There comes a time, where you’ve just had enough. I think my wife and I have reached that point. So we decided to take some time off and say Phuket… …… Phuket Beach in Thailand that is. We are going vacation this September. If you read my posts a few weeks ago about military travel and my lust for the Asus Eee as a travel computer, you may have already connected the dots.
We didn’t set out to go to Phuket. We actually were expecting to go to Australia for 2-3 weeks. When we looked at things a little more, we found a few ways to maximize our savings on what will be a three week-long trip, such as:
- Hawaii – Using nearly free military vacations, we’ll fly there from Travis Air Force Base for free. They go almost everyday and very often multiple times per day, so this should be easy. From there we’ll stay at the Hale Koa for $100 a night or possibly stay on base, while we try to get to Australia for free via the military.
- Australia – We have tickets from Hawaii to Australia that we paid for, but if we can fly via the military we’ll pay a small fee and use the tickets next year (perhaps to go to Tahiti). If we can’t fly via the military we’ll just fly to Australia as is.
- Thailand – From Australia we’re paying out of pocket to get to Phuket beach. We’ll use our Marriott timeshare in Aruba and stay at a deluxe Marriott. We lucked out because we are able to trade a one bedroom for a two bedroom for the week. This means that we can bank our other bedroom in the timeshare or sell it off. (If anyone is ever interested in a deluxe place to stay in Aruba feel free contact me.)
- Australia (part 2) – We’ll head back to Australia where we’ll spend a week in Sydney using Marriott points. We’d like to spend more time and see more of the country, but I don’t think we’ll have the time with my wife’s work
- Back to the US – We’re paying again to fly from Australia to Hawaii. If the military is going back, we’ll try to hitch a free ride with them and execute the Tahati plan. Once in Hawaii, we’ll get on one of the many military flights and go back to California, where we drive home.
This vacation overall is going to cost us a pretty penny. Flying to Australia, even from Hawaii, is not cheap. Continuing to Thailand as well isn’t cheap. Still, we should be able to reduce the expenses of this trip in half thought the short-cuts outlined above. Well, that’s not really true since we had to buy the timeshare, but that’s paid off in full at this time.
Lastly, now you know why I was so gung-ho for the 2-pound Asus EEE laptop that I bought. I’m only a little sad that it’s already obsolete as Asus has put out about 3 or faster and better machines.
Photo Credit: pete4ducks
That was a terrible pun. :)
That sounds like an awesome trip! My wife and I spent three weeks in Sydney almost two years ago…it’s an incredible city.
That was a great pun! :)
Sounds like a great trip! I have yet to get to Australia, but I will get there one day. I’d also like to check out Antarctica while I’m at it – just so I can say I’ve been to all 7 continents. :)
Congratulations on congratulating yourself with a vacation!
I bought an Asus EEE as well. I’ve been backpacking across America with it. It’s pretty styling. And a great conversation starter because of its dinky size.
It’s definitlely has gotten me a few places to stay in my journey.
Peace be with you!
-Greg the Writer
Man I’m jealous, sounds like a blast!
In regards to your military travel post, when I was a kid we flew Space A to Europe several times. It was a neat experience and practically free! You guys should give it a try.
Sounds awesome.
Very creative ways to save on overseas travel..Reminds me of 4 Hour Work Week b/c of all the little sub-plans going on.
Have fun on vacation!
sounds exciting! seems like you are going to have a great vacation come september, what thats 3 months from now… im jealous because im gonna be working my brains out by that time. even though the vacation is going to cost you a bit, still a bit of money saved is as good as money gained… not everybody can fly for free… enjoy!