Internet has transformed out world into an even better place to live in. It has changed the way in which we used to do a lot of things and shopping is one of the biggest changes that have been brought about by the internet. Today, online shopping has become a very popular option among the masses and buying travel products online is not an exception.

There are several advantages associated with buying travel products online. Let’s take a quick look at some of these:

1. Adherence To Regulations: One of the biggest advantages of buying travel products online is that the products will adhere to rules, regulations and restrictions that are associated with travel products. For example, the size restrictions for your travel bags can be easily taken care of if you buy the travel bags and attach

Share This

Travel doesn’t have to be expensive. Sure, it takes more effort to save money on the
road, but when you are a hard working gal with dreams of hoofing it across
continents, sometimes those pennies saved can mean the difference between out on
the road or broke at home. Here are a few tips to help you get the most for less
while your seeing the world.

Get that AAA membership. It may sound like something your mom would tell you to
do, but it’s worth every penny. For about $45 a year, you get free help if your car
breaks down and serious discounts on hotels, motels and museums. You even get a
discount on Amtrak. I recently took my mom to the beach, and the cash my AAA
card saved me on hotels for that one trip more than paid for the membership fee.

Bring a friend. Not only is it safer and more fun to travel with a friend, it’s cheaper.
You can split the cost of gas and hotels, making travel almost half the price of going
solo.

Food Smarts. Eating out costs a pretty penny. If you’re going to eat out, do lunch
then eat dinner in your hotel room. Lunch is always cheaper. When you go out, ask
around and find out where the locals eat, or look for mom and pop diners or ethnic
neighborhoods full of authentic and inexpensive cuisine.

Buy bottles of water and snacks at the local grocery store before heading out to
sightsee. The same stuff will cost you half as much as it will in tourist areas or
convenience stores. You may want to keep a handy dandy cooler packed with sodas,
water and fruits in your car. Fill it up with treats before you hit the road and just
refill the ice from the hotel ice machine.

The best food is often local food. Locate the farmer’s market and the local bakeries.
Stop at the bakery for some bread, then stop by the farmer’s market for fresh
veggies and cheese and soon you’ll have the fixins for a healthy, fresh lunch for
much less than the cost of eating in a restaurant.

Hotels/motels. If you can, stop by a truck stop or travel center on your way into
town. They always have racks of free coupon magazines that can save you a few on
accommodations. And they usually contain a map of the area too.

At Roomsavers.com, you can also download coupons for hotels. Of course, traveling
during the week instead of on weekends will save you on your hotel bill, too.

If you decide to stay in the locally owned, non-chain motel ( which will usually be a
better deal) ask to see the room before you pay for it. You don’t want to stay
somewhere too icky or unsafe just to save a few bucks. When you do find a place,
work that AAA discount.

Remember there’s always a hostel. Hostels are almost always the cheapest way to
go for single travelers. Sometimes it can be cheaper than a motel for two people.

Another new option is house swapping. If you live in a reasonably interesting place,
chances are pretty good you can trade apartments with someone in another city for
a week or two. Check Craigslist or one of the many house-swapping organizations
for more information and to see if it’s right for you.

And if you have tent, will travel. You can park your tent on a spot with water and
electricity for as little as $10 a night. Throw an air mattress in there and you can
camp like a queen!

There are usually state parks, private campgrounds and national parks with camp
sites near most major cities and along major highways, making them a convenient
lodging option. Many parks have cabins with kitchenettes, where you can sleep up
to eight people for as little as $20 a night.

Travel during the off times
The best way to stretch your travel dollar is to travel during off-peak times. That
means when schools are in session and not during three day holiday weekends,
when the legions of people tied to 9 to 5 jobs maximize vacation days.

You’ll always get a better deal if you travel during the week, not on weekends, or
during a city’s slow tourism season. For instance, the beach will be cheaper in May
and September than June through August. New Orleans and Las Vegas are cheaper
during the summer because their high season is winter.

Remember, hotels raise their rates on Friday and Saturday nights. Some rates nearly
double. Travel Sunday to Thursday if you can. You’ll save serious money on lodging.
You’ll also avoid long lines and crowds at local attractions, and maybe save a few
cents a gallon on gasoline.

Summer is universally the peak season, and prices for rooms, shows, gas, airfare
and just about everything else are higher from May through August. If you can travel
from September to April, you’ll save a lot more money. If you’re considering a
European trip, you’ll cut your airfare in half and will have your pick of inexpensive
lodging, entertainment and transportation.

Book early
In most cases, you can get primo rates and first pick when you book early and
you’re more likely to lock in the best airfare and hotel rates. You also may have the
option of putting down a deposit and paying your trip off in installments instead of
putting it on a credit card and paying interest.

Use the Web
Many times, booking rental cars, hotel rooms and airline flights on the Web, directly
through the hotels or airline’s Web sites will net you the best deal. Always try to
book directly first, rather than through a broker, then try Priceline , Travelocity or
Orbitz to see which has the best deal. You may also try your hand at
BiddingforTravel.com, a Priceline message board designed to help you get the best
possible deals for travel.

Denise Trowbridge is an award-winning journalist residing in Ohio. Her work has
appeared in newspapers and magazines across the United States, as well as on her
site http://www.DeniseTrowbridge.com
Denise is also the editor of the women’s Web magazine,
http://www.PussycatMagazine.com.

Share This

Many people with France travel on their agenda would like to brush up on their French language skills before their trip. Make no mistake, learning a foreign language is very difficult. However, if you studied the French language in high school or college you might be able to put some of that long-ago effort to good use. Being able to communicate, even with only a few words at your disposal, can make a trip much more fun, and it will perhaps help you figure out where you made that wrong turn before becoming lost!

Here are two ways to brush up your French language skills:

1. For a number of months I’ve subscribed to a great little free service called French Word A Day. This is a daily email from Kristin Espinasse, an American originally from Phoenix who married a Frenchman and now lives with her family in Provence. Although the implication is that you’ll receive one word per day, Kristin provides a good bit more. The theme for each email is in fact one word, but there are also variations on the word, phrases using the word and variations, and a daily proverb which contains the word as well. A recent addition is an audio link to hear the word pronounced properly. Furthermore, Kristin writes an essay she calls “A Day in a French Life” and uses numerous other French words woven into her English text. She summarizes these words at the bottom of the article, which makes an easy reference for additional words. Thus there is an opportunity to learn or relearn a number of words each day. Each email has a link to her web site with a daily photo of France. In addition, on the web site are listed the last ten words and their accompanying phrases, proverbs, etc. as described above, so one can look over quite a few words right away, even if your trip is coming up soon.

This is certainly an excellent review process for French vocabulary. Oftentimes I’ll see a word or phrase I recognize but can’t quite pin down the translation exactly. For example, a recent word was “le lendemain” (the next day). Included was a phrase I’ve heard before numerous times, “du jour au lendemain”. I always thought this meant “from one day to the next”, which is
a literal translation. However, it really means “suddenly”, sort of like jumping from one day into the next. It’s helpful to pick up nuances like that, and I’m sure I’ll remember this the next time I hear it in a French conversation. In order to help retention, it is useful to print out the daily entry and keep a file to review from time to time. It’s only by seeing words numerous times that they can become part of your vocabulary. By the way, Kristin has compiled her essays into 3 books which she sells on line, and those proceeds help defray the costs of Word a Day so that it remains a free service. Of course buying the books gives you access to many words at once, so that is another excellent option for improving or reviewing your French
vocabulary. To subscribe or purchase books, you can follow the link above.

2. For those with a little more time and motivation another excellent tool is a French language course on CD called a l’ecoute de la langue francaise which translates to “listening to the French language”. I’ve used this excellent product and have found it to be a great review of French vocabulary and grammar. There are 108 lessons broken up into beginner, intermediate, and advanced categories, and all this takes 12 hours total of listening time on the CD. At the end of each lesson there is a quick review test. There is both text and audio for each lesson, so I find the best method is to print out the lesson, look it over, and then listen to the audio, reading the text at the same time prior to taking the review test. The audio for the beginner lessons is in English, but both the Intermediate and Advanced are in French. There is a lot of material packed into these twelve hours, so I would recommend a pace of 2 or 3 lessons per week maximum, each week reviewing the previous week’s work. In this way there is some repetition and also some time between lessons for the material to sink in. The price for the program is 60 euros if ordered on line, and this includes shipping and a one year subscription to a monthly email newsletter that has interesting articles about French current events, culture, politics, etc., written in French. The web site offers numerous other services and products, such as audio books to listen to, as well as a service to exchange email or even voice recordings with a French professor who will critique the work and offer suggestions for improvement. The company is located in beautiful Lyon, France, and you can find all their products and services by following the link above in this paragraph.

Au revoir et bonne chance!

© Copyright 2005, All Rights Reserved.

Walt Ballenberger is founder of Beaux Voyages
which provides active tours in France. He has lived and worked in France and speaks the language fluently.

Share This