Cheap travel

Posted by admin on May 18th, 2010 filed in General

Many times in the articles on this website you will see the word “cheap”, especially when it applies to airfares. I want to point out, however, that “cheap” is not necessarily always a good thing. There are many situations, with tour guides, hotels, and yes, sometimes even airlines, where being cheap will end up costing you big in the end. Therefore it is important to know when it’s a good idea to spend more in order to get the most out of your vacation. Being cheap is an art.

I want to first start with my definition of cheap: Maximizing value by getting the lowest price for commodities. Notice that I said “commodities” and not all goods and services. The reason being is that commodities are the same no matter who sells them. For instance, American lager beer, like Budweiser, Coors and Miller are all mass-produced commodities that have nearly the same taste and quality. If someone offers you a $20 pitcher of Budweiser or a $15 pitcher of Miller, you’d most likely buy the Miller. I see airlines the same way. They all offer near identical service, so why pay more?

Think about it. Do some airlines fly faster than others, getting you to your destination more quickly? No. Are there any airlines that will seriously jeopardize your life? No. Are there any airlines that consistently have remarkably good food in coach? No. Are there any airlines that don’t get delayed when there is bad weather, terrorist threats or volcanoes spewing ash into the heavens? No. Are there any airlines that don’t occasionally lose luggage or experience strikes? No. So now hopefully you understand my point when I say that airlines all offer a very similar commodity: air travel.

Some airlines do have a reputation for better food, nicer stewardesses, more leg room and giving incentives, like bonus miles. But more often than not I’ve found these things to be hit or miss. I might have the flight of my life to a destination, only to find the return flight the complete opposite. I’ve had airlines renege on bonus miles, and I’ve experienced first class that clearly was not. The point is that air travel in its very nature is prone to setbacks and delays, disappointments and discomfort. Anytime you cram hundreds of people into a tube for several hours, sharing a few bathrooms, recycling the same air, putting yourself at the mercy of a few flight attendants, and flying in conditions at the whim of Mother Nature, you are positioning yourself for disappointment. Any airline purporting to have a control over these things is pretending. So, one aspect of travel I am a major proponent of is being cheap on is airfare.

Now let’s look at an area that is much more risky: hotels. What you really want from a hotel is cleanliness, comfort, and great customer service. All of these things are not commodities. Brands like Ritz-Carlton and Shangri-la have made entire business models out of providing them, and they stand out from the rest of the pack because of this. If you can afford to pay for the top tier of hotels, I suggest you do so. However, most of the people reading this website are looking for bargains, and with bargain hotels you need to know several things. Bargain hotels will project luxury with their advertisements, front desk, and lobby and do whatever they can to mimic top tier hotels. I would drop a few brand names for these hotels too but unfortunately they go by man names in different countries, and are not always part of chains. They will claim to have the same amenities, like hot tubs, pools, buffet breakfasts, and even “5-star” rankings, but they will be of lesser and sometimes poorer quality. Some hotels are famous for getting you in at one low price, then charging you for the little things (sounds kind of like domestic airlines). I’ve been charged $25 for a five-minute call in Thailand, $7 for a boiled egg breakfast in Belgrade, and the list goes on.  I’ve even had a small backpack and windbreaker stolen from me at a Costa Rican bed and breakfast by the same lady that folded my dirty clothes.  Often they will also try to give you the worst room to see if you’ll actually take it. It seems to be almost de facto now when traveling in South America, Europe or the Middle East to refuse the first or even second room offered.

Because of the enormous volume of hotels, many independently owned and operated, it is up to you to do a substantial amount of homework before staying at an unknown one. Check your guidebooks, or tripadvisor.com, and talk to other tourists. Or if you are pressed for time or staying in a small town with only one or two hotels, prep yourself for the absolute worst. This means bringing some food of your own, bottled water, soap, ear plugs and towels. Be prepared for the worst and always secure your valuables and have flashlights in case of unscheduled power outages (or even scheduled ones). While staying in the Amazon in a fairly decent sized hotel, no one bothered to tell me that the whole city shuts off its power at 9PM each evening. Take it from me; it gets really dark in the Amazon. So be careful when trying to stay cheaply at hotels. Yes there are bargains, but they only come from research, word of mouth, and once every few years, luck.

I won’t spend time on restaurants, because essentially all the same rules from hotels apply. But a unique and important area that I will touch on is organized tour trips. They will seem like a commodity to you, all offering the same activities, site visits, transportation, etc. And it is fine to try and negotiate or haggle with a few companies. However, what you are really paying for is a knowledgeable guide that you can understand and who will not waste your time. If you only have one day to visit a place, you do not want to spend it listening to someone who has poor knowledge of the area or poor speaking skills, or even worse, someone that will waste hours taking you to tourist traps like overpriced restaurants and factory shops. Never pay an agency for a trip until you’ve met the guide and are sure you understand what he is saying and what he has planned. Luckily some websites and guidebooks have cropped up recently offering reviews of tour guides, but because there are so many, and they are often transient between tour companies, ratings can be very unreliable. So my best suggestion is to read our website, ask around for the experiences of fellow travelers, and to always meet the tour guide up front.

So that’s my definition of cheap and how it applies to the basic areas of travel. One thing to keep in mind is that “cheap” by Western standards will get you quite a bit in most countries of the world. You may find an excellent hotel for less than $5 in Kathmandu, and for that price, you really can’t complain too much if your pillow is a tad lumpy. Same for tour guides in countries where the living wage is less than $10 a day. Be prudent, but at the same time if you can afford to be a little generous, do so.

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