Raven's Roads
Living an interesting life: the travels and musings
of motorcycling author Linda R. Moore

This post is part of the Blog Writing Project at Daily Blog Tips.

1. The good old days of free food on airplanes is over, unless you’re traveling first class (and therefore probably don’t need money saving tips) or heading to a different continent (in which case you may well). Airports, on the other hand, can stiff you $5 for a regular cup of joe that will most likely spill when you sit down at a wobbly table. Bearing in mind that you can’t bring much liquid on board, bring a lunch box! Most airlines will serve a free snack and at the very least water, so pack a few sandwiches and some fruit and you’ve just saved yourself at least $15.

2. You might not have a cellphone, or your cellphone might not work overseas. Either way, the phone cards you get at airports are seldom the best deal. Buy an international phone card before you go, and you can shop for the best deals. (I doubt that American cards work overseas, but you can always get a phone card in the country you visit before you return to the USA–and that goes for many countries.) By doing some homework you can save on annoying connection surcharges for payphones, avoid collect call tarriffs, and even get a better per-minute rate.

3. Travel Monday through Thursday. Travel on Fridays and Saturdays is often more expensive (what happens on Sundays varies wildly). Additionally, look for flights at annoying times like six in the morning. The cheap seats on these often linger longer (gee, I wonder why?)

4. You know those expensive bags you can buy which compress your stuff so you can pack more? Use ziploc bags or even regular freezer bags. They do the same job, and are much, much cheaper. For the price of one travel compactor you can buy a box of 1-gallon bags, and still have some left to freeze things in.

5. Talk to people in the taxi line. If someone is going the same way as you, split the cab and cut your fare in half.

6. Stay in a hostel. OK, this is definitely not for everybody, but if you couldn’t care less about luxury you can stay in a hostel for $30 (and sometimes much less) even in big cities. Many even have basic private rooms so you don’t have to share a dorm. If you go the dorm route, be sure to check with the hostel that it’s a same-sex dorn. I had an “interesting” experience with that once.

7. Duty frees aren’t necessarily the cheapest. Figure out the cheapest source of whatever you’re looking for (typically booze, smokes and perfume) and note it down. Then compare it to what’s being sold. Is it worth it, both financially and from the point of view of hoiking it onto the plane or boat with you? Often, you’ll find that’s a “no.”

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• 30 July 2002 (0)

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