Today, there is no shortage of travel discounts. The good news is, you’ll find better values than a year ago. The bad news is, it’s tempting to let the offer drive your decision. And while you might find a great “deal,” you should be cautious about ultimately ending up with a great deal of disappointment.

Here are some tips to consider when planning your next international trip:

• Protect the integrity of the experience. International travel is personally enriching. Be careful not to discount this important benefit. Years from now, you’ll remember the experience, not how much you saved. As a rule of thumb, the deepest discounts tend to come from travel operators with less-than-desirable locations, accommodations and service. As a result, you may think you’re going on a great safari, only to find you’re stuck in a dusty caravan with limited park access to view wildlife. It’s important to look at your options and clearly understand the differences between the experiences.

• Share your honest budget. It’s human nature to hope you’ll get a better deal if you don’t disclose your budget. While this is perfectly understandable, it rarely works out that way. At the end of the day, it just takes longer to assess your needs and design a desirable itinerary. Because we recognize the importance of making every dollar count, we encourage our clients to provide a budget range. We can then help them compare each budget level and make informed decisions.

• Evaluate the value, not the price. When we develop recommendations, we look at both the quality of the experience and the pricing. We might not always recommend the deepest discounts, but we can ensure that the overall value will be great. A good example is Regent Seven Seas. Regent has been consistently ranked as one of the top small-ship luxury cruises in the world. Plus, they’re offering rarely seen incentives including free air, free unlimited shore excursions, and 2-for-1 savings on more than 50 excursions. This combination of price and a high-quality experience makes Regent a great value for our clients.

• Protect yourself. Deep discounts could be a red flag that a travel operator is experiencing financial issues. This might result in a decreased level of service and amenities. Or even worse, bankruptcy. An unfortunate reality of today’s economy is that some travel operators will go out of business. Unless you have the right kind of travel insurance, you could lose your investment. We advise our clients to avoid deals that seem too good to be true, and invest a bit more in travel insurance with bankruptcy protection.

Tags: Travel Deals, Travel discounts, Travel Insurance, Travel Values

This entry was posted on Friday, June 19th, 2009 at 11:25 am and is filed under Travel Planning. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.