Cheap International Travel - The Secrets

What is the real secret to cheap international travel? It is the same as the secret to doing anything for less. Learn to be an opportunist. Opportunistic travelers get to travel more, see more and do more. Of course, you can ignore this advice if you have unlimited funds.

I went to Ecuador because it was cheap. Honestly, aren't there many interesting places in this world? Why not choose one you can travel to inexpensively? The other places will be there in the future, and you may have an opportunity to go to those places cheaply at some point.

Cheap Countries

Ecuador is my favorite international destination. You can still get a decent meal for two dollars. U.S. dollars, by the way, since that's conveniently the official currency of Ecuador now. From the beautiful snow-capped Andes mountains, to the Galapagos Islands, you'll never run out of places to explore in Ecuador. Travel there is safe and inexpensive.

South America in general is inexpensive, and the most affordable countries are, in my opinion, the most beautiful. These are the countries along the Andes mountains; Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. Argentina, thanks to it's recent economic troubles, is once again a cheap place for travelers as well.

In Central America, it costs very little to travel and vacation in both Nicaragua and Guatemala. Nicaragua, in particular, has become more stable and safe for travelers in recent years. Costa Rica is a wonderful too, and though it is one of more expensive counties of Central America, that probably still leaves it cheaper than Europe.

In Asia, India is still low-cost, especially if you stay in the numerous hostels and boarding houses. Thailand and Indonesia are also very cheap. With all international destinations, the plane tickets will be your single biggest travel expense. This is especially true with the asian countries. Being there is cheap, but getting there may not be.

Cheap International Travel Tips

Wherever you go, there are things you can do to keep it cheap. Eat where locals eat, for example, instead of at the tourist restaurants. To keep it really cheap, eat fruit from street markets (wash it well) and packaged snacks from grocery stores.

Visit the free and cheap attractions first. It's possible you'll have so much fun that you'll never get around to doing the expensive things. A higher price means better quality with travel bags, but not with travel experiences.

Busses are cheaper than taxis in any country, but be careful of crowded city busses, where pickpockets hang out. Walking is even cheaper, and it's a great way to learn about a city. Just ask the locals where the dangerous parts are before you wander too far.

For cheap accommodations find out where local visitors from within the country stay. Negotiating room charges is common in some areas. In Banos, Ecuador, we negotiated our room rate down from $12 to $6 per night, by paying for several nights in advance. Consider hostels, if you don't mind sharing a room. They're much more common overseas.

Cheap international travel is often only as cheap as your plane tickets. Use the techniques outlined on our site to save big on tickets, or search the fares to several interesting countries. If one is $500 less than the others, consider going there. $500 can buy a few extra days, or an extra mini-vacation some other time.

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Finding Cheap Travel Online

With airline fares threatening to rise, plus with the cost of going on vacation being in danger of increasing, hard working families can find it increasingly difficult to find affordable solutions. Cheap travel is essential to that much needed break, enabling you to get away from it all without having to worry about the cost. Fortunately, there are still plenty of cheap travel deals to be found online. By using the internet, you can find cheap travel solutions more easily than ever!

Booking on the internet allows travel suppliers to price travel products cheaper due to them not having to pay a middleman. Booking travel online also means nobody has to cover the cost of office space or travel agency advertising which also contributes to the overall cost. If you are ready to do some of the "legwork", online services can offer you cheap travel options. Many travel providers have a feature where you can build your own "Custom Trip". You choose your flight, flight date and time, hotel and rental car all to your own specifications. Some even allow you to purchase tickets for the local tourist attractions. It's fun to be in control of the various aspects of your vacation booking. This way you don't have to deal with travel agents who may place their own interests (commissions) ahead of your best interests. In the end you could end up spending more money than you had intended.

The cheap travel solutions that can be found online can work in a number of ways. Sometimes travel is cheap because it has been stripped down to the basics - no-frills airlines are an example of this, and cheap accommodation solutions are often packaged alongside cheap travel. It's also possible to offer cheap travel options by targeting them at very specific customers, for instance by offering unusual cheap travel destinations which might not appeal to the mass market. This means that you can enjoy cheap travel whilst doing something a little more unusual - there are many cheap travel options which can take you to exotic locations which are relatively undiscovered. Other online companies can offer cheap travel because website bookings can be made at the last minute, enabling them to fill up space on planes and in hotels which would otherwise be left empty (but would still cost their owners money). This means that internet booking can enable you to enjoy cheap travel even if you don't have much time in which to organise your vacation. This makes booking cheap travel online a practical option, considering that booking through traditional travel agencies at the last minute is usually far from a cheap option.

Whether you are looking for a family holiday spent in the sun or just a quiet city break by yourself, cheap travel options are there for you to find online. Just look around and you'll be pleasantly surprised at the number of cheap travel options available to you. Thanks to all these cheap travel opportunities, you can stop worrying about the cost and look forward to enjoying your dream vacation!


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