Super Useful Travel Links 6.1.12

Having just come back from a mini-vacation that included a bit of a shopping spree (very little, mind you), I got to thinking about shopping on travels and how you can make the most of your money, but still come back with some pretty cool finds. I love to shop like the next gal, but I realize that if I spend $200 on some fancy shoes, then I probably won’t be able to eat the next day or go see that production/concert/attraction I’d really rather experience more than a pair of shoes I don’t actually need. I can probably find something similar – and so much more affordable – if I shop around and then just have to eat lunch somewhere cheap, instead of having to eat PB&J sandwiches for the next 6 meals. Markets are a travelers dream, because not only can you get handmade awesomeness that is made locally, but you can also save a bunch of money by haggling. Maybe you’ll even meet some fantastic people while you’re at it. In Ecuador, everybody we bought something from was super friendly and somehow had a connection to Portland. We loved it!

Have you been thinking about taking a trip to Paris? I would definitely recommend it, but it can get spendy if you don’t plan ahead (just like almost anywhere). If you’re looking for a more unique trip – with offbeat gems to bring home – then check out Bonjour Paris’ post on Markets of Paris. Outdoor, indoor, linens, antique tchotchkes, jewelry, art. You will find something to suit any shopping experience you hope to have and find some fabulous items in the process. 

Do you love shopping so much that you can get lost in it for hours? Have you ever been to a “mega-market”? If browsing for half the day until you have no idea how to get out of the market is your idea of heaven (or you’re just super picky and need a HUGE selection of items for sale to choose something), then you will want to read up on these 6 Mega-Markets from Nile Guide. You will find one for whatever part of the globe you are headed to and can get everything from handmade alpaca sweaters in Ecuador to crazy weird food and drink in Thailand.

I am a sucker for outdoor markets, flea markets, farmers’ markets and the words “Gift Shop”. I can look at things I don’t need or want for half the day, because it’s fun and because it is usually different from what I can buy or find at home. While in Bend this past holiday weekend, we hit up the “Saturday Market” and had a good laugh. It had maybe 30 booths and was held in a parking lot. One of Portland’s festivals – and even ones in the suburbs – has at least three to four times as many vendors. There was a good representation of everything one could want from a market: wooden toys, handmade scarves and hats, fancy soaps and lotions, healthy snacks, jewelry, jewelry and more jewelry and some guy who made electric guitars from recycled wood and cigar boxes. Amazing! We whiled away about 45 minutes and then headed off in search of other things on our itinerary.

Did you know that some ways of trying to get cheap airfare just don’t work anymore? Shocking, right? As times change, so do some of the old tried and true practices of travel planning. You don’t need to book 9 months in advance or stay over a weekend to catch yourself a deal. In fact, some ideas that used to be standard – like you can always choose your seat for free – are changing. Check out FareCompare’s 10 Old Rules That Said Goodbye and be a smarter traveler for the modern age.

If heading to London for the Olympics was on your to-do list for the summer, you’ll be happy to know that hotel rates have fallen an average of $20 per night. Everyone was so afraid of high prices that bookings have been slim and hotels are scratching their heads over it. While the Olympics seem to be really popular, staying in traditional hotels…not so much. So, you can expect a bit of a price break on stays in the capital now, especially if you’ve waited this long to make a reservation. And if you’ve booked already, see if you can’t possibly cancel and rebook for a better price. Unless you are charged a cancellation fee, you may end up with a screaming deal.

I usually don’t add my own links to this list, but this week I’d like to point you toward a post I did for FareCompare on travel apps. There are, like, a bazillion out there and some are just the suck, right? I’ve whittled down to a list of five of what I think are some of the most useful apps out there right now that can organize your travel and also help you get through the airport efficiently. You’ll spend zero dollars to make this happen, too. Just download and go!

Have you come across any great or interesting travel-related news or articles that you’d like to share?

Last-Minute Vacations for Less

Sometimes you just don’t have the time to plan your vacation, or you just find such a good deal that you have to book it and figure out the specifics while you’re packing your bags. When you have the luxury to travel in 90 days or less, then you can really find some great bargains. There’s no better way to travel on a budget than to find a package (or hotel) at a deep, deep discount.

Lastminute.com.au is the Australian site for LastMinute.com and has all the same great deals for last-minute hotels, last-minute flights and trip packages. How can they offer such good rates? LastMinute sells the last rooms and plane seats available in order to make the airlines and hotels money. They get customers and you get to save a bunch of money. Score!

I’m all for a site that can save me money to do things that I love. It’s also awesome when families want to get away, but their budget is tight and any savings can help them take their kids somewhere fun and not go into debt doing it. Whether they want to travel to other parts of Australia or want to explore the rest of the world, LastMinute has got them covered, and you if you want to travel to and stay in an affordable hotel in Australia. In fact, you can find hotels from the mid-$50s.

Have you ever wanted to fly on the fancy SingaporeAirlines or Qantas? You can do it for less! Save even more by booking on discount airlines like Jetstar and Virgin Blue. LastMinute has something to fit any budget, whether you are taking your annual vacation or need to fly last-minute for emergency or business. Make sure it’s your first stop for booking your trip.

LastMinute.com.au doesn’t just deal in quickly planned travel either. You can also book further in advance and still find money-saving flights, rooms and packages. This gives you more time to plan the finer points of your trip, like where you’re going to eat and what you’re going to do! You can find some excellent competitive rates, and for those of you who aren’t in or want to vacation in Australia, you can go to the main site and check out LastMinute for your country for airfare deals from where you live.

This sponsored post was brought to you by Lastminute.com.au.

Shop Local and Green 5.30.12

Don't forget to enter to win our open giveaways, including the awesome Anti-Theft Urban Tour Bag from Travelon and a bunch of cash you can put towards your next trip!

When I travel, I always try to hit up locally owned stores and restaurants, just to give back to the community. I mean, traveling is all about destination, so if I shop at Walmart and eat at TGI Fridays and McDonalds, not only am I missing out on the culture, I’m also not being a great tourist, because I am not spending money that will go back into the community. Yes, yes. I know I constantly talk about how I eat at both Hard Rock Café and Chili’s when I travel, but 95% of my dining experiences are at family-owned restaurants and pubs, food trucks, outdoor markets or buys from the local grocers. Not only is this good for their tourism, but it helps the environment as well. The food doesn’t have to be imported, which means fuel costs are minimal and local farmers, workers and owners can keep prices lower and benefit from my dollars.

This long holiday weekend, Eric and I took a little road trip to Bend and Sunriver in Eastern Oregon. It was a 3-hour trip from home, but still seemed like we were somewhere totally different. It’s been at least 6 years since we’ve made the trip, but there was a concert we wanted to see, so we made a mini-vacation out of it. We certainly did our part to help out the Bend economy, as we dined and shopped and explored Bend-only merchants and attractions. I’ll just quickly go over what the weekend held for us, as I will be going more in-depth on some of these things in future posts.

Our whole trip was just about 36 hours, including commute time, so we made the most of our time:

I love gas stations that have a shop that sells EVERYTHING.

Saturday:

Stopped in a tiny town on the lake called Detroit to get breakfast and gas. We found a great little coffee shop/café called KC’s and got some homemade breakfast sandwiches and lattes. A bunch of locals came and went as we enjoyed our feast and picked up a locally made item as a gift before we continued on to Bend.

Eric testing out a kaleidoscope

How cute is this shop?

In Bend we stopped off downtown, since we had some time before we could check into our vacation rental. We wandered down to Saturday Market (way small compared to the one in Portland, but with many of the same things). We made a couple of purchases, like homemade, organic dog treats and a handmade colorful top. We tested out some other things, like fancy lotions and knitted ear warmers and scarves, then wandered back down the street and checked out a few locally owned shops, where we also found some goodies to buy before getting back in the car and asking our GPS how to get to our next stop:

Who doesn't love "free" candy?

Goody’s Chocolate and Candy Factory! Yes, we took a quick tour for just $2 each and saw candy being made and tried a bunch of samples. Not bad for $2. Somehow this turned into lunch (even though it wasn’t much, but breakfast was super filling) and we decided to find our rental and check in. Once there, I totally wished we were staying longer than one night. They had bicycle rentals, tennis courts and our room was right on the golf course…though it was super quiet even when some golfers came by on their carts to play through.

Amazing and huge

We got settled in, marveled at the gigantic space of our home away from home, enjoyed our porch and then looked up some dining options on Open Table. We ended up at a restaurant called The Phoenix and ordered off the 3-course menu and saved a bunch of money by not having to pay extra for soup or salad and dessert to go with our meals. After that, we were off to see Tenacious D inconcert. Amazing, but it was SO cold. Layer, layer, layer in the desert and maybe bring some of those hand warmers that are cheap and go in your pockets.

$6 per person for all-you-can-eat pancakes and waffles with fruit and sides.

Sunday:

We slept in a little and then packed up for our ride back home, but first we had some other things planned. First things first: Pancake breakfast!

Look at these cool ice rocks!

Fueled and ready to hit the road, we stopped at Newberry National Volcanic Monument and hiked the Lava River Cave. Super cool and eerie, you need to bring your own flashlight, headlamp or lantern or spend $5 to rent one. We brought one from home and saved and parking only cost us $5, which we could use all day at the national park grounds. Affordable! If you’re afraid of the dark, this cave is probably not something you want to do, unless – like me – you are going with someone else and it is a busy day for tourists.

Magma Elevator shows how volcanoes work!

We made a quick stop to check out the visitor’s center and then we drove on to visit the High Desert Museum. Oddly, it was less wildlife and more museum, but it was still pretty cool and informative and we learned about the Indians and animal life in the desert as well as the pioneers. We were entertained by a lynx, a playful otter and saw Smokey the Bear, then went in search of lunch on our ride home.

Westerny!

Looking for somewhere kitchy and unique, we ended up at a place called Bronco Billy’s in Sisters, where they had a great love of old Clint Eastwood movies and saloon style dining. The restaurant used to be a hotel and you can still reserve a room to dine in upstairs. We tried out their burgers, one of which boasted to have won “Best Burger in Oregon”. While it was not the best burger ever eaten by us – in or out of Oregon – they were still pretty darn tasty and filled us up for our ride home.

Total cost for the weekend: $300 and some change, not including gifts and other items we bought, but for our rental, gas, food and activities (including the concert). Obviously, we could have done it cheaper by bringing our own food and staying in a budget hotel, but not by much and a third of our budget was taken up by concert tickets, so that also would have cut our costs by a considerable amount if we had just gone to Bend to go to Bend.

I hope your Memorial Day Weekend was a success. What’s your favorite weekend getaway?