Don’t stay in big hotels. Sure they are nice and offer a lot of luxury but the money really doesn’t help the local population. Travel is about broadening your horizons and expanding your mind but also about learning and helping the local population live better. If you go anywhere, whether it’s France or Thailand or Australia, and stay in a big corporate hotel, most of that money will be sent back to the corporation headquarters and the local economy will only see a fraction of that money. However, if you stay at a local guesthouse or bed and breakfast that money will go help the people right in the area. The owners will be locals who put that money right back into the local economy which will help the local people much more than if you see only a little money from a faceless corporation. If you really want to help the people you are visiting, don’t stay at a big hotel. Stay at a local guesthouse and you will do much more good. Moreover, you will get a much more personal experience. You won’t be bothered by a tourist desk- you’ll be welcomed by the owners as part of the family. They will be able to tell you all the local things to do, good restaurants, and might even act as tour guides. All in all you get a much more personal experience than you would if you had been going to a big hotel. Go local the next time you travel- it will help people more and you’ll have a better experience.

It’s funny how the unexpected can always lead to a good outcome. While spending some time in Italy, I was staying at this hostel in Rome. It was pretty good. While on the way out to a pub crawl, there were some girls coming up the stairs to check into the hostel. My friend’s started talking to them. They were pretty cute after all. They wanted to come with us but it was already late and we were late to meet up with this pub crawl. My friend’s said we would wait. I wasn’t keen on the idea. I wanted to go. We were missing the action. There would be more girls at the pub crawl. No, no they insisted. The girls took forever. Eventually, they came out and we went to the pub crawl. We made it just in time. Over the course of the night, I got to talking to one of the girls we waited for. She was really cool, friendly, and smart.

We ended up traveling for two months together and still remain close. All because I waited. Patience is a virtue. On the road, go with the unexpected- you never know where it might lead.

If you are traveling on a budget and don’t want to be spending an obscene amount of your travel money on where you stay, it is possible to find cheap accommodations. The trick is to avoid paying standard hotel rates or even in avoiding hotels altogether. If you are willing to look, cheap accommodations are out there.

If you are spending a week or two in a traditional resort, it is worth your time to look into packaged flight and hotel deals. Also, if you are booking your hotel, it is possible to pay a lot less for the same room. Don’t expect prices for a hotel room to be standard. A price on one site can be totally different on a different site. So always check the hotel’s site first for any deals, and then check hotel comparison sites. This will ensure that you get the cheapest price available for that room.

If you are traveling to more than one place, or are just looking for a comfortable place to sleep at night, you can save even more money. Hostels are not just for students anymore, and they are incredibly cheap alternatives to hotels. They are in virtually every city in the world, and many are clean, friendly, and include amenities like laundry and food.

Other options are camping, or doing a home-stay, house swap or couchsurf. For doing a home-stay, you can ask the tourist center for any families that have registered. A couchsurf can be found by going to couchsurfing.com. These are both great ways of meeting people and learning more about the local culture. A house swap lets you trade houses with someone in another country. As long as you’re willing to take on the risk of having a stranger in your house, you can’t beat the price …at free. You can register through Craigslist or through an agency.