Budget Travel Resources

Most people want to travel but many feel they either do not have enough time or enough money. Students and teachers tend to have lots of time but not so much money (a wiser choice, if you ask me). Here are some resources to help make that dream trip come true.

Guidebooks 

• The Lonely Planet Guidebook Series  - this British company produces excellent guides to just about everywhere. The "shoestring" series highlights the cheapest options, but they all have budget choices listed.

• Frommer’s  - not my favorite guides, but most of their advice is free online and you can sort recommended hotels and restaurants by price or stars. Useful.

(These books plus many other travel guides are available in most public libraries. Glendale and Pasadena have good collections.)

Hostelling

Hostels are the absolutely best way for the independent and budget traveler to save costs, meet interesting people, and organize activities when travelling). Bunks average less than $25 a night. Private rooms are around $35-40 in most parts of the world. You can stay for a week in a bunk in Europe for less than $150. Trust me. I know. I've done it.

• • Hostelling International USA

  • Hostelling International Worldwide

  • Hostels.com - claims to link to "Every Hostel in the World - More than 20,000 youth hostels worldwide"

  • Hostelz.com - another hostelling link and also books reservations and has guest reviews.

Camping

Camping is often the least expensive way to travel. While national and state park campsites often have to be reserved months in advance, there are usually National Forest, BLM, or county campsites to be had without reservations and with very little advance planning. There are generally no showers in National Forest campsites, but running water and clean pit toilets are generally available. I've done two week camping trips in the West where the total cost for camp sites was less than $100!

Allstays Camp and RV App - this great app links to every single campsite in the United States and will point you to the closest National Forest and Bureau of Land Management sites, as well as private campgrounds, state parks, and National Parks. Highly recommended. Has saved me a fortune.

Here are some of my absolute favorite campgrounds ever. Be sure to check local conditions before you go. Things change. Weather happens.

Airline Tickets

• Google Flights - search multiple airlines and see fares on a calendar to make it easy to pick the cheap days to fly.

• Kayak.com -  searches multiple airline sites quickly and finds good overseas flights.

• STA Travel - student travel agency. Gives good advice and offers discounted airline tickets. They also sell the Eurail Pass.

Safety and Health 

 U.S. State Department Consular Information Sheets - want to know if it's safe to travel in Mali right now? Here's what the U.S. embassy has to say about it. Information for nearly every country in the world. Also a good source of information about health hazards in each country.

Center for Disease Control - want to know exactly what vaccinations you'll need to eat what the locals eat in sub-Saharan Africa? Here are the details for every region of the earth.