Have you come up with any unique ways to save money on travel expenses during these inflationary times?

Oh, definitely. Sponging on relatives has always been a money-saver in my family.

No, all humor aside, in my family it's considered a mortal insult if you don't stay with relatives when you come to visit. It's just the way we roll.

The older I get, though, the more I appreciate my hotel room to retreat to at the end of the day. But I still stay with relatives and friends a lot. I've been told many times I'm an excellent guest.
 
I've lived a lot of places, but I usually couldn't afford to "travel" in the sense of going somewhere and coming back.

Before Covid hit, I had travel plans and had bought a ticket. Now I'm considering a trip next winter, for about 3 months.

I look only at poor/cheap countries, and cheap accommodation (e.g., hostels).

Kayak seems best for cheap airfares, as it provides options from many airlines and travel companies. If I see an affordable airfare, I check the company that is offering that price. Some providers receive low ratings from customers.

I check hostel prices to give me a general idea of what it might cost to stay in a country. I know that walk-in prices are usually cheaper than online rates. However, booking online for the first few nights will give me a chance to recover from my trip and take a look around.

I also look at apartment prices, but anything advertised online tends to be upmarket. Affordable apartments might be found on arrival.

In addition to accommodation, food, and other expenses, airfare and associated costs need to be factored in. So an Asian country might be cheaper than a Latin American country, but the extra cost of getting to Asia cancels out any savings.

Similarly, I abandoned the idea of visiting more than one country. I might get a "good deal" on airfare to a Latin American country, but getting from there to a neighboring country could be expensive.

Sure, I could go by bus or something, but there are problems with that, especially for an older person. For example, you might have to walk across the border, carrying all your luggage. Or, border areas might be considered unsafe.

Some countries require travel health insurance. For me, the cost of insurance would prevent me from going to that country. Some seniors might not be able to buy such insurance anyway (because of age or other factors).

Well, I've rambled on. I hope there was a useful tidbit in there for someone!
 

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sch404 said:
I travel virtually. Last week I visited Gough Island in the South Atlantic. There are interesting and beautiful flora there found nowhere else on Earth. It is a very cool place to say I've never been physically.
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Well now there's a place I've not even heard of before! I like virtual travel, too, and I will be looking this up! Thanks, @sch404 ! (y) To answer the original question, I love road tripping and it's made a difference to look for restaurant and hotel discount coupons online. They're often for like 20% off at restaurants... and hotels have special amenities with discounts, but not often percentage discounts.
 
sch404 said:
I travel virtually. Last week I visited Gough Island in the South Atlantic. There are interesting and beautiful flora there found nowhere else on Earth. It is a very cool place to say I've never been physically.
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Take a look at the link I posted this morning. I think you'll be able to relate. <Here>
 
CallMeKate said:
Well now there's a place I've not even heard of before! I like virtual travel, too, and I will be looking this up! Thanks, @sch404 ! (y) To answer the original question, I love road tripping and it's made a difference to look for restaurant and hotel discount coupons online. They're often for like 20% off at restaurants... and hotels have special amenities with discounts, but not often percentage discounts.
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Take a look at the link I posted this morning. I think you'll be able to relate. <Here>
 
We used to go to Las Vegas every Fall, and the casinos in Kansas City every 4 to 6 weeks. Since Covid hit, we stopped that, and may go to KC every 4 or 5 months, and the local casino about every other month. The bank account has grown nicely.
 
Always ask for "hidden" discounts at hotels. You never know what you'll find.

Once I was making reservations at a hotel to attend a wedding in another city and I asked if there were any additional discounts. The reservationist asked me if I was a member of ABC Baptist Church in that city. I said, uh, no and she said, well, you are now! It seemed that the church had blocked a number of rooms for an event that weekend and hadn't used them all. Using that discount, my room rate went from $125 down to $95 and I didn't even have to listen to a sermon.

If you don't ask, you'll never know....
 
Yes, we've stopped taking a couple of long vacations each year and have switched to long weekends. We are going to San Antonio for a concert and to visit friends next weekend. We realized last October when we went to Seattle for a concert and visited friends that if we see a concert out of town there is no rush to get back home, we can enjoy it more and take an Uber back to our hotel.

We just booked a trip to Miami to visit friends in May, and we used airline miles to pay for it. We are planning on visiting friends in San Francisco in June. They have a big house and have offered to let us stay with them, so there will be no hotel costs.

We are planning a cruise to Spain and Italy in late October, but if I can fit in a few trips in the interim I'm happy.
 
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Since we want to go almost everywhere, we look for deals on transatlantic cruises and flights. We booked a cruise from Florida to Barcelona and then researched where to go from there. Found a one way flight, Lyon to Montreal, for $185 PP CAD, so we decided to spend about a month in France. We book small studio apartments with kitchens so we don't spend money in restaurants, and travel by train and bus.
 
Have you ever heard of “hidden city ticketing?” I have a friend in outside of Denver that was injured while we were in Iraq. I go see him at least once a year. I live just outside of D.C. I buy a ticket from Dulles in Washington to LAX that stops in Denver. That ticket to LAX is cheaper than a non stop ticket to Denver. When we get to Denver, I get off with the passengers that were only going to Denver. It’s not illegal, but some airlines like Delta and American chart passengers who do this and if you make a habit of using “hidden city ticketing” they can refuse to allow you on their flights. I have asked Delta about doing this and the customer service rep told me that they will send me a warning before restricting me to purchase a ticket from their airline.

I haven’t checked prices since I flew last year, but the airline industry has increased prices 25.6% since January ‘22, according to
thriftytraveler.com.
 
Been There said:
Have you ever heard of “hidden city ticketing?”
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Good suggestion, I have done it a few times, on Delta, without a problem.

However I used to fly Delta a whole lot, over 6 million miles, and only rarely tried this. If they looked at me they probably decided I spent enough money with them to get away with it now and then.
 
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Muskrat said:
Like Carolyn I have always limit the eating “out” to one meal a day. It is easy to bring something to make coffee or tea in a hotel room…and I always have sandwich materials or snacks along. There are always free or low cost things to see on roadtrips…google them.
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Add me to this group. I don’t do it to save money; food that I serve is healthier.

It seems that the only people at picnic tables in rest stops or city parks are seniors.

I pack sandwiches for flights too.

If my destination after a flight means I’ll be in one area or travelling with a car, I’ll buy the cooler, a kettle, etc.

Recently I suggested to a friend who room camps that he buy an electric frying pan. $25 can heat up lots of leftovers or make other meals over a week or two. Donate it when you go home.
 
If I talk about saving money on holidays, I'll get a lecture from SWMBO about how we've worked hard, saved money and lost out two years due to Covid, so we're not going to be mean. We earn air miles by completing surveys on-line and use these to lower the price of our air travel. I've also still got a stack of Marriott points from my days of business travel.
 
I've never collected air miles. I generally avoid coupons, points, etc. When I buy something, I want the transaction to be over. When I choose a credit card or a purchase, I don't want to consider gimmicks and incentives.

When I hear about people flying for free though (thanks to air miles), sometimes I feel a bit jealous.
 
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