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Friday, August 23, 2013

Super Useful Travel Links

Happy Friday! I've been poking around this week and decided to run a bonus edition of Super Useful Travel Links. A lot of sadness is coming out of Syria and Egypt (again), making it impossible for anyone to travel near those places. I mean, not like most normal people have Syria on their travel list, but a bet a bunch of you have had Egypt on your list for a long time and every time you hear that there are riots and uprising think "Whyyyyyy?????" Yep. Me, too. So, this week I found a bunch of ways to save money on your trips - that other people wrote!

Some people love to make their own travel videos, but carrying an extra electronic device and everything that goes with it - extra battery, charger, etc. - isn't always something  you want to do. And if you're one of those people who just uses their smartphone for photos and video, it's definitely not going to look too professional. Vine is good if you only want to take postcard snippets to share straight to social media, but what if you want a full-length video for your travel memories? Techlicious has the best apps for amazing smartphone videos. I'm loving the concept of Vyclone and may just try it out on my next trip.

As you know, I love to save money. This year I'm using Airbnb for my accommodations in London and Paris and have saved a ton. Not only have I gotten awesome apartments that have all the amenities I need - washer/dryer, kitchen, convenient location - but I am also spending less on places to sleep than I did the last time we stayed in hotels. 7 years ago. A great new blog called Independent Travel Cats also recognizes the awesomeness that is Airbnb and their post on it shows you how to use it, how it can save you big bucks and how to use it to meet locals who can give you valuable travel info.

I'm no stranger to the farmers' market. Not only does it give me a chance to try the local foods, but it also saves you money by giving you affordable food that you can make meals with instead of eating out at restaurants. Many markets even have food trucks and local bakeries where you can buy breakfast or lunch, too. Want to save even more at the farmers' market? VocalPoint has some great tips, though I don't think many markets give out big discounts near the end, nor do I feel like that is the way to treat farmers who put their life and soul into bringing you their amazing foods, but the other tips are spot-on. 

It's been a long time since I've been to Texas for longer than a day, but this list of suggestions on unique things to do and places to eat in Texas from Daily Candy really makes me want to take a road trip. I also just watched an episode of Tripping Out where Alie and Georgia went to Marfa and showed so many funky things to do there and in the area that i was ready to hop a plane to the city I'd never even heard of. Sleep in an antique luxury RV and take pictures of the fake Prada shop? In!

Is the staycation dead? Priceline seems to think so. They polled their users and the majority of them are taking real vacations now. Everyone is sick of staying home and coming up with creative ideas to do to save money. Possibly, the percentage of travelers is so high, because they are actively using Priceline to find places to stay or they are not including staycations that are in addition to their traditional vaca. Do you think the staycation is dead? If you're still taking one, you can get some fun ideas on my Pinterest board. There's everything from turning your backyard into a movie theater to engaging in a scavenger hunt around your city.

Living in the US, we get pretty spoiled with large meal portions, free refills and complimentary bread and water in restaurants. Europe is not the same. You don't get to take your leftovers home if you don't finish your food, free refills don't exist and ice is almost a myth. If only I had known this piece of advice before my last trip, I could have saved a lot. The blog EuroCheapo explains why you should never BUY water in Paris.

Have you seen any great money-saving posts lately?

1 comment:

  1. Hi Shereen, these are some great budget tips! And thanks for including a post from our blog in your Friday Round-up!



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