Reasonable Cost Foreign Travel

Good morning, Live Better than a Billionaire-a-Holics!

Are you feeling motivated this morning? I certainly hope so. I know that I am!

Amid rising oil prices and a generally sinking dollar, many people have given up on the idea of vacations outside of the United States (or their own country if they live elsewhere now). It just seems too expensive. Stories about $6 cups of coffee in London don't help matters.

With all this hand-wringing, you would think that foreign travel had been outlawed. But actually, you still have wonderful choices.

Let's begin with airline travel. Except in the peak tourist months, airlines are usually desperate for passengers. Time your travel for when airline usage is lowest, and you'll be surprised at how inexpensive the tickets can be. Also, many frequent flyer programs have partnerships with international carriers, which means that you can use your credit card or airline miles for foreign travel. Here's another little-known secret; low-priced carriers like Jet Blue and Southwest in the U.S. are being founded on every continent. A friend recently told me that he can usually fly from London to Verona for $39 on Ryanair. You have many such cheap choices in Asia and Africa now, as well.

Hotels can be frighteningly expensive . . . especially in Europe and Japan. What are the alternatives? My favorite choice is to stay with friends or colleagues. They will show you a side of the area that you would never see on your own. If you don't know anyone, ask friends who travel a lot if they do. You can offer to swap homes or simply reciprocate when friends of friends come to your area. If that doesn't work, you can rent condos, apartments and homes inexpensively . . . especially in the off seasons. By being in such a location rather than a hotel, you can also prepare meals . . . which saves on restaurant costs.

Learn how to shop for food you can eat casually wherever you go. No one wants to go on a trip to spend lots of time preparing food and cleaning up. But many grocery stores around the world now prepare food that's pretty much ready to eat that's quite reasonable in price.

Seeing sites can be expensive. Many locales offer tourists special deals for transportation (weeklong passes) and site fees (all-in-one passes). Borrow a good guidebook from the library before you go and sign up for any passes that make sense. Some can only be bought before you leave home.

Learn about how to beat international telephone rates. Most guidebooks can tell you the latest. You can either use international calling cards at discount prices or arrange to contact "call-back" numbers.

Also, open your mind to less expensive countries. Your money goes further there, and people usually treat you better than in Paris.

For example, have you been to Mexico City? It rivals most of the fine cities in Europe, has great restaurants, lots to do and can be visited quite inexpensively. Take along medicine to help with intestinal disorders. About 1/3 of Americans develop such problems. Avoid the local water and anything washed in it, and you'll probably be okay.

If you go to South America, you can enjoy summer while it's winter in the Northern Hemisphere. Rio can be a blast just before and during Mardi Gras.

Unless you want to stay at the best American chain hotel in town in Latin America, you can have a wonderful trip for very little money.

Naturally, students can also backpack and stay in hostels. One of my sons lived in a tent on Pompeii one summer while doing an archeological dig there. Tying into such a project often offers exciting local activities, a new group of people to meet, and saves money.

For those who like their comfort, look into cruise ships as well. Some can take you around an area for much less than what you would spend for accommodations, food and transportation.

Here's a thought about currency. If your currency suddenly takes a run up versus the currency where you will be traveling, think about either buying some of that currency or American Express travelers checks that are denominated in that currency. Such a timely purchase can save you 5-10% on whatever you spend in the other currency.

For those who can stay abroad longer, consider volunteering. Volunteers often receive free housing and food, and have a chance to meet with people they wouldn't otherwise meet. Volunteering can provide great satisfactions as well. Habitat for Humanity, for instance, has many trips you can take to build homes around the world. The trips to Africa are a particularly swell deal. You can also arrange for friends and family to make tax-deductible donations in your name that will be applied to your trip cost. See habitat.org for more details.

Planned properly, a foreign trip doesn't have to cost any more than a trip in your native country.

Look around and enjoy!

Tomorrow, I'll look at providing child care for your family that's both great quality and affordable.

Friday, I will discuss ways you can use books from the library to improve the quality of your life.

Saturday, we'll take a walk together to look into the easiest, cheapest ways to enjoy healthy exercise.

Sunday, I'll look at the spiritual benefits of weight control.

Monday, we'll look into how teaching can make you smarter than a billionaire on five dollars extra a day.

Tuesday, let's consider ways to prepare for spending less on costly heating this winter now that oil prices are going through the roof.

Next Wednesday, I'll look more closely at how to prepare for the college football season.

Next Thursday, this blog will explore new ways of promoting your ideas for less than five dollars extra a day.

Next Friday, I'll tell you about an exciting new and inexpensive way for people with dyslexia to learn to read well.

Please let me know what else you would like to learn, and I'll do my best to help in future blog entries.

If you are new to this blog, be sure to check out the updated table of contents entry that was posted earlier today. It will help you find earlier entries that may be of interest. I'll update this table of contents every week or so for your convenience.

August 17 was the most frequently read blog entry to date. Be sure to check it out!

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If you are visiting today because someone invited you, I'm delighted to meet you! Let's stay in touch.

May God bless you.

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell