Once again, I’m scouring the web for cheap travel advice that doesn’t suck. (So you don’t have to read all the advice that does.) Here’s a collection of tips and tricks worth following.
The Frugal Traveler blog has a great rundown on various ways to find the cheapest airline tickets. My trial period test was a bust on cFares and I don’t trust Kayak as much as he does. Sometimes I’ve found better deals at other sites by using this widget and popping up different sites. But Kayak wins at least half the time. Just remember though that some airlines aren’t listed on any of these engines: you need to go direct to check RyanAir, Spirit, or Southwest, for example. And I agree that for international flights, Vayama seems to do the best.
The Vagabonding blog has a review of a new application on the web called Budget Your Trip. I haven’t used it, and it sounds like The World’s Cheapest Destinations book is still a better help for budget travelers, but it looks promising for comparing costs in various countries.
Speaking of Vagabonding, there’s an interesting “How I Travel” piece with Rolf Potts at BootsnAll. I share his sadness over group areas in hostels/guesthouses turning into places where zombies stare at screens instead of talking to each other. Getting a late start to travel? Be encouraged that he got a passport at age 25, I got one at age 27. (You didn’t used to need one for Canada or Mexico though…)
I was quoted in this good MSNBC article on how to bargain your way to better hotel rates . The deals are often there for the asking—if you know when and how.
To get a real deal on flights—free—you’ve got to know how to earn and then actually use those frequent flyer miles. Randy Petersen provides a detailed rundown on how to better your chances on The Perrin Post .
If you are not convinced that flying is safer than flying, check out this CNN article on Aviation safety rates . Here’s my favorite quote: “…If you were to take a flight every day, odds are you could go 3,859 years without an accident.”
