BootsnAll Travel Community

Hi Everyone,

I'm heading out for 1+ years and have heard several people mention that tickets are best purchased on the road... allowing for flexibility. I'm now convinced that this is the way to go. However, I'm a bit confused on how this is done.

Couple of questions:

1. Does anyone have tips for purchasing airline tickets while on the road and how are 'bucket shops' reached? Do you just pop into a local travel agency. Do you call airlines directly? Do you go to airport to do this? Do you go on-line?

2. Has anyone traveled the Mediterranean or South East Asia/OZ on a freighter? Any recommendations/tips?

Other people might have other insights, but here's my advice:

1. When on the road, any major city traveler's ghetto will have travel agents and bucket shops to take care of you. That is, wherever you find cheap places to stay and eat, you should also find cheap air travel shops. The rock-bottom prices are usually pretty standard (and are usually served by local airlines you never hear about Stateside), so do some comparison shopping. A good place to start is in the local English-language newspaper or expat mag/website. You can also ask other travelers or expats. Make sure the prices quoted include all fares and taxes. Compare both round-trip and one-way prices as well (since one-way isn't always the best bargain). After a couple hours of research and shopping, you'll usually have an idea for the best bargains. And sometimes you'll find air bargains to places you never considered visiting before! Lots of people go to, say, Bangkok thinking of flying on to Beijing or Singapore, but they end up in Kathmandu, Perth, or Paris because these destinations are just a few hundred dollars away!

2. I have never taken a freighter in the Mediterranean or SE Asia. I did take one from the Suez to Bombay in 2000. For details on that, see the Freighter travel post lower down on the Vagabonding Forum. Booking a freighter is not too hard -- just find a freighter booking agent online using Google. Again, it helps to compare agents and itineraries (and I've found that freighter booking agents aren't strong on customer service). Keep in mind that the charm of freighter travel is the experience -- not the bargain. It is much cheaper to FLY from point A to point B; the charm in going by freighter is the slow feeling of distance, the quirky life onboard with the crew, and the novelty of being at sea.

Good luck, and happy vagabonding!

http://vagabonding.net