Travel Tips, Part 5: Hotels, Flights, Luggage

I've often wondered how middle-class people (such as my parents) are able to afford to go overseas every year to places as exotic and as far-flung as Patagonia, Alaska, the Arctic Circle, the Galapagos, Africa, and remotest parts of Asia?

Answer: They're not only frugal; they're also savvy travellers.  

Here are some tips and tricks to travelling in frugal  glamorous style on a great budget.

ONE FINE STAY

This is one of the best accommodation websites in the world. I subscribe to their mail-outs, and often make small noises of excitment when the latest additions lob in. It's true travel porn: beautiful places at affordable prices.

 (Please note: I'm not affiliated with any of these companies.)

Particularly good for families or groups, One Fine Stay offers upmarket, multi-bedroom homes to rent in London, Paris and New York – much like airbnb.com, only far more luxurious. So you don't get the smelly spare bedroom in the back of the SoHo artist's loft. 

My favourite is the converted Carriage House in New York's Greenwich Village (top image), but there are amazing properties to rent for a few days or a week, from a Malibu beach house right on the sand to a gorgeous cottage with a pool in the Hollywood Hills, plus elegant apartments in London and Paris. Many of them have their own gardens, terraces or  courtyards.

www.onefinestay.com 

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HOPPER.COM

A new venture started by a couple of entrepreneurial Aussies, hopper.com is a little like Skyscanner.com in that it allows you to find the cheapest flights to a destination, however it also shows you a graph of the cheapest days in a month. The only downside is that it only seems to include economy prices. 

I typed in Melbourne-Paris and it showed the cheapest dates showing up were mid-November.

(NB Skyscanner used to be a fav, but I've realised they only show their preferred airlines.)

TUESDAY TRAVEL

This tip has been mentioned on the blog before. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday really are the cheapest days to travel. It's been proven that airlines discount their Tuesday flights by as much as 20–30%. Look at the difference in prices here between Sat Oct 11 and Wednesday Oct 15 – $700.

(NB Can't remember sources, terrible journalist that I am!)

FLY IN AND OUT OF THE MAJOR HUBS

The major travel hubs are London, Singapore, LA and New York. Okay, perhaps Washington DC too. If you can get to one of these cities, your flights from these cities to your final destinations will be cheaper. The idea is to use frequent flyers to get to these hubs, or cheap hoppers such as Jetstar, Jetblue or Ryanair.

For example. 

If I booked a direct flight with Singapore Airlines (one of the best airlines in the world) from Melbourne to London, it would cost around A$ or US$2200. 

But if I booked a cheap Jetstar to Singapore ($450 return), then picked up a Singapore Airlines flight for the straight-through leg to London, the latter flight is only $1000 (booked direct via the Singapore Airlines website), making the total fare $1450. (If you need to stop in Singapore, the city's gardens are gorgeous, and the Airport Transit Hotel is only $70. You also have more to spend on your London hotel, such as the new Ham Yard, above.)

Even if Jetstar's fares are $550, you're still saving a lot of money on a top-tier airline.

PARIS

That said, there is an exception to the rule. Paris. 

Flights to Paris are increasingly becoming $400 or so cheaper than London. 

I don't know why? Perhaps airlines realised everyone was flying into London?

The problem with Paris is CDG (Charles de Gaulle), which – even after new renos – is impossibly difficult to navigate and clear security. 

Still, let's not complain. It's still Paris, after all.

FLEXIBLE TRAVEL DATES

If you're flexible, look at events that may be on, or great times to be in town, and coordinate your trip around them. 

1. For example, if you love fashion, Hermès in Paris has a great sale in January and June/July. (Dates vary; details are usually on Internet.) (I would love to find a cheap version of this Macpherson bag, above, to hold my camera!)

2. Most major fashion exhibitions begin in October each year (although a few start in May, such as the Met's Constume Institute's shows), so research to see if there are fantastic fashion shows opening.

3. If you love gardens, the various Open Garden Days and Weekends in April and June allow you to peek inside someone's home. (The best private gardens in the US usually open April; the best ones in England usually open June.) 

4. Sydney is best seen over the New Year's Eve period: the fireworks over the harbour really are the best NYE displays in the world. Similarly, Venice has an amazing atmosphere and fireworks show for Festa del Redentore during the 3rd weekend of July.

5. Paris is TERRIBLE in May (it rains constantly) but beautiful in April when the blossoms open and summer exhibitions begin, and again in late Sept, when Fashion Week peeps descend on the city and the weather is still balmy and warm.

6. Monet's garden at Giverny is perfect for one week in late May or early June, when much of the garden turns a stunning shade of purple. The beautiful mauve ladies’ rockets blend with the big rhodos, the blue lupines and the blue sages, amongst other flowers. The scene doesn’t last long, but it is spectacular. The beds turn progressively pink as summer errupts. The 'Blue Period' is a brief but memorable week between the bulbs and the summer blooms. {link}

7. New York is glorious in either April, when the blossoms and bulbs are out, or the 'fall' period during October, when the autumn leaves are changing. Christmas is also magical if you have kids: NY does windows like no other city in the world. Avoid summer like the plague.

SELF-SELECT PLANE SEATING

Airlines now allow you to select your seat when you book your ticket online. Do take advantage of this, but there are tricks to choosing. There are lots of tips and reviews on www.seatguru.com, which shows you the best seat on your chosen flight, but here are few more:

BUDGET FLYING

1. If you're a couple, try to book either side of a three-seat section at the rear of Economy. Most people don't like the rear, and the middle seats fill up last because people naturally prefer aisle or window. Odds are the middle seat will stay empty and you'll have a spare seat to throw your things.

2. NEVER BOOK THE VERY LAST ROW. For some reason, the last seats in most airlines don't recline due to the design of the rear area. You'll be vertical the whole flight.

3. Some airlines have an odd configuration of seating in Economy where a middle row narrows or widens and one of the aisle seats in the middle has massive leg room (See 48D above). BOOK THIS SEAT for best Stretch Factor.

PREMIUM ECONOMY CLASS / BUSINESS CLASS / FIRST CLASS FLYING

There are lots of tips to choosing seats in the premium classes on this website – Business Traveller magazine

AVOID THE DEAD BODIES

The Exit Seats are great, but just remember that the Body Cupboards (used for storing dead bodies of people who die in-flight) are often located near those central areas for ease of storing the, er, cadavers. 

(NB This is a new thing on the A380s; previously dead people were often shoved in a toilet, or in First Class with a blanket over them.)

TRY NOT TO WORRY ABOUT THE BUMPS

I once wrote a cover story for the Sydney Morning Herald's magazine about in-flight antics, and heard a story (which turned out to be true) of two male pilots who put the plane into autopilot and had sex in the cockpit. (Must have been a spacious cockpit?) I still think of that when the plane lurches and drops suddenly at 10,000 feet.

FRUGAL FIRST CLASS TRAVELLER

Jo Karnaghan is a Sydney doctor who travels the world when she's not seeing patients. Jo's started a fantastic website called Frugal First Class Travel, which covers how to travel well for cheap – link. She's one of those people who's so well informed you'd love to have her as a friend, and indeed she and I have been emailing because I'm so enamoured with her and her insights.

Here's one of her great posts called HOW TO REDEEM FREQUENT FLYER FLIGHTS WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE ENOUGH POINTS link  

http://frugalfirstclasstravel.com

MUSTS FOR YOUR LUGGAGE

Packing is an ongoing learning curve, and I still get it wrong. That's just Travel Law. But here are the things I've learned, and never leave home without:

1. Only take a carry-on bag. If you want to buy things, cheap suitcases can be bought overseas for $50. In the meantime, a carry-on (with wheels) gives you greater flexibility, less waiting time, and more security/peace of mind. 

2. Cut back on luggage weight but only taking an iPad rather than a laptop, a smaller Leica camera (great camera) rather than a big DSLR, minimum toiletries (buy more there: Boots and US chemists are very cheap), and a travel hairdryer – or use the hotel's. Also, take only 2 pairs of shoes – flat walking shoes and a nice pair. (You can buy more there if you need to!) Funnily enough, some fabrics weigh more – linen is very heavy; cotton is light. Wool is heavy; cashmere is light. Also, take only x2 pairs of bras/undies – and wash them out. (Really, how many are you going to need? Most people are too tired at night to do anything but sleep!) Electronics are heavy too – take ONE multi-country international adaptor. (Apple make them for their products.) And load books and itineraries onto your iPad so you don't have to take paper (also heavy). Your total hand luggage should not weigh more than 10 kilos to be allowed through, so buy a little portable, hand-sized weigher. We use ours constantly!

3. Don't apply foundation before a flight as it's too heavy and will clog your skin. A tinted moisturiser or BB cream is great because it also moisturises the skin. If you want you can wipe it off with some handy wipes when you're seated, but I don't bother as it's so light.

4. Pack a few travel-sized Klorane Dry Hair Shampoos. Klorane Dry Shampoo not only cleans and lifts your hair after a long-haul flight, it actually makes it look like a salon blow-out! 

5. Buy compression socks or stocking. They really do stop swelling and potential blood clots. But don't buy the expensive $30 ones at chemists: supermarkets sell compression stockings for $5, which do the same trick. 

6. Aspirin. if you're over 40, always take 2 aspirin before you board a flight to avoid clotting. Also walk around – constantly. Stretch, or just stand for 10 minutes. It will make your muscles work again and get the blood flow moving.

7. Clarins' Beauty Flash Balm. Beauty editor friends swear by this and so do I. It's an intense moisturiser that acts like a mini-mask. Don't rub in it. Just smooth it over and let it dry. Your skin will look amazing afterwards.

8. Pack a portable recharger or portable phone / laptop battery. You may need it. I bought one from Rose Street Trading which is the size of a credit card and recharges both an iPhone and MacBook (you buy the adaptor for Apple products). You simply recharge the battery before you go and then keep it in your handbag for emergencies.

9. Consider noise-cancelling headphones to cut out the throbbing white noise of the engines – Bose are good. They really do make sleeping easier.

10. Be considerate of your fellow travellers. Say hello to the person next to you and "have a safe trip" when you leave. Strike up a conversation if they're chatty. Ask where they're going/where they've been/if they had a nice time? Let them out to stretch without frowning. You're on the plane for a while. Make it pleasant.

AND LASTLY, TRY NOT TO COMPLAIN

Did you see the hilarious article about real, but ridiculous, travel complaints – here? Here are a few:

1. "It took us nine hours to fly home from Jamaica to England. It took the Americans only three hours to get home. This seems unfair."

2. "We had to line up outside to catch the boat and there was no air-conditioning."

3. "My fiance and I booked a twin-bedded room but we were placed in a double-bedded room. We now hold you responsible for the fact that I find myself pregnant. This would not have happened if you had put us in the room that we booked."

4. "No one told us there would be fish in the water. The children were scared."

5. "Although the brochure said that there was a fully-equipped kitchen, there was no egg-slicer in the drawers."

6. "The roads were uneven and bumpy, so we could not read the local guide book during the bus ride to the resort. Because of this, we were unaware of many things that would have made our holiday more fun."

7. "There were too many Spanish people there. The receptionist spoke Spanish, the food was Spanish. No one told us that there would be so many foreigners."

8. "We found the sand was not like the sand in the brochure. Your brochure shows the sand as white but it was more yellow."

Some people should just never leave home...