How to Travel for Less

Would you like to take a cruise to The Bahamas or visit the Caribbean? How about seeing those exotic sites that you only hear about in the movies or in books? What about doing this for less than you ever thought was possible?

Take the vacation of your dreams for pennies on the dollar through discount travel services and consolidators.

Consolidators buy up the unsold airline seats and cruise ship accomodations for much lower than list price. They the sell these seats to people for considerably less than regular price. These are not cheap, charter flights going to TimBucToo or other unheard of places. These are commercial ariline flights and cruises on popular airlines/cruise ships.

The only difference is that you pay 35% less than the person next to you for the same destination! Better yet, there is no need for the 'advance purchase requirements' on airline tickets as there is when you go through the normal channels.

With more than 25% of trans-Atlantic flights (this can be even higher to Asia) and 1/3 cruise ship booking coming from consolidators, chances are very good that some of your friends, neighbors or coworkers have traveled using consolidators.

To find a consolidator, in the phone book look under 'Travel Agencies & Bureaus' for listings that offer 'discount' or 'low cost' travel. If you have access to the internet, you can visit www.frommers.com.

www.Frommers.com will scour the world of 'discount travel', bringing you a list of recommended consolidators who have airline seats and cruise ship accomodations available.

Some tips to keep in mind when shopping for a consolidator, besides low price, is finding a consolidator who is reliable. If possible, get recommendations from other people who have used consolidators. Also, look at their history. Have they been around for awhile? The longer a consolidator has been in business, the better. Do they look and sound reputable?

Ask a lot of questions before handing over your hard earned cash. If anything about the business in question sets off alarm bells in your mind, go somewhere else. It's better to wait a while longer to go on that trip than to get where you want to go and find yourself stuck without a hotel or even worse, finding out your beach front cottage is actually a rat infested bungalow sitting half way into the surf!

Some other tips:

+ Search for bargains on the Internet
+ Be open minded about destinations.
+ Be flexible

Useful Resources

1 800 USA Hotels
www.1800usahotels.com

BestFares.com
www.BestFares.com

Cheap Tickets
www.cheaptickets.com

My Travel
www.mytravelco.com/cruises

Cruise Value Centers
www.mycruisevalue.com

Expedia.com
www.Expedia.com

Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel Online
www.frommers.com

Travelocity.com
www.travelocity.com

NOTE: Remember to also contact each airline for the specifics on their own individual discount travel program.