Costa rica discount vacation

It's that time when everybody is giving you advice on how to make the most of the new year, so I thought I'd share some of my thoughts on stretching that fresh supply of vacation days as far as it will go. Here's what works for me:

1.) First, get a big envelope. If you're more concrete-sequential than I am, you can start a file. But the big envelope works well enough for me. In it, I put every travel thing I run across that interests me--clippings from the travel sections of newspapers and magazines, discount coupons that come in my credit card bills, and the coupons that come in frequent flyer statements.

Then, each time I get ready to go somewhere, I dump out the contents to see if there's something that will get me a deal.

2.) Keep a running list of places you want to visit. This year my list includes Southern Arizona, Northern California, Quebec, Italy, Las Vegas, South Florida and Savannah, Ga. I'm sure it will grow as the year goes along. Then rather than decide at the beginning of the year which place I'm going to when, I'll let the airfare sales decide.

Or I'll use business trips as a "launch pad." For example, I have to go to Augusta, Ga., on business next month. It's three hours from Savannah and the airfare into Savannah is actually $100 cheaper than into Augusta. So what I'll do is try to convince the folks paying for my ticket to let me buy one into Savannah a few days earlier and get a rental car. It won't cost them any more and I get to check off a destination on my list at minimal cost.

3.) Be flexible. I had friends call me a few years ago and ask if I could help them research a good deal to Martinique for their honeymoon. Well, there aren't any good deals from here to Martinique. But when I asked, "Why Martinique?" their response was, "We've heard it's a really cool place."

As it happens the world is full of cool places. So I started asking them about the kinds of experiences they were looking for on their honeymoon. And after a little digging we discovered that Costa Rica offered all the things they were looking for at a fraction of the cost of Martinique. And Quebec, for example, provides an experience that's a whole lot like going to France for half the price.

4.) Know when to use frequent flyer miles. A good rule of thumb is to value them at a penny a mile. Most domestic awards require 25,000 miles. So, if the ticket you'd have to buy costs more than $250, this is a good time to use your miles. Using miles also comes in handy when there's a chance that your travel plans might have to be canceled or changed. The penalties involved in redepositing your miles, if you cancel a trip, are a lot less than if you cancel most low-fare tickets.

5.) Use vacation days to "bracket" holidays. I think I'll probably knock out the Southern Arizona item on my list over the Martin Luther King holiday weekend. I'll stretch the holiday with a day or two of vacation at either end to make my departure and returns mid-week. That way I'll get the best airfares.

See you in the airport.

DALE IRVIN is a South Louisiana-based travel writer and a marketing consultant. Business travel questions can be sent to him at wingingitbr@aol.com.