Cheap Cruising

Welcome to our last installment of Top 10 sites list. You’ve not got a complete list of my favorite travel sites.

#7
Late Rooms
According to Late Rooms , it”enables a large number of independent and branded hotels, apartments, B&Bs and guesthouses to publish their best available rates online.” That about says it. You get the rates in local currency and you know the name of the hotel before you buy. There’s onsite currency convertero help you out.

#8
Cruise Compete
Cruise Compete lets you specify the dates, ports and ship names. Dozens of travel agents offer you their best price. All you have to do is sit back and wait for the offers to come in. This works best for someone who has at least a general idea of when they want to cruise.

#9
Last Minute
I came to love Last Minute when it was still Site 59. The name has changed but bargain basement prices are still in effect. Lastminute lets you book vacations up to 14 days in advance for bargain basement prices.

#10
Airport Discount Parking
Try never to park at an airport. It’s generally a rip off. Why park at a lot when your car can be stowed at home? If you just have to park at the actual airport head over to Airport Discount Parking which takes you to cheapo lots around the US.

Installment #1 of the list is HERE.
Installment #2 of the list is HERE.

Travel, Budget Travel, Cheap Travel

Welcome to our second set of great site for cheap travel. Lets jump right on.

#4
Europe Through the Back Door
I love Rick Steve. I mean I really love him. This European travel guru has created a series of books and videos that provide you with every possible tip, trick and hint for your European itinerary. His website is awesome place to chat with other travelers and glean many of the book’s suggestions. I’ve used this site for my European trips and it has never steered me wrong. As a result of it’s advice, I’ve stayed at some of the most comfortable and budget friendly hotels, B &B’s and hostels in Europe.

#5
Last Minute Travel
Every cheap travel addict knows that last minute deals are often the best deals around. Last Minute Travel is one of the leaders at providing great travel at great prices. To take advantage of some offers you’ll need need a lot of flexibility but there are lots of deals that give you months to make plans. Even if you can’t fly off on a whim it’s still nice to lust after all the places you could travel to.

#6
Travel Zoo
On the surface, Travel Zoo looks like your average reliable travel website. It is but drill down to the Travel Zoo 20 and you’ll find a bevy of steals and deals. Every week the Travel Zoo team evaluates the best deals on the internet so you don’t have to. Right now I’m lusting after the Omni $89-per-night special that includes FREE breakfast. It lasts until December which means it’ll still be effective for Blog Her.

Check out yesterday’s post for budget friendly sites 1-3. Tomorrow we round out the list.

Travel, Budget Travel, Cheap Travel

As I was working on this week’s post, it occurred to me that we I probably needed to start start with 10 basic sites I use for securing budget travel. This the first of my tried and true basics for planning a budget vacation.

#1
Frommer’s Budget Travel
Run don’t walk over to Budgettravel.com. They’ve got tons of tips, tricks and deals that are constantly being updated. The is a great place for people who want to save money without sacrificing a higher end vacation. The site is also big on travelers experiencing local culture.

#2
Priceline
To be honest, Priceline isn’t the deal that it used to be. There was time you could get plane tickets and hotel rooms at rock bottom prices. With the slowing economy and the various fees that PL charges it’s not what it used to be but it still offers some pretty good deals. These days not only can you bid on anonymous rooms and flights you can pick specific hotel rooms and vacations.

#3
Your Local Travel Agent
(Site varies)
Sounds outdated doesn’t it? TA’s still have some magic mojo that even the internet can fight. What we see on the internet isn’t real time. The travel still have the super secret system that gives the most up to date deals. In addition, they often have long standing relationships with cruise lines and resorts that makes them privy to unsold blocks of rooms and last minute cruises. Don’t sleep on your local TA. They are far more valuable than you think.

Tomorrow we’ll talk about three more sites for budget travelers.