| Budget
Vacations, Cheap Vacation Options and Budget
Airline Deals. |
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Budget Vacations, Cheap
Vacation Options and Budget Airline Deals.
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| There are two great ways to save
money while traveling. The first way is to get the best
deals on the specific things you want.
The other approach
is to be a true opportunist. This will be
difficult for some of you, and entirely
unacceptable to others.
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The first time I
went to Ecuador, I went there because it was
cheap. If it wasn't, I would have had a great
time - somewhere else. The trip lasted a month,
and cost $1045, which included airfare and even
the $130 fee for a guide to take me to the top of
glacier-covered Mount Chimborazo.
I cut the cost by taking a bus from my home in
Michigan to Miami, and back again when I returned
from Ecuador. The round-trip ticket cost $158.
The round-trip flight to Quito from Miami was
only $256, because it was a courier flight, which
meant I signed for some luggage (car parts), and
could only take carry-on luggage.
Never did I feel deprived, or bored. I had a
great time, eating wherever it was cheap and
clean, doing all sorts of inexpensive, but
interesting things, and traveling across the
country to climb Chimborazo. I also met and fell
in love with my wife Ana.
How To Become An Opportunistic Traveler
Can you drink rum at a dollar per bottle, instead
of your favorite beer? Can you eat chicken
instead of steak? How about visiting the free
sights first, and dancing in the street festival
instead of the disco?
Being an opportunist means you'll have just as
much variety, and probably almost everything you
want - eventually. You just have to stop trying
to get exactly what you want exactly when you
want it. If the guide that took me up Chimborazo
hadn't dropped his price from $200 to $130, I
would have spent $2 for a bus and gone hiking on
El Altar, another great Andean mountain. That
would have left me with enough money for several
other minor adventures.
More Secrets Of Cheap Travel
Plane Tickets: My wife and I were planning a trip
to visit family in Ecuador. The cheapest airfare
from Traverse City, Michigan to Quito, was $1720.
Out of curiosity, I checked Miami to Quito, and
it was only $404. Airfare from Traverse City to
Miami was $300. Book two separate flights and
save more than $2000! The discount sites aren't
set up to search in this way (yet), so you have
to do this on your own. By the way, the whole
six-week trip, which we took in 2004, cost $2400,
including losing $100, and being robbed of $174.
Food: Whether traveling here or in other
countries, it is usually cheaper to buy some
healthy snacks in a grocery store, rather than
eat every meal in a restaurant. When you do eat
in restaurants, it can be cheaper to to order
individual items on the menu from the list of
appetizers or side dishes. You also may get more
variety in that way.
Accomodations: For a long trip, you may want to
rent an apartment in an interesting city. We did
this for two months in Tucson, for about $600
less per month, compared to even the cheaper
motels. Watch for hotel coupon-books in gas
stations. The coupons will often save you $10 on
a room you would have stayed in anyhow. If you
have a conversion van or RV, you can camp a
couple nights a week, like we do, to save on
motels. We love the hotsprings we've stayed at,
for a $3 fee to the BLM, instead of $40 for the
cheapest motel in the area.
Travel Expenses: Do more and travel less. It is
often the traveling part that costs the most, due
to the cost of gas, convenient fast food, and
expensive hotels you are forced to pay for when
you just can't drive any further. So if you find
a place with a reasonable motel, and a lot to do
in the area - stay for a while!
Article Source: EzineArticles.com, EverythingAboutTravel.com, TheUltralightBackpackingSite.com
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