Natasha

My husband and I love traveling and we try to spend less so we can travel more. Any suggestions we haven't thought of or that others might enjoy? Here's one:<BR>If you ask someone for a restaurant recommendation, ask where they go. It will almost always be cheaper and have better food than the touristy place they would have recommended otherwise.

Monique

That's a good recommendation! Locals always know the better deals.<BR><BR>My tactic this year is to stay in lots of small B&Bs. We are staying in Salzburg for $27 per night this summer! Of course we always budget travel, so compared to most people on this board, $100 is cheap to them. <BR><BR>Of course traveling in the offseason is always cheaper, and less crowded.<BR><BR>Picnic lunches can be cheap and a lot of fun!<BR><BR>

David

My best tip is to plan. The one year I "winged it" through Germany I spent 30% more on hotels than the following year when I had booked ahead.

Ellen

1. Home exchanges (free lodging and usually a car too)<BR><BR>2. Picnic or eat in (at hotel or home, see above) instead of restaurants at least once a day.<BR><BR>3. Most major cities are more expensive for lodging and food, but have lots of free entertainment, museums, historic places, churches, markets, etc. that are easy on the budget<BR><BR>4. Get a credit card that give frequent flyer miles and use it for EVERYTHING<BR><BR>5. Travel off-season, when travel and lodging are cheaper<BR>

Rollie

1) Do your research, travel independently vs. with a tour group when possible. Example: ride the train from Paris to Chartres to see the cathedral. It takes 1/2 the time and costs 1/2 the price of the bus tour that does the same thing.<BR><BR>2) Eat smart. An included breakfast buffet at your hotel will often be plenty to carry you through until the evening meal, allowing you to save on lunch. Also, when every entree on the menu is $28 or more (like at several places in Martha's Vineyard), order appetizers instead.

Eric

An interesting space saver tip that can translate into saved money...pack all your old socks, underwear, undershirts, washcloths, etc and wear them for a day. When you finished wearing them, simply throw them away, saving money on laundry, and leaving more space for the souviners you bought along the way!

www

Most "money saving" advice that I've ever gotten works better in theory than in practice. Example from Ellen:<BR><BR>1. Home exchanges (free lodging and usually a car too)<BR><BR>Fine, if you want to take the risk of strangers stomping around your house, letting you cats out by mistake, etc. Cheap, but dangerous.<BR><BR>2. Picnic or eat in (at hotel or home, see above) instead of restaurants at least once a day.<BR><BR>I'll agree here.<BR><BR>3. Most major cities are more expensive for lodging and food, but have lots of free entertainment, museums, historic places, churches, markets, etc. that are easy on the budget<BR><BR>Museums and historic places free? Hardly. Those days are long gone. <BR><BR>4. Get a credit card that give frequent flyer miles and use it for EVERYTHING<BR><BR>Trouble is that these cards usually have a higher yearly cost and interest rates. They are not always the bargain that they appear.<BR><BR>5. Travel off-season, when travel and lodging are cheaper<BR><BR>This is very bad advice. You face colder and usually rainier weather. The days are far shorter so you don't get to see near as much. Just walking around outside may be unpleasant. Yeah, it's cheaper, but this is definately a case of getting what you pay for - or less. I'd only travel offseason if I absolutely couldn't afford in-season.<BR>

Ellen

I know that home exchange sounds risky, but you must remember that while those strangers are roaming about your house, you're in theirs! A quick glance at the home exchange web sites will reveal that many people have done several exchanges, and some have done literally dozens. A few days ago, a poster asked here ( and on the US and budget boards) whether anyone had any home exchange horror stories, and none were supplied. I guess it's a karma thing. I never could've done it when I was younger, but the older I get the less attached I am to my stuff.<BR><BR>As for fees at museums and historic places, in London, at least, there are plenty of free museums, including the major ones (British Museum, National Gallery, Victoria and Albert, Science, etc.). In fact, due to a tax law change, several that used to charge fees dropped them within the past year.<BR><BR>Credit-card fees are indeed a consideration, but if yore carrying a balance, perhaps you shouldn't be traveling.<BR><BR>"The day sare far shorter so you don't see as much." LOL, they've all got 24 hours!

Bob

Get familar with the tipping custom in the country you are in. Many places automatically put a service charge on the bill before they present it to you and Americans will tip again on top of that when they do not need to. The waiter will say nothing. You can ask "is service included?" and they will tell you. That is why Europe has good professional waiters instead of college kids named Jason or Britney...they earn good pay and it is dependable because of the service charge already added. Simpler too.

Jen

1. Do anything for FF miles - get a credit card that accumulates them or an Amex. Taking flight $ out of your budget is great.<BR><BR>2. Travel off season. Went to Iceland in March and had a blast! 2 for 1 airfare and cheap hotel room. Going to St. Barths in 1 week - 1/2 price hotel.<BR><BR>3. Lunch on the go. Take away is great for saving $ on the trip. Save the pennies for dinner.<BR><BR>4. Look for package deals. A round trip TGV ticket is cheaper if you get a '3-day Rail Europe pass'. If you don't use the 3rd day - it's still cheaper.

Uncle Sam

Stay in 2* hotels. They are much less expensive, you get ensuite and after all who really needs the ballroom, the meeting space or the ornate lobby?<BR><BR>US

Tom

The museums in Edinburgh are free and also provide free shuttle service between the 4 main museums. How can you beat that for a deal?<BR><BR>I like to eat a large lunch (when prices are lower for the same food and preparation) and then enjoy dessert later in the evening.

Uniprix

Shop at the grocery store. Picnics for one or several meals. Especially if you drink (wine, beer, alcohol) purchase it from a store and keep in your hotel room (at least to get the evening started!). Huge savings.<BR><BR>Buy your Swiss chocolates at the Uniprix not the fancy chocolate shop.<BR>

it's the people!

People-watching!!! Personally I am easily bored by museums, tours, historic sites. I'd rather sit on a park bench on a sunny day and watch the people go by. Or find out where a local farmers market is held and go there on Saturday morning, for example. Colorful, fun, authentic, fascinating & FREE. - Susan

Jacko

Never tip! I figure I'll never see them again, so why bother.

bettyk

Due to diabetes, I cannot go from breakfast until dinner without eating. However, my husband and I realized that we could share an entree and dessert for lunch and dinner and be completely satisfied. None of the restaurants objected at all to this arrangement, so we didn't waste food and saved a considerable amount of money too.

elvira

1) take small trips if you can't afford big trips - better 4 days in London than not going because you can't afford 2 weeks.<BR><BR>2) don't be penny wise and pound foolish - example: have enough money to take a cab to the airport for your return flight. Sure, plan on using public transportation, but if you oversleep or there's a strike or a wreck on the tracks, you don't want to take the chance on missing your flight, which can cost a lot more money than a cab ride.<BR><BR>3) if you can be flexible, volunteer to be bumped on a full flight - and strike a hard bargain: get a free ticket, not miles; get your meals and hotel comped; finagle a business or first class seat on the next flight.<BR><BR>4) keep track of your frequent flier miles like they are gold - make sure every flight is credited with the correct # of miles; use credit cards that accumulate miles (and KEEP track); watch for products that come with free miles.<BR><BR>5) travel light - that bag might not seem so bad, but faced with a long walk to your hotel, you might succumb to a taxi ride to avoid lugging the monster.<BR><BR>6) be realistic about what you want to do - a trip that must include several opera, theatre and ballet tickets is never going to be cheap (yes, you can get less expensive tickets in a variety of ways, but $200 tickets for $50 are still a lot of money); big museums are $7-$12, so either budget for them, or compromise with only one or two big museums and mixing in gallery hopping and free exhibits in public buildings.<BR><BR>7) do-it-yourself - you can pay a tour company to do all the planning, or you can do it yourself; you can hire a guide for a tour of Rome, or get out the guidebooks and plan your own walking tour; you can pay an agency a fee for finding you a hotel or apartment, or you can search the web (and this forum) for your accommodations.

Natasha

Thanks for all the replies so far (we already do a lot of these things.)About traveling of season; we always do this and I think it is excelent advice. I'd almost consider paying MORE to do this just so I could avoid the crowds and enjoy my vacation.<BR>Another tip from me:<BR>Carry Smarties and a water bottle in your day pack. I need something to give me energy in the afternoon and if I carry something like this with me we don't get stuck buying something expensive (or waste time looking for a store).