Travel Tip Roundup for January

Arizona Sunset

It's been a few months since my last post, but I have a really good excuse.  David and I moved from California to Arizona, last October. Every moment since July has been spent either finding the perfect house or arranging our belongings to make our perfect house a home.

But don't think for a minute that I've forgotten you. There might be snow in your backyard, but I know your thoughts are turning to travel.  January can't last forever.  And what better way to chase away the winter chill than with deliciously warm dreams of far-off places?

If your feet itch to get on a plane, you might want to re-read my blog post about flying to Europe for free (almost).  Since I wrote that article two years
ago, I discovered just recently that Rick Ingersoll has an entire website devoted to helping you accrue frequent flyer miles/free flights on a regular basis!  It's probably easiest for you to read my post first for an overview and then take a look at The Frugal Travel Guy's site for more details.

Once you use your free flight to get to Europe, you'll surely want to stay in a money-saving apartment.  Travel guru, Arthur Frommer, lists vacation apartments as one of the eight major travel trends of 2012.  His only caveat is that a very few city ordinances deem the practice illegal if the owner does not remain in residence during the rental period.  There's more information and a heated discussion about this subject on another Frommer blogpost.

As for me, I intend to continue saving money while enjoying all the perks of apartment rentals.  Read this post to see why I feel so strongly that rentals are not only the cheapest, but the best, way to travel.

For a few more travel tips, you may want to listen to a conversation I had with Dana Hersey on the Retirement Radio Show in Boston.  The interview was broadcast January 6, but if you missed it, you can listen to it by clicking the "interview" link above.

And be sure to head back here often to the Tightwad Travel blog where we'll banish the winter doldrums with discussions of exciting, yet frugal, travel possibilities.