HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Every time I take a trip I try to do something adventurous. I’ve gone parasailing in miami, snorkeled with seals in La Jolla and each time that I do something like that I find that I conquer a fear of mine in some way. This year, when I went home for Christmas, I decided to conquer a fear that I’ve had forever– going places by myself. Its hard for me to have a cup of coffee on my own without a book or my laptop in front of me. So when I decided to take a trip to San Francisco on my own… I was beyond nervous.

The first thing I had to do was make sure that I could travel in an affordable way, I did that using two of my favorite discount sites.

Ideeli

Ideeli is primarily a fashion site that sells high end fashion at huge discounts. I love them because not only do they offer brands like Betsey Johnson and Rebecca Minkoff but they do regular “Plus Size Perfection” sales that are phenominal. A few months ago, they had an offering for a Travlocity.com gift card. The gift card was worth $100 but I was able to buy it for $50. I used the $100 gift card to book my hotel, so I was able to get 4 days/3 nights in the heart of San Francisco for $200! (This site is for members only, but you can sign up for Ideeli here).

Groupon

I am a Groupon fanatic! When I’m headed to a new city, I always sign of for groupon deals there. This trip I did something a little different though. I used the Groupon app on my phone and took advantage for “Groupon Now” deals for my meals. Groupon Now uses your GPS location to tell you what restaurants are offer discounts on dinner/drinks at that very moment. When I got hungry, I would see who in my area of San Francisco was offering a deal on lunch/dinner and if it was something I liked, I’d head over. It was a fun way to explore the city and find restaurants I wouldn’t know about otherwise. My favorite meal was at a restaurant called infusion, for $10 I got $20 in food and drinks (their edamame was AMAZING!) after a good meal and a glass of wine, my total was like $24. Score! (join groupon here).

All in all spending a few days in a foreign city was a lot of fun. I think 4 days was the perfect amount of time. Thanks to everyone who gave me tips on where to go via facebook/twitter, I used a lot of your recommendations.

Have YOU ever done a solo vacation?