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There are common sense travel tips, like "Check at least threeweb sites to get the best deal on plane tickets." Then there arethe tips that are more along the line of "secrets." These arethe little-known tricks learned by experience. Here are some ofthe best of those.
Cheap Travel Tips
Find out where local visitors from within the country stay. Thecheapest "tourist hotel" I could find when in a resort town inMexico was $135. I asked a local businessman where to find acheap room, and got one for $10. There wasn't a swimming pool,but the room was spotless. I was there to travel, not to lounge,so this suited me fine.
Negotiating room charges is common in many countries. In Banos,Ecuador, we negotiated our room rate down from $12 to $6 pernight, by paying for several nights in advance. The trick hereis to be sure that there are other options, then make your finaloffer and walk away. Most owners will call you back and lowerthe price.
Consider hostels, if you don't mind sharing a room. They're muchmore common overseas. This saves you a lot if you are single,because you pay for the bed. I once spent four days in a hostelfor $4 per day, breakfast included. I shared a room with severalothers, and a TV room with travelers from 16 countries.
Hotels in the U.S. are less likely to negotiate, but we havedone it. Most small chain motels are not company-owned, butfranchises, so it is usually the owner behind the counter.Paying for several nights in advance, or just starting to walkaway, has resulted in discounts for us many times.
Travel is often only as cheap as your plane tickets. Forinternational travel, search the fares to several countries thatyou would like to visit. Go to the cheapest one now - the otherswill be cheap another time, and a savings of $500 can buy a fewextra days, or an extra mini-vacation some other time.
Anywhere you go, there are things you can do to keep it cheaper.Eat where locals eat, for example, instead of at touristrestaurants. See the free and cheap attractions first. You mighthave so much fun that you'll never get around to doing theexpensive things. Higher prices mean better quality with travelbags, but not necessarily with travel experiences.
Other Travel Tips
E-mail important documents to yourself. These should include acopy of your passport, other IDs, phone numbers of the U.S.Consulate offices where you'll be, and your itinerary ore-tickets for any flights. In this way, even if you are robbedand lose everything, you'll have access to all the importantdocuments from any internet cafe in the world.
On a streetcar, I once had a pocket unzipped and the walletremoved without feeling a thing. Many pickpockets are experts.Fortunately, it was a "decoy" wallet, with nothing but a fewpieces of paper, and a fake credit card. Other ways to protectmoney, cards and documents include putting a bill or two underthe inner sole of running shoes, safety-pinning a hidden pocketinside your pants, and hiding cash in several different places.
I see young travelers in other countries walking anywhere theyfeel like it at night, and then being shocked that they arerobbed. Aren't there places in New York or Chicago where youwouldn't walk at night? Ask the locals where it is safe andwhere it isn't, and trust your intuition when it warns you.Leave expensive clothing and jewelry at the hotel when you arejust out for a walk. Safety tricks are the most important traveltips.
About the author:
Steve Gillman has been hunting down obscure knowledge and usefulsecrets for years. Learn more travel secrets and get a free giftat: The SecretInformation Site (http://www.TheSecretInformationSite.com)
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