BootsnAll Travel Community

From my travel expierience, the most costly parts of a trip are lodging and transportation.

I'd be interested in seeing people's ideas of how to do these cheaply.

I'll start:

Lodging- camping

Transportation- driving your own car.

Any other takers?

Driving your own car nets you insurance bills and gas costs. Public transit is cheaper.

True, if you're going by yourself.

2 bus or train tickets across country will always cost more than 2 in a car.

Cycling will always be the most cost effective method of travel!

And for the cheapest(monetarilly) lodging you just need to polish up on your sex appeal and social skills!

Let's assume you're traveling around the USA and Canada. Here are some of the cheapest options:

Transportation:
* Hitchhiking
* Driveaway vehicles
* Cycling
* Greyhound (only worthwhile for long distances)
* Public transportation
* Ridesharing (getting a group of 3 or 4 to rent a car and share the costs)

Accommodation:
* Camping
* Houses of friends and acquaintances
* Free hospitality club like GlobalFreeloaders
* Offering to do work at a hostel in exchange for free accommodation

Meals:
* Self-catering
* Friends who prepare a meal for you (be sure to offer to help with the dishes)
* Mom-and-pop restaurants in ethnic areas and university neighborhoods

Remember, no begging, scamming or stealing!!

This is great. I've learned something new already: Bubbha, please tell me what a"drive away vehicle"is?

A driveaway vehicle is a vehicle (usually a car) that has to be returned to the rental company it originated from after someone rents it for a one-way trip.

There are companies that arrange for these vehicles to be returned to their places of origin, and you can contact these companies to see if there are any cars available. You pay a deposit which is returned to you after delivery of the car (unscratched!), and are given an extra mileage allowance to do a little sightseeing on the way. You pay gas, but nothing else.

Bubbha (and all),

Would you happen to know the name of any of these places that rent out these drive-away vehicles? I knew a guy who got hold of one once (I think he got it thru word-of-mouth) and I joined him for part of his cross-country drive. It was really a great way to go, and I've thought about getting another one of these cars.

Great idea. Thanks!

I totally forgot about driveaways! Driveaway services are also for VP types who like to have their BMWs, Mercedes and Lexus with them after they leave New York to work for three months of the year in San Fransisco. So sometimes you can get a nice ride. They usually give you some extra days to make it to the destination so you get there in one peice, and so you can do a little bit of side travel. Although the gas is on you, and so are any major repairs to the car. Article on GoNomad for more info - http://www.gonomad.com/transports/0012/javins_driveaway.html

Some companies:
eRide Share list. Some are ride shares, some are driveaways. - http://www.erideshare.com/travel.php
Auto Driveaway (good company for this). Just look at the carlist for starting and ending destinations. - http://shipping.autodriveaway.com/index.htm

You usually have to have a fairly clean driving record to apply for a job, but a few points on your license thirteen years ago from speeding isn't going to hurt your chances much.

Another way of travel that I totally forgot about is becoming an Air Courier. If you want a quick trip, anywhere from a few days to a few months, you can get extremely reduced prices on plane tickets. Air Couriers sacrifice their onboard luggage and give it to the Air Courier company, who in turn sells that space to a major shipping company or a private firm that needs something sent ASAP. FedEx and UPS have been doing this for years, it's cheaper to send out a few packages then send a whole plane. You usually tell the company "I can leave between these two dates at any time" and they'll give you a call. You go to the airport, meet a guy who gives you an envolope of papers to get you through customs, and once you get off the plane you meet someone else who you give the envelope to. Then you repeat the process for the way back.

A good book on this topic is Air Courier Bargains: How to Travel World-Wide for Next to Nothing by Kelly Monaghan.

Have you personally ever been an air courier?

Sadly, no I have not. And I haven't done alot of the things I talk about on the board. But I'm a feverish reader . Seeing as how so few people do the Air Courier thing, I was a bit skeptical, but decided to just believe it all anyway.
Some more websites, although I have no idea about their ticket sales, I probably would have to research the companies a bit before I booked with them:
Air Courier News - http://www.topix.net/business/air-courier
International Association of Air Travel Couriers - http://www.courier.org/ and http://www.aircourier.co.uk/
You know, the more I think about it, I just made four hundred bucks assmebling five computers for friend of the family...I might just try all of this out, see if it's all for real.