How Do You Travel Cheaper?

[CarolineC]

The economic downturn has caused many of us to tighten our purse strings ... but we're still traveling! Have you made any budget-friendly changes to the way you take a trip? Share your tips and thoughts on saving money and traveling cheaper in the recession.

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[soliteyah]

I have always been a pretty cheap traveler, so I'm not changing too much. I'm still going to be looking for the lowest possible airfares and staying in budget hotels. But the main change I'm making is in where I choose to go -- we're probably going to make our big trip the Canadian Rockies this year rather than Norway or Iceland, just because the airfares will be so much lower and (especially in the case of Norway) the exchange rate will be better as well. But hey, the Canadian Rockies aren't anything to sneeze at, so we're not really missing out.

[LSKahn]

Of, course--as if you didn't know--I home exchange.

He who goes the farthest for the least amount of money wins in my book.

I have an exchange north of Helsinki, Finland, next summer.

[hotelaudit]

Hello guys!

I've a good habit. The flight ticket is always absolute free for me I've a CitiBank-MALÉV credit card. You know the MALÉV is an airline company in Hungary. After the expenses with my credit card I always get club points on my MALÉV balance. I have to wait only half year and I can get an absolute free flight ticket from MALÉV and their partner airlines (AirFrance for a sample). Of course I can make online bookings on different hotels at very discount rates, so I can do the sparing fairly

[Host Bonjour]

I have ALWAYS been a bargain traveler, with the exception of maybe one or two trips a long while ago. Hence, I have been seeking out ways to find cheap airfares and deals on hotels for years and years now. Actually, beginning to plan my Australia/NZ trip was what led me to find the IndependentTraveler so many, many, many years ago!

I was straight up doing everything myself except the NZ part was easy; I was to be staying on a farm on South Island, visiting friends I'd met the previous year on a tour in China (*note, making friends on a trip for me has led to money saving opportunities on future trips on COUNTLESS occassions) but nailing down the Aussie part was no small trick.
So I came here for guidance and help while I was simulatenously using some of the better known print guide books for help as well. The combination of the two proved to be very helpful for me.

Another option that worked well for me on two trips was flying as an Air Courier. Essentially, you do a freelance one time job for a courier company, it's all on the up and up as I was a member of the Air Courier association (www.aircourier.org) and they create the bridge between the courier and the shipping company so one knows one is doing something very safe. You simply give up your checked luggage allowance so that the shipping company may use your allowance to ship their items to your destination (you are of course choosing your own destination) and you can bring carry ons. You should see how much I carried on! It was pre-9/11 so I got away with it! But sometimes on a courier flight it turns out the company has nothing to ship and so you actually CAN check your luggage.
How good was my courier experience? Well I got NY-Hong Kong for round trip US$300!!! Also got LA-Sydney for US$750 (I used FF miles to get from NYC to LAX). At the time, that was a good fare to Sydney as nothing was ever below $1,000. Now it seems they run sales, but with all the additional taxes and surcharges, low fares end up becoming pricey. Only thing I don't know is how the "Courier" life is today, post 9/11 in terms of being a viable option for affordable travel. Their website is still up, and my Hong Kong travel review and photo are still there too so things must still be happening in that area.

Lastly, there is an organization called SERVAS that people can join as members and hosts or just as members only, and with that, you can travel almost anywhere in the world and stay at a SERVAS host family home for a few nights for free, including meals. The organization was designed to foster peace and understanding among people throughout the world. It works really well; my NZ friends are SERVAS hosts and members - they have people in at the farm (I'm not a SERVAS member, I visited them based on meeting them as stated above; they also visited me here at my place here in NYC) and they have visited SERVAS homes all over the world. www.servas.org It's a great way towards getting really in touch with local culture, customs, food, language and more. Talk about immersion travel - this is living it, not just LOOKING at it. Not for everyone, I admit, but definitely worth considering in this budget crunched world we are living in now.

Also I have found that when booking hotels, quite often I was able to get prices quoted to me in advance, via fax or email, that were much lower than published prices in even the most current guidebooks. I would ask if there were the amenities I wanted (i.e., breakfast included, a hairdryer in the room, bathroom in room, aka "ensuite") and then they would fax me back rates etc, that much to my surprise, would be lower and fit into my budget. Another thing I tend to do is avoid traveling in the "high" seasons, i.e. summer and school breaks. I have this luxury because I don't have children but my complexity is that I have a dog and used to have reliable baby sitters for her but now both are no longer available. Hence, when I now have a completely free trip to England on the table and friends waiting for me, I cannot go because I do not have anyone to take care of my pet. And if she is not in an environment that I do not feel is right for her, I simply will not take the trip. This is the reason I have not traveled in the past few years so it's a sacrifice but I have managed to save some money.

In short, don't be afraid to ask for a better rate, especially if you are aiming for "boutique" style hotels. They'd much rather let a room go for a lower rate than let it go empty altogether! Also, I can't stress this enough, be jovial and friendly when you travel; make friends and chat with people since you don't know what it could lead to. I have had so many encounters in different countries with different people turn into future trips which meant, in most cases, free lodgings and food (arrive with nice gifts!) and better tips and sightseeing than you could get from the average tour guide. When a friend took me to Florence and Tuscany, well it was from a viewpoint where I almost felt like I'd been there before because they had and yet I got to see all of the wonderful things I needed to so for a first-timer and loved every minute of it. I even got JOB OFFERS based on a trip to a certain country!

So, don't ever pay full price unless you're going on your company's dime, though even business travel has been cut back. NEGOTIATE and don't be shy. They know we are in a crunch and they need the tourism as it is some countries main source of income, so I think you will find that there will be a willingness to comply because they want guests to come and so great offers are being made. And even if you got a great offer, don't be shy about asking for a bit more! What's the worse they can do, say no? Don't stop till you get the best price.

For best airfares during high season, I've had luck with Cheaptrips.com. They were even willing to refund me a ticket for only a $25 fee because I had a medical problem! Who does that? Otherwise, I employ a variety of tactics to find a fare that works for me. It takes some patience and some time, but it's worth the work to save the $$.

Good luck to everyone on saving money and getting a great trip

[Barkri12]

Most people fancy the idea of traveling around the world, sketching a memorable picture of all the enticing, alluring and scintillating locations they wish to visit but always deter from actually doing so in reality, owing to mounting travel expenses. However, traveling can be expensive.

Another alluring opportunity to travel cheap around the world is to participate in a home exchange. This could be made possible by surfing online and does not require a travel agent but is still a cheap and a one in a life time chance to see countries that you would be only dreaming of otherwise. A home exchange program is primarily characterized with tow families interchanging homes for a holiday period, provided both the families have agreed unanimously on this program. Most attractively, it does not involve any hotel costs and the food and beverage expense is not tantamount since most of the times you cook at home. A home exchange program is an ideal way to sneak a glance around the world, its inhabitants, dig at their culture and encapsulate all your experiences in your memory book at an affordable cost.

[Traveling Granny]

Packages that bundle airfare and hotels (usually with breakfast included and sometimes also airport/hotel transfers) are usually cheaper than buying each component separately. In the past I have found some incredibly cheap deals to Iceland, Paris, Buenos Aires, and Istanbul as well as some that weren't especially cheap but nevertheless were very well priced. Usually with companies such as Gate1 and Go-Today that offer such packages, you can choose a budget hotel which may not be in the best location so you have to decide whether local transportation is convenient and inexpensive enough to compensate. I don't live in luxury at home so I am quite satisfied with budget hotels. I do like to have my own bathroom so 3-star is usually quite adequate for me. However, the Paris and Istanbul trips mentioned above included hotels that were very well-located and even somewhat luxurious. So sometimes with packages you can have it all.

[Barkri12]

If you are planning a vacation for this summer and you thought you would just drive to save money, you might want to think again. With gas prices going up and fluctuating all over the place, and with all the bargain travel sites that allow you to travel on the cheap, it might just be cheaper to fly than to drive.
Here's the thing. When you fly, you get on the plane and within a few hours usually you have arrived at your destination. Or even if you are traveling across the country, you are there in around 5 hours. Why is that important? Well think about it, if you were going to drive 1000 miles, that usually means an overnight stay in a hotel, money for gas (with numerous stops), money for souvenirs and shopping along the way if you are so inclined, and then 3 meals plus snacks to pay for. If it's you and your family, that could add up to a lot.
On the other hand, you get on the plane and, without incurring any other costs other than perhaps a few dollars for a meal or drinks, you arrive at your destination without having any other money leaving your wallet once your airfare is paid for.

[LSKahn]

After shopping online for the cheapest ticket (relative these days), I have my round trip ticket to Finland for this year's home exchange in Lahti, Finland.

Nothing cheaper than home exchange!

This will be my 38th home exchange!