Remember playing tag when you were a kid? Slapping someone on the back and yelling, “Tag, you’re it!” Well, I’ve just been been ‘virtually tagged.’ My friend and fellow travel blogger, Shannon Lane, was ‘tagged’ to participate in the meme known as My Three Best Travel Secrets (a meme, which rhymes with cream, is a catchphrase or concept that spreads rapidly from person to person via the Internet). From what I understand, the game was started by Katie of Tripbase.com, the lovely folks who awarded me second place in the category of best North/South American blog of 2009 in their annual Travel Blog Awards.
After sharing three great secrets about her home state of Louisiana, Shannon ‘tagged’ me to be next in line to divulge my best travel secrets. My first reaction was, “Only three?” How could I possibly narrow it down to only three. Should I talk about little known secrets in Sarasota, Florida, such as the $40 annual membership to GWiz Science Museum that provides FREE admission to over 300 other science centers throughout the U.S. as well as other attractions around the State of Florida? Or about my list of little-known coffee shops around the country that let me work on my laptop all day for the price of a cup of coffee, like Sippin’ Internet Cafe in Key West, Pastry Art in Sarasota, or Rev Coffee in the Atlanta area?
In the end, I decided to reveal my secrets for booking last minute accommodations and transportation around the world without breaking the bank. Frankly, I detest being locked into definite travel plans. My preference is to book the first night at a destination (two nights at most), and then wing it from there. Fellow travelers are always eager to share secrets about spectacular, little-known towns or sites they have visited and not being locked into reservations allows me to take advantage of these tips, but it also means I am often looking for last minute bookings, which can be frustrating as well as expensive. However I do have a few tricks to help with this process, which I’ve detailed below:HOTELS:
In the U.S. I use two online services. The first, HotelPal, is an app for my iPhone that I wrote about several weeks ago. The second, HotelsCombined.com, is one of the advertisers on my blog and I use them regularly to find great last minute hotel reservations at affordable prices. I’ve tested them against the bigger and better-known Hotels.com and much prefer the results I get on HotelsCombined. In Europe, I use Venere.com; in SEAsia and Indonesia I have the best luck with AsiaRooms.com; and in Australia and New Zealand it’s Wotif.com.
FLIGHTS:
In the U.S. I never use the big online booking agents like Expedia or Travelocity because they do not search all discount carriers. It takes a bit more time, but I go to the AIRPORT websites that I want to fly between, search to see which of the discount airlines serve those airports, then book directly on the airline’s web site. Discount or affordably priced airlines in the U.S. include Southwest, AirTran, Spirit Airlines, and jetBlue; in Europe they include Ryanair, easy Jet, and airberlin; in SE Asia try Air Asia, Asiana Airlines, Nok Air (Thailand only), and Tiger Airways (also Australia); and in Australia check into JetStar, Regional Express (REX), and Virgin Blue.
EXTRA DISCOUNTS:
Once you’ve determined which hotel or airline you wish to book through, before making your final purchase, Google the hotel/airline name with the words “discount coupon code.” You will often discover an additional discount that can be applied at the time of making the online reservation. For example, I just Googled “discount coupon code hotels” and found RetailMeNot.com, which provided codes for 15% off Hilton Hotels and 20% off the lowest rates at Best Westerns, among other deals. (TIP: this works well for all online shopping, from Amazon.com to individual stores like Crabtree & Evelyn, and there are numerous sites that search the Internet and display all these discounts on a single site.)
So there you have it, my top travel secrets (OK, I’m cheating; I’ve given you more than three – so shoot me). Now all that’s left is to ‘tag’ five other travel bloggers, and here they are:
- Sherry Ott at ottsworld (oops – previously tagged)
- Mark H at Travel Wonders of the World
- Robin Locker at MyMelange (previously tagged)
- Heather Cowper at Heather on her Travels
- Andy Jarosz at 501 Places
- Sebastien at Colliding Continents
- Lanora Mueller at Writing Travel
TAG! You’re it!!!
After years of working 70 hours a week at jobs I detested, I felt like the proverbial "hole in the donut" - solid on the outside, but empty on the inside. Searching for meaning in my life, I abandoned my successful but unsatisfying career and set out on a six-month solo backpacking trip around the world to pursue my true passions of travel, writing, and photography. 
December 4th, 2009 - 7:24 pm
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by holeinthedonut: My Three Best Travel Secrets http://su.pr/1rTSZX #travel…
December 4th, 2009 - 11:34 pm
Love the info. Will sure to take a look before taking off somewhere in the future.
December 5th, 2009 - 1:59 am
Googling for extra discounts! It’s so obvious once you say so, but I never thought of it. Great tip — thanks!
December 5th, 2009 - 7:41 am
Great money-saving tips Barbara. In Europe I’d definitely check out Ryanair & Easyjet before any other airline if your decision is price driven. However, some of the the other airlines are becoming more price focussed as a result of the competition and you’ll invariably get more extras and luggage allowance with the mainstream carriers.
On the vouchers – I’ve recently discovered the Voucher websites such as Vouchercodes.co.uk which often reveal an extra bonus discount you can get on a selected hotel. Check out my post about it – there’s a $50 Amazon voucher up for grabs if you leave a comment.
http://www.heatheronhertravels.com/money-saving-travel-deals-from-vouchercodes-giveway/
Now I’m going to have to come up with my best travel secrets
December 5th, 2009 - 2:04 pm
Thoughts from DeeNice, the Hostel Virgin
Barbara, I wish I had read your valuable info before I made my maiden journey this past October 2009 into the world of Hostels.
The tip of Google-ing the “discount coupon code” was a great idea. I have struggled to find flights & accommodations last minute, and have been trying to find competitive last minute fares and the discount coupon will help alot! Appreciate what your offer on your blog.
BTW – I found this site SKYAUCTION.com recently, I don’t know anything about this site, thought I would ask your opinion. Have been reading comments on google and not sure about it.
Again, great tips to all who are committed to crossing borders, sharing lives, as my mentor Rita Golden Gelman (Tales of a Female Nomad) would say.
I loved reading about your transition in life in your 50’s. My feelings are the same as yours.
Take Care: DeeNice
DeeNice, The Hostel Virgin
(My hilarious experience about my first trip to a hostel)
December 5th, 2009 - 3:14 pm
Hi DeeNice:
Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment. I’m afraid I know nothing about SKYAUCTION. I took a look at it and it’s probably not something I would use because with an auction you invariably have to wait to see if you won the bid, and when I want to go, I want to go now! I see you work with Rita Golden Gelman – I’ve read her Tales of a Female Nomad; we have a lot in common. And I was pleased to learn what she is doing with her organization, Birth of a Movement. You’re right about hostels (your story about Amsterdam was hilarious); you never really know what you’re going to get until you get there, but you have a better chance of landing in a good one if you check it out with the members of Lonely Planet’s Thorn Tree Forum beforehand. All the best – and keep traveling.
Barbara
December 5th, 2009 - 4:46 pm
I especially liked the tip about searching the airport websites. Lots of people don’t want to do the extra bit of work but there are some good deals that the big online travel booking services don’t list.
December 6th, 2009 - 1:46 pm
[...] feed. Thanks for visiting!I’ve been tagged. Not once but twice! Both Liz from Travelogged and Barbara from Holeinthedonut were kind enough to nominate me in this travel blogger’s game of tag, where I have to let you [...]
December 6th, 2009 - 9:35 pm
Thanks for sharing your location dependent websites. You really do need to know what websites to use based on where you are in the world…else you are probably paying too much. someone should simply do a blogpost about that! Hint, hint!
December 7th, 2009 - 2:01 am
[...] some of the travel secret ways to save when you do [...]
December 7th, 2009 - 2:46 pm
[...] 3 travel secrets in an internet game of tag. Here, click on over to Barbara Weibel’s blog, Hole in the Donut, for a very good [...]
December 7th, 2009 - 4:57 pm
Wow! What a great post! I’m bookmarking this for my next trip. Never saw such good ideas all in one place.
Thanks!
December 7th, 2009 - 6:03 pm
Thank you Vera!
December 8th, 2009 - 8:04 am
[...] by!There is a meme circulating and I have been tagged not once, but twice. Thanks to Barbara from Hole in the Donut and Jen Laceda from Folie a deux for tagging me. The original meme was started by Katie of [...]
December 9th, 2009 - 10:10 pm
Some excellent suggestions. It is amazing how much you can save with a little research and your list covers the two biggest hitters – accommodation and flights. I’ll be back to reference these again. I’ve responded to my meme tag discussing my home city of Sydney at http://www.travel-wonders.com/2009/12/three-travel-secrets-of-sydney.html
December 10th, 2009 - 3:37 am
very nice article… it’s a good thing there are people like you who could come out with substantial blogs that provide us with information about certain topics that will help us in the future
December 10th, 2009 - 3:45 am
great! thanks for posting these tips. I am so glad that I came across your blog entry. it gave me ideas on how to handle such events
December 10th, 2009 - 5:24 am
Hi Barbara, I totally agreed that booking air ticket online directly from the airlines could save us more money. I always book Air Asia flights when I wish to go overseas and Ryanair is my choice for flights in Europe…
Good information shared.
December 11th, 2009 - 2:51 am
Hi Barbara,
This is my first time to encounter your site. It’s such a big help and tip for me for future reference!
http://www.qualityresearch.org.uk
December 15th, 2009 - 9:57 am
[...] travel secrets. There was some great travel advice out there from my fellow blogger friends such as Barbara from Hole in the Donut, Jodi from Legal Nomads, Shannon from Travel Tips and Secrets, Heather Cowper from Heather on Her [...]
January 10th, 2010 - 2:30 am
If you can’t afford a luxurious travel to India, make sure that you plan your trip ahead of time. Perhaps you can do this a couple of months before the trip. This way, you will still have time to save for your trip. Aside from that, you will also have enough time to search the interest for cheap deals that you can use in your travel to India. By researching online, you can find out all the cheapest deals that can still meet your traveling needs. It will just take time and diligence.
January 12th, 2010 - 10:39 pm
Google helped me find your site. Thanks for posting I will be back
January 12th, 2010 - 11:12 pm
I just added your site to my favorites. I enjoy reading your posts. Thanks!
March 12th, 2010 - 7:36 pm
Sehr interessant. Kommt hier noch ein Folgeartikel? Möchte sehr gern einiges mehr darüber erfahren. Könntest du mir per Mail eine Antwort geben?
March 15th, 2010 - 8:08 am
Hi Barbara,
I’ll add a secret I used alot when I travelled more. This works best when arriving by boat. I travelled light with a backpack and I never needed reservations for places to stay as there are rooms for rent if you walk through the villages. Works very easily on Greek Islands.
Love
Nirvan
March 15th, 2010 - 9:29 pm
Thanks Nirvan. That’s the way I travel as well – no reservations. Works for me!