The Frugal Traveler

I have created this blog to share my love of travel and adventure with kindred spirits, people who like to explore new places but don't have much money to do it. I hope to emulate Rick Steves by creating a sort of America Through the Back Door resource for thrifty travelers.

Up front, I have to state that the cheapest way to travel is to camp out, but many of us are not suited to the rigors of camping. Even if I camp, I like the luxury of alternating one night of camping with a night in lodging of some type where I can take a shower and sleep comfortably. Some people swear by recreational vehicles, which certainly save on nightly stays -- that is, unless you factor in the purchase price of the vehicle. I suspect for the average RV user, per-day use costs run into the thousands of dollars, especially with current gas prices.

Most of us who can't actually sleep while camping or can't afford an RV will have to find lodging, arguably the most expensive aspect of travel. The good news is that affordable lodging is out there. All you have to do is follow these two tips: do research and be prepared for a certain amount of inconvenience.

Research
My ex-husband was an unprepared traveler. He would decide to take a trip, load a grocery bag with clothes and his cooler with beer and hit the road. One time we drove to San Diego and somehow wound up in Prescott, Arizona, at the end of the first day. We went to several hotels with no vacancies before we learned that every room in the town was booked for a balloon festival, a convention, and a homecoming. Unpredictable, yes. Unavoidable, no. Even before the internet, there were phones. Ultimately, we wound up driving 60 more miles and staying in a stinky "court" motel in Wickenburg, Arizona, which would not have been my first choice.

The internet has made research ridiculously easy; no one should wind up in a roach motel in the back of beyond. While doing your research, be sure to check out sites with reviews. There is at least one site that blows the whistle on places with bed bugs, a growing problem in the United States, which had virtually eradicated the pests many decades ago.

Inconvenience
Affordable lodging doesn't necessarily mean you might have to suffer inconvenience, but there probably is a reason the place is cheaper than anywhere else. For instance, the cheapest place I could find in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, was located on a busy truck bypass. I was able to sleep but had dreams of trains roaring through the room all night. My cabin in West Yellowstone was adjacent to the insomniac owner's workroom. My dirt cheap but lovely flat in Firenze (one floor of a former palazzo) was on a busy street a half block from a nightclub apparently very popular with Florentines. On the other hand, I have paid top dollar for places with an equal amount of inconvenience, so the best you can do is make an informed decision after weighing all the factors.

(Bates Motel photo is in the public domain)