Competition is keeping some airfares in check, and in some cases, cheaper than you think

by Jamie Rhein on

From what I’ve been reading, despite the talk of how airfares are increasing, it’s wise to keep checking for the travel deals. They can be found.

According to this AOL Money and Finance article, depending on where you are heading, you can find a reasonable rate. Heading to Europe, for example, may score a bargain because there has been an increase in flights which means more seats to fill which means cheaper fares. Last month I checked out ticket prices from Columbus, Ohio to Copenhagen, Denmark and found a fare on Northwest just over $700. Not cheap, but cheaper than I expected.

A friend of mine flew from Boston to Columbus the end of August and paid a little over $200–another surprise. Some cities are bargain destinations: San Antonio, Dallas, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Phoenix, for example.

In order to find deals, the article presents the recommendation that you search out the airports as well as the cities. Depending on what airport you use, you could save hundreds. If the fare to Newark makes your heart stop, check out JFK, for example. A flight from Minneapolis to Newark, a fare that used to be cheap, has now jumped to $1,600, but to JFK, the flight still hovers around $300.

When we have flown towards Montana, we looked into the cheapest flights within a 12 hour driving range. Denver was a bargain three years ago. Seattle was it summer before last. (Since once in Montana we would have needed to rent a car, renting a car in Seattle or Denver saved money in the end. Plus, it gave us a chance to visit friends and see other sites along the way.)

I’d also keep checking back since prices jump so frequently, and don’t assume. Two years ago my family and I were driving to Florida for Christmas because I assumed flights would be expensive since we were making our plans last minute. When I found out they were less than $200 a piece, we flew instead. Driving would have cost more, not to mention the time factor.

Talking Travel with Tim Patterson

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Tim Patterson comes from the Rolf Potts School of travel writing– thoughtful, funny, and talented. But above all else, he’s a traveler.

It seems Tim is constantly on the move, whether it’s to Cambodia, Bhutan, or Uruguay. He shares his love for travel on a number of sites, including Brave New Traveler, Matador, and his personal site, Rucksack Wanderer. Tim’s a great guy and (lucky for you) a great interview.

He recently took the time to answer a couple travel-related questions via email…

1. Brave New Traveler takes a different approach to travel than a lot of other sites. What are you trying to accomplish with BNT, and were you surprised to find such a wide audience for your message?

Most travel sites are focused on destinations. This isn’t a bad thing – travel is about going someplace new after all – but the destination focus does contribute to the idea of travel as just another marketable commodity.

The BNT team finds the thought of buying a travel experience ridiculous and sad. We see travel as a spiritual journey, an almost sacred way to find our place in the modern world.

We published a really popular collection of 50 Inspiring Travel Quotes recently. Here’s one of my favorites, by Miriam Beard:

“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.”

That quote sums up our attitude at BNT pretty well.

Am I surprised to find such a wide audience for this content? Absolutely not. People are hungry for essays and articles that go deeper than commercial fluff.

2. I want to become a guidebook writer but don’t know where to start. Any tips?

Read “Smile When Your Lying” by Chuck Thompson. Maybe read “Do Travel Writers Go To Hell?” by Thomas Kohnstamm. Definitely read “A Job With Travel But No Vacation” in the New York Times.

Guidebook writing is hard work, especially if you need to live on a guidebook writer’s salary. Plus, online destination guides like TravelFish and interactive travel magazines like Matador are cutting into the traditional guidebook market.

Start out small. Build an audience. Don’t take rejection personally. In the immortal words of Judge Elihu Smails, “the world needs ditch-diggers, too”.

If you’re a solid writer, check out open assignments on the Matador Bounty Board. At the moment there are over 20 open assignments that each pay $25 a pop.

3. What kind of research do you conduct before heading to a new destination?

It depends on why I’m traveling and for how long. I usually read up on travel literature before going someplace new. For Patagonia, I read Bruce Chatwin. For Los Angeles, I read T. C. Boyle.

I rarely buy guidebooks, but I’ll camp out in a bookstore for a couple hours and flip through Lonely Planet, Fodor’s and Rough Guide to get a sense of the place.

If I’m going to stay for a while, I look for sublets and short term rentals on Craigslist. If I’m passing through, I check out Couchsurfing.

It’s rare, though, that I’ll make firm itineraries. You can never be too prepared for a journey, but leaving room for serendipity is important, too.

4. Many first-time travelers are reluctant to embrace solo travel, and they worry that they’ll spend their entire trips in depressing isolation. What can you tell them to allay their fears?

Yeah, you’ll be lonely and miserable sometimes. But you’ll also learn more about yourself than you ever thought possible. You’ll be totally free, just you in the world, with no outside pressure or expectations. This is scary. But it’s also exhilarating.

Also, you won’t ever be far from company. Travelers are social creatures, and locals are eager to show solo visitors hospitality. All it takes to make friends is a smile and some trust.

5. Finally, where are you now and what’s keeping you busy these days?

I’m sitting in my underwear at my desk in humid Saigon at 6 pm on a Sunday afternoon. I’ve been here for about a month, but will soon move on to Thailand, Laos and northern Myanmar.

I’ve never felt at home in big cities, or even large towns, but I like Saigon. There are delicious family-owned restaurants and coffee shops on every corner. I do yoga at a studio down the street and then float through the swirl of the city in the monsoon rain to a bowl of hot beef noodle soup with herbs and lime.

Before Saigon I led a rugged travel program in Cambodia with the visionary organization Where There Be Dragons.

Dragons wants me to scout, design and lead a new Mekong River semester program for 17-22 year olds that would follow the river from Tibetan headwaters to the Delta in Vietnam.

This is a dream job, but I’m also really fired up on my work for BNT and the Matador Network. The Matador community is really thriving and I couldn’t ask for more inspiring colleagues.

Finally, I’m in the process of closing on 2.4 of the prettiest acres you’ve ever seen, right in my hometown of Craftsbury, Vermont.

Someday I’m going to build a cabin with a big front porch and a woodstove, put my rucksack on a hook by the door, plant lots of sunflowers, sow potatoes, load up a bookshelf with all the best books and really ground myself in the one place and one community that, for me, is truly home.

Classic road trips: The Oregon Coast

by Anna Brones on

Summer might be over, but it’s never out of season to take a road trip down the Oregon Coast. From summer sunshine to winter storms, following the Oregon’s Pacific coastline by way of Highway 101 provides for spectacular views, quirky stops and more fish and chips than you could ever want. Here’s your quick and dirty guide to making the best of it.

Getting started
Before you take off for the coast, spend a few days exploring Portland. Oregon’s largest city is known for its coffee culture, diverse array of restaurants and excellent microbrews; definitely the ideal place to kick off your road trip. Stop by Powells to pick up a map and even a guidebook to the coast; although driving down 101 is pretty straightforward — just go straight — it’s nice to know what towns you’re going through and where state and county parks are located so you can play on the beach.

Classic coastal cities worth a look

Cannon Beach
Portlanders love weekend trips to the coast, and the most popular route to get there is Highway 26, which takes you to the quaint coastal city of Cannon Beach. Here Ecola State Park and Indian Beach are popular with the surfing crowd; expect many Subarus and VW Vanagons that play double duty as surfboard transport and apres surf tailgate parties. For an authentic eating experience, take time to grab a bowl of chowder or a crab melt at the Ecola Seafood Restaurant; it’s a no frills kind of place, perfect for when you’ve got sandy feet leftover from your beach walk.

Tillamook
There’s really not a whole lot to do in Tillamook; it’s a small town surrounded by farms and on a road trip the smell of cows will certainly permeate your vehicle. But it does have one attraction that draws hundreds of tourists everyday: the Tillamook Cheese Factory. Learn and see just how the famous Oregon cheese is made and when your done, stand in line for free samples. The Tillamook Cheese factory also serves Tillamook ice cream — another Oregon favorite — but as a warning, the scoops are big; make sure your eyes aren’t bigger than your stomach.

Newport
Newport happens to be my personal favorite city on the Oregon Coast. It’s got a good coastal village feel, especially in the summer when the small beach-side cottages fill up with people intent on spending their vacation in a relaxed and charming atmosphere. For the classic coastal ambiance, head to the Historic Bayfront, featuring Oregon’s largest commercial fishing fleet. Along the main drag lie many a fish and chip shop, kitschy souvenir shops and even a Ripley’s Believe it or Not. Newport is also home to the Oregon Coast Aquarium and Oregon’s famous Rogue Brewery (classic beers are the Dead Guy Ale and the Shakespeare Stout).

What to do
The Pacific Coast Highway is known for its amazing views and driving along it is an activity in and of itself. But for the classic Oregon coast road trip, you’re going to want to plan time to stop and do other things. On the northern coast near Astoria, you can cross over the Columbia River and visit Cape Disappointment, the place where the members of the Corps of Discovery — ie the Lewis and Clark expedition — had their first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean.

Towards the central coast, between Florence and Coos Bay, is the Siuslaw National Forest – Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. Here you’ll find the impressive dunes, sometimes towering to 500 feet, that have been sculpted by the coastal winds. If you’re not a fan of dune buggies, you can still hike up the dunes for incredible views and photo ops of the largest expanse of coastal dunes in North America.

No road trip will be complete without a trip to the Sea Lion Caves. Part tourist trap, part natural curiosity, the Sea Lion Caves are said to be the world’s largest. Located just north of Florence, a visit to the caves allows for a close-up look at sea lions in their natural habitat. The visit entails an 200-foot elevator descent down into the caves where the sound of sea lions is almost deafening — these sea lions have nothing on the ones at San Francisco’s Pier 39.

Accommodations
In the summer, true road-trippers will have their tent and sleeping bags in the back of the car; sleeping next to the beach is a favorite summer pastime. Keep in mind that parks fill up quickly in the summer; either get to the campsite early or make a reservation. But if you’re exploring the coast during more dreary weather, you’re probably not going to want to bear the elements. If time allows, consider renting a cabin, which will allow you to explore the beaches and towns close by and get a better feel for the local community. Another option is renting a yurt, allowing you to get the feel of camping without the hassle of being in a small tent.

Good towns to stay in — because of accommodation availability and things to do nearby — include Astoria, Seaside, Cannon Beach, Newport, Bandon and Coos Bay. Check out the Travel Oregon website for an extensive search engine of coastal accommodations.

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How to get cheap deals for that Las Vegas trip

by Jamie Rhein on

Depending on which part of the U.S. you live, Las Vegas can be a very cheap vacation. As a person who would not put Las Vegas on my top 10 list, I’ve been here five times, partly because it has been an inexpensive get-a-away with careful planning.

These days, with careful planning, Las Vegas can still be an affordable, doable trip, but the planning takes a bit more work because of the number of flights being cut from airlines’ schedules. In an article in the Dallas Morning News, Tom Parsons compares travel packages from Southwest Airlines, US Airways, and American Airlines and showed the price difference between them, as well as what the trips would cost if the plane tickets and hotel had been booked separately. The price difference was substantial, although in a few cases, booking separately snagged him a better deal.

The cheapest deal was on US Airways, but Parsons said to register for e-mail programs from the hotels where you would like to stay in order to receive e-mails about an upcoming deal. (He said the timing is usually two months in advance.)

Be persistent is the motto of Parson’s missive. He was able to get a cheaper room deal at the Mirage by calling the hotel directly after he found out that the room rates had dropped from the time he originally booked a reservation. He actually did this twice. The result was a $344 savings.

Here are other tips:

  • Plan your stay for days between Sunday and Thursday
  • Avoid the second week of January when conventions are plentiful and prices go up
  • He also says to be aware of cancellation policies so you don’t get stuck having to pay a higher price if the price drops later.

My advice to cut costs is to stay at a cheaper hotel, eat at cheaper places most of the time based on which casinos are giving out meal deals, and then use the extra money to take in a show, but only consider the ones that are offering discounts. Make snagging the best deals part of the fun.

As Grant’s recent post on his first hand experience in Las Vegas indicates, the number of folks in Las Vegas has gone way down so hotels will be looking for you. Their need could be your gain financially. Keep an eye out.

Keeping up with Rolf Potts’ online book tour

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Chances are, if you’ve ever looked for a book on the joys of deliberate, independent travel, you’ve come across Rolf Potts’ fantastic book Vagabonding. It is the virtual Bible of solo travel, and it has inspired countless people to create time in their lives for long-term world travel.

Now, to promote his newest book Marco Polo Didn’t Go There, Rolf is making a number of stops around the blogosphere to answer questions, including here at Gadling. Already Rolf has been featured at Budget Travel, BootsnAll, and the Four-Hour Workweek, with stops at Jaunted, Brave New Traveler, and Matador still to come. [Here‘s the full schedule.]

A couple excerpts from Rolf’s interviews so far:

“I usually travel with some vague objectives when I go to a new place, but I’ve found that the key to really experiencing the place is the willingness to dump those pre-planned objectives at a moment’s notice if you discover something more compelling along the way.”

“Sometimes I get irritated when I hear some backpacker brag about the time he’s spent on some rice farm near Vang Vieng, and then in the next breath bag on the sensibilities of people who live in “Red States” he’s certainly never visited. How can you consider hanging out with a Laotian farmer a virtue when the idea of a Kansas farmer brings a sneer to your face?”

“One general piece of advice I might offer is to not get defensive when someone is talking about their travels. So your next-door neighbor went to Guyana and he wants to tell you all about it– is he showing off or just channeling the excitement of his journey? Odds are it’s the latter– and if you reflexively judge him as a travel snob just because he went someplace exotic and enjoyed it, then you’re the one who’s being a jerk.”

Stay tuned to Gadling for an interview with Rolf– and more!– starting September 26.