, there’s the Florida Residents Pass for Disney, and Universal Studios has one as well. But don’t think you’re going to be able to call your long-lost cousin who lives in Florida or California and have them buy a pass for you. The attractions prevent that by making you show a local driver’s license. You might be able to do it for a child. Many parks also offer a second day free, or a discounted second day if you purchase admission at the same time you buy the first day. If you think you might want to go back a second day, ask what a second-day pass costs. It’s worth a gamble even if you’re not sure, because the price is great. The parks make their money on concessions and parking.

Another way to buy discounted amusement park tickets is through AAA, the auto club (www.ourAAA.com). AAA sells tickets to its members for several dollars off the regular price of many attractions.

Be very mindful of all the signs you’ll see, especially in Orlando, that promise free or extra-cheap tickets to an amusement park. To get them, you’ll have to go to a time-share presentation, and as I detailed in my previous book,
Get Clark Smart,
time-shares are a terrible rip-off. If you think the tickets are worth the time you’ll give up, and if you know yourself well enough to know that you won’t buy a time-share no matter how enticing they make it seem, go ahead and do it. I had a caller who went to three time-share presentations while in Orlando. He and his wife got into Sea World and Universal Studios for free, and got into Disney World for just $20 a ticket. They would schedule their day by going to time-share presentations in the morning and the amusement parks in the afternoon. It makes sense if you can go with the flow like that because the tickets cost a fortune—usually $200 per day for a family of four, just to get in the door. That’s big money. The people who sell the time-shares know some people will try to take them for the tickets. But they also know they’ll get enough buyers to easily cover the cost of the tickets.

I did a hidden-camera visit to a time-share presentation in Orlando, and the salesperson knew right away that there wasn’t anything he could say to get us to buy. So he chatted with us for a while, told a supervisor it was hopeless, and let us go early.

• Tips on Vacations •

• Buy your ski equipment, clothing, and lift tickets in the ski town you’re visiting, not in the city where you live. But don’t buy at the ski resort.
  

• Consider buying used ski equipment.
  

• Ask locals where they buy their discount lift tickets.
  

• Visit locals’ mountains rather than resorts that cater to fly-ins.
  

• Plan your summer beach vacation for June, instead of July or August. Better yet, if you don’t have children in school, go in September.
  

• Beaches in South Florida, particularly on the Gulf Coast, are cheaper in the summer than those in North Florida.
  

• Rent from a real-estate agency or a property owner rather than a resort property manager, for big savings.
  

• Buy beach chairs and sunscreen at your local Wal-Mart rather than at the beach.
  

• Consider a second-day ticket for an amusement park if you think you might visit a second time during your vacation.
  

• Beware of offers you’ll see, especially in Orlando, that promise free or extra-cheap tickets to an amusement park. To get the tickets, you’ll have to go to a time-share presentation, and time-shares are a terrible rip-off.