Trip to Bora Bora & How to Save Money on Vacations

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Our 1st sighting of Bora Bora from the plane
As many of you know, I was out of town last week on a belated honeymoon celebration with my DH.  I am a very lucky girl because he surprised me on my birthday by telling me where we were going.  We went to Bora Bora and let me assure you that the water there is like nothing you’ve ever seen.  There wasn’t a day that went by that we didn’t comment on how beautiful it was multiple times.  It was literally breathtaking.  I didn’t photoshop any of these photos, FYI, the water is just that vivid.
On our way to our island on the Hilton Boat

I thought I’d take this opportunity to share a little bit about saving money to travel with and how to travel as economically as possible.  First, and this will really help if you travel a lot for your job like DH does is to sign up for your favorite hotel’s rewards program.  DH is a member of Hilton Honors and because of this we got to stay in Bora Bora for 5 nights for free…paid for by points.  
One of the huts over the water we stayed in for 3 of the nights we were there…amazing!

Secondly, sign up for sky miles to help gain free traveling passes.  We don’t fly enough to have racked up any points worth noticing, but maybe some of you are more knowledgeable on this and can share in the comments. :)
One of the 30 or so black tip and lemon sharks we swam with.

As you can see from this picture, we got to swim with sharks, but also sting rays and snorkeling.  One thing we learned really quickly from some savvy New Yorkers we ran into was not to book any excursions through our hotel.  The hotel was charging 9800 francs per person while when we booked directly with the company it was 6800 francs per person.  That translated to roughly a $75 savings! 
Look closely and you can see fish.  Fish were EVERYWHERE, best snorkeling we’ve seen!

We started budgeting ahead of time.  DH set up a separate bank account to set aside money for the purpose of this vacation.  We knew that once the money was in this account we wouldn’t touch it for other purposes.  We also set aside a certain amount of money from our paychecks to go towards this.  That way it wasn’t one huge hit on our budget in a lump sum.
On our balcony one night before dinner.

Another small thing that I tried to be cognoscente of  was my clothing expenses. OK, let’s be honest, what girl doesn’t have the tendency to want to go out and buy several cute new dresses for every trip she goes on.  You want new outfits for the pics, right?! Haha, it’s funny how we all have that weakness.  I tried to think ahead of time and got 2 of the dresses I wore on clearance for $15 at Belk & $19 at Badjoan.com.  Also, a lot of times when I go on trips  I borrow dresses or outfits from my girlfriends.  We’re all really good about swapping for weddings, parties, trips, etc and it saves a lot of money, plus it’s a dress everyone hasn’t seen you in 10 times!
Loving the tripod and self timer. :)

DH & I also were super cheap when it came to breakfast and dinner so that we could afford to enjoy a nice dinner without breaking the bank.  We literally ate peanut butter & honey or pb & j for lunch every day we were there and then had cookies or peanuts, etc for snacks.  Man, we sure did save a lot of money that way though!  
DH & I taking turns diving off our balcony into the ocean.

That’s all I can think of at the moment, so fill me in….what do you know that I don’t?!  What tips and tricks do you have for saving money on trips?
Best trip ever, loved every minute of it! Thanks to Eric, my dear husband, for such an unforgettable experience!

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