9 reasons ’09 will be the year of the “YAYcation”

by Brenda Yun on

Christopher Elliot, over at Tribune Media Services, reported how 2009 will likely be the year of the “naycation.” While Gadling’s own writer, Tom Johansmeyer, agrees to some extent that this could be the case, I hope we might be able to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

So, the optimist/devil’s advocate that I am, I present to you 9 reasons this will be the year of the “YAYcation.”

  1. Obama: If The Economist‘s Global Electoral College is any indication of how the world feels about Obama, then it is a logical assumption that Americans can feel more welcome abroad. With Clinton as the new Secretary of State, and Obama’s openness to relations to formerly cold countries such as Cuba, we should explore some uncharted territory.
  2. The economy: The world’s ailing economy appeared to be Elliot’s main argument for the “naycation,” but I beg to differ. If the economy is so bad, then why not invest in an affordable trip abroad? Your money will go farther abroad than staying home and paying for steep electric and phone bills.
  3. No job? Might as well travel: My cousin lost his job at Wachovia a few months ago, is now engaged to his long-time girlfriend, and is planning a year-long globetrot. WHY NOT? Take advantage of your lost job and get lost in the world for a while.
  4. Disappearing wonders of the world: It’s not just global warming that is causing the world’s beloved wonders to disappear. I think some places in this world are becoming too trodden and destroyed by human contact. The Pyramids, Taj Mahal, and Machu Picchu are just a few of the places I’ve seen that simply no longer hold the same luster as before. People populate and flood these places on a daily basis, and we need to go there — now — to see them before they are overridden by tourism.
  5. New, great places to explore: There are several new world wonders like the Kremlin in Moscow, Aya Sophia in Istanbul, and the Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany that are awesome places. But what about exotic countries like Mongolia, Slovenia, and Morocco? I’m ready to explore, aren’t you?
  6. Independent women travelers: No longer are men the only ones gallivanting around the world. Nowadays, there are more and more females traveling around solo, and women are muchless daunted by traveling abroad and the economy shouldn’t have anything to do with it.
  7. Cheap flight deals: Gadling blogger Kraig Becker summarized some fabulous travel deals for the new year. There are tons of great, cheap flights around the world, and it’s not that hard to find them anymore either.
  8. The world is flat: Thomas Friedman called it when he explained how the world is flat, and I can’t agree with him more. Your friends around the world are easier to contact (by email, text, Skype, or otherwise), making it so much easier to organize a trip to visit them and sleep on their couches. Or, if you’re daring and trusting, you can couch surf with perfect strangers for free.
  9. Virtual travel just won’t cut it: I am a huge fan of vicarious travel, but there comes a time when this kind of thing just doesn’t produce the same effect. Instead of playing Halo 3, for instance, I would much prefer getting out there into the wide open world and seeing the real thing with my own two eyes.

Welcome back, Gadling readers!

by Grant Martin on

Happy New Year, and welcome to 2009, travel friends. We had a fabulous 2008 at Gadling and we’re planning an even bigger year for you coming up. We’ll have guest posts from famous and delicious guest writers, mind-blowing giveaways, crazier stories, insider access and thousands of travel ideas to get you on the road this year.

Speaking of which, have you started planning your 09 vacay yet? From the outrageous to the frugal we’ll be populating your brain with all sorts of destination fodder this year, starting TODAY with a new budget series kickoff. And blogger Alison Brick will be clueing us in to the latest travel deals out there on the market.

So don’t trade your passport for a staycation guide yet; there’s plenty to learn about, explore, absorb and love this year. Gear up for an amazing 365 days on the road and get excited — we’ll be right next to you the entire way.

Love, Gadling

10 more ideas for traveling cheaper in 2009

by Jamie Rhein on

Even though the economic forecast seems to drone on and on as being gloomy, here are more tips for how to travel cheaply. With the beginning of a new year, start using some of these tips and you might find out that travel in 2009 can be less expensive than you thought it might be.

One of my mantras is “Don’t assume.” That means, don’t assume something is expensive until you check out all possible angles. I’ve been surprised over and over in my life how travel is doable and affordable.

1. Plan ahead AND wait until the last minute– I do both. Planning ahead, helps me save for a trip and have enough time to do research. Waiting until the last minute has landed me deals I didn’t expect like cheap tickets to a traveling company Broadway play and to see David Sedaris. I sat in great seats for a fraction of what the people around me had paid. Some theaters offer discounts on the day of a performance. That’s how I bought $25 dollar tickets to Avenue Q. Sometimes, certain days at certain times will be cheaper. Call a theater box office and ask.

2. Buy an Entertainment Book– If you’re going to be traveling to a particular city in the United States, consider buying that city’s Entertainment Book. An Entertainment Book, typically sold by clubs as fundraisers, can be purchased directly from the Entertainment Book website. If you buy one for the city nearest to where you live, there will be a deep discount for the second city purchase–or for both. The book contains coupons for restaurants, movie tickets, museum admissions, art events and other local attractions. After one purchase, the book often pays for itself. It’s also a great way to find out places to visit that you may not have thought of before browsing its pages.

3. Pack snacks – When you travel, pack snacks. Think about buying them ahead on sale and storing them so when you’re heading out the door, you have snacks on hand. That will help you stay fed while seeing sites without spending more money than you planned on. Plus, this will save you time since you won’t have to figure out what or where to eat. When my daughter and I were in Denmark the first part of December, my Danish friend had snacks on hand everywhere we went.

4. Ask for water– Whenever we travel, if we’re stopping at a fast food place, I always ask for a cup of water. Water is free. If you’re traveling on Amtrak, ask for ice. The ice is free and when it melts, you’ll have water. I received that tip from a woman who was traveling with her family from California to New York. She said buying water on the train is expensive, but the snack bar hands out ice for free.

5. When ordering at a restaurant, share– If you are traveling with another person, or as a family, figure out which items you can order to share that will give everyone something he or she wants to eat but will cost you less money. Yesterday, my son and I were eating at the Barn Restaurant at Sauder Village in Archbold, Ohio. I noticed that the sandwich plate was $4.99. For $3.99, you could add on one trip through the soup and salad bar. Instead of ordering him the soup, I ordered everything for myself, gave him the soup that came with meal and we shared items from the salad bar and the sandwich. The restaurant was amenable to this arrangement.

6. Ask for the best hotel deal at the front desk before you check in–In November, we stayed at the Millennium Hotel in downtown Cincinnati. When we were checking in, I was lamenting that we had an Expedia reservation since I found out that there were better deals if we had gone through the hotel directly. My dad, who was with us, asked the hotel clerk what he might throw in to sweeten our stay. We were given four continental breakfast vouchers. The breakfast was great. If we had paid, it would have cost us $10 a piece.

7. Don’t assume how expensive travel might be without checking first–This summer I was pleasantly surprised how inexpensive it was to take the train the New York City on Amtrak. I thought the train would have been more expensive than it was. Two weeks ago my mother snagged an airline ticket to LaGuardia for $166. This summer, the same ticket would have cost her almost $400.

8. Don’t assume you won’t be able to use frequent flyer miles for a flight–My daughter and I went to Denmark from Columbus for 50,000 miles each using Northwest frequent flyer miles. I thought we wouldn’t be able to get those tickets until I checked.

9. If you have a discount card, don’t forget to use it– AAA is one of those cards I keep forgetting to use for other things besides our car and hotel deals. Two days ago, I was at the Libbey Glass Factory Outlet Store in Toledo, Ohio and saw that they give 10% off for AAA card holders. I saved $1. Hey, it’s something.

10. Go to places on days when there is a discount or a free day– Just today, when we were in Findlay, Ohio at Wilson’s, a family-owned hamburger joint that has been around since 1936, I found out that if you go in on a Saturday with your Wilson’s mug between 7–11 a.m., you can get a free cup of coffee. If we had gone to the Barn Restaurant on Monday night, my son would have eaten for free.

Speaking of coffee. When you travel, bring your travel coffee mug with you. Truck stop type places often will charge you less money if you bring in your own cup.

Top 10 stupidest laws you could encounter abroad


10 tips for making a trip more affordable

by Jamie Rhein on

I read about a couple who bought a sailboat when common sense might have told them not to in this New York Times article awhile ago. Their kids were heading to college, and the economy had begun its rapid trip south. According to the couple, they have no regrets about the boat purchase.

The experiences they’ve had with their kids and friends on the boat have added to their good memories bank. Okay, sure they must have been rolling in dough to start off with, but they do have a point. As the author Rob Lieber pointed out, one doesn’t have to buy a boat to experience the benefits of a splurge.

I’m not advocating splurging at every turn in life, but sometimes acting solely on common sense can make life feel tight and without pleasure. In my mind, a splurge worth making involves travel because of the memories one gathers in the process.

One of the great things about travel is that there are so many aspects of the splurge where costs can be controlled. Making memories may not cost as much as you think if you plan right and alter your thinking about what a trip should look like.

Here are some ideas I’ve thought of to help balance out worthwhile travel with a budget in mind. I’ve used them on several occassions.

1. All meals don’t have to be worth writing home about. Head to a place that has good food, but nothing fancy–a place where locals on a budget might eat. Eateries like these tend to have the best stories anyway. Consider the places you’ve eaten a real find.

2. If you’re eating at a pricier place for the experience, browse the menu for the least expensive option and that’s what you will order. Or order the appetizer that sounds the most filling and buy the cheapest glass of wine to go with it. It will feel special and you can buy something cheaper later to fill you up.

3. Another way to afford more expensive food is to plan for the meal to be the main event for that day and pair it with a cheaper activity like a free walk in a park or an inexpensive museum. Many museums have free admission days. Find out when.

4.. On the day you spend more money at a museum, head to a cheaper restaurant, or buy fixings for a picnic lunch in a park. Mix it up. Have an expensive day followed by a cheaper one.

5. Sure it’s wonderful to sleep in luxury, but if you’re on vacation in an exciting place, think about how little time you’ll spend in the hotel. Two years ago when we went to Ft. Lauderdale, we stayed at a 1960s style bungalow two blocks from the beach at a substantial savings. We had access to the same beach as the people in the pricey rooms in beach front property. Also, we had a wonderful time talking with the proprietor who came to Ft. Lauderdale to open a motel to make his dreams come true. Much more interesting than a corporate style place with fluffy pillows and an overly priced mini bar that we wouldn’t use anyway.

6. Stay in a place that has free breakfast. Don’t eat that hardboiled egg or fruit for breakfast, but take it along with you for lunch.

7. Think about adjusting the time you spend in an expensive location. Instead of a five-day vacation, pair it down a day. One night less cuts down on the cost. Plus, if you plan out your trip according to the things you most want to see, you’ll leave feeling full and not like you didn’t have enough of a travel meal. Isn’t it better to eat something than nothing at all?

8. Also, think about the places where you have family and friends and combine a vacation with a visit. We’re fortunate to have friends in several places so we pair visits with them with exploring those sites we haven’t seen before. The extra time with our friends is always time worth spent and makes our destinations all that more sweet and memorable. Plus, the people who live in a place know its heartbeat much more than a guidebook does.

9. Decide how much money you’ll spend on souvenirs before you go. An item you buy on the road is part of memory making but you don’t have to go nuts about it. In this case, you’ll be doing as I say and not as I do. Our house looks like a store run by Unicef. You could buy stuff out of our house and I wouldn’t notice.

10. If you have children, make their souvenirs part of this budget. On a trip to Disney World, each of my kids could only spend $15 tops. That cut out a lot of options and arguments. My daughter didn’t buy anything, and my son bought a small stuffed animal which cost $12. The limit helped us corral him through the gift shops at the end of each ride.

No matter what the economy is up to, with planning and adjustments in expectations, travel still remains one of the best deals around. I’ve never regretted it–there are some souvenirs I’ve regretted, but never the trip. The memories I’ve collected are priceless.

Aussie Backpackers Look to London Sperm Banks to Fund Their Travels

by Josh Lew on

London fertility clinics are reporting that up to one-third of their sperm donors are from foreign countries. Many of these donors are Australian backpackers on extended tours of the UK and Europe. They have found fertility clinics to be a decent source of income. Though the money is not great, repeat donors (always welcomed by the clinics because they only have to be screened once) can make more than $1200 over the course of several months.

A British law, passed in 2005, might be helping increase the demand for Australian donors. The law says that children conceived by donated sperm have the right to contact their genetic father at the age of 18. Living on the other side of the globe affords these backpackers from Down Under a bit more anonymity than local London residents.

What do British people think of the trend? Clinics welcome it. After the passage of the 2005 notification law, the number of local donors shrunk considerably. So sperm banks have no choice but to look to foreigners to fill the void.