NY Times Practical Traveler - 10 Ways to Cut Costs This Year

[LL_Travelfan]

Hi,



Here are some interesting suggestions by the New York Times Practical Traveler, in case you haven't seen the article. There are many interesting links embedded in this article that might be worthwhile to check out. http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/01/10...tml?ref=travel




NY Times Practical Traveler - 10 Ways to Cut Costs This Year
By MICHELLE HIGGINS


Published: January 10, 2010

LAST year was arguably the year of the travel deal, with resorts and airlines practically begging for bookings, and many travelers finding bargain airfares and hotel rooms as a result. But airlines have cut back capacity, meaning there will be fewer seats going unsold, and resorts may not be as quick to cut rates to attract guests, now that the economy looks as if it might be on a slight rebound. So now is the perfect time to review your booking strategy. Here are 10 simple steps you can take to help cut your travel costs in 2010.

1. Sign Up for a Twitter Account

An increasing number of travel companies are using Twitter to market their brands, often by tweeting exclusive deals to followers. JetBlue calls out last-minute discounts at JetBlueCheeps on Tuesday mornings. A recent example: $89 BOS to LAS this Sat. LAS to BOS this Mon. or Tues. 25 seats avail or til 6 pm ET. Fairmont Hotels offers its Twitter followers special discounts before anyone else. Farecompares flyfrom Twitter feed offers location-specific fare sales when you plug in your home airports three-letter code, as in flyfromNYC.

All you need to do is sign up for a free account at Twitter.com and start following the companies you like or travel experts who do the work for you.

2. Find the Cheapest Dates to Fly

ITASoftware.com, which provides the technological backbone for many airfare shopping sites, allows users to scan an entire months fares for the least expensive rate. (Log in as a guest and click on month-long search. ) In January, the 28th and 30th were the cheapest dates to fly nonstop to London from New York ($536) for a weeks vacation, according to a recent search. The next best was Saturday, Jan. 23, at $640. To book the ticket, users must go to another site. Kayak.com has a flexible-dates option (registration is required) and a calendar that shows the best fares found by other Kayak users in the last 48 hours. Bing Travel, the Microsoft search engine, offers a similar option, found under plan trips, about halfway down the page.

3. Consider Nearby Airports

A recent Web search showed nonstop flights from Los Angeles International Airport to Miami International from $299 round trip on American in early January. But flying into Fort Lauderdale, roughly 30 miles north of Miami, was $219 on Virgin America, an $80 saving.

4. Go Against the Grain

If possible, avoid popular travel dates like holidays and spring break because airlines have begun to charge anywhere from $10 to $30 extra at those times. Farecompare.com offers a handy breakdown of the new fees by date, airline and amount. Early-morning and late-night flights may also be cheaper depending on the route.

5. Track Price Even After Buying

Airlines have long offered to refund the difference in their fares (minus a change fee) in the form of a voucher to customers who ask. Using your confirmation number, Yapta.com will automatically track the price of your ticket, taking the airlines fees into consideration, and send you, without charge, an e-mail message or Twitter alert notifying you of the lower price. You can then call the airline to claim the credit.

Similarly, Travelocity.com promises to refund the difference in price for prepaid hotel reservations if you find the same room for a cheaper rate online before check-in.

6. Take the Bus

Cheap express buses with names like BoltBus, Megabus and Washington Deluxe have become increasingly popular along the Northeast Corridor and elsewhere, with seats for $25 or less, depending on when you reserve. With amenities like more legroom, power plugs at every seat and free Wi-Fi, the bus ride, though longer, can often be more tolerable than a flight that costs 10 times as much. Search for seats at GotoBus.com or BusJunction.com.

7. Roll the Dice

Sites like Priceline.com, Hotwire.com and Lastminutetravel.com offer deep discounts to travelers willing to pay before learning the names of the hotels, airlines or car rental agencies theyre committing to. To help you find the best rate, Biddingfortravel.com and Betterbidding.com provide strategic advice and offer tips from other travelers on how to navigate the system.

Getaroom.com offers a new twist to this gamble that may be more agreeable for risk-averse travelers. Unlike these other discounters, Getaroom tells customers the name of the hotel and price before booking. But it offers an even lower rate through its call center typically 10 to 25 percent off to travelers willing to pay for the room before finding out just how much of a discount theyre getting.

8. Go Rental

Tourists in most European cities can easily pay $200 a night for basic hotel rooms. By contrast, an apartment or villa can be rented for as little as $1,100 a week in Paris or Rome. Homeaway.com, Zonder.com and Rentalo.com are just a few of the many rental Web sites available. Some specialize in specific regions like Rentvillas.com for Europe or Wimco.com for the Caribbean.

9. Make Yourself at Home

For a 6 to 12 percent booking fee, AirBnB.com connects budget travelers with locals who are offering a place to bed down. The Timess Frugal Traveler, Matt Gross, described it as a cross between CouchSurfing.com and the vacation rentals section of Craigslist. There were more than 2,000 listings in a recent search for New York including a futon in a one-bedroom near Gramercy Park ($65) and a bedroom with private bath and separate entrance in Hells Kitchen ($150).

10. Study the Fine Print

Play close attention to which airline you are actually flying, particularly on international flights. With code sharing, you may book a flight to Paris on Delta, for instance, and end up traveling with Air France, a code share partner with Delta.

But while the flight may be the same, the price often is not. Sometimes the difference can be negligible say, $609 on SAS on a January nonstop flight from Newark Airport to Stockholm versus $627 for that same flight when booked through United. Or $817 for an American flight from New York to Lima versus the $693 that same flight would cost when booked through Americans code share partner, LAN.

There are times though when the difference can be substantial, particularly when the code share partner may be a foreign carrier not well known to American travelers.

Here are some examples, based on a search on Kayak.com for flights in late January, where the round-trip fares vary greatly depending on which code share partner you book through. (Click on details for a breakdown of the flights particulars.) New York to Singapore: $1,319 on Cathay Pacific; $1,817 on American. New York to Marrakesh: $1,098 on Royal Air Maroc; $3,257 on Delta. New York to Cairo: $908 on Egypt Air; a stunning $4,650 on United.

[shygirl724]

Good article. Thanks for posting the info.!

Shy !

[omegaet]

LL_Travelfan....looked over the list.....just wondering about #6. When is the last time you took a bus in the US? I occasionally use the bus to ride to long term parking at the FLL airport (seems like the bus 'just departed' whenever I 'just arrive'). Long distance bus rides are actually pretty efficient in Europe and South America (at least in our limited experiences), but I doubt I would consider taking a bus in the US.



Also #7 is surely something that holds no interest to me....sounds like the potential prelude to a "Breaking News" story at 11 0'clock or a continuing story line for Nancy Grace!



Still, it is interesting how some are willing to travel these days.

[LL_Travelfan]

Hi Omegaet,



I must admit, we don't take buses too often. However, recently, we took a bus from upstate New York to Boston and another one to New York City for one-day visits to these two cities. I must say, I was pleasantly surprised in both incidents. The bus in each case left promptly at 6:30 am and arrived 3 1/2 hrs later in either Boston and New York City, no stops in between, well one for a restroom stop. The return was equally good, leaving the city at 6:30 pm and arriving back home at 10:00 pm. The price in each case was a "special" for $25.00 p/p round trip. Can't beat that for cheap... The buses were clean and there were no unsavory characters on board and we very much enjoyed our day in Boston and New York City.



Also, we have occasionally taken the buses in Bavaria, Germany which are clean and run on time and even let us take our bikes along. The Paris city bus system, of course, is wonderful and one of the best for freaquency, but even Sarasota's bus system is not too bad and lets you take bikes, although, we are spoiled here, we just as readily hop into the car, put our bikes on to our carrier to go places.



I thought the article was interesting, and gave you many sites you might not otherwise think of... true, some of them I would not consider.

[bonniejoy03]

We love taking the buses and other public transportation. For example, we were staying in Belize at Ka'ana Boutique property. Their transfers were going to cost about 20 usd into town, a taxi was about 10 and the bus was going to be about 50 cents!! The taxi driver gave us the tip to use the bus to save money. (It was only about 5 miles into town!!). We took the bus each day into town and then to visit the ruins. It was incredible!! The drivers and assistants always told us when our stop was approaching. We talked to many people going about their business...it was lovely! We took the metro in Santiago Chile and loved it also....I couldn't imagine visiitng a city and not experimenting!!

[exflygirl]

Cutting costs on travel is always a good idea--whatever year it is. However, given the "fine print" on deals, one really needs to ensure it's truly a value to one.



Megabus has fares starting from $1.00 (not including booking fees) depending on how far in advance one books and seat availability. They're able to offer this because they have no overhead. There are no stations--they're really just bus stops--therefore, there are no ticket windows with agents and there are no waiting areas with seating. Passengers tend to be college students or large families--or anyone with access to the internet as reservations are done online. It may pay to take the bus if the fare differential is significant enough afterfactoring in travel time (5 hours on a bus versus 5 hours driving versus a 1 hour plane ride plus1 hour airport time) and comfort.



Hotwire isgood for lodging as long as you don't mind not knowing where and with whom you're staying prior to paying. It's great for short stays and near airport properties. Stick with three and a half star places or higher. I just nabbed a $70 a night stay ($56 quoted rate + $14 fees and taxes) at the Doubletree Westshore in Tampa. Had I booked at Hilton's site, rates started at $140 a night not including taxes. I don't mind not getting points for this stay considering I essentially got two nights for the price of one.



We've rented oceanfront condos in Hawaii for the same price or less as a "garden view" room at a hotel. With access to a kitchen, we saved even more with not having to eat out as much.



Couchsurfing or bedding down sounds intriguing, though I've determined it holds no valuefor me. A lifetime ago, I had no qualms sleeping in train stations and sharing a hostel room with 10 new friends. These days, I prefer a private room with a private bath (some exceptions here for certain bed and breakfasts) with a lock; and I will gladly pay for this privilege.



efg

[thepiranha]

I totally agree with you, bonniejoy. We regularly take buses, particularly when we travel in Mexico. Not only does bus travel allow us to look at the scenery, relax, read, or whatever, but it also is usually a fraction of the price of a taxi ride or renting a car. I've heard some horror stories about people who rented cars ini Mexico and got into accidents, only to be thrown in jail until financial obligations were met.



Public transportation in Europe, particularly local buses and long distance rail transportation, is exceptional. It's reasonably priced and usually very punctual. I enjoy taking train rides in Europe because I frequently get into conversations with other travellers and find out much about their culture, interesting places to visit, etc. Another bonus is that passengers can walk through the cars and stretch their legs if they so desire.



As far as the N.Y. Times list goes, I saw the list when it was originally published and wasn't particularly impressed with the usefulness of the suggestions. Most of the items on the list are subjects that most knowledgeable travellers already know about. In other words, the 10 Ways to Cut Costs This Year are essentially the same ten ways to cut costs in any year.

[LL_Travelfan]

Hi thepiranha,



Your praising the Mexican bus travel brings my first bus experience in Mexico to mind. Back in the mid-60ies, before I met my husband, I ventured on a 3 week trip into Yucatan on my own as a single traveler on a shoe string budget. Coming from JFK, the airport arrival in Merida was something I had never seen before. Changing planes in Miami, I arrived in Merida, the capital of Yucatan, on a very small plane and the runway was just a single lane strip with chickens and goats all over the place boarded by small shaks. The small hotel in Merida I stayed in was ok, it was just a room with a bed to put my head on at night. After visiting the fascinating Mayan ruins of Uxmal and Chitzen Itza I made a bus reservation to visit Isla Mujeres. Fate had it, I overslept on the day of the bus trip. I got dressed in a hurry, grabbed my belongings and ran to the bus station. Because I was late, the bus had filled up. Despite my confirmed seat reservation, I found a lady with a nursing baby in my seat, and all other seats filled, with people standing in the isle, loaded down with baskets containing chickens, food, wine and other goods. There was even a pig in a cage on the roof with all the other luggage that did not fit on peoples laps. How could I oust a nursing mother out of my seat, confirmed seat reservation or not.... I braved it out and stood in the isle like the many other unlucky passengers that wound up with standing room only for the unending 6 hour journey on a dirt road through the Yucatan Penninsula jungle. The bus was old and decrepit looking, and more than full, and I am sure, under todays rules and regulations, this bus would be illegal today. At the end of the bus journey, most bus passengers boarded the ferry to Isla Mujeres. The ferry was not much better, standing room only. The island of Isla Mujeres and its beaches were magnificent and truly unspoiled. Just a few small hotels, (shacks), no roads to speak off, you could walk around the perimeter of the island in just a couple of hours, if that much. The natives were friendly and I got my first snorkeling lesson and first turtle ride there. This was before the island was developped, Cancun did not exist, and Cozumel was just a sandbar...



I also took the bus from Mexico City to San Miguel Alende, Guanajuato, Guadalajara, Lake Patzcuaro, the Cooper Canyon for the famous train ride and back to Mexico City and then Tasco and Accapulco. The buses worked well and I saw an awful lot of Mexico in the 3 weeks I spent there and loved every minute of it. I even learned enough Spanish to get around on. I encountered very few American tourists the time, aI really traveled like the "locals". I never got sick either, even so I eat freshly cut pineapple slices from market vendors, and lots of other fresh fruit. I have not been back to Mexico but I am sure it has changed so much, I would not recognize half the stuff I saw way back then...

So, I am glad to hear, that buses still work well in Mexico, even so Mexico has followed the trend of upgrades and luxury hubs travel.

[omegaet]

....earlier in this thread, when I commented on bus travel....I had in mind taking four of these (change here, then here, then here and finally here to get to there....and it only takes about eight or ten hours, if you don't miss a connections, to make a three hour journey).



Of course, we could have saved $40 (the cost of the private van transfer), but would have spent most, if not all of that in co-pays to cover our sedatives.




kyshel undoubtedly passed or at least got passed by a number of them during her last driving excursions in Guatemala.









A local bus ride around a city or small town is one experience.



A long distance Chicken bus ride in a Third World country takes the excitement to another level!



Just my opinion!
Message Edited by omegaet on 01-18-2010 05:41 PM

[thepiranha]

LL, I enjoyed reading about your early travels throughout Mexico, especially since I've travelled by bus to most of the cities that you mentioned. Depending on what class of bus you ride in, you can probably get a similar experience even in this day and age. Hard to believe!