20 Tips for Frugal, Fun, and Successful Travel
By Case Allen

  1. Plan to go and follow-through.  If you plan to go, you will.  First-time planning is best done in stages—baby steps
  2. Make sacrifices.  Travel is a matter of priorities, and if you want it bad enough, you will make it happen—even if it means foregoing a major purchase (do you really need the $3000 50” plasma TV, or could you get by with the $1500 37” HD LCD TV?   If your budget for a TV  was $3000, and you got by with the 37”, that would leave you with enough money for two round-trip tickets to just about anywhere in Europe, South America, the Caribbean, and Hawai’i!)
    • This tip also extends to while you're traveling.  Although the King Suite at the Marriott might be what you're used to back home, the two star Hotel Acueducto may be the only thing in your price range (or available).  Travel is a cultural experience, and that involves unfamiliar things, even if it is the Hotel Acueducto.
  3. Be flexible!
  4. Be daring and careful but not paranoid, and use common sense (like, if the alley is dark, avoid it...).
  5. Spend time alone (i.e., away from your travel partner) during your travels; just make sure you use common sense (see previous tip).
  6. Figure a budget for your trip, and stick to it.  If you can only visit one place this time around, then visit that place and see as much as you can.  Just be happy you are traveling!  If you like to travel, you will keep traveling!  It is the travel itself that's important.
  7. Travel to the place (or places) where airfare is cheapest.  For example, if you've always wanted to see France, but airfare is much cheaper to Amsterdam during the time you want to (or can) go, then go to the Netherlands!  There is plenty to see in and around the Netherlands; you can even make France a side-trip from there. Travel is your goal, so focus on that—travel—instead of a specific location (see previous tip).
  8. Watch the Internet for travel specials, and especially cheap airfare; set-up a “farewatcher” at a couple of the travel websites (Travelocity, Expedia, Kayak.com, etc.) and pay special attention to open-jaw flights, as they can save you money and precious travel time in the long run.
  9. Travel with more than one person; a group of 4-6 people, while sometimes fun, will always cut-down the over all cost (especially if you can share a quad room [usually only a few dollars more than a double] and split the cost of a rental car!)
  10. Learn about the place(s) to which you are traveling.  Why do you want to visit Italy?  For the art? Wine?  Architecture?  Nude beaches?  Whatever the reason for your desire to visit, learn about that...and more!  It will make the trip much more memorable!
  11. Learn basic “survival phrases” if traveling to a foreign-speaking country: “hello,” “please,” “thank you,” “where is,” and “I would like” are useful and easy to learn in any language.
  12. Speak to others who have been to the place(s) you're going, and get their opinions.  But remember, opinions are like armpits: we all have them, and at one time or another, they stink!  For example, many Americans I talk with have had bad experiences in Paris.  But I LOVE Paris, and have had only good experiences there!
  13. Eat like a local, drive like a local, and live like a local while you're there.  Who knows what you will learn!
  14. Travel during the “off” season.  You get a different feel for the place when it's off season, and see things others never would.
  15. Avoid (or spend less time in) tourist havens when it is high season.  Paris is nice in the summer, even with the millions of tourists and 900+ F temperatures...but so are the French Alps, Loire Valley, and Brittany Coast, with their more mild temperatures, fewer people, and beautiful vistas!
  16. Be open-minded and strive for understanding.  Just because something is different to you, does not mean that it's wrong (or right).  If you don't understand something, ask!!  Learn that there are more ways than only your way.
  17. Never be afraid to ask a question (but always begin it in the native language).
  18. Be prepared to defend your opinions and the opinions of your country's leaders.  People are curious all over the world, and are just as anxious to attempt to understand your views as you should be to attempt to understand theirs!  And if they are interested, they will start the conversation; don't be forceful with any position.
  19. Try the “specialty of the house” (unless you have a medical/religious stipulation, or are allergic to it).
  20. Leave something for next time.  You will return.

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© Feb. 2004, Case Allen