As an avid traveler and travel writer, I am often overjoyed to hear about places and experiences other people share with me – especially if it’s somewhere I have yet to visit that is on my list. Unfortunately, there are times when hearing these stories make me realize people are spending a lot more money than they need to simply because they are making travel mistakes. During a recent family gathering, my cousins had just come back from a summer vacation in Aruba with their parents and were telling me all about it. Rather than go on about the beauty of the island or the activities they participated in, they…