The Anatomy of a Cheap Trip

After attempting to explain the steps to several different people recently, and losing them when I referenced six URLs in the span of two sentences, I figured maybe it was time to put together a quick reference on how I pull off my cheap weekend trips. I’m going to link this at behindthenet.org/cheaptrip, for the benefit of those who require a simple, easily-spoken URL. Feel free to share as you like.

Flights

There aren’t many tricks here, particularly if you need some choice in your schedule (which you don’t get with Priceline or Hotwire). But, paradoxically, you may be better off if you don’t have a clear destination in mind — just look to see where you can go for cheap.

• Digital City Travel Deals — Richmond (or from DC)
• Yahoo Best Fares from Richmond (DC)

The other places to look for very short-notice deals are the various weekend fare-dump e-mails sent out by most U.S. airlines. I find the US Airways E-Savers most useful, since (a) I’m in Richmond, a big US Airways city and (b) they generally allow Friday departures and Saturday returns, but you might also be interested in AA Net SAAvers or United E-Fares.

Southwest and its fellow low-fare airlines are worth checking, but if you plan it right, you can usually fly the majors for the same price or close to it because Southwest forces them to fare-match on common routes. Where SWA really shines is in its low cost for refundable and one-way airfares.

Of course, if you know what you want, there’s always the Big 3:

• Orbitz
• Expedia
• Travelocity

I personally prefer Orbitz nowadays, but I’ve used them all dating back as far as 1997. If fares appear high on your favorite site, it’s worth checking the others, as fare availability may not be consistent between the services.

Lodging

This is where you can really win, with some legwork and a little bit of flexibility. An hour of computer time could be the difference between paying $29 and $129 for the same room, so read up.

In major cities, you stand a reasonable chance of finding cheap accommodations at a youth hostel. This option has served backpackers well for ages, particularly in Europe. The genre is very hit or miss, though, and there’s no universal resource to consult. Hostelling International is an international network that has reasonably strict standards for its member hostels, but they might only represent 10% of the available hostel beds in a city. Google [cityname] hostel and you’ll do best. Hostel accommodations cover a wide range of styles, from quad-occupancy dorm room with attached bathroom to old-school barracks with showers down the hall. If you find one that looks good, Google its name and see if you can find reviews or ratings. The main thing to look for here is some way to secure your belongings, preferably by BYO-padlock footlockers in the room, as you will likely be sharing your room with complete strangers.

Another option for major cities is a college/university dorm. While universities often hold several dorms for conferences and youth camps, sometimes they can’t fill all of them that way — so they set one or two aside for public accommodations. Last summer I took this route at McGill University in Montreal for a long weekend; I’d do it again in a second. The advantage of this over a youth hostel is privacy — you should have the room to yourself. The disadvantages of dorm-staying in general are that you can only do it between mid-May and mid-August, and that the open dorms may not be air-conditioned (OK in Montreal, but probably not so further south).

The real winner in this category, though, is educated bidding on Priceline.com. Priceline is, essentially, a reverse auction; you select city/metro area (and usually a neighborhood/”zone” within the area — for example, Richmond is divided into seven zones; you can usually bet on the airport being a zone all to itself) and star level, then name a price you’d be willing to pay. There are two catches: one, you don’t get to see the hotel’s name before you bid; two, if your bid is accepted, you pay on the spot, and you cannot cancel or change your mind to get a refund. If you’re willing to accept these limitations, you’re still left with a major question: how much should you bid?

The key here is to use BiddingForTravel.com to get some idea of the target price range, and perhaps a hint as to what hotel you might (emphasis on might) get. BFT is a bulletin board where people post the results of their various Priceline bids; some of its posters put in quite a bit of effort working out complicated bidding strategies, but what you’re really interested in is the title bar of each post. Posters will specify the dates of their stay, star rating, neighborhood and bid, then the hotel they received as a result. If you see a run of one particular hotel around your target dates, you may want to look at the top of the board, click into the “HOTEL LIST” post, and see if there is a review of that hotel posted; this could save you some grief if you have specific requirements for your lodging (although if you’re that picky, you probably shouldn’t be Pricelining anyway).

Transportation

I like public transit. I like it a lot. It’s the best way to go. And there isn’t much way to get a deal on rental cars. Priceline is worth a try if you’re under 25, because it might save you a $20/day underage driver fee, but that’s about it. The only worthwhile suggestion I can offer will only save you time, not money: get a good map. I personally prefer the laminated, foldable models that you can stick in your pocket and not worry about tearing or getting soggy, but a good guidebook may point you in a different direction (for example, the AZ Mini book in London, or Paris par arrondissement in the French capital).

Happy travels!