Frugal Fridays: Getting From Point A to Point B

Welcome to Frugal Fridays where we share money saving tips, discuss living frugally and generally talk about personal finance issues.  Over the many months I've been doing this series, I've managed to accumulate hundreds of links in my bookmarks folder to different sites and I think it's time once again to share some of these.  In looking through them, I've noticed that quite a few are travel related.  These aren't all sites that will help you save money, some can help you save time and some just provide information that will help you make the most of your trip, but all of them I've found useful to some degree or another.  Since I have way too many links to post them all, I've culled out best of the best.  Follow me below the fold for my List of Links.

General Money Saving Advice
Here are some articles I've found that have good advice on how to save money while traveling for business or pleasure.

• 10 ways to find low fares using the Internet is a great place to start if you are looking for cheap airfares.
• Save big bucks on your summer travel was written last summer, but the advice is useful for those of you planning ahead for this summer as well.
• How To Book a Cheap Hotel Room has step-by-step instructions to save money on lodging.
• International Discount Airlines tells you how to find and book discount flights for international travel and gives you tips on what to expect when you do.
• 10 Ways to Keep Europe Within Reach has frugal tips for Americans traveling to Europe this year.
• For frequent travelers, you may find helpful tips in 5 ways to get an upgrade.
• If you are looking for luxury vacations without the luxury pricetag, check out Wallet-friendly luxury beach vacations.  Most of these bargains are for winter travel, so take advantage of them quickly.
• If you have never bid for airfare or hotel rooms using an online auction site, check out Bidding For Travel for helpful guides on how to get started.

Guide Books and Web Sites

• Trip Advisor is always my first stop when I want to see other users reviews of hotels or attractions.
• Tripso has a lot of good information and columns with helpful advice.  They've recently redesigned the site and I think they have made more clear the distinction between sponsored links and article links, which I appreciate.
• Independent Traveler has lots of good information and resources for international and domestic travelers.
• Budget Travel Magazine has a very good companion web site with content you won't find in the print version.
• Rick Steves has an extensive line of guide books for Europe.  There is a lot of helpful information available on his website and he also has a small line of good quality travel gear.

Packing and Gear
Some of these sites have advice, some sell travel gear and some do both.

• If you are one of those people who always overpacks and you'd like to learn how to travel more lightly, check out the packing tips at One Bag.  This site won't sell you the bag or what to put in it, but they will just give you great advice.
• Magellan's is not the cheapest source for travel related items, but they do stock an incredibly wide variety, so they may be the best place to get that hard-to-find item you need.  I also really like their section on travel advice.  I've found lots of good ideas there.
• Travel Smith is another company that's not particularly cheap, but look for their stuff on sale, and you can find a good bargain on good quality clothes and travel gear.
• If you are looking for bargains on luggage, I've been happy with E-bags.  You can usually get a 10-20% discount or free shipping if you just wait a bit for a sale.

Last Minute Travel
Planning a trip at the last minute is usually much more expensive than doing it well in advance, if you have a specific destination or hotel that you absolutely must go to.  However, airfares, hotel rooms and rental cars are all commodities that have no value at all if they are not sold by a specific date.  You can sometimes find great bargains on flights, rooms or cars that have not been reserved in advance.

• Last Minute is a site where you can find flights, hotels, and entire vacation packages at a steep discount.
• If you are looking for hotel rooms in Australia, check out Wotif.  They also have listings for other cities worldwide.
• If you are looking for hotel rooms in the UK, check out Late Rooms.  As with Wotif, they also have listings for other cities worldwide.
• Late Stays is another site that lists discount hotel rooms worldwide, but predominantly in Asia.

Airlines
In general, you will find the cheapest airfare by booking directly with the carrier.  However, you should always check other discount options, you may find a special bargain.

• Fare Compare is a good site to use to explore seasonal or airline-dependent differences in flights between two cities.  Keep in mind that the low fare you find may already be completely booked, though.
• Kayak, Side Step and Booking Buddy are all similar sites that let you run air fare comparisons from multiple booking sites at once.
• Southwest Air is one site that you can't search through other on-line travel agents.  You have to check their fares directly on their site.
• Airline Consolidator can be a good way to find airfares from USA to international destinations lower than other published prices.

Other Transportation

• I think there is no better and easier way to see the countryside and to travel short to medium distances than by rail.  In America, Amtrak has limited service, but if their schedule accommodates your itinerary, definitely check it out.
• There is a new discount bus service in America called MegaBus.  It only runs express service between a limited number of cities, but when you factor in airport delays, it may be faster and cheaper to take a bus for 400 miles than fly.
• Auto Europe is a nice site to find and book a rental car in Europe before you leave home.
• If you are looking for ridesharing in Europe, check out Hitchikers and FreeWheelers.
• A word of warning about Budget rental car.  I've been seeing a lot of complaints about some of their practices in the travel and consumer advice columns I read.  If you use them, be very careful in reading everything before you sign and make sure to document the condition of the car both when you pick it up and when you drop it off.

Airport and Flight Delay Information
Before you even book your flight, much less head to the airport, be sure to check out these sites

• Avoid Delays can tell you what flights and airports have the worst delays routinely.  Their data is a bit old (November 2007 is the most recent) but it should definitely give you an indication of what to avoid.
• On the day of your travel, before you head to the airport, be sure and check out if there are any delays at FAA's ATC System Information Page.
• TSA wait times will tell you the average and maximum security delay for your airport on a given time and day of the week.
• If you have friends or family traveling and you want to monitor their progress, check out Flight Aware which allows you to track flights in the air.

Lodging
in addition to the places listed up under "Last Minute Travel" these sites may help you find affordable lodging.

• If you like meeting new people and sleeping on their couch or spare bed, check out Couch Surfing, a site that pairs up travelers and hosts worldwide.
• If you'd like to offer your home for someone to stay in while you stay in theirs, check out Home Exchange.
• If you are traveling with a group of family or friends, you may find it both cheaper and more convenient to rent an apartment rather than take multiple hotel rooms.  The added advantage of having a kitchen can help cut down tremendously on your food expenditures.  Google Base, Vacation Rental by Owner and Home Away are all sites I have used often to find short term rental properties.
• If you are looking for camping or other places to stay in public parks in the western US, check out Public Lands.
• These aren't exactly budget locations, but if you'd like to stay in a historic building or castle in the UK, check out Landmark Trust.