A Week-long Series On Travel
Few things say sophisticated like traveling internationally. You can sip Nescafe all you want and read Le Monde online for fun but if you haven't left the country in three years, sophistique you are not. No offense. Unless you count going to Canada for Chinese food, I'm in the non-sophisticated club.
International travel is getting to be more expensive and more of a general hassle. One airline is even going to begin charging $15 per checked bag starting in June. So much for friendly skies. Here are some tips I've been saving up about being a jetsetter without needing your own jet:
While it's the same price to get a passport (your local post office can do it), different photo places will charge you different amounts for the photos you need. I hear from this site that Walgreens is the cheapest but you might as well do a few quick phone calls in your area.
- If you are in a country that doesn't speak English, whipping out that dictionary might as well put a neon light flashing "Tourist/Sucker" over your head. Wouldn't it be more subtle to look at your iPod really quick? For $10, get 500 essential travel phrases that you can play in your iPod, you know, so you come a little closer to pronouncing things right then you normally would. (via Intelligent Travel)
- Want to really cut down on lodging?Apparently camping outside of major European cities is becoming increasingly popular. (via Intelligent Travel)
- Try relying on the kindness of strangers. Increase your odds that good things will happen to you by using services like home swapping with Home Exchange or ride-sharing with Allo Stop in Quebec. Traveling often affirms my core belief that people are kind. (If you really want to take this reliance to the extreme, check out this guy.)
- How to not be a sucker for paying too much money for a plane ticket: Monitor your ticket price using Yapta. It'll track the fare for you for free, emailing you if the price of your ticket drops after you've bought it.
So hopefully, this can make cheaper international travel a little less mysterious. Of course, there's always Canada and Mexico if a plane trip just can't be done. Bon voyage and remember, you were on your yacht in Marseilles when it all happened (wink)…
Like this post? Here are some other posts you may like..
What's In Your Wallet?
Traveling On The Cheap
Photo from: http://mallencunningham.blogspot.com/