Travel on a Budget: The best things in life are free

As I research and write about travel all day, I am surrounded with travel tips, and right now the most important one on everyone's mind is how to do it in this economy. I love to see the words budget and free and affordable in an article about travel. Today I found a great one about ten notably expensive cities in the world and how any of us actually can afford to visit them. You can find that article here.  But if you just want the highlights I thought I'd share some of the things I've learned lately about affordable travel.

The article about the expensive cities focuses on transportation.  Larger cities have more options for air travel and you can often find cheaper flights into them.  These cities also have well-developed public transit systems, which allow for cheaper movement in the city once you arrive.   Perhaps the greatest tip, though, for affordable travel?  Do free stuff!

Once you arrive in the city of your destination, consider all the things you can do without spending extra money.  Window shop on Fifth Avenue in New York City!  Take a stroll in any city park or down a city street.  When you're visiting a new place, walking and looking can sometimes lead you to greater treasure than any attraction for which you have to pay exorbitant amounts and stand in line for long periods.The greatest thing about travel is usually the surprises.  Don't you want to finish one of these sentences?  "We stumbled on the greatest little hidden garden,"; "You should have seen the sidewalk cafe we discovered on our walk through the city,"; or "We found the best view of our location in a place for which we did not have to buy a ticket."

The last is what happened for us on our recent vacation.  We were taking a drive, on the way to yet another free attraction, and stumbled onto a scenic view of the city in which we were staying.  It was completely breathtaking and completely free.  If the light had been better, our best photographs would have come from there.  Far better photos than the ones taken by the people in the various restaurants and attractions - those photos costing far more than the price of film.

When planning educational tours or family vacations, don't stress over the price of the destination.  Just get there, open your mind, and prepare to be surprised!