There are two ways to save money traveling. The first way is

to get the best deals on the specific things you want. There

is a limitation to this type of approach though. If, for

example, you find the lowest price on the best hotel in

Honolulu at the height of the season, you will save

money, but still have a very expensive vacation. Trying to

get exactly what you want, or what you think you want, will

generally be an expensive proposition, in travel and in

life.

Be A Travel Opportunist

The other approach is to be a true opportunist. This will be

difficult for some of you, and entirely unacceptable to

others. Nonetheless, the travelers who get to travel the

most, go to the widest variety of places learn the most and

do the most, are the opportunists. This will be true until

you are so wealthy that you have no monetary limits.

The first time I went to Ecuador, I went there because it

was cheap. If it wasn't, I would have had a great time -

somewhere else. The trip lasted a month, and cost $1045,

which included airfare and even the $130 fee for a guide to

take me to the top of glacier-covered Mount Chimborazo.

I cut the cost by taking a bus from my home in Michigan to

Miami, and back again when I returned from Ecuador. The

round-trip ticket cost $158. The round-trip flight to Quito

from Miami was only $256, because it was a courier flight,

which meant I signed for some luggage (car parts), and could

only take carry-on luggage.

Never did I feel deprived, or bored. I had a great time,

eating wherever it was cheap and clean, doing all sorts of

inexpensive, but interesting things, and traveling across

the country to climb Chimborazo. I also met and fell in love

with my wife Ana.

How To Become An Opportunist Traveler

Can you drink rum at a dollar per bottle, instead of your

favorite beer? Can you eat chicken instead of steak? How

about visiting the free sights first, and dancing in the

street festival instead of the disco?

Being an opportunist means you'll have just as much variety,

and probably almost everything you want - eventually. You

just have to stop trying to get exactly what you want

exactly when you want it. If the guide that took me up

Chimborazo hadn't dropped his price from $200 to $130, I

would have spent $2 for a bus and gone hiking on El Altar,

another great Andean mountain. That would have left me with

enough money for several other minor adventures.

More Secrets Of Cheap Travel

Plane Tickets: My wife and I were planning a trip to

visit family in Ecuador. The cheapest airfare from Traverse

City, Michigan to Quito, was $1720. Out of curiosity, I

checked Miami to Quito, and it was only $404. Airfare from

Traverse City to Miami was $300. Book two separate flights

and save more than $2000! The discount sites aren't set up

to search in this way (yet), so you have to do this on your

own. By the way, the whole six-week trip, which we took in

2004, cost $2400, including losing $100, and being robbed of

$174.

Food: Whether traveling here or in other countries,

it is usually cheaper to buy some healthy snacks in a

grocery store, rather than eat every meal in a restaurant.

When you do eat in restaurants, it can be cheaper to

order individual items on the menu from the list of

appetizers or side dishes. You also may get more variety in

that way.

Accommodations: For a long trip, you may want to rent

an apartment in an interesting city. We did this for two

months in Tucson, for about $600 less per month, compared to

even the cheaper motels. Watch for hotel coupon-books in gas

stations. The coupons will often save you $10 on a room you

would have stayed in anyhow. If you have a conversion van or

RV, you can camp a couple nights a week, like we do, to save

on motels. We love the hot springs we've stayed at, for a $3

fee to the BLM, instead of $40 for the cheapest motel in the

area.

Travel Expenses: Do more and travel less. It is often

the traveling part that costs the most, due to the cost of

gas, convenient fast food, and expensive hotels you are

forced to pay for when you just can't drive any further. So

if you find a place with a reasonable motel, and a lot to do

in the area - stay for a while!