Divorce Your Travel Agent!
Every year, I am amazed at the number of people who are using a travel agent to book their trip. If you are trying to book an inexpensive trip, you can often do it just as well (or even better, in fact) by divorcing your travel agent and looking yourself. Now, if you are just looking for someone else to do it for you to save you time, then by all means use a travel agent. But, it’s an easy process to learn. I did it, so anyone can!
Each summer, I get inundated with calls from friends asking me to help them find a good deal on airfare. While I don’t mind helping (in fact, I enjoy it), it’s an easy skill to learn. Try a site like Kayak and search daily. Clear your cookies EACH and EVERY time so that the site doesn’t recognize you. I find good luck with CheapTickets.com, but then again, I search at least three times a day. Sometimes weeks will go by without the price dropping dramatically, but then it will plummet all at once. You have to be ready to grab it.
Just be prepared to spend a little time to save a LOT of money! One time I lucked into a hotel chain that has saved me a fortune by simply typing “Cheap hotel in the UK” into Google. I’ve stayed there at least once on every trip since then.
Another good source is to read some of my earlier blogs (shameless plug) Dream Trip
Tags: hotel, inexpensive, travel
November 8th, 2011 at 2:44 pm
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December 10th, 2011 at 7:18 pm
For me, traveling on a budget has required two things: Flexibility & Creative Financing.
The first trip I ever took abroad, with my dear friend Kristie Davis Dean was to England & Scotland. I wanted to go to Ireland, but the airfare for this trip was absolutely incredible & could not be passed up. I altered my way of thinking & embraced the destinations she’d chosen & I wasn’t sorry.
Having a friend who is brilliant (Kristie!) & who plans most everything is incredible! But, for my small part, I went online & did some sleuthing & was able to find some great overnight deals at a hotel chain!
Be willing to do some online investigating- hunt down deals ahead of time & be open minded about your accommodations. Sometimes good deals will appear at B & B’s, other times, hotels… one just never knows. BE FLEXIBLE!
Also, if you can be flexible with your travel times this helps as well. Airfare prices often change according to the day of the week and the time of the year, so the more flexible your dates are, the better price you can find; & of course usually the farther in advance you can book your tickets, the better your chances are for getting a better deal.
Also, if you have several months, I recommend joining online advertising sites- they will e-mail you deals & vacation packages. Who knows? The vacation of your dreams could show up in your inbox! You can also creat accounts on travel websites like Travelocity and Kayak and have them watch fares for you & deliver prices to your inbox as well.
Creative Financing is also a must for those traveling on a budget. I’m a single mom who works for the school system. Obviously, my funds are extremely limited! Yet, I’ve managed to take trips overseas several times now. Two summers ago I desperately wanted to go to Scotland for Homecoming but had no money. So, I sold my 55 Chevy truck, a kayak, and tons of other stuff on E-bay or on Craig’s List to come up with the funds. In the past I’ve also funded trips by using my tax refunds, saving the funds from my penny jar, and setting up an online fundraiser (ChipIn, SkyRaise, etc)… Another summer, I volunteered to chaperone a group of students from my school on a trip for EF Tours which enabled me to go for free! The opportunities are out there, you just have to find them & make things happen. It’s a matter of sacrifice & determination!
If you really want to travel, you will. Your adventures await you! Best of luck to you & I hope to see you along the road!
© Adair Ó Súilleabháin, 2011