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#EddieBauerPartner Can’t go on an outdoor advent #EddieBauerPartner Can’t go on an outdoor adventure without packing some of @eddiebauer’s warm weather apparel. It has been perfect for our spring and summer outdoor adventures from hiking to kayaking and all the other ways we’ve been sending time outside. Where will you #LiveYourAdventure? 

#EBContributor
Since IG hates on photos gotta get them in how I c Since IG hates on photos gotta get them in how I can! Honestly sunset in the lavender fields is everything, probably one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever witnessed. I don’t have much information to give today I really just wanted to share these photos 😬.

Check out my last 3 reels with @oneikatraveller for information on experiencing lavender season in Provence, France. These photos are from a lavender field in Valensole.

P.S. the skirt is from Amazon and they have multiple colors!

#valensole #valensoleprovence #lavenderfields
Things to do in Provence, France 🇫🇷 besides Things to do in Provence, France 🇫🇷 besides the lavender fields (save + share this post):

🇫🇷Go village hopping and take in the small towns. The first clip of this video was shot in the village of Roussillon and we also visited nearby Gordes.
🇫🇷Explore the ancient town of Saint Paul de Vence
🇫🇷Hike the beautiful Calanques de Cassis
🇫🇷Relax at the beaches of Grande Plage of La Ciotat and the Grande Mer beach of Cassis
🇫🇷Visit Gorges du Verdon, a gorgeous must see lake
🇫🇷Go wine tasting at one of the vineyards like Les Vignerons du Mont Saint-Victoire. Provence is known for their Rosé but you can also taste sweet and spicy wines.
🇫🇷Explore a multitude of ancient ruins, including Roman amphitheaters.
🇫🇷Take a tour of one of traditional perfume factories, Parfumerie Fragonard, Molinard or Parfumerie Galimard and do a workshop where you make your own perfume
🇫🇷Visit the Pope's Palace in Avignon
🇫🇷As you’ll most likely fly into Marseille don’t forget to leave time to explore this city as well, especially the port.

Have you been to Provence? What did you enjoy about the region?

Follow @thetravelingchild and @oneikatraveller for more tips.

#provence #blacktravelfeed
Everything you need to know about visiting the Lav Everything you need to know about visiting the Lavender fields in Provence, France (save + share this post):

Lavender season varies each year but falls between June and August.

Provence is the region but there are various cities with fields. Valensole is the most popular and where the fields we visited were located but there are also fields in Sault, Manosque and Luberon. The time frame that the lavender blooms is different in each city. Our visit was July 3-5th but the bloom and harvest time could change next year.

The best airport to fly into is Marseille. Airlines that fly to Marseille from the US are Air France, British Airways, Swiss, Royal Air Maroc, Iberia, Brussels Airlines, ITA Airways, Lufthansa and TAP Portugal. If you’re already in Europe you can also fly Pegasus, Ryanair, Tunisair, Aeroflot, Ethiopian, Easyjet, Vueling, Eurowings and Air Algerie. 

If you’re visiting from Paris you can take the train to Marseille! 

From Marsielle you will need to take the train or bus to Valensole or Manosque as your home base. As you’ll 100% need a car to get around to all the Lavender fields you can also rent a car from Marseille and drive as finding a rental car in the smaller towns is more difficult. 

What questions do you have about the lavender fields or Provence?

Follow @oneikatraveller and @thetravelingchild for more travel tips.

#provencefrance #lavenderfields #girlstrips
My top 5 favorite international destinations I’v My top 5 favorite international destinations I’ve visited!

1. Botswana- I did an exchange program here where I lived with a family in the village of Oodi right outside Gaborone one summer in high school. It completely changed the way I view travel. Besides getting to learn so much of the countries culture from my host family to learning a bit of Setswana to camping in the Okavango Delta it will always be one of my favorite trips.

2. Turkey- from the people to the food to the landscape to the sea it was everything. I visited Istanbul, Cappadocia, Antalya and Izmir and the country has so much to offer with varying landscapes. 

3. Rio de Janeiro- We loved our family trip to Brazil, the food, the people, the vibrance of Rio was everything. So many beautiful hikes, learning how to dance Samba, learning how to make Moqueca, going to a futbol match in Maracana Stadium, wow the energy!! Oh and the nightlife was 🔥. Can’t wait to return and explore more of the country.

4. Kenya- This country has so much to offer. We visited Amboseli National Park, got to do a walking safari amongst zebras and giraffes in Lake Naivasha and even ran into a hippo 😅. We visited a Maasai Tribe who gave us such a warm welcome inviting us into their homes, teaching the girls how to make fire from scratch and we even say 5 cheetah take down a topi, seeing a live kill was insane! Ended the trip relaxing on Diani Beach swimming in the stunning Indian Ocean.

5. Madeira, Portugal- the landscape on this island is insane. Exploring I often felt like I was in 20 different places, like how is all in one island? Loved the hikes here, being above the clouds, seeing all the waterfalls, spotting dolphins in the ocean, and the food was so good! I also enjoyed Lisbon but Madeira was everything!

What have been your favorite international trips? What country is highest on your bucket list (doesn’t have to be from my list)?

Should I make a list for my favorite US destinations (they’ll probably surprise you).

#madeiraportugal #travelreels
Answering the most asked question on my vacuum sea Answering the most asked question on my vacuum sealed carry-on only reel (save + share this post). This is how my clothes look once I take them out of the bag. Do you think these are really wrinkled? They were vacuum sealed for roughly 22 hours.

If you’re going to visit more than one city the best way to pack these is to pack each bag per city. Then all your clothes for that one city are all together and you only have to open one bag at a time. Then reseal that one bag with all your dirty clothes before going to the next city and don’t worry about the other ones getting dirty or smelling! You can label each bag with a sticky note or tape with a marker to know what bag has what clothes.

The link to purchase the bags and hand pump is my bio.

#packingtips #packinghacks #traveltipsandtricks
#WBPartner The girls are so excited to watch the n #WBPartner The girls are so excited to watch the new @wbpictures DC League of Super Pets. To prepare for our trip to the theater to see it we did a fun activity of making our own super hero costumes for us and our very own super pets. 

Jordyn turns villains into ice cream and eats them, James turns villains into money and spends them and Kennedy shoots lighting with her eyeballs. 

If you or your child could have super powers what would you pick? @dcleagueofsuperpets #DCSuperPets

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6 Ways to Maximize Your Savings When Flying Spirit Airlines

February 16, 2018      Airline Reviews

This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small commission at no cost to you. Please see our disclosure policy for more information. All opinions are my own.

two toddler standing at the window of the airport with a spirit airlines plane in the background

Spirit Airlines is the perfect airline for those who love to save money. Why fly other airlines that charge you for bags, food, and other services you aren’t even using? Rather than spending your vacation dollars on getting to your destination spend it on activities at your destination!

On average my family of four saves a minimum of $160 each time we fly Spirit Airlines and it’s been as much as $1,000! With the major improvements they’ve made with their on-time performance I will continue to choose them over other airlines. They are a huge part in how we’re able to take 6-8 vacations a year. I’ll admit my first time flying Spirit I didn’t understand their rules, costing me money. Now that I know better I want to make sure you do too. Here are 6 ways to maximize your savings when flying Spirit Airlines

Buy Your Spirit Airlines Plane Ticket at the Airport

You can save $20.99 on one-way tickets or $41.98 round-trip by purchasing your ticket at Spirit’s counter at the airport. For a family of four it makes your total cost $168 cheaper and well worth the drive to the airport. Go with someone and have them drive around to avoid paying for parking.

It’s important to note is that if you are checking a bag you will not be able to get the cheapest bag price when booking at the airport. Instead of the price offered when booking online you will have to pay the fee offered when checking-in online but before paying at the airport the day of your flight. As the bags are $10 cheaper when bought when booking if you are checking bags this additional fee could eat into your savings of buying your plane ticket at the airport.

Baggage fee list

Pack Light and Buy a Spirit Approved Personal Bag Which Flies Free

The first time I flew Spirit to Aruba I was like many that don’t read the Spirit rules. I got mad because I felt like I was being overcharged and not saving money even though I booked a budget airline. Honestly I just assumed Spirit’s personal sized bag was super tiny. Really there was no way it could fit both my 3 year old daughter and I’s clothing for our 4 day trip, right?

I paid for a carry on bag and then got to the airport to see my mom with a bag she fit all her stuff in that she said she didn’t pay for. It was the size of their free personal item and it was a lot bigger than I imagined. I felt cheated out of my money but it was my own fault for not reading. For our next flight with Spirit I was prepared! I found the perfect bag that met their personal item size restrictions of 18x14x8. I was able to fit all my clothes for our 7 day trip to Costa Rica. Here’s a video of what I packed and how I fit it in the bag.

 

You May Be Interested in Reading: Light Packing Tips


Don’t Pay for Seats on Spirit Airlines

Selecting your seats in advance will cost you a minimum of $5 with some seats costing as much as $24. Instead of choosing your seat let Spirit assign you one at check-in. While this could be a gamble when flying with kids my family has only been assigned seats away from each other once. When we arrived to the airport I let the gate agent know and she relocated us with no hassle, the airlines really don’t want a 3 year old sitting in a different row from their parents.

Spirit Check-In Online

Spirit charges you $10 per person to check-in and get your boarding pass at the ticket counter. There are three ways to avoid this fee:

  1. Download the Spirit App for Android or Apple to check-in. The app allows you to get your boarding pass directly in the app. Just have TSA and the gate agent scan the QR code and you’re set.
  2. Check in online and print your boarding pass.
  3. Check in online and have your boarding pass emailed to you. You’ll scan the QR code at TSA and at the gate to get through.

For the options that allow you to scan the QR code be sure to take a screenshot your code.  This is incase there is no service at the airport and you can’t get into the app or access your email. It’s always better to be safe than sorry especially when a malfunction like that can cost you $10 per person.

Bring Your Own Snacks on the Plane

One complaint I hear often about Spirit Airlines is that they don’t offer free drinks and snacks. Honestly I’d rather save $100+ on my plane ticket than get a small bag of pretzels and drink that is halfway filled with ice. Instead of ordering food/drinks on board bring your own. It’s really easy to throw a homemade sandwich and snacks in your bag and they are allowed through TSA. For drinks, bring an empty water bottle and fill it up once you pass security, many airports have filtered water stations.

Bring Your Own Entertainment

While Spirit doesn’t offer in-flight entertainment yet their planes will soon offer WiFi for a fee. Instead you can bring your laptop or iPad to keep you and your kids busy. Download apps and games that don’t require WiFi to keep you busy. If you have a Netflix account you can also download movies and TV shows ahead of time to watch on the plane. One thing I always travel with is my portable charger to keep my electronics charged in flight.


Spirit Airlines has afforded my family the opportunity to do more things in the destinations we travel too and travel more since we save so much money booking with Spirit vs. other airlines. I hope you’ve learned some other ways to save even when choosing Spirit Airlines.

Disclosure: “Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. The commissions earned helps me offset the costs of running this blog so please support if you choose to purchase, it is much appreciated.”

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jasamine Hill says

    March 6, 2018 at 9:02 am

    Great tips! I will def use them the next time I fly. I have never flown with Spirit but now you have me curious lol

  2. Nakeya says

    March 6, 2018 at 11:13 am

    These really are great trips. I flew Spirit when I went to Cabo. The price was great and I followed most of your tips. I didn’t purchase my ticket at the airport, but I did have my boarding pass printedcand took snacks. Spirit does work great when you are prepared.

  3. Diana So says

    March 22, 2018 at 3:05 am

    Wow, I’ve never flown Spirit cos all I hear are complaints from friends and family but this will make me reconsider it when booking flights and the fact I’m about 15-20 minutes away from the airport makes the ticket purchasing in person a big plus! Thanks for the tips.

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Hey, I’m Monet!

Hey, I’m Monet!

A full time working woman, wife and mama of two. I use every last one of my vacation days traveling with my kids, hubby, friends or solo. Join me as I share my travel experiences and tips to make travel affordable and easier with the little ones. You can read more about me here.

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