Budget Vacations

European Rail Passes
Saving money on European travel with rail passes Travel to Europe is a must for many budget minded travelers, and many young college students would not dream of entering the real world without first spending a summer backpacking through Europe. Even though the costs of traveling to and within Europe have risen in recent years, European travel can still be surprisingly affordable, for independent travelers and families alike. One of the most popular ways to save mo ...

Adventure Travel
Adventure travel is one of the fastest growing segments of the travel industry, but it is often difficult to find good bargains when booking adventure travel. With so many people itching to go on the adventure of a lifetime, the prices in those travel brochures can lead you to believe that adventure travel is beyond your means. That does not have to be the case, however. The key to affordable adventure travel is to book directly from the providers of the adventure, instead of goin ...

Budget Airfare
There is no doubt that airfare is one of the biggest expenses of any vacation. Airfare costs can easily represent at leas half of the total cost of a vacation, and if you do not get the best possible deal on airfare it is easy to go over budget. There are some important strategies for getting the best deal on airfares, and this article discusses some of our favorites. One of the things I have learned over the years is that it is almost always less expensive to fly out of the large ...

Budget European Travel
When it comes to traveling across Europe, many people assume that such an adventure is beyond their modest means. However, the legions of college students and others on shoestring budgets that descend on Europe every summer undermine this assumption. If these budget travelers can make Europe affordable, there is no reason you cannot as well. Europe is actually quite a travel bargain in many ways, and if you choose your lodging, meals and transportation carefully a vacation in Euro ...

Budget RV Travel Tips
Budget travel in an RV The sales of recreational vehicles have really been on fire lately, as more and more people discover the high level of freedom, and low level of cost, that an RV vacation can provide. As air travel becomes more of a hassle, and the cost of hotel stays continues to rise, many people are discovering the convenience of taking their hotel room with them wherever they go. The attraction of a recreational vehicle, of course, is that it provides the budget ...

Budget Ski Vacations
When most people think of ski resorts, they naturally picture mountains full of fresh fallen snow and people huddled around a roaring fire enjoying a cup of hot cocoa. While this image is certainly accurate, and ski resorts are some of the most popular of all vacation destinations, the prices of these resort getaways can often be beyond the means of the budget traveler. There is another way, however, to enjoy these upscale resorts for a fraction of their in season costs. Many ski ...

Budget Tips For International Car Rentals
Budget tips for international car rentals While the public transportation systems in many international destinations are safe, clean, cheap and reliable, many seasoned travelers prefer having their own transportation, and in many areas it is necessary to rent a car to get from place to place. There are a number of thing to remember to make renting a car internationally less costly and less of a hassle. One of the most important things to remember involves traveling to Cana ...

Budget Travel And Getting Free Flights
Budget travel and free flights – how to get yourself bumped One of the most popular strategies for budget traveling is to make what is traditionally one of the most expensive parts of travel – the airfare – free. One great way to score free flights without tediously collecting frequent flier miles is to get yourself bumped off of the flight on which you are booked. While getting bumped won’t make your current flight free, it will traditionally score you a free ticket you can use at ...

Budget Travel And Packing
Many people do not realize how important packing light is to budget travel, but I can tell you from personal experience that it is very important. Trust me – if you over pack, you are much more likely to drop extra money on porters, luggage carts, taxis and all those other little costs that could be avoided if you just packed more sensibly. Even though those costs can seem insignificant, they can really add up, especially on a long, multiple city trip. Think of it this way – while ...

Budget Travel On A Cruise
For many people, a cruise ship can be the ultimate budget travel destination. A cruise provides a great, one price, vacation, and one of the main attractions to booking a cruise is that just about everything is included in the price. As a matter of fact, in some cases the daily cost of a cruise can be less than the daily cost of a decent hotel room. When you consider that the price of the cruise includes not only the room, but all the food and entertainment as well, it is easy to see why ...

Budget Vacations - Camping
When it comes to traveling on a budget, few things are as cost effective as pitching a tent in the wilderness of your favorite national park. The tent campsites at national parks and state parks are among the least expensive to be found, and many intrepid travelers spend summer after summer hiking, fishing and enjoying the scenery at our country’s magnificent national parks. Just because you are roughing it in the wilderness, however, does not mean that you will need to do no plann ...

Camping And Backpacking
One of the least expensive, yet most fulfilling, types of vacations is the camping and backpacking trip. Hiking through the back country at one of the nation’s magnificent national parks, or just wandering around the wilderness of a state park closer to home, can be a great way to commune with nature, and a wonderful way for families to get away and enjoy being together. One of the things that makes backpacking so attractive to budget minded trailers is the low cost it takes to get ...

Camping Is Great For Budget Vacations
When it comes to enjoying a vacation on a limited budget, it is difficult to beat the appeal of the good old camping trip. After all, it costs next to nothing to pitch your tent in the back country wilderness of your favorite state or national park. A week long camping trip can often cost less than a day or two in a big city or tourist hot spot, while giving the entire family time to bond and enjoy being together. As a matter of fact, camping is one of the most popular family acti ...

Traveling In Season
When it comes to budget traveling, it is hard to overestimate the importance of the season of travel. Travel costs are largely dependent on the time of the year, and every travel destination has its high, low and shoulder seasons. Knowing the seasons for the destination of your choice is a great way to enjoy wonderful travel on a budget. The high season for a particular destination varies quite a bit from location to location. For some locations, the high season can be as short a ...

How To Save On Your Vacation Rental Car
The rental car can be a big vacation expense, and getting the best deal you can on the transportation you need is important to keeping your vacation fun while staying within budget. One way to keep costs as low as possible, of course, is to choose the smallest, most economical car you and your family are comfortable with. Choosing a compact, subcompact or economy car makes sense on a number of levels. For one thing, such cars are generally less expensive to rent in the first place ...

How To Travel Like The Locals
Seeing the local sights is why most people travel, and this is the one area you should not miss, no matter how tight your travel budget. It is possible, however, to see the local culture without busting your travel budget. This article focuses on some of our favorite tips for getting the most out of sightseeing on a budget. Travel like the locals do One of the cheapest, and most overlooked, ways to see the local sights is to travel like the locals travel. This means taking the b ...

How To Vacation In Europe On A Budget
Many budget travelers assume that a multi-city European vacation is beyond their means, but that is often not the case. The large number of budget airlines that have sprung up in Europe in recent years have dropped the average cost of airfare between many major European cities. In some cases, the cost of coach airfare between major European hubs like London and Amsterdam is lower than a comparable first or even second class train ticket. And of course flying between cities is far ...

Packing Tips For The Budget Minded Traveler
Packing tips for the budget minded traveler Packing properly is an important consideration for the budget traveler. Traveling on a budget means traveling light. The more unencumbered you are by junk you don’t need, the more chances you will have and the less expensive your travel will be. For instance, while the traveler with only one bag is free to hop on the inexpensive city bus and pay as little as one dollar to get into town, if that same traveler is loaded down with ...

Saving On Meals When Traveling
The budget for food can be one of the most expensive parts of any vacation, and many travelers underestimate how much they will spend on food while traveling and end up busting their budget as a result. There are a number of ways to keep the food budget under control while still enjoying delicious, satisfying and healthy meals. For many people, good food is a large part of the travel experience, and sampling the local cuisine should be a goal of every traveler to a foreign location ...

Starting A Vacation Club Savings Account
One of the very best ways to both build your saving discipline and enjoy a great vacation is to start a vacation club, and fund it on a regular basis. A vacation club can be a great way to save money throughout the year and can prevent your long awaited vacation from being a budget buster. Unfortunately, many people fail to take this approach, and as a result they end up paying for that one or two weeks of vacation through the entire rest of the year. It is far better to do the bu ...

Stretching Your Dollar On Vacation
One of the biggest considerations when it comes to budget travel is where to vacation. Some vacation destinations are much less costly than others, so travelers on a budget need to choose their vacation spots carefully. One of the most exciting, and least expensive, travel destinations for the budget traveler is the countries of Central and South America. Going where your dollars go farther is one of the cardinal rules of budget travel, and U.S. dollars are highly sought after, an ...

Taking The Road Less Traveled
Travel is meant to be enlightening and broadening to the mind, and there are few things that enlighten and broaden the mind as well as stepping off the beaten path and exploring those areas of the world where few tourists have ventured. Another important benefit of this “road less traveled” approach is that these un-touristy areas tend to be less expensive, often considerably so, that the same old vacation. When it comes to finding unique travel destinations, the world is literally ...

Tips For Finding Inexpensive Lodging In Europe
Finding inexpensive lodging in Europe Many first time travelers make the incorrect assumption that a European vacation is beyond their means, but this is often not the case. One of the biggest costs associated with any vacation, including travel to countries in Europe, is lodging, but it is possible to fund budget accommodations that are clean, safe and centrally located. One of the secrets to finding affordable budget accommodations when traveling to Europe is to check ou ...

Tour Package Vacations
Many budget minded travelers like the safety, security and convenience that comes with booking a packaged or escorted tours. These tours can be particularly useful for those traveling to an unfamiliar or exotic location, as well as for those who want to cover a lot of ground in a short period of time. There are tour packages to every conceivable destination, and for every possible budget. There are package tours that specialize in budget accommodations, and there are those that ...

Travel For Less In Your RV
For many people, nothing compares to the freedom and versatility of enjoying the open road in a recreational vehicle or camper. There is certainly much to be said for taking your hotel with you wherever you go, and the savings on hotel costs can more than pay for the initial cost of an RV. One of the things that makes an RV so popular among budget travelers is that it frees travelers from many of the issues typically associated with sticking to a travel budget. For instance, trave ...