Comments on: Is budget travel still possible? 6 moneysaving tips http://www.consumertraveler.com/today/is-budget-travel-still-possible-6-moneysaving-tips/ The last honest travel site Sun, 12 Feb 2012 14:38:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Karen Fawcett http://www.consumertraveler.com/today/is-budget-travel-still-possible-6-moneysaving-tips/comment-page-1/#comment-5014 Karen Fawcett Tue, 05 Aug 2008 14:51:28 +0000 http://www.tripso.com/?p=4962#comment-5014 Surf the Internet for B&B's. Many people are feeling the economic crunch and are willing to rent a room(s) to short-term guests. This is happening a lot in Paris. A few of my friends have gone this route and have enjoyed not only the financial bonus but being able to meet people from other countries. Some have developed real friendships. In addition, tourists have in-house hosts who are usually very generous when it comes to helping plan a bit or more. Most hosts offer breakfast. Some offer some wine or tea when people return from sightseeing. There may be some negatives such as having to share a bath. But more frequently, the positives outweigh the negatives. And it's a way to save money and being able to stay put longer. And/or enjoy an extravagant meal; the best buys are the pre-fix lunch "menus." Surf the Internet for B&B’s. Many people are feeling the economic crunch and are willing to rent a room(s) to short-term guests. This is happening a lot in Paris.
A few of my friends have gone this route and have enjoyed not only the financial bonus but being able to meet people from other countries. Some have developed real friendships.

In addition, tourists have in-house hosts who are usually very generous when it comes to helping plan a bit or more. Most hosts offer breakfast. Some offer some wine or tea when people return from sightseeing. There may be some negatives such as having to share a bath. But more frequently, the positives outweigh the negatives. And it’s a way to save money and being able to stay put longer. And/or enjoy an extravagant meal; the best buys are the pre-fix lunch “menus.”

]]> By: Rob Williams http://www.consumertraveler.com/today/is-budget-travel-still-possible-6-moneysaving-tips/comment-page-1/#comment-4998 Rob Williams Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:10:15 +0000 http://www.tripso.com/?p=4962#comment-4998 Budget travel is so possible now with the internet and enough advance time to do some planning. I can't imagine going on a vacation without doing it on a budget haha. I'm an online ambassador for Hampton Inn, right now we're running a great deal that I'm actually gonna take part in, haha, I thought I'd share it with you, and maybe you’d like to share it with your readers! Hampton Inn is offering 10% off the best available rate until September 1st of this year. We’ll also be giving away a bunch of other cool stuff like bikes, vacations all leading up to Team USA competing at the Olympic games! You can check it all out at: http://hamptoninn.hilton.com/en/hp/promotions/hx_summerpromo08/index.jhtml?cid=OM,HX,Dreams,Specials&it=Specials,Dreams Hope to hear from you soon, I hope I didn’t overstep any bounds by directly posting in here. Talk to you later, Rob Williams Official Hampton Inn Ambassador naturalhouse302@gmail.com Budget travel is so possible now with the internet and enough advance time to do some planning. I can’t imagine going on a vacation without doing it on a budget haha. I’m an online ambassador for Hampton Inn, right now we’re running a great deal that I’m actually gonna take part in, haha, I thought I’d share it with you, and maybe you’d like to share it with your readers!

Hampton Inn is offering 10% off the best available rate until September 1st of this year. We’ll also be giving away a bunch of other cool stuff like bikes, vacations all leading up to Team USA competing at the Olympic games!

You can check it all out at:
http://hamptoninn.hilton.com/en/hp/promotions/hx_summerpromo08/index.jhtml?cid=OM,HX,Dreams,Specials&it=Specials,Dreams

Hope to hear from you soon, I hope I didn’t overstep any bounds by directly posting in here.

Talk to you later,
Rob Williams
Official Hampton Inn Ambassador
naturalhouse302@gmail.com

]]> By: Karen Fawcett http://www.consumertraveler.com/today/is-budget-travel-still-possible-6-moneysaving-tips/comment-page-1/#comment-3864 Karen Fawcett Sat, 28 Jun 2008 11:38:09 +0000 http://www.tripso.com/?p=4962#comment-3864 There's no question that traveling is expensive, most especially if you're headed to the EU where US dollar is pitiful contrasted to the Euro. But there are tricks to saving money: Reserve an apartment rather than a hotel room. There are so many reasons: You may be able to find a less expensive room but you'll have to eat all of your meals out and restaurants are expensive. Even sitting in a cafe sets you back a pretty penny. A Coke may cost $5 whereas if you buy a liter bottle at a grocery store. You won't resent every sip you've imbibed when a waiter plunks the drink in front of you. Breakfasts can REALLY ADD up and fast when you're staying in a hotel. If you want to eat out, confine your fine dining to lunch when restaurants generally offer less expensive pre-fix menus. Think picnic during the day. Buy wine and cheese to stock in the fridge. You don't have to eat each and every meal out and often may eat better "at home" if you shop at certain markets. Look for an apartment with a washing machine and dryer. Sitting in a laundromat is a waste of precious time and handing your things over to the hotel's laundry is usually another sticker shock. Pack clothes that do NOT require dry-cleaning. Do buy transport passes. And remember, there are many concerts and events in most cities that are free (or cost next to nothing). Enjoy them. Traveling takes more planning these days but isn't exclusively for the VERY rich. There’s no question that traveling is expensive, most especially if you’re headed to the EU where US dollar is pitiful contrasted to the Euro.
But there are tricks to saving money: Reserve an apartment rather than a hotel room.

There are so many reasons:
You may be able to find a less expensive room but you’ll have to eat all of your meals out and restaurants are expensive. Even sitting in a cafe sets you back a pretty penny.
A Coke may cost $5 whereas if you buy a liter bottle at a grocery store. You won’t resent every sip you’ve imbibed when a waiter plunks the drink in front of you.
Breakfasts can REALLY ADD up and fast when you’re staying in a hotel. If you want to eat out, confine your fine dining to lunch when restaurants generally offer less expensive pre-fix menus.

Think picnic during the day. Buy wine and cheese to stock in the fridge. You don’t have to eat each and every meal out and often may eat better “at home” if you shop at certain markets.

Look for an apartment with a washing machine and dryer. Sitting in a laundromat is a waste of precious time and handing your things over to the hotel’s laundry is usually another sticker shock. Pack clothes that do NOT require dry-cleaning.

Do buy transport passes.

And remember, there are many concerts and events in most cities that are free (or cost next to nothing). Enjoy them. Traveling takes more planning these days but isn’t exclusively for the VERY rich.

]]> By: Hapgood http://www.consumertraveler.com/today/is-budget-travel-still-possible-6-moneysaving-tips/comment-page-1/#comment-3827 Hapgood Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:03:52 +0000 http://www.tripso.com/?p=4962#comment-3827 A young traveler on a rock-bottom budget can still enjoy a great adventure by buying the appropriate guidebook and spending a week taking day trips from home. Even though you end each day in your own bed, if you can set your mind to the "vacation" and "adventure" mode that seems to come automatically with a distant trip, you can have both a wonderful vacation and money in your pocket. If you're not an impecunious youngster, you can use the same approach to avoid the expense and unpleasantness of flying. Spend some of the money you'd have given an airline to treat you like rubbish on a good local hotel, and use the "staycation" as an opportunity to sample some of the nice restaurants in your area that you haven't had time to try. A "staycation" is the perfect vacation for any budget in today's travel environment. It's really the only thing we can do about the effects of soaring oil prices. Most of us are so conditioned to thinking of "travel" only in terms of flying to distant places that we completely overlook all the fascinating attractions of our home towns. Given today's environment, it's time to get rid of that conditioning and discover the the treasure right in our own backyards. A young traveler on a rock-bottom budget can still enjoy a great adventure by buying the appropriate guidebook and spending a week taking day trips from home. Even though you end each day in your own bed, if you can set your mind to the “vacation” and “adventure” mode that seems to come automatically with a distant trip, you can have both a wonderful vacation and money in your pocket.

If you’re not an impecunious youngster, you can use the same approach to avoid the expense and unpleasantness of flying. Spend some of the money you’d have given an airline to treat you like rubbish on a good local hotel, and use the “staycation” as an opportunity to sample some of the nice restaurants in your area that you haven’t had time to try. A “staycation” is the perfect vacation for any budget in today’s travel environment. It’s really the only thing we can do about the effects of soaring oil prices.

Most of us are so conditioned to thinking of “travel” only in terms of flying to distant places that we completely overlook all the fascinating attractions of our home towns. Given today’s environment, it’s time to get rid of that conditioning and discover the the treasure right in our own backyards.

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