When the global economy takes a downturn, learn a few tricks to stretch your travel budget.  
If your Dollar or Euro doesn't seem like it goes as far, should you just forget traveling?  We don't think so.  Travel gives you a boost.  You just have to travel a little smarter.  You might cut a few corners so you can eat and sleep cheaper, but you can still have a great trip.  How can you travel more frugally?
To stretch your travel budget in Europe, stay in a bed-and-breakfast.  It will probably cost you less than even the cheapest hotel in town.  You'll get a friendly host who can probably tell you where to eat great food for less, and the only downside is you might be a ten minute walk from the center of town.
If you can't find a convenient bed-and-breakfast, stay in a hotel with fewer stars.  This will be your cheaper option in the U.S.  If you check them out before you take the room, you can get a real bargain.... they may have a lowly one or two stars only because they don't have a restaurant, or an elevator.  Some small family run places can be as cozy and friendly as a bed-and-breakfast.
If you're going to stay in a city for a week or more, consider a short-term apartment rental.  They have small kitchens, so you can shop at local stores and eat in, saving on restaurant meals.  They are often no more than a moderate priced hotel room.  In the U.S.  you can prepare meals in your room if you get a motel with a kitchenette.  
Negotiate with hotels.  Room rates generally follow the ecomony.  If economies around the world are sinking... so are room rates.  No matter if it's a bed and breakfast, a cheap hotel or one with more stars, don't accept the first price they quote you.  
Ask if there are any discounts or if it will be cheaper if you stay more nights.  This works especially well if you are at their door, and they are not full for the night.  They want to fill that room, and they might as well entice you with a good deal.
Don't succumb to a nightcap from the minibar.  Snacks and drinks are always more expensive from the minibar.  If you think you might have the midnight munchies, stop at a convenience store or a local shop and pick up a few items. 
If you're really counting your pennies, doing your laundry in the hotel sink is a great way to stretch your travel budget.  Hotel laundry services can be expensive.  Some motels in the U.S. have coin operated washers and driers on the premises.  Who wants to spend time in a laundromat when you could be sightseeing?
If your hotel doesn't include breakfast in the price of the room, you will probably save money venturing out to a local corner cafe rather than paying the price for the hotel breakfast buffet.
If you watch the way you eat and drink, and you're smart about where you sleep, you can stretch your travel budget, so you don't have to stay too close to home. 

If you are looking for a great value hotel to stay at, you should check out a Travelodge Hotel. Travelodge Hotels Limited is a private company operating in the hotels and hospitality industry throughout the United Kingdom. It is second only to Premier Inn in the budget sector and third largest in the UK when comparing Bedrooms  (31600 as at 31.10.2010) .

Far from the old image of cheap and cheerful, Travelodge hotels now offer very affordable quality accommodation, and with well over 300 outlets located around the UK there is always one close by when required.

Dont just take our word for it have a look for yourself.

Travelodge Hotels

The Penmaenmawr Quarry and it's Railways, North Wales.
 
Narrow gauge railways were established in the quarries, due to the need to remove stone setts from works high up in the mountains, to the jetties,
for loading on to ships for onward journey to such places as Runcorn, where they would then go by canal to other parts of the country.
The first lines were cable worked, the full wagons lowered down the mountain, and empties winched back up. By the 1870's, with increased demand,
the first steam locomotive, The Mona was used in the Penmaen quarry to haul stone from the West quarry to Bonc Jolly. The Mona was not a great 
success, and was superseded in 1878 by The Penmaen, built by the De Winton Company of Caernarfon and used for the next seventy years on the
steep faces of the mountain above the main A55 road. Evidence of tracks, inclines and winding houses can still be seen, when traveling the coast road.
 
When the Darbishires took over the Graiglwyd quarries in 1878, from the Kneeshaw partners, all the railway track and winding gear consisting of three
inclines to connect the workings with the jetty and railway sidings, had been removed. Fortunately, C.H. Darbishire became manager of the new quarry,
and was a good civil engineer, with experience of railway construction in Great Britain and in Italy, as well as in the Penyrorsedd slate quarry in Nantile.
The new layout had four inclines instead of the previous three, which increased the speed of transit, particularly important as four more "Sett" banks,
eventually increased to six, were opened at Nant Dywyll.
The lease which precluded the use of the jetties for the Darbishires expired in 1887, and a new jettie was opened on the 23rd., of June, the following year.
The level of the quay was raised by about 25 feet, at this time, and so allowed the railway tracks on the jetty, to run at a gradient, as a self acting incline.
The advent of stone crushing to supply railway ballast and the opening of the Braichilwyd mill, meant that a way had to be found to move the product to 
the main line. An incline of 640 yards was made, leading to the parking sidings behind Ty Mawr. At first, a horse was used to haul wagons from the 
parking sidings but in 1891, the first vertical boilered engine "Lilian" supplied by De Winton of Caernarfon did the work. These were followed later by
four horizontal boilered locomotives from the Hunslet Engine Company.
 
Following construction of the jetty, quays were built, which allowed 160 railway wagons alongside. The little vertical boilered locomotives, nicknamed
"Coffee-pots", were much used for running these wagons along the sidings. The quarry lines ran on 3 foot gauge. A standard gauge track with space 
for 80 main line ballast wagons, was laid with a slight gradient so that they would run to be filled up under a ballast hopper. 
In 1900, a wooden ballast hopper holding 3,000 tons was erected in line with the jetty, with an elevated trackway leading to it, for storage of stone,
ready for shipment. The quarry companies built their own wagons for the narrow gauge, usually of two ton capacity, and eventually numbered several
hundred. In 1911, the quarry companies in Penmaenmawr were amalgamated with the Welsh Granit Company of Trefor to form the Penmaenmawr
and Welsh Granit Company, and, in 1912, a rail link was built between Bonc Jolly of the old Brundrit Quarry, and the Braichllwyd of the old Darbishire
Company. A new jetty was built in 1913 for the Penmaen Quarry, and this had two parallel self-acting inclines with a new concrete hopper of 3,000
ton capacity, built the following year. A similar jetty, greater in length and double the width of the previous one, was built for the Graiglwyd Quarry.
 
By 1931, the Braichllwyd incline was converted to a single track haulage way, and a hoist track was built leading up the mountainside from Bonc Jolly,
to the Kimberley floor, a lift of over 800 feet and a gradient of 1 in 1 and a half in part. The winding drum was powered by a 120 horse power motor.
 
The Kimberley level received in the same year, two standard gauge diesel locomotives built by Avonside, and in 1934, an ex-Lancashire and
Yorkshire Railway 0-4-0 saddle tank engine, number 34, which had been on dock working, probably at Goole. This engine was used as a stand-by
in case of failure of the diesel locomotives. The Avonside company also supplied a 3 foot gauge, 74 horse power diesel electric locomotive, to
haul stone from the first crushing to the Penmarian Mill. By 1932, loading of stone was performed by mechanical shovel, into standard gauge
iron wagons, which were hauled to the crushers by the Avonside diesel locomotives, but in 1949, this was done by specially designed lorries,
eliminating the expense of frequently moving and extending the railway track. From the primary crusher, the stone fell into an open bunker,
and was then hauled in 3 ton wagons, by an 80 horse power diesel engine to the Penmarian Mill, where the wagons were discharged, two
at a time, by an electrically operated tipper. From here, the crushed stone passed down a shoot, and, by the 1950's, by belt to hoppers for
transport by road or rail.
 
When lorries and conveyor belts were introduced from the 1950's, the quarry railways went out of use. From the 1870's, when the first steam
locomotive was introduced, there have been 27 locomotives (Steam,diesel and petrol) hauling over 400 two ton wagons of 3 foot gauge, 
and 8 diesel and one steam locomotive of standard gauge, used on the lines. These two railways were very important in connecting the
workings, both with the jetties to move stone by sea, and, of later importance, moving stone to the sidings of Penmaenmawe station.
 
When next passing along the A55 coast road, between Conway and Bangor, spare a moment to glance up towards to mountains above
Penmaenmawe, and remember the trials and tribulations of the quarrymen of the past, along that wild and desolate place.  You can check out some of the cheapest hotels online in our Budget North Wales Hotels section.
 
* Photographs shows an overview of the quarry, and of a now crumbling winding house.
 
** Thanks are expressed to the Penmaenmawr Historical Society, for kind permission to reproduce this history of the mine and it's railway.
 
 

OK, you've made your holiday plans.  You're ready to pack.  Let's look at a pre-departure checklist for things other than clothes.  
The very first thing to check is your passport.  If you're traveling out of your home country, is it current?  Did you get any visas that are necessary?  This is your responsibility whether you are on your own or on a tour.  Make copies of your passport to take with you and to leave with relatives or friends.
It never hurts to check to see if there are any travel advisories for the countries you will be visiting.  (Many governments issue travel advisories... check with your own government and another one or two for a rounded view.)
You should be up to date on any vaccinations that are recommended or required.
Know whether your airlines tickets are paper tickets or e-tickets.  If they are paper tickets, make sure to take them with you.  If they are e-tickets, take documentation with you.... make sure your pre-departure checklist includes the printout of your confirmation.
Decide how you are going to deal with money.  Are you going to take traveler's checks?  If you do, be sure to store the documentation and numbers separately from the traveler's checks themselves in case of loss.  
You want to have a safe place or two to store your money and valuables.... something like a money belt.  If you're traveling with a partner, split things up between you.
You'll probably be using your ATM.  Find out what the daily withdrawal limit is.... and know what that means in the currency you will be withdrawing.  300 US Dollars is less than 300 Euros.  Make sure that your PIN will work at your destination.  Contact your credit card companies to tell them you will be traveling.
If you're packing a camera, make sure you have plenty of batteries and/or battery chargers.... and the plug adaptors that will allow you to plug them in!   Make sure you have enough memory or film.  Sure you can buy it there, but you don't want to miss the perfect picture while your looking for it.
Here's a good one for your pre-departure checklist.... Pack any ID cards that you might need.  Cards that might get you discounts such as student IDs or Auto Club cards (like AAA in the U.S.) or Senior Group Cards (like AARP in the U.S.)
You should pack a little more prescription medication than you will need in case your return is delayed.  Also pack an extra set of glasses or contact lenses.  And you should have a copy of prescriptions for both glasses and drugs in case of an emergency.
It's a good idea to leave a copy of your itinerary with someone, and contact numbers if you have them.
Find out the address and phone number of your country's embassy in the country you are visiting.  Some governments suggest that you register with the embassy so they know you are in the country.  While this may seem a little extreme, it makes things easier for your embassy if there is a natural disaster or general emergency.
There are many things to think about when you are preparing for a vacation.  This pre-departure checklist only includes some of the things you might forget.  Make your own checklist, then when you get on the road, you'll have a great time because you didn't forget anything. 

If you have'nt got the time to put your own checklist together, we have provided a comprehensive (PDF) checklist free of charge for you to print off.

Travel Advisories and Travel Warnings are issued by several governments to tell their citizens which countries or parts of countries might be of concern.  It sounds pretty scary to say that there is an advisory or warning about going somewhere, but just because a government issues one of these, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's a bad idea to plan a trip to that country.With terrorism all in the news today, many people get nervous, but if you want to be a traveler you need to learn to weigh the warnings and the news.  You may decide that it's worth it to travel anyway.  Terrorism is nothing new; different areas have had unrest in the past.  Read those advisories and decide if what they are talking about will affect you and your trip.  Don't trust them blindly.Travel advisories are issued for a number of reasons.  Terrorism is only one of them.  They can be issued because of natural disasters, political unrest, disease outbreaks or high crime areas.  You need to read to see if these are long term warnings or short term travel advisories.We think it's a good idea to check with several different sources... as English speakers, we check to see what the governments of Australia, Canada, the U.K. and the U.S are saying.  They don't always agree.  So if there are differing points of view, what should you do?  Evaluate them for yourself.  Keep in mind your tolerance... will that warning or advisory worry you all through your trip or is it something you can just keep vigilant for and still enjoy your travels?  Is the whole country affected?  If there was a natural disaster in one part of the country, the part you're going to may be fine. Health outbreaks and political unrest may be confined to only one area of a country, leaving the rest perfectly safe to travel in.If the advisories are about violence, are the threats to tourists or tourist areas or is there violence in isolated and remote areas where there is less possibility of it affecting you?Check to see how long ago the advisory was posted.  Some warnings are long term, but you can check to see if the conditions that prompted the advisory have changed.If you go, dress and pack to avoid calling attention to yourself.  This is smart travel anytime, but especially if there is a travel advisory.  Stay in local hotels, eat in local restaurants.  Small places are generally less apt to be targets.  Take the phone number for your country's embassy so you can contact them if necessary.  Consider registering with the embassy to let them know you're in the country.  You might want to consider travel insurance, but this is tricky... there are many situations that cancellation insurance doesn't cover.If war is breaking out or if the local terrorists are targeting tourists, you probably should reconsider your travel plans.  With a travel advisory or warning like that, you might want to find a country that is safer and friendlier or travel to a new part of your own country.  Almost all travelers can find adventure even close to home.  So evaluate those warnings for yourself.  Change your plans if you feel you need to, but travel somewhere. It's good for you.

Want to get answers on the best Travelodge Hotels and prices?
The answer is simple, you can book discounted rooms In Birmingham, Manchester, London, Edinburgh, plus many more United Kingdom and Worldwide hotel destinations.  Our prices are the lowest found online, so why look elsewhere?  Click on the purple search button on our yellow searchbox above, to search and compare our great deals!  If Travelodge do not have rooms available for your chosen dates, not to worry, we have thousands of hotels offering both budget and luxury accommodation.  Enjoy your trip and Sleep tight with travelodge!

If you're interested in adding a little budget travel to your itinerary, and who isn't once in a while, think about getting out into the countryside instead of spending all of your time in the big cities. No matter where you're traveling in the world, the countryside will almost always be cheaper than cities. 

To maximize the benefit of this formula, you have to refine it even more, and plan when you'll be in the city and when you should spend time in the countryside.

If you're on a driving trip in your home country or one next door, this type of budget travel planing is easy. You've got your car, so you can do both city and countryside. Even when you want to spend time in a city, you can save money by just staying on the edge of the city or in a suburb. 

Then you can drive in... or better yet, take public transportation in and avoid the frustration of trying to find parking, not to mention the cost. Parking can be expensive in almost any city in the world.

OK... maybe your time is limited, and you don't want to waste time getting into town. If you want to stay in the city rather than on the edge of it, remember that most cities will be cheaper on weekends when the business people are gone. Hotels sometimes have cheaper weekend prices, and there could be more going on in the way of plays and entertainment.

And if you think about it... the countryside will be cheaper during the week when most people are working.... so if you're a budget traveler, you want to plan to be in the city on weekends and in the countryside on weekdays. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are days that can save you money in the countryside. 

And that will be especially true if the countryside you're visiting is a real get-away destination for those city folks you're trying to avoid. In this case you get that equal and opposite effect. If you're in a popular get-away destination, it will be more crowded and expensive on the weekends.

If you're traveling internationally or you've flown to your destination, you'll have to factor in the cost of a rental car or some kind of transportation to get to the countryside. You can take a bus or a train. Some European areas popular with tourists have trains and buses that run conveniently. Some even have train and bus routes that will take you on a circle tour to some of the prettier and smaller towns. 

In the United States, public transportation isn't as good, but it is improving, so check around. In Asia, public transportation is good in some countries and spotty in others. In Australia, it's probably easiest to drive. It always pays to ask at the tourist information offices if you're interested in something like this.

So see, you don't have to give up the sights you want to see to trim your budget, you just have to plan smart to save. Lay out a calendar, and work your itinerary so that you spend most of your weekends in those cities and the weekdays in the country. 

That's budget travel made easy!