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PrintFive Frugal Travel Secrets
Frugal Living July 25th, 2008It’s great to get out and see the world while you’re young. Unfortunately, you will also never be so poor. Problem solved. Here are five frugal travel secrets to save you some yen, dinar, Euros—or whatever it is you’ll be spending.
Look past the net. Travel Web sites promising a great deal abound, but an old-fashioned travel agent may save you more, especially if you’re going to an out-of-the-way location. I recently scored U.S.-Croatia airfare from a travel agent for about $350 than the best Internet fare. Check package deals in Sunday papers, too. Find a travel agent through the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA).
Pack a meal a day. The cost of eating out adds up fast! Pinch some pennies by packing at least one of your daily meals, maybe two. Check out these easy picnic recipes for some inspiration.
Skip the hotel. Hotels are way overpriced, don’t you think? If you don’t mind some creative sleeping arrangements, (remember Gonzo hanging upside down in a closet in A Muppet Christmas Carol?) consider camping, hostels, or couch surfing. Sure, you could stay with friends, but you could also hook up with strangers willing to share a sofa at CouchSurfing.com.
Say “no thanks” to car rental insurance. Anytime you rent wheels, somebody will try to sell you insurance packages that can double your tab. Truth is— you may not need any of it. Most U.S. credit cards provide car rental damage insurance when you reserve the car with your card. Personal auto insurance usually provides damage and liability coverage for a rental, too. The one exception is if you don’t have your own auto insurance policy, you may want to take them up on liability insurance (but not damage, if reserving with a credit card). Find more ways to save on car rentals.
Go where your dollar goes furthest. These days, that’s not most of Europe. Heck, it’s not even Canada! This L.A. Times article offers some suggestions for countries where your dollar will go the distance, including Morocco, Cambodia, and Nicaragua. Need somewhere closer to home? Try Mexico, but avoid the most-visited areas like Cancun and Puerto Vallarta.
How do you save money when you travel?
July 25th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Love this post, Dave! Lots of great ideas, especially the eating one. In Paris a few weeks ago, I really benefited from having a grocery story next-door. While I didn’t have a kitchen or fridge in my tiny hotel room, it was a great place to get cheap snacks, and water bottles were 30 cents there — in other places in the city one was 2 or 3 euro! I also found a lot of places with tasty and cheap sandwiches to-go. I limited myself to one nice restaurant meal a night and made sure to get by on cheap eats the rest of the day. That way I was able to really savor tasty French food but not break the bank. Btw, I didn’t realize it could be so much cheaper to use a travel agent — I’ll definitely look into it next time!
July 30th, 2008 at 8:54 am
Thanks, Emily. I had fun putting this together.
I’m definitely planning to take advantage of the packing food tip next week while I’m away!
I think a lot of people—especially our age—assume that self-booking Web sites have rendered travel agents obsolete. As I’ve booked a lot of travel for work in the past few years (and learned a lot of secrets about saving on airfares and hotels), I don’t think I would use a travel agent for domestic travel anymore, but I’m inexperienced traveling abroad, so I appreciated the hand-holding.
Even in cases an agent can’t find a lower fare than sites like Kayak or Expedia, if you don’t book travel often (or aren’t thrilled about spending hours on travel Web sites), an agent may be able to find the lowest fares faster than you can. Of course, there are pitfalls to watch out for when using a travel agent, too.
August 5th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
I agree, these are good tips. I was especially proud of how you mentioned a travel agent’s ability to offer better deals most of the time. Knowing travel agents myself, I am amazed how many avenues they have access to that the public does not. With the changing rules and regulations of traveling nowadays, it’s nice to have someone in the loop at all times who can let me know when my airline has added baggage fees or weight restrictions on carry-ons, etc.
Booking online can be very easy, but remember to check their policies very carefully, or you may be out alot of money. My last suggestion is to always get travel insurance, even if it’s not for the entire cost of the trip. Who wants to pay $75K to get evacuated after being in some kind of accident abroad? Always a good idea to be covered.
August 6th, 2008 at 10:46 am
I recently booked a Cancun getaway for a long Thanksgiving weekend with my family. I contacted the travel agent my company uses for business travel. They came in well below
the second quote I had from a mega on-line site and I always had the same agent to talk to with my many questions.