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Discount Travel
Discount Travel also goes by the names
budget travel and cheap travel. |
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Jump down to our
Discount Travel Resources chart. |
Discount Travel also goes by the names
budget travel and cheap travel. Almost
all the major on-line travel agencies offer discounts for air, cruises,
hotel, car rentals and vacation packages and let you search
and compare prices. Discount applies to any kind of reduced prices for airlines,
cruises, hotels, car rentals, etc. Some offer Internet
discounts that you only see if you are on their website or subscribe to
their email special deals. Many travel websites are now charging if you
book via phone instead of making your booking online. Check them out!
Any budget traveler these days should become familiar with searching the web
for information to help you save money, especially when
traveling overseas or to a place you have never been. Good web
research will help you understand your options getting to your destination
and while there. With
travel blogs and forums and people in every country able to get on the web
and post things or let you communicate with them via forums and email, you
can do a much better job of planning a trip that will save you money.
Also, so many more hotels and hostels and other services are now available
to book and pre-pay using a credit card than ever before. This removes
some of the anxiety from arriving in a small town in a remote part of the
world.
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Understanding
Discount Prices
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Understanding Discount Prices.
You should understand about fares and how they can be legitimately cheaper.
Many travel agency sites and, of course, online and print travel guides will explain how
you can get cheaper rates for just about any aspect of travel.
Consolidators. Consolidators buy seats on specific flights directly from scheduled airlines,
cabins on specific voyages from cruise lines, or hotel rooms from
hotel companies, and tour seats from tour companies at wholesale prices. The
consolidator then resell them to the public or to a travel
agency who in turn sells them to you. Buying a consolidator air ticket with
a credit card from a reputable travel agent is usually a very safe bet.
Aggregators. Aggregators are able to create data bases of the fares
for flights from airlines and then display those fares so you can comparison
shop. Travel sites like Expedia and Travelocity are aggregators.
Last Minute Deals. Travel companies, such as airlines, cruise lines
and tour companies that find they have seats available just before departure
will offer them as last-minute deals.
A travel site may be both a consolidator and an aggregator and offer last
minute deals.
On the other hand, that promotion for 7-days in
Hawaii for $110 is a much more risky proposition. If it is too good to be true, it
probably is!
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Discount |
Discount Travel
Resources |
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These
are comprehensive, popular websites that give you background information
on budget and discount travel and have extensive links to websites that
offer discounted fares.
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Travel Science
Resources |
Description |
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Travel Agencies |
We link to all
major and popular travel agencies including many that focus on
discount travel. |
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Student Travel |
Good links to all
the major student travel websites. |
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Travel Auctions |
Links to all the
major travel auction websites. |
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Some Specific
Websites |
Description |
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Budget Travel |
This is the
popular and well-known Frommer's Travel Guides website with one
of the best sources of budget travel information on the web. |
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Let's Go |
Let's
Go is the website of the popular travel guide series
for student and young and budget-savvy travelers
They offer what they call an "authentic
perspective".
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On
The Go Publishing |
They have nice links to various travel resources
to help you spend less money and have a more enjoyable
experience. This includes links to both airline and hotel consolidator
sources plus a lot of other good information. |
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Travelsecret.com |
They have consolidator tickets and a wealth of budget travel information. |
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Smarter
Travel |
They are one of
the best sites on the web to find out the latest in discount
travel, whether airfares, car rentals, hotels or other travel
offers. |
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Backpack Europe On A Budget |
One of the best website for
backpackers going to Europe. Oh, to be young again! |
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TravelHub.com |
They cover discounts for airfares, lodging,
car rentals, cruises and other categories. |
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Travelpunk.com |
Backpacking, student and budget hostels, hotels, Eurail, air
fares, budget tips, currency, vaccinations, weather and an
extensive list of many useful links. |
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Discount Air Travel Resources |
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You can always try a web
search. Example: Lowest airfare Atlanta to Paris
January 2008 cheap flights, budget, discount flights |
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To Search The
Web. Looking for discount flights between two
cities, countries or continents? Enter your originating and
destination names, the general dates you want to travel as fares vary
greatly at different times of the year to different places, along with words
like: discount flights, discount tickets, cheap tickets.
Example:
Atlanta to Paris
discount flights January 2008. |
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Travel Science
Resources |
Especially if you
are |
Description |
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Airfares |
Anyone |
Our Airfare page
has easy-to-use links to all major, popular and other highly
rated travel websites. |
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Air Couriers |
Solo, experienced
international travelers with flexible travel plans such as
students on summer breaks and people who are retired. |
Our Air Couriers
page tells you all about being an air courier and has links to
the major air courier organizations. Savings can be 40% to 70%
off economy air fares. |
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Air Passes |
Anyone |
Air passes are
special deals for traveling in a region of the world or within a
country available to people who will arrive from outside the
region or country. Some good savings. |
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Consolidators |
Anyone |
Our page on the
subject tells you all about consolidators, how to know a good
consolidator and avoid trouble. We have links to some
consolidator websites. They offer good discounts. |
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Euro Low-Fare Air |
Anyone going to
Europe. |
We have links to
all the major European low-fare airlines and aggregators. |
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Last Minute Travel |
Someone with
flexible travel plans. |
We have links to
some good last-minute air travel websites. |
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Student Travel |
Students |
We have links to
all the major student travel websites. |
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Some Specific
Websites |
Description |
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Cheapoair |
They also cover
cruises, hotels, cars, rail and vacation packages and have
seasonal deals. |
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Cheapairtravelclub |
They specialize in providing
information on cheap air fares including first class discounts. |
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SkyAuction |
Travel auctions
covering air, cruises and vacation packages. |
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StudentUniverse |
A good website
that covers student travel with information on flights, rail,
cars and hostels. |
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Discount Cruise Travel Resources
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You can always try a web
search. Example: Discount cheap cruise Caribbean
January 2008 |
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Travel Science
Resources |
Especially if you
are |
Description |
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Cruises |
Anyone |
Our Cruises page
has easy-to-use links to all major, popular and other highly
rated cruise and cruise aggregators websites. |
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Last Minute Travel |
Those with
flexible travel plans. |
We have links to
some good last-minute cruise travel websites. |
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Some Specific
Websites |
Description |
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BargainTravelCruises |
They have a nice
cruise finder search - select a cruise line, destination, dates,
price range and number of days. |
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CruiseCheap |
World coverage.
They also have a toll-free 800 number you can call to talk to a
cruise specialist. |
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CruiseCritic-
Bargain Deals |
Bargain cruises over the next 4-5 months. |
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Discount Hotel Resources |
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You can always try a web
search. Example: Lowest hotel price New York City
January 2008 cheap hotels, budget, discount hotels |
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Travel Science
Resources |
Especially if you
are |
Description |
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Housesitting |
Those
who plan to stay 2-4 weeks. |
We have links to
sites where you can advertise your home or find a home that does
house-sitting . |
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Hostels |
Students and young people |
We list and link to all the major hostel websites. |
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Hotels |
Anyone |
We include all
the major hotel websites and then some. |
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Last Minute Travel |
Someone with
flexible travel plans. |
We have links to
some good last-minute hotel deals. |
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Student Travel |
Students |
We have links to all the major
student travel websites. |
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Some Specific
Websites |
Description |
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Kayak - Hotels |
They let you
search, compare and make reservation for over 100 travel sites
that offer cheap hotels. |
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IndependentTraveler |
This is the
Bargain Box section of the Independent Traveler website with
Discount Hotel deals. |
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BudgetTravel- Hotel Deals |
Worldwide hotel
deals organized by continent. |
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Discount Car Rental Resources |
You can always
try a web search. Example: Lowest cheap budget car
rental rates Los Angeles [putting in a specific date or month
will not help narrow the search] |
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Some Specific
Websites |
Description |
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Kayak - Car Rentals |
They let you
search, compare and make reservation for over 100 travel sites
that offer cheap car rentals. |
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IndependentTraveler |
This is the
Bargain Box section of the Independent Traveler website with
Discount Car Rentals. |
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Hotwire - Car
Rentals |
This is
well-recognized travel site with excellent car rental discount
prices. |
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Discount Vacation Package Resources |
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You can always try a web
search. Example: discount budget cheap vacation
packages to Bermuda January 2008 |
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Travel Science
Resources |
Especially if you
are |
Description |
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Vacation Deals |
Couples and
families |
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Last Minute Travel |
Someone with
flexible travel plans. |
We have links to
some good last-minute vacation travel websites. |
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Some Specific
Websites |
Description |
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VacationsToGo |
They
have a good selection of discount vacation packages. |
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IndependentTraveler |
This
is the Bargain Box section of the Independent Traveler website
with Discount Vacation deals. |
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Orbitz Vacations |
this
is an alphabetical list of their discount vacation packages. |
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Discount Rail Resources |
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You can always try a web
search. Example: best train fares Europe January 2008
[Basically, the only discount you may get is if you purchase a
railpass!] |
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Travel Science
Resources |
Especially if you
are |
Description |
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Rail Passes |
Anyone spending
1-4 weeks overseas. |
We have extensive
links to railpass websites by continent. |
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Train Travel |
Anyone who loves
trains. |
We have links to
train websites and directories. |
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Last Minute Travel |
Someone with
flexible travel plans. |
We have links to
some good last-minute rail travel websites. |
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Student Travel |
Students |
We have good links
to all the major student travel websites. |
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Some Specific
Websites |
Description |
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IndependentTraveler |
This
is the Bargain Box section of the Independent Traveler website
with Discount Train Deals |
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StudentUniverse |
A good website
that covers student travel with information on flights, rail,
cars and hostels. |
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RailEurope |
They have a large
selection of rail fares and rail passes for Europe. |
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