How to Travel During Tough Economic Times
Most people shudder at the thought of budget travel. It conjures up images of standby-by or red eye flights, questionable hotels and unrealistic travel tips that can turn a vacation into a complete nightmare. How do you take the focus off money and keep an open mind to create a sense of adventure? The answer is less about ‘œbudget’ travel but rather smart travel with an element of creativity.
Getting From Here to There
Due to the high cost of air travel considering airport taxes, fuel and security taxes in a post 9/11 travel world, the largest expense when traveling is usually transportation. There are multitudes of internet discount travel sites that can occupy your vacation time just searching for that price break. But two sites consolidate the search by amalgamating all published fares into one search engine.
The site www.kayak.com is the easiest and cleanest to navigate. It searches 140 plus airlines at once to offer the most competitive fares. Kayak.com links you directly to travel sites rather than wholesaling products. According to their website, Kayak was in fact created by the founders of Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia.
Another site is www.bookingbuddy.com, which is practical but not as inclusive as kayak.com. Airlines are fierce in competition for your business, so research is imperative. Once you have reached your destination, getting around can add up. If possible and safe, rely on city buses, subways, or walking. Going on foot allows you to see things you might miss in a subway or car and it allows you to go at your own pace. Most major metropolitan places have user friendly public transportation systems.
A Roof over Your Head
The next greatest expense can be lodging. The above mentioned sites to find lodging deals. Accommodations don’t have to be teenage-filled hostels, communal bathrooms or one star no tell motels. If you plan your stay mid week or start your stay on a Thursday; rates are usually less. Many hotels offer corporate or club discounts such as AAA for members.
A friend and fellow traveler from Atlanta, Georgia suggests ‘œstaying with friends or use the website www.couchsurfing.com to set up free places to stay.’ The reputation of hostels precedes them as low grade lodging, but they are changing. An October 2007 travel story in the Los Angeles Times featured a story on the ten most unusual hostels including a castle in England at hostel prices (October 12, 2007 Travel section).
I have also found that bidding on hotel rooms (you can find any number of reputable sites to do this by googeling “bid hotel”) is another fantastic way to save hard earned dollars.
Sometimes going cheaper is not always better; my partner and I thought we were being really smart by renting a private room from a hostel when visiting San Francisco last year…but the bed bugs made it not such a great deal!! A few extra dollars can sometimes be really worth it!
Thank you for your comment and sharing your experience. I also found another great site called http://www.norcalhostels.org. They seem fairly reputable.
ITA (http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch) has another good search engine. It’s particularly useful for international travel, since it includes tons of the little discount European airlines, etc. You buy directly from the airlines, but it’s good for figuring out which one to go with.
Ashkan: Another idea for lodging is to house swap. Jeanine and I keep talking about doing this with some queer or queer-friendly folks from Barcelona or Madrid.
Here are a few LGBT resources:
Mi Casa Su Casa – a LGBT home trade network that lets you list your home or apartment for three years for sixty bucks.
Home Around the World – a gay owned and run home swap, guest and host service, based in London.
GayHomeXchange.com – a service for people wishing to exchange, swap their property during the holidays, dedicated to the gay & lesbian community, and their friends.
My favorite Sailing Magazine “Latitudes and Attitudes” sells a terrific Shirt and Hat with a Great Cartoon and their favorite saying… “Attitude… The Difference Between an Ordeal and an Adventure”.
Never a Truer saying has been Printed.
~ Roland
Roland – What an AMAZING saying! I’m going to put it up in our office. Thank you!