Today on Live at 9 in Memphis, I talked about what travelers can expect this summer and how to stay on budget amid rising fuel costs and added fees. Travelers can expect two things for sure: higher airfare and crowded planes. The high cost of fuel is one of the main factors driving up summer airfares, so to stay on budget, travelers are going to have to be smart and find other ways to save.

One way to find a great deal is to try booking at the last minute. Since last minute travel inventory is unpredictable, this option is ideal for people who know they want to get away for a long weekend, but who don’t have their hearts set on a particular destination.

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Posted in Air Travel, Budget Travel, Last-Minute Travel
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A few weeks ago, Amy wrote about the spring break that wasn’t supposed to happen. You know; the one that travelers are still taking despite the drooping economy. Prices are up, but families are still getting out of town.

Being a traveler – and a budget traveler at that – I was inspired to dig up spring break travel inventory that is begging to be purchased. I wanted to see exactly where I could go (from San Francisco) for a few hundred bucks, and what I found was a list of seemingly lackluster places that travelers never wanted to visit. Well, until now.

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Posted in Budget Travel, Holiday & Seasonal, Last-Minute Travel
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"Oh! And the Czech Republic isn't on the euro either!" my fiancé gleefully reported yesterday.

We've chosen the absolute worst year to get married and go on a honeymoon abroad. Our plan was to take two glorious weeks off work and see a new corner of the world, something neither of us has ever done before. Unfortunately, the weak American dollar isn't exactly cooperating.

Bye-bye Barcelona. Hello Bangkok. The great search for a cheap honeymoon destination has begun. Instead of bemoaning the dollar's plunge, we're looking at this as a chance to step off the beaten path. Much like paying for our own wedding, we have decided that where there's a will, there's a penny to be pinched.

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Posted in Budget Travel, International Travel, Mexico
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Let’s face it--Americans have always been about bigger and better, from 10-gallon hats to Big 10 universities. And who can blame us? We’ve always been a country of hardworking go-getters. We deserve high quality. Travel should be no exception to the rule.

One problem with this approach, though, is that the usual desired effects of travel--mental health, bonding, fond memories--are not always easily quantifiable. What we end up remembering as our “best” travel experiences are often spontaneous, and even mundane. You can’t predestine everything.

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Posted in Budget Travel, Industry Beat, Offbeat, Road Trips
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I was talking on MSNBC this morning about how it looks like more travelers will be headed far away this Thanksgiving and how Europe seems to be at the top of the list for many US travelers who want a change of scenery. Instead of taking a long weekend, these international travelers are making a real vacation out of it and staying over a week. Not surprisingly, that can also be a way to save on airfares by avoiding peak travel days.

Photo courtesy of IgoUgo member Marianne

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Posted in Budget Travel, Europe, Thanksgiving '07
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Not too long ago, I won a gift certificate for a last-minute weekend getaway. Problem is, the dollar amount that I won stretches about as far as…Pittsburgh, PA. Or, if I go during off season, I may be able to swing exotic Topeka, KS!

As I started researching my options, I was reminded of an acquaintance’s ongoing tour of America’s underappreciated cities. Once a year, he meets his buddies in a second- or third-tier city that tourists may not clamor to visit: think Bangor, Cleveland, Raleigh. Kansas City was apparently a big hit.

Cleveland photo courtesy of IgoUgo member RoBoNC

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Posted in Budget Travel, Last-Minute Travel, Travel News
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Benjamin Franklin once said: “Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days." Granted, this is the same man who wanted the turkey to be our national bird and who nearly electrocuted himself with a kite, but he had a point.

I traveled to Manhattan last week, where a friend graciously let me be a couch commando for six straight days. This arrangement saved me roughly $2,400 (or 240 Benjamins), a figure that weighed heavily on my mind. I lived in New York for four years and I know first-hand how your sofa can develop a revolving door, and how all your obscure aunts, uncles, and half-cousins show up claiming kinship. So I learned a thing or two about what not to do when staying with someone.

Photo courtesy of IgoUgo member vondrejech

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Posted in Budget Travel, Hotel Travel
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I'd never flown Southwest until a few weeks ago, when I made the short hop from Oakland International to LAX on the famous low-budget carrier and experienced its infamous "cattle call" boarding process firsthand.

Rather than assigning seats, of course, Southwest follows a policy whereby the letter printed on your boarding pass--A, B, or C--determines the order in which you're allowed to board the plane and choose your seat (those with the coveted As go first.) Imagine how surprised my boyfriend and I were when we decided it was finally time to join one of those long lines snaking through the departure lounge, and found that Sean's boarding pass bore a sucks-to-be-you C and mine a proud, triumphant A.

Why? Well, your guess is as good as mine. We booked our tickets together, checked in (early) together, and were obviously traveling together. Perhaps the gate agent just liked the look of me or something.

(Photo courtesy of IgoUgo member Torpedo1962)

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Posted in Air Travel, Budget Travel, Travel News
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One of the nice things about living in the 21st century is how easy everything is. We tend to take a lot for granted, such as running water, electricity, and the wonders of the Internet, but we are still obsessed—some people more than others—with new devices that make light work of whatever it is we are doing. Gadgets are toys for the adult set and many are made specifically for the traveler. From eye masks and neck pillows to noise-cancelling headphones and travel games, we’re always looking for ways to make our journeys as easy and comfortable as possible.

Photo courtesy of IgoUgo member Rufusni

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Posted in Air Travel, Budget Travel, Guides & Planning, Packing & Baggage
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Ah, the Great Outdoors. There’s nothing like lying in a tent at night listening to the final crackles of the fire, the occasional owl hoot, and the far-off coyote call. Even better is letting the songbirds wake you up in the morning, the rustle of the chipmunks in the trees, and, umm. What is that annoying tapping sound?

I’m talking about the sound of the gal in the tent next door. The gal who is furiously tapping on her keyboard thanks to the glory of wi-fi access, which according to the Associated Press, is becoming more and more common in campgrounds each year.

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Posted in Budget Travel, Nature & Outdoors
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Of all the things that, ahem, stink about air travel, the bathrooms are surely one of the worst. Little more than glorified closets, they're tiny, smelly, likely to encourage claustrophobia, and usually--at least by the end of the flight--sporting suspicious-looking sprinklings on both floor and seat. It's enough to make a passenger cross her legs and hope for the best.

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Posted in Air Travel, Budget Travel, Travel News
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It’s the word that all cell phone users loathe: roam. And nothing’s worse than opening that monthly phone bill expecting the normal $68 price tag and discovering that you owe a whopping 200 bucks. What! Did! I! Do?!

Well, I’ll tell you what I didn’t do. I didn’t take the time to thoroughly understand my cell phone plan, and it ended up costing me. My cell phone and I are inseparable. We dine together. We workout together. I even activated international calling, so we can travel together. I know that making a phone call from France or Mexico or Argentina costs me anywhere from 49 cents to a painful $1.50 per minute. Even sending and receiving text messages puts a dent in the bank account. Last month, I made the mistake of thinking that I had a North American cell phone plan through T-Mobile, so I used my phone as I normally would on a short trip to Vancouver. When I received my phone bill, I discovered that my plan only covered the U.S. and not our neighbors to the north as I thought. Ouch!

After reluctantly paying my monthly bill, I vowed (for my financial wellbeing!) to be a smarter international caller. (Check out this nine part feature on using cell phones abroad in The Travel Insider.) My cell phone and I are getting ready for a trip to Australia later this month, and I don’t want to be shocked by another outrageous phone bill!

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Posted in Budget Travel, Guides & Planning, International Travel
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You can set the clock back sooner but you can't fool me – I still feel that hum-drum feeling that I get every winter (albeit I usually get this in February) and thus I find myself desperate for a beach fix. So while I started looking for places to go I noticed something was up. The prices were down, surprisingly, to all kinds of beach destinations. I thought I should share my findings. Because really, what's better than a trip to the beach than a trip to the beach that's on sale?!

This March and April I'm seeing unanticipated deals to the Caribbean: as much as 25-50% off and great value deals like stay for 7 nights but pay for 5. Let me remind you that this is a year where you'll be hard pressed to find a hotel that's selling for less than it did last year. All around the globe hotel rates are higher than last year. With the exception perhaps in the Caribbean this spring. Now doesn't grabbing a bargain make you want to pack up and dip your toe in the turquoise blue waters?

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Posted in Beaches, Budget Travel, Caribbean, Q & A
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Whether I’m in the market for shoes or electronics or vacations, I’m a staunch believer in getting the biggest bang for my buck. I always shop around to make sure I’m getting the best deal, and I rarely let my impulsive, girly, gotta-have-it-now instincts take control. Call me cheap, but why dole out more cash than you really have to – for anything? Perhaps it’s this commitment to saving a pretty penny that has cultivated my appreciation for cruising.

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Posted in Budget Travel, Cruise Travel, Travel News
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