Travel sure has gotten expensive

[pinkytoe]

My goodness - rates for airfare and hotels have increased tremendously since our last trip!
Hotel rooms can't be found for less than $150. Home Aways up there too where as there used to be some bargains.
What's your secret for budget travel...other than staying at fleabags, hostels or camping?

[Dhiana]

Depends upon the time of year and day of the week one travels as far as airfares go. Try limiting your search to flying on Tues/Wed/Thursday. Kayak.com is good for searching for flights but some airlines just don't show up in searches. So you will need to go to their individual sites.

We don't stay in hotels as much, we prefer to stay at smaller independent B&Bs. I've stayed at some beautiful places that are listed as Hostels but were actually are more like B&Bs. Just read the descriptions and ratings.
We use booking.com for our "hotel" searches.

If you have a specific destination we might be able to be more specific.

[awakenedsoul]

Staying with family. I also like bed and breakfasts. Since it is so expensive, I usually just stay two nights. That way I can go to a nice place, enjoy the area, bring my dogs, and stay within the budget. Sometimes you can find packages.

I also have looked into house sitting. There were some nice opportunities in Carmel. Next time I go there I may rent a cabin in Big Sur and drive to Carmel. It's not that far, and Big Sur has cheaper rentals...

Also, traveling off season is less expensive. Spartana has written about staying in the mountains with a ski pass, I think. I'd like to look into that.

[Spartana]

My goodness - rates for airfare and hotels have increased tremendously since our last trip!
Hotel rooms can't be found for less than $150. Home Aways up there too where as there used to be some bargains.
What's your secret for budget travel...other than staying at fleabags, hostels or camping?I generally go off season as that makes every thing much cheaper - from motels or vacation house rental (and campsites and flea bag motels - i.e. usually I stay at Motel 6) to airfares and car rentals. Also much less crowded. Package deals that include airfare and hotels can also be a good bargin if you are travelling with someone else.

[catherine]

Ditto the off-season suggestion.

Also, in terms of airfare, play around online with different days of the week (if your travel is flexible). Also play around with airports that may be nearby. I regularly save my clients $500-$600 by flying out of Philadelphia rather than Newark. I hate driving the extra miles, but I just don't like sticking my client with a huge airfare bill over $1k. ($1200 for a trip to Chicago?? That's ridiculous.)

Try Expedia and other travel sites.

If you're adventurous (which I am, apparently) don't book at all until the last day, and then go to the hotel manager and offer to take an unused hotel room off their hands for dirt cheap. I've definitely done that, with great success.

[Spartana]

Ditto the off-season suggestion.

Also, in terms of airfare, play around online with different days of the week (if your travel is flexible). .Oh yeah this is key. I often go to the airline sites and just plug in a destination and an approx. date and then scroll thru the different prices for different - usually adjacent - dates. The cost difference is amazing. Hundreds of dollars in savings just to go a day earlier or later. For instance I was just looking at flights to Anchorage, Alaska and just by changing one day I could get a flight of around $250 R/T (was $177 each way including all taxes and fees on Jet Blue out of Long Beach, Ca.) from SoCal. Sweet deals are out there if you're flexible. Haven't tried the hotel thing yet but will next time I need to book a place (like you, I usually just book that same day but never asked for a discount.)

[gimmethesimplelife]

Oh yeah this is key. I often go to the airline sites and just plug in a destination and an approx. date and then scroll thru the different prices for different - usually adjacent - dates. The cost difference is amazing. Hundreds of dollars in savings just to go a day earlier or later. For instance I was just looking at flights to Anchorage, Alaska and just by changing one day I could get a flight of around $250 R/T from SoCal. Sweet deals are out there if you're flexible. Haven't tried the hotel thing yet but will next time I need to book a place (like you, I usually just book that same day but never asked for a discount.)I've seen some really cheap flights RT Phoenix to Mexico City by plugging in different days and by willing to be flexible. Agreed, flexibility here can definitely squash these costs. Rob