Dublin's Liffey Boardwalk.

By Sarah Silbert—

When we cracked open the June 2009 issue of Budget Travel magazine, we were happy to see a great “Trip Coach” article on Dublin. Writing to Trip Coach, Shana asks what she and her partner should do on a spur-of-the-moment trip to the Irish capital.

Budget Travel provides many good tips on where to eat, what to see, and what not to see (we appreciate that the magazine recommends skipping the Book of Kells in favor of exploring the grounds of Trinity College—there’s no need to spend extra Euros for a rushed, crowded experience, especially when there are plenty of free museums to enjoy in this town).

Here are some of the highlights from the article “Dublin on the Fly”:

Irish Pubs, People-Watching, and Day Trips

BT suggests hitting up the literary crowd’s favorite people-watching mecca, Metro Café, and the quintessential Irish pubs Library Bar and Neary’s. We especially like that they throw in some picks for vegetarian travelers, including the amazing-looking Café Fresh.

We also love that the magazine endorses a quick trip out of town. “Trip Coach” recommends a day trip to Howth, where you can soak in the picturesque cliffs and St. George’s Channel. “Trip Coach” also mentions Sandycove and Dalkey, cute seaside towns that are perfect for enjoying a cozy pint while looking out at the ocean. (We recommend day trips to Enniskerry and Newgrange in our Dublin city guide).
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A trip to Dublin isn’t complete without a visit to the Guinness Storehouse brewery, so we’ll be sure to follow BT’s advice and take the tour (tickets cost €15 and include a beer tasting plus a free pint) next time we’re in town.

But Don’t Forget the Freebies…

We’d love to throw in our own Cheapo cents and remind readers that the city is teeming with free activities. We’ve written about free admission to the Irish Parliament, the Dublin Castle, and even the Dublin National Gallery. But there are many other Cheapo-friendly ways to spend a day in the city.

Don’t forget Dublin’s literary roots! There are plenty of unique little bookshops perfect for browsing or camping out over a copy of Ulysses for the afternoon. We especially like Cathach Books, which boasts a collection of rare Irish works, and The Secret Book and Record Store (because there’s nothing better than picking up an obscure, old-time record when you’re visiting a new city).

When the weather in Dublin is nice, take in the city surroundings with a nice walk along the river. Dublin’s Liffey Boardwalk is great for a scenic stroll. The boardwalk served as a commercial wharf before the O’Connell Bridge was built in 1795. Now, it’s a perfect spot for admiring the Liffey River. If you walk along the river’s left bank, the boardwalk will eventually bring you out near the Christ Church Cathedral in the city center.

Have any other Cheapo Dublin suggestions? Let us know by posting a comment below!

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If you’ve been following the career of Arthur Frommer—guidebook pioneer, magazine founder, and budget travel personality—you’ve probably noted his daily travel musings on his blog, “Arthur Frommer Online.” Since launching it last year, Frommer has penned more than 1,000 posts that cover a vast array of subjects, from new travel sites to censorship in Dubai.

“Ask Arthur Frommer: And Travel Better, Cheaper, Smarter,” published in March by Wiley Publishing ($19.99), reworks the most helpful of these dispatches into a 512-page budget travel encyclopedia. Flipping through the book is a trip in itself, and reading the book from cover to cover is sure to be an education in the art of budget travel.

Art lessons

“Ask Arthur Frommer” offers up Art’s tips-of-the-trade in an easy-to-follow structure. Throughout, Frommer pushes the idea that technology has changed the way we travel, granting us new-found independence, flexibility, and opportunity to see the world.

Frommer clusters his advice by topic, in sections such as ”Airfare,” “Cheap hotels,” and “Transportation.” We were happy to note the attention he pays to less mainstream destinations (hello, Riga!) and his suggestion to open up to “alternative lodgings” like hostels. (Full disclosure: We were also quite happy to see references to both EuroCheapo and our sister site, EuropeanHostels.com on his blog and in this book.)

It’s well worth noting that while Frommer has been around the globe (his landmark book, “Europe on 5 Dollars a Day,” debuted in 1957), he’s no technophobe when it comes to his travel know-how. At 80, he’s still an active traveler, and frequently writes about emerging technologies, new travel trends, airfare comparison sites, and travel meta-search engine.

Our fave Art encounters?

We really enjoyed passages where Art goes “off the keyboard” and gets truly expressive, even controversial, about the mainstream travel media.  He isn’t afraid to berate publications that kowtow to the luxury travel trade, and he names names. He’s also had it with out-of-touch editors defining “budget travel” as $250-a-night boutique hotels and (even more expensive) resorts. Go Art! 

Throughout his career, Frommer has pushed his readers to do their own research, find real deals, and get closer to the cultures they visit. This book, compiling a half-century of real budget-travel advice, is a wonderful way to get started. 

Have you read this book? Have a comment? Post it below.

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Recently Twitter, the micro-blogging service and current “it” brand of the web, turned 3 years old. Yet, while most three-year olds we know spend their time observing others and imitating their parents, Twitter is busy trying to create a new communication platform (and vocabulary) for the web.

Twittering from a Paris restaurant. Photo by Kmeron.

Twitter for budget travelers? 

So what does this mean for you, the budget traveler? Should you care? Do you really need to know about “tweets,” DMs and “followers”? Do you really want to introduce yet another social network into your daily routine?

Well, here is a primer to help answer a few of these questions and provide a proper introduction to Twitter… Cheapo-style!

The basics: what is Twitter?

Twitter allows members to send and read short messages (”tweets”) between themselves and other users. These tweets are text-based, frequently contain links to articles on other websites, and are limited to only 140 characters in length.

Twitterers are able to post tweets as frequently (or infrequently) as they like and on any subject they wish. As you might guess, there is a vast variety of subjects being tweeted.

Want to know if your cousin Larry just burned his coffee? No prob. Want to ask President Obama a question about the economy? Go for it. Interested in telling NBA great Shaquille O’Neal what to order at Dairy Queen and read other “random acts of Shaqness”? The list is endless.

Hmm… kind of sounds like Facebook’s status updates, right?

Well, sort of. One of the main differences is that anyone can “follow” someone else on Twitter without being approved by that person. However, you can only send direct messages (”DMs”) to Twitterers who are also following you. Get it?

Tweets for budget travelers

After an initial period of Twitter apprehension, we gave it a try and have to admit it: we’re hooked.

We’ve learned about last-minute travel offers from other Twitterers, had rapid-fire Tweets with several of our business partners in Europe and travel industry bloggers, and benefited from reading articles and posts that we otherwise would have missed.

Some tricks we’ve learned along the way include:

—Follow travel writers: If you have specific travel columnists, travel bloggers or other travel personalities you enjoy reading, look them up on Twitter. Most have a “Twitter presence” and reading their Tweets can add a fun, new dimension to what you read from them elsewhere.

—Only follow those who truly interest you: There’s a “beginner’s instinct” to build your list of followers by rapidly following others, but what’s the point? Twitter is most helpful and useful when you genuinely look forward to reading the Tweets being sent your way.

—Ask questions: Don’t be afraid to ask a question or request travel advice. We recently were looking for a budget hotel in Los Angeles and posted a Tweet asking for suggestions, and within minutes several Twitterers provided helpful recommendations. Tweet-o-rific!

—Share the love: Similarly, be on the lookout for Tweets where you can add helpful feedback or offer advice. It’s a two-way “Twitter Street,” and since we joined we’ve enjoyed the sense of community that builds over time from others in our network.

—Get airline info: Follow your preferred airlines for updates and offers for last minute deals.

—Stay in touch: Twittering makes it easy for the folks back home to follow your adventures abroad. Of course, you run the risk of overdoing it. But your followers may appreciate the chance to travel with you. Also, Twittering on the road permits you to ask your followers for rapid-fire advice on, say, a restaurant in Madrid.

—Get organized: For those who become hooked, consider using a Twitter “client” such as TweetDeck. These websites help manage your Twitter account, create individual groups, and make Twittering feel more organized and less manic.

A Few notable travel twitterers

twitter.com/eurocheapo - Surprise!
twitter.com/budtravel - The editors of BudgetTravel.com
twitter.com/jenleo - Updates from the LA Times travel blog editor
twitter.com/wendyperrin - Conde Nast Traveler’s very own Wendy Perrin
twitter.com/soultravelers3 - Updates from a family of three traveling the world
twitter.com/SEKeener - Follow Cheapo-friend and co-founder of BootsnAll.com, Sean Keener, while he travels throughout Australia
twitter.com/samdaams - Pithy updates from Sam Daams, the co-founder of Travellerspoint.com

Do you Tweet?

Do you have recommendations for using Twitter? Are there other travel Twitterers you enjoy following? Do you agree that Twitter can be helpful, or do you find it a waste of time?

Tell us in the comments below!

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The author in Speyer, Germany, birthplace of the pretzel.

Munich—Wandering Cheapo Reinhardt Suarez just finished up a stint living and working in Tuscany. He’s now traveling through Europe. Here, he shares his insights for traveling light à la Cheapo.

How have I made the most of my limited budget abroad? It goes without saying, “Prepare, prepare, prepare!”

Research and development

Although down-to-the-minute planning can be limiting, doing some research on the best hotels and hostels, and the best modes of transportation, is the key to saving your money later. If you can do research about your intended destination before you even get on the plane, all the better.

For me, the preparation began the day I realized I wanted to get the heck outta dodge and head back to Europe.

Through some crafty internet research and a few phone calls, I was fortunate to get hooked up with an artist residency that paid for my room and board while I was there. But I was expected to work an eight-hour day on a farm. (In my next post, I’ll explore ways that the average Cheapo can find similar kinds of set-ups.)

Here are my most important tips for a budget-friendly European experience, Wandering Cheapo-style:

1. One big meal a day is plenty.

Budget for cheap breakfasts (unless you’re in Ireland, and then that can be your big meal), grocery-store lunches (I love the sandwiches at Tesco in London), and then wolf down a bigger dinner if you like. This is especially important if you are going on a longer trip. Your money will drain fast, especially if you’re stopping here and there for bottled water, snacks, and aperitifs.

2. Make a budget for yourself that is weekly on a longer trip, daily on a shorter one.

Sometimes, you arrive in a city and find that there are great tours and museums that cannot be missed (Please don’t leave Paris without visiting the Louvre). Admission charges will quickly eat into your budget. But don’t fret. On a longer trip, think about your budget in terms of weekly caps. That way, if you go over your budget on one day, you can compensate on another day. Have fun, but keep disciplined at the same time.

3. Always have a notebook and pen handy.

Sometimes you’ll want to take notes on a place, or you’ll want to jot down the location of a cheap restaurant that you come across and want to check out later. You may need to get the e-mail of your new best friend in, say, Latvia, or the phone number of a good hostel that doesn’t offer on-line booking. Try to find a notebook with a pocket so you can collect train tickets, pamphlets and brochures, and other helpful info easily.

4. Talk to everyone.

I know that this may not seem like a budget tip, but it definitely can be. When you talk to other travelers, you find out where to go and when to go, what to spend time and money on. And when you talk to locals, you find out all sorts of money-saving insider tips about a place. You might even snag a free meal or a night’s lodging just by engaging someone’s interest. (It goes without saying, use your gut and follow your instincts along the way. If you feel uncomfortable around someone, think twice about accepting their hospitality.)

5. Everywhere you go, ask about discounts.

There are thousands of discounts to be had in Europe. If you’re a student, you’re pretty much set. Those of us who are late-blooming travelers need not worry either. Some museums and sights are cheaper - or FREE - on certain days of the week. Restaurants offer fixed-price menus at certain times of the day, often including a free beverage. Sometimes by picking up the right piece of paper in a city, or maybe a magazine or flyer, you can snag discounts on stuff. Ask, ask, and ask again. “Do you offer discounts of any kind?” You will often be happily surprised.

For more about Reinhardt’s travels, visit his blog: The Pork Chop Express.

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We’re rubbing the sleep from our eyes a little later than usual today, dear Cheapos. Thanks to all who attended our “Farewell Winter” party at the home office in New York City last night. The place was packed and the night roused on until late. Folks chattered of finding cheap airline tickets, what cool budget locales they’d recently visited, and we all praised Tom’s succulent sangria (Hint: He uses lemons, limes, oranges, strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries!).

Spotted–A few Budget Travel divas, Worldhum’s Canadian correspondent extraordinaire, lots of dedicated Sosauce staffers (we co-hosted the party with them), a host of EuroCheapo correspondents, freelance journalists, bloggers, some Travel Blog Exchange peeps, our favorite New York Times’ columnist, and more.

Stay tuned if you missed this one. We’ll be hosting another party once the weather turns warm.

Warming factors-

And, speaking of feelin’ the heat, it’s the last day of February. No leap year. Just one more cold ‘un before we turn into the Ides of March. So we thought we’d take this opportunity to point out a few recent travel stories that are making us warm and fuzzy all over:

-BootsnAll posted about the 12 most amazing pools in the world. Care for a dip?

-Eva Holland’s reached her boiling point over the Slumdog hype.

-Michelle Higgins anchored in a bunch of cruise discounts in a Times’ piece a few weeks ago. Cheapo overboard!

-Our own Alex Robertson Textor offers up a few great posts on his recent trip to San Fran. We especially love the mention of “Sunset” mag.

-Finally, a dear friend of EuroCheapo is living and working on a farm in Italy. You can follow his narration here. (Catch the classic mention of “cheapo” standards. I mean, working on a farm in order to live abroad? Very Good Cheapo!)

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Today we’re beginning a new series of interviews called “4 Cheapo Questions For”. We’ll be talking travel with notable travel writers, bloggers, and other travel industry personalities. The format is nice and simple: 4 questions, 1 photo, and maybe - just maybe - a bonus question if we’re feeling snappy.

First up to bat is Sean O’Neill, a Cheapo favorite and the blog editor at BudgetTravel.com.

1. Can you please tell our fellow Cheapos a little about yourself and the Budget Travel blog, “This Just In?”

I’m on staff at BudgetTravel.com, the website of Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel magazine. Since April 2007, one of my duties has been to keep our blog, This Just In, lively, topical, and reader-focused. We work out of Times Square in New York City. I’m flattered to be asked to participate in this Q&A with the supersmart Cheapos.

2. What’s the best budget travel advice you’ve ever received?

Ask a local! My mother taught me that. In fact, when I was visiting my mother last weekend, she once again demonstrated the value of following this advice.

Here’s what happened: We went from her home in suburban New Jersey to downtown Philadelphia to catch a play. Afterward, we wanted to grab a bite to eat. I had done my research on neighborhood restaurants, but she dismissed all of the recommendations from newspapers and guidebooks.

My mother then marched right into a grocery store that was on the same block as the theater, walked up to a woman standing in a check-out line, and asked for a tip for a great local seafood restaurant. The woman immediately suggested Seafood Unlimited, and another stranger standing in line behind her chimed in with her own views. Gratefully, we went straight to Seafood Unlimited, and we were ultimately glad we did. It was a terrific restaurant because of its broad menu of seafood, attentive wait staff, and affordable prices.

So my advice to you is: Listen to my mother! Locals know where the best stuff is. If you ask a local for a recommendation, he or she will naturally tend to point you to the best part of their community. It’ll be a point of pride!

Obviously, I’m not specifically suggesting that you seek out grocery stores for travel tips. That’s a somewhat extreme example of the principle in practice. Feel free instead to stop a local on the street corner or to tap the shoulder of a fellow patron at a coffee shop. But the principle of asking a local — and not an official paid employee of a hotel or a visitor’s bureau — is a tactic that anybody will find rewarding.

To be sure, even I — as a full-time travel editor — was intimidated to follow my mother into a grocery store and start asking random strangers for travel tips. It’s easy for us feel shy when we’re in an unfamiliar setting. No one wants to risk being rejected. (My mother is charming and harmless-looking, which are two advantages that not all of the rest of us share.) Yet, having said all that, I still encourage you to take the risk and ask a local for help. You won’t regret it.

3. What is the best European winter destination for budget travelers and why?

Pardon me if the following response comes off as obnoxious but I’d say that Cuba is the best European winter destination. (Editor’s reaction: Oh no he didn’t!) 

Now, obviously, Cuba is no where near Europe. But it’s where European vacationers have been flocking in droves as a warm weather destination. Go to a beach bar in Havana and almost everyone there will be from Europe, with a few Canadians tossed in for good measure. Walk through a train station in Paris or Amsterdam or Rome and you’re bound to see a travel poster advertising the wonders of Cuba. And the global recession hasn’t slowed things down. USA Today reports that hotel reservations in Cuba in December have remained at record levels.

The good news for Americans is that it appears that the Obama administration may loosen up the restrictions for American citizens on travel to Cuba. It appears that within the next year or so, American budget-conscious travelers will be able to go for educational trips as part of tour groups, according to the L.A. Times.

The even better news is that a well-respected poll of the Cuban American community by Florida International University has found, for the first time, that a majority of that community supports a lifting of travel restrictions. In other words, it seems likely that Cuba may soon be within reach for Cheapos. And that’s where you’ll find many interesting Europeans in the winter.

4. When and where is your next trip, and how are you doing it on the cheap?

Thailand. I plan to economize by booking all the travel myself, opting for cheaper public ground transportation whenever possible, and skipping the expensive Westernized resorts in favor of locally owned properties.

* Bonus round! Other than Budget Travel magazine, what do you read on the road?

I’m afraid I don’t have a good answer to that. When I’m on the road, I try to be focused on where I’m at rather than stay connected to the U.S. through the media.

One exception: While in Europe, I’ll sometimes pick up the local travel publications on the newsstands for quick reads. The average European travels so much more than the typical American does, which means that European travel publications are forced to be more sophisticated than U.S. travel publications to satisfy the demands of their readers. (Compare the British edition of Conde Nast Traveller [with two L’s] to the American edition [with one L] and you’ll see what I mean — as but one example.]

Thanks so much, Sean, and best of luck to you and the rest of the staff at BudgetTravel.com!

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Photo courtesy of wicho

Pack your neck pillows, blankets and bring your ear plugs, Cheapos, because Ryanair is coming to the United States!

Our friends at the Budget Travel blog tipped us off that Ryanair just announced it will begin offering flights from Dublin and London Stansted to the U.S. starting at about $13 each way, taxes not included.  U.S. cities expected to be included are New York, Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco, and take-off is anticipated sometime in 2009.  Ryanair is also expected to announce the acquisition of over 50 additional aircrafts, purchased from its cash-strapped rivals. All of this will help Ryanair support its upcoming additional U.S. routes.

We’ve written before about the ups and downs of flying Ryanair, but these were typically limited to flights of 2 to 3 hours.  A Ryanair flight from New York to London’s Stansted airport is a different beast all together, but in the current economic times this could be a welcomed option for budget travelers.

Tell us, Cheapos, what do you think about Ryanair’s announcement?

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Author, reporter, and NPR correspondent Scott Huler recently returned from an epic journey tracing the tale of Homer’s “Odyssey.” After reading “No-Man’s Lands,” his insightful recounting of the trip, we asked him for advice on planning a similar journey—on a budget.

Scott had some great advice:

When Odysseus set off on an epic voyage, he had some non-cheapo advantages: his ships were filled with treasure from the Trojan War, and if supplies ran low it was perfectly reasonable to come ashore and make a brief pirate raid on a coastal town.

That wasn’t going to work for me. When I set out to retrace his journey from Troy to Ithaca, I had little more than a backpack, a tight budget, and a pregnant wife at home. Just the same, I found the cheaper-than-cheap backpack route from Troy to Ithaca perfect for me. I had more than a dozen stops to make. Add to that Athens and the tiny Turkish town of Kesan, and my journey covered around 20 cities in Turkey, Greece, Tunisia, Italy (where I visited the catacombs in Rome), France, and Malta. Finally, I arrived on the western tip of Sicily.

Here are five things you should know if you ever make an epic journey on a small-scale budget:

1. Get your doner on!

In Turkey, if it’s spinning on a vertical spit, it’s probably doner, which is like Greek gyro and delicious almost beyond imagination. But beware: If it’s spinning on a horizontal spit it’s probably kokorec, which is sheep guts, and tastes like sheep guts. If you suddenly find yourself buying kokorec, just get them to put a lot of pepper on it. You can get a few bites down before you turn the corner and find a trash can. Be sure to smile and wave at the vendor. You’ll be a good story for them.

2. Use your words.

Don’t be embarrassed to take a guided tour in the language of your choice: you left home to understand people and places different from you, right? You’ll learn a lot more, and if you stick with trustworthy sources (the museum’s free audio guide rather than the guy who starts plucking at your sleeve after you walk in), you’ll pay only a reasonable fee augmented by, of course, a reasonable tip. I had a guided tour of Troy that got my journey started just right, and I might have missed some very cool stuff had I been too savvy for it all.

3. Buy cheap(er) overnight accommodation.

Here’s how. Take an overnight ferry and pay the extra euros for a room. If you’re traveling alone, pay the addition for a single. Defending territory on couches in saloon bars or hunkering down in chilly winds on deck sounds romantic in a post-college kind of way, but unless you’re absolutely destitute, the extra € 20 will be well worth it, turning a sleepless night into a night of almost delightful, private peace.

4. Take the bus (especially in Turkey).

Not only is the bus one of the cheapest—and greenest—modes of transport, but it’s civilized beyond measure. In Turkey, for example, where I rode the bus everywhere, there’s air conditioning, oriental rugs down the center aisle, free cakes, water, and orange soda. Plus every couple hours or so an attendant brings around a little dash of bergamot cologne. Talk about luxury for less! (Visit the main bus terminal in Istanbul to learn more or to get moving.)

5. When in Rome, stay near the train station.

In Rome, I loved the Hotel Stromboli. Tourist guides will tell you to avoid the hotels near the Stazione Termini, but I think they’re crazy. Cheap rooms abound (if you’re clever, you can get them at the Stromboli for 50 euros or so), and there are tons of paninotecas with delicious and cheap hot sandwiches that keep travelers fueled for a couple euros a pop. Plus, you’ll find plenty of nearby nasoni fountains to keep water bottles full for free and you have constant, convenient access to the train station. No place in Rome is too far to walk from there and when it’s time to head to the airport, that’s exactly where the cheap buses depart from. There are dozens of cheap, clean, and safe hotels in this unfairly maligned neighborhood. It’s where you want to be.

See EuroCheapo’s recommendations for hotels South and North of Termini Station in Rome.

About the author: Scott Huler has written for such newspapers as the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Los Angeles Times and such magazines as Backpacker, Fortune, and Child. His award-winning radio work has been heard on “All Things Considered” and “Day to Day” on National Public Radio and on “Marketplace” and “Splendid Table” on American Public Media. He has been a staff writer for the Philadelphia Daily News and the Raleigh News & Observer and a staff reporter and producer for Nashville Public Radio. He was the founding and managing editor of the Nashville City Paper. He sometimes serves as guest host on “The State of Things” on WUNC-FM. No-Man’s Lands is his fifth book. He lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, with his wife, the writer June Spence; they have a son and another child on the way.

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“Contrarian Traveler” Tim Leffel is at it again, sharing sound budget advice that should be required reading for anyone planning a trip.

The travel budgeteer, who made a name for himself a couple of years ago with his book “The World’s Cheapest Destinations” recently published his latest planning guide, “Make Your Travel Dollars Worth a Fortune” (Travelers’ Tales, August 2006).

The bulk of the book is devoted to budget travel basics, including: choosing “contrarian” destinations, timing, flights (mostly about getting to Europe from North America—we would have liked to have seen more about intra-Europe budget airlines), and lodging (booking tips, mostly through major Web agencies, as well as lodging alternatives, such as home stays).

Tim offers additional advice for keeping it cheap once you’ve arrived, including budget strategies for dining (key: stay away from other tourists), getting around (tip: just say no to rental cars), and souvenir shopping. Leffel leaves us, in a broad gesture, by challenging us to adopt a contrarian attitude toward life in general, in turn “blurring the line between life and travel.”

Leffel provides a valuable service for pros and novices alike by compiling a comprehensive instruction manual to getting more out of your travels for less. For more information on the book (and on Tim) visit www.contrariantraveler.com.

And stay tuned. We’ll have more to say about Leffel shortly.

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