Showing posts with label cheap. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cheap. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
11 Tricks to Cutting Travel Costs in 2011 (NY Times)
http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/travel/09pracsave.html
Sunday, November 7, 2010
8 Exotic Destinations You Can Afford
http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2010/11/04/exotic-destination-bargains/
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Last Minute Travel Deals (taken from a CG! spring break article)
On a budget? Hire a travel agent. They can customize a trip based on your budget. They can do a better job meeting your specific needs than any website., and they usually have a few tricks up their sleeves. Suggestions for student travelers:
Student Travel Services: 800-648-4849
StudentCity.com: 888-777-4642
StudentUniverse: 800-272-9676
STA Travel: 800-781-4040
Procrastinator? Go online for last-minute deals and steals. When companies that offer packaged trips have vacancies, they often use consolidator sites to sell leftover spots for cheap. 2-3 weeks before you plan to go away, start looking at sites like 11thhourvacations.com, lastminutetravel.com, and bestfares.com. for good package deals. Don't wait too long to confirm, though, because things can disapear quickly.
Up for anything? If you're willing to go anywhere, try an auction site. They are simillar to last-minute sites, but they have the added fun of bidding. First, scan through sites like priceline.com or hotwire.com to see what's being offered, and decide what kind of trip you're looking for. Then research the going rate for the same kind of trip on a regular, nonauction travel site, like orbitz.com. This will give you an idea of how much to bid. Go back to the auction site and place a bid that is 20%-40% less than the regular price. Be aware: You won't be able to see some details, like what airline you're flying on, until after you've won.
Student Travel Services: 800-648-4849
StudentCity.com: 888-777-4642
StudentUniverse: 800-272-9676
STA Travel: 800-781-4040
Procrastinator? Go online for last-minute deals and steals. When companies that offer packaged trips have vacancies, they often use consolidator sites to sell leftover spots for cheap. 2-3 weeks before you plan to go away, start looking at sites like 11thhourvacations.com, lastminutetravel.com, and bestfares.com. for good package deals. Don't wait too long to confirm, though, because things can disapear quickly.
Up for anything? If you're willing to go anywhere, try an auction site. They are simillar to last-minute sites, but they have the added fun of bidding. First, scan through sites like priceline.com or hotwire.com to see what's being offered, and decide what kind of trip you're looking for. Then research the going rate for the same kind of trip on a regular, nonauction travel site, like orbitz.com. This will give you an idea of how much to bid. Go back to the auction site and place a bid that is 20%-40% less than the regular price. Be aware: You won't be able to see some details, like what airline you're flying on, until after you've won.
A Last-Minute Idea: A roadtrip is always fun. Just pick a direction and drive. Find ideas on roadtripusa.com and roadtripamerica.com
Volunteer Vacations: For ideas, check out crossculturalsolutions.com, globeaware.org, globalvolunteers.org, and unitedplanet.org.
P.S. Wherever you end up, check out the visitors bureau for discount coupons for local attractions.
Monday, February 5, 2007
Travel Deals (Jane Magazine)
I'm the kind of person who will spend an hour looking for Promo codes online in order to get free shipping for a clearance-priced bra I'm buying on Victoriassecret.com. Why? Because I'm cheap. But you can reap the benefits at what I've been practicing for the past 10 years in the following paragraphs. On any given day, you'll find me searching travel websites, specifically my favorite, sidestep.com. I am obsessed with that site. It searches all of the other travel search engines, like orbitz.com and individual airline sites (including Jet Blue). The only time I go to orbitz directly is if my dates are really flexible-it's the best place to find out which weekend is the best one of the month to visit.
Just today I bought a ticket to Florida for $150 instead of $600 by flying to Philadelphia on the way home. It's mildly inconvenient, but the difference is half my rent.
One more search engine of note is letsgopets.com, which I recommend if the stress of smuggling your dog past the front desk in a tote bag gets to be too much. (I once tried to sneak a rescued greyhound into the bedroom of my apartment without attracting the notice of my roommate. If the barking doesn't get you, the skeetering will.) Kimpton Boutique hotels make a big fuss over dogs and give them little treats. (I recently saw a Golden Retriever living very high on the hog at the Hotel Vintage Plaza in Portland, Ore.) I think W hotels cosset animals, too.
Now, I don't want to sound like a corporate shill, but you really should sign up for all the frequent flyer programs you can. They're free, you get better treatment and sometimes you can bypass lines. Memberships can also help you get discounts and upgrades on things like car rentals. If you're calling an airline and at the end of your conversation they offer to transfer you to a car rental company, you might as well say yes, because you can automatically get 10 to 20 percent off.
When it comes to hotels, I like singular places. I also really love hotels--it's the single most important part of the travel experience, if you ask me. In Salt Lake City, for example, I like the Old Salt City Jail, where every room is a built-out stage set installation--like Egypt, with waterfalls. I stayed in a bed that was also a stage coach, but I wanted to stay in the log cabin, complete with rockers on the front porch. The point is, you can find indie places at sites like inns.com and bedandbreakfast.com.
I've also had pretty good luck googling "boutique hotel" + the location. HotelBook.com is another independent search engine, but their selection often seems pretty thin. The most beautiful hotels I've ever seen are listed at Chicretreats.com.
Once you find your desired hotel, either call the hotel yourself directly or use a travel agent to make the reservation. Travel agents are free, and they can put special notes in your reservation like, "Madame X prefers a high floor, with a view. The best available, please." Hotels are notorious for treating people who book through websites like second class citizens. And you can have the travel agent do the dirty work, if you're too shy to ask if there's anything else you can do to get a better rate.
Happy travels.
--Katy
Just today I bought a ticket to Florida for $150 instead of $600 by flying to Philadelphia on the way home. It's mildly inconvenient, but the difference is half my rent.
One more search engine of note is letsgopets.com, which I recommend if the stress of smuggling your dog past the front desk in a tote bag gets to be too much. (I once tried to sneak a rescued greyhound into the bedroom of my apartment without attracting the notice of my roommate. If the barking doesn't get you, the skeetering will.) Kimpton Boutique hotels make a big fuss over dogs and give them little treats. (I recently saw a Golden Retriever living very high on the hog at the Hotel Vintage Plaza in Portland, Ore.) I think W hotels cosset animals, too.
Now, I don't want to sound like a corporate shill, but you really should sign up for all the frequent flyer programs you can. They're free, you get better treatment and sometimes you can bypass lines. Memberships can also help you get discounts and upgrades on things like car rentals. If you're calling an airline and at the end of your conversation they offer to transfer you to a car rental company, you might as well say yes, because you can automatically get 10 to 20 percent off.
When it comes to hotels, I like singular places. I also really love hotels--it's the single most important part of the travel experience, if you ask me. In Salt Lake City, for example, I like the Old Salt City Jail, where every room is a built-out stage set installation--like Egypt, with waterfalls. I stayed in a bed that was also a stage coach, but I wanted to stay in the log cabin, complete with rockers on the front porch. The point is, you can find indie places at sites like inns.com and bedandbreakfast.com.
I've also had pretty good luck googling "boutique hotel" + the location. HotelBook.com is another independent search engine, but their selection often seems pretty thin. The most beautiful hotels I've ever seen are listed at Chicretreats.com.
Once you find your desired hotel, either call the hotel yourself directly or use a travel agent to make the reservation. Travel agents are free, and they can put special notes in your reservation like, "Madame X prefers a high floor, with a view. The best available, please." Hotels are notorious for treating people who book through websites like second class citizens. And you can have the travel agent do the dirty work, if you're too shy to ask if there's anything else you can do to get a better rate.
Happy travels.
--Katy
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