Cheap Travel Secrets

There are two ways to save money traveling. The first way is to get the best deals on the specific things you want. There  is a limitation to this type of approach though. If , for example, you find the lowest price on the best hotel in Honolulu at the height of the season, you will save money, but still have a very expensive vacation. Trying to get exactly what you want, or what you think you want, will generally be an expensive proposition, in travel and in life.


Be A Travel Opportunist

The other approach is to be a true opportunist. This will be difficult for some of you, and entirely unacceptable to others. Nonetheless, the travelers who get to travel the most, go to the widest variety of places, learn the most and do the most, are the opportunists. This will be true until you are so wealthy that you have no monetary limits.

The first time I went to Ecuador, I went there because it was cheap. If it wasn't, I would have had a great time - somewhere else. The trip lasted a month, and cost $1045, which included airfare and even the $130 fee for a guide to take me to the top of glacier-covered Mount Chimborazo.

I cut the cost by taking a bus from my home in Michigan to Miami, and back again when I returned from Ecuador. The round-trip ticket cost $158. The round-trip flight to Quito from Miami was only $256, because it was a courier flight, which meant I signed for some luggage (car parts), and could only take carry-on luggage.

Never did I feel deprived, or bored. I had a great time, eating wherever it was cheap and clean, doing all sorts of inexpensive, but interesting things, and traveling across the country to climb Chimborazo.

How To Become An Opportunist Traveler

Can you drink rum at a dollar per bottle, instead of your favorite beer? Can you eat chicken instead of steak? How about visiting the free sights first, and dancing in the street festival instead of the disco?

Being an opportunist means you'll have just as much variety, and probably almost everything you want - eventually. You just have to stop trying to get exactly what you want exactly when you want it. If the guide that took me up Chimborazo hadn't dropped his price from $200 to $130, I would have spent $2 for a bus and gone hiking on El Altar, another great Andean mountain. That would have left me with enough money for several other minor adventures.

More Secrets Of Cheap Travel

Plane Tickets: I were planning a trip to visit family in Ecuador. The cheapest airfare from Traverse City, Michigan to Quito, was $1720. Out of curiosity, I checked Miami to Quito, and it was only $404. Airfare from Traverse City to Miami was $300. Book two separate flights and save more than $2000! The discount sites aren't set up to search in this way (yet), so you have to do this on your own. By the way, the whole six-week trip, which we took in 2004, cost $2400, including losing $100, and being robbed of
$174.


Food: Whether traveling here or in other countries, it is usually cheaper to buy some healthy snacks in a
grocery store, rather than eat every meal in a restaurant. When you do eat in restaurants, it can be cheaper to to order individual items on the menu from the list of appetizers or side dishes. You also may get more variety in that way.

Accomodations: For a long trip, you may want to rent an apartment in an interesting city. We did this for two months in Tucson, for about $600 less per month, compared to even the cheaper motels. Watch for hotel coupon-books in gas stations. The coupons will often save you $10 on a room you would have stayed in anyhow. If you have a conversion van or RV, you can camp a couple nights a week, like we do, to save
on motels. We love the hotsprings we've stayed at, for a $3 fee to the BLM, instead of $40 for the cheapest motel in the area.

Travel Expenses: Do more and travel less. It is often the traveling part that costs the most, due to the cost of gas, convenient fast food, and expensive hotels you are forced to pay for when you just can't drive any further. So if you find a place with a reasonable motel, and a lot to do in the area - stay for a while!

Are you a Traveler?

I’m making an assumption that at want point in your life you’ve been a tourist. You’ve carried a map, a camera, maybe even had a tour guide. You’ve traveled to different destinations, relaxed on remote beaches, climbed stairs in buildings you see on television. You’ve done all of these things but some how when you get arrive home, all your left with is a short memory, and a few photographs.


Vacations are nice every once in a while, but it doesn’t make sense to me why we will travel thousands of miles to sit in hotel rooms and watch movies, or lie on a pool deck and catch some rays. These are all things that we can do where we are from, I want you to think about being a traveler not a tourist. You want to soak in as much of the new country and culture that you can rather than bring as much of your culture to them. It’s really quite simple. In one step you need to forget about your way of live, and adopt theirs.

It’s simple things like the mindset that we have when we go abroad, and what we bring. Don’t bring all of the things that we depend on in America. Bring what it is that you are going to need to survive and stay healthy during your visit. The more comforts you have, the more you will depend on them, and the less you will step out to become the traveler you ought to be!


Put yourself out there. Locals are always interested to interact with foreigners, and it’s best to take advantage of this. Meet people that you can share life with while you are in their country. Immerse into their culture and be open to new idea’s. A lot of times we are closed to new idea’s and we miss out on opportunities for better things to come along. Be open, willing and accepting.

If you want to be changed, and to experience you need to leave the tourist at home. Bring out the inner traveler in you and see the world in the way that it was meant to be seen.

Work/Life Balance Tips for the Business Traveler

Balance and the business traveler has everything to do with staying "connected". As I indicate in my book, Work for a Living & Still Be Free to Live, we achieve a fluctuating balance by how we CHOOSE to stay connected with the critical areas of our life. Business travel can take a heavy emotional, physical and mental toll.

Let me suggest some ways to stay connected with these areas while "on the road":

Emotional -- staying connected with your home base and significant people. If you have children, depending upon their ages, consider the following: Take your child with you in your imagination. Ask them if they would select a SMALL toy of theirs that you could carry with you and so stay connected with them. Tape-record a favorite story or a good night ritual that can be played before the child goes to sleep. With the child, track your travels on a map and together talk about some of the places or things of interest about your destination (lobsters in Maine; skyscrapers in NY, the lions at the Chicago Art Museum.) As an added bonus, you will have a new appreciation for the place where you'll be.

Send post cards home to each member of the family (Make up labels in advance and buy stamps. You only need to write one personal line. Doesn't matter that you'll get home before the postal. You thought of them.- Leave love notes for your partner (under the pillow/ with the toothpaste/ on the bathroom mirror)- My husband leaves a message with the hotel operator to deliver "Bill loves you most!" Operators really get a kick out of delivering this message- Have a different e-mail address for family members and send home messages- Take a blank book and fill it with favorite pictures of home, family, friends, pet. Always take the book with you on your travels. (I do!)- If possible, make separate calls to your spouse and your children. That way, no one has to share "air time".

Physical -- staying connected with your body-- Be THERE. Don't keep two watch times. You'll be tempted to say "But I can't go to sleep now--it's only 7pm in CA. or :I can't get up at 6:00--it's only 3AM in CA.)-- Plan time (it won't just appear) for exercise of any kind. Bring shoes for running or walking. Bring exercise rubber bands for muscle tone. (Take up no room) Use stairs rather than elevator where possible--Bring any item which can easily make you "feel at home" This can be anything from a pillow case, a teddy bear, a small picture.--If it's your style, bring herbal scents for the room; bath salts; One friend carries a device for drowning out sound. She turns it on and selects anything from ocean sounds to raindrops...--Try a portable vaporizer. Clears sinuses and puts moisture back into the face.-- Bring saline solution nasal spray for the airlines. Also, a small atomizer of water (some kinds are mixed with aloe). Body tissues become very dehydrated on flights.--Drink more water than you ever thought possible.-- Always ask for a room away from the elevator and the ice machine-- Unless you have great stamina, avoid red eye flights. Much better to come in rested to do work than stumble your way through a meeting.-- Find luggage that works for you. Weight, size, length of shoulder strap. --Lighten the load: if an extended trip, ship home materials or clothes you won't need. Bring a pre-addressed packing slip. Concierge can help. Whenever possible, check your baggage. Carry only with you the necessities for work and personal hygiene and health. Wear clothes that could suit for your meeting should luggage not make it. There's far too much carry-on these days.

MENTAL -- staying connected with your psyche.-- Self-talk is powerful when traveling. Why become angry and upset at weather delays (over which no one can do anything)? Mechanical problems are a fact of life. If at all possible, never book yourself on the last flight to your destination. Always have a later flight. And if you can't make it, consider that you have been given a gift of time. -- Use time in flight to get caught up on journals, periodicals, etc. For me, a successful trip is when my briefcase gets lighter and the pocket of the seat in front gets heavier.--See your destination with new eyes. Consider that you are an explorer. Try something new: a restaurant, a neighborhood, a museum, even the note the difference of people. Keep a small journal and write observations. This also lets you bring home "more than work" to share with the home front.-- Start the day quiet. Meditate. Deep breathe. Allow enough time to get ready before you leave the hotel.

Lastly, expect the unexpected and let go of the outcome. Do what you can for contingencies. Bring a cell phone, essential numbers and don't book the last flight out. Then relax into the uncertainty of travel. Stress comes from trying to control the uncontrollable. Let it go.

Choosing The Best Travel Accommodation

There are many things to consider when choosing your travel accommodations. The decision could make your trip fun or a disappointment. Choosing the right hotel is a must. Most travelers spend more time in airline ticket reservations and bargains but less time in choosing the right accommodations. Thus they may end up on the wrong side of the bed during their stay. 

To get the most out of your hotel accommodations, remember to book as early as possible and make your dates more flexible. Hotels that specialize for business people will consider weekends as off season. Family vacationers could tap into these special packages during weekends. Primarily, you should choose your hotel based on name, amenities, features, price, packages and location. 

Here are some considerations in choosing your best travel accommodations: 

1. Accommodations should be family-friendly. Always ask if your hotel offers children activity areas with educational and fun activities supervised by duly-trained care-givers. 

2. Your hotel should provide a swimming pool for children, daycare service, crib rental and child-proof electrical outlets. 

3. Stay in a hotel that has electronic room-key cards and has a security viewer installed on their doors. 

4. Make it a priority to choose a room on the upper floor. 

5. If you're the one who likes to spend more time in your hotel room and the balcony, you should ask for the available amenities and the conditions of the surrounding environment. 

6. Depending on whether you're on a private or business trip, ask your hotel about the availability of laundry service, hair dryers, coffee makers, newspapers, free meals, fax machine, bar, cable television, parking, shuttle service, internet connection, etc. 

7. The hotel property layout and its location may speak more of its surrounding environment. Noisy locations such as construction on adjacent property, car traffic and noisy waterfalls are not specified on hotel flyers. So be sure to ask about it. 

8. Beautifully landscaped surroundings with trees, flowers and inner courts also enhance your travel pleasure. Moreover, gift shops and restaurants all add up to a wonderful travel experience. 

9. The location of your hotel with respect to main attraction is equally important. It could save you money on taxi and bus fare. 

10. Make sure that the room service is provided 24 hours a day. 

11. Check out the room itself. Is it brightly colored or classical? It sets the mood of your travel. 

In order to get the most out of your travel, whether for business or family vacations, be sure to know everything about the hotel you are planning to check in to. Ask friends and relatives who have been there. Don't just depend on the hotel's webpage which is undoubtedly biased. Having to stay in a hotel which you don't like could ruin your trip. 

Check Link: Choosing The Best Travel Accommodation