Budget Travel - whats the cheapest you've ever traveled for?

$12 by train from GDN to szczecin then minivan ride from szczecin to alexanderplatz Berlin (faster and cheaper than train) $16, knowing polish will help a lot, but can get around knowing english, just will take some time)

total $28

- pkp.pl polish train website (from poland)
- bahn.de german train website (reverse direction i guess much more expensive)
- minivan transport services can be found at the bus station (Szczecin PKS) at the Orbis travel kiosk (behind the train station in szczecin (szczecin PKP))

notes:
1) If you plan to take this trip don't call a taxi to find the pks bus station its honestly up the hill
2) it will cost more if you book from germany (up to 50 euro)
3) Germans have their own names for polish cities, (i.e. stettin for szczecin, danzig for gdansk etc)
4) can be cheaper to connect in gdansk vs berlin from the uk, rome, etc

1.50GBP.

Back when I was studying abroad in the UK in 2005, the organization who was overseeing our "experience" organized a "Weekend in London". We had to travel from Leeds to London. And once in London, we would be put up in a hotel, and meals would be taken care of. Drinking, in-city transit, etc was on your own dime. However, the organization gave everybody 45GBP to reimburse for the transportation (based on what a rail ticket costs) from Leeds to London. That money was collected by the students once in London.

So I just booked a ticket on MegaBus (1.50GBP) and pocketed the change. Had a blast in London while spending only $3 equivalent.

I'm a frequent bottom-feeder on Spirit Airlines sales from ATL to FLL. Last year they even had a "we pay you to fly" special with fares as negative numbers; best recent sale has been $1 each way, which works out to $23 RT.

At that rate it makes some sense to just go for the day, arriving around 9 a.m. and leaving back around 8:20 p.m. Usually I'll do a car rent via Priceline for $11-15 bid or around $28 all-in, but sometimes the car-rent companies have some event causing demand to be greater, in which case I'll use public transit and get the $3 day pass instead. Amazing how much functionality you can still have with that.

For longer-format trips, it's best to fit the days to a weekend, if possible, and use the Alamo $10/day deal.

From way back in the archives, it *used* to be possible to do throw-away ticketing. Maybe WN would have a $58 RT special from SDF to MCI and NW would match it with DTW as a connecting city. You could get all boarding passes in advance and just use the DTW-MCI and vice-versa, carrying on all luggage or making sure skycaps tagged it the way you wanted it. You can't do any of that anymore.

I also remember a brief stretch of $19 fares to Florida that could be combined with 99 cents/hour car rents from Value.

A weekend trip to SFO from LAX via Megabus. $2.50 roundtrip for transportation and I stayed on my buddy's 46' sailboat docked down at Pier 39 (free). The biggest expense on the trip was MUNI fares running around town in San Francisco.

Ryanair from Dublin to Stansted for €0.01 (though my bank rounded it up to £1).

Hitching was and is still free.

2 where I came out ahead. (thanks to gambling)

First, took one of those bus rides Phx-Vegas for $35, they gave me $50 credit on the strip and I got lucky on the slots and came home with $500.

Second- a friend earned a trip to Atlantis at work, no one else could go, so asked me. Again, got lucky at slots. I'm cheap- so my gambling budget was $40, the $300 return bought some thankyou gifts for my friend. (very surprising to win there)

Delta from Atlanta to Memphis for $49 that included a weekend car rental!

Amsterdam to London for about $6. I'm not sure what ferry line it was, but when they announced the end of their service, they offered super cheap tickets. Trip included rail to the ferry terminal, the ferry itself and rail from the UK terminal to London.

2c on Ryanair return, paid with an Electron card. DUB-HHN.

Of course, I then spent €14 on a bus to Frankfurt...

9RM flight from KUL-JHB. It was right after they announced the route, you could book it for 9RM.

justy paid about $7 to fly Manchester to Frankfurt on flybe

Megabus' opening of route promotion NYC-Boston last Memorial day weekend. Four roundtrips for free plus a single .50 cent handling charge.

Probably back in the 1970's PSA Airlines $16. ticket from Los Angeles to San Francisco, or free on Silja Lines ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki (actually free with my Eurailpass).

Not sure if it was the cheapest but it was cheap. MSP to ORD round trip including taxes two years ago for $39 with NW. Received 2250 miles round trip for the flight as well and was upgraded in both directions to F.

Probably most recently, a coach trip from Birmingham to London for ,50p booking fee on Megabus. Other similar instances include many trips for $1.50 between NY and Philadelphia on the Chinatown bus services.

I don't remember exactly but about $80 from Tbilisi to Budapest by land. Buses all the way to Bucharest and the train for the last segment. Done in one long haul with only a 4 hour stop in Istanbul.

Flew Concorde for free!! ;)

Early 80s, had a job that gave me lots of vacation and very little spending cash. Got a gig as a courier for TNT or DHL or some such.
Couldnt take any luggage in the belly of the craft and had to return exactly 7 days later, but it was FREE!

About 2 days before my scheduled return, got a phone call at a friend's house that the Concorde courier was ill and did I want to take their place.

YEP! Helllllllloooo! Speedbird!! ^^

Dave

Hitching was and is still free.

When I was 17, hitch hiked from Toronto area to Pacific Rim National Park on Vancouver Island. Spent $120 total for 4 weeks there and back. That included all travel, food and lodging. I lived on peanut butter sandwitches, but it was a great experience.

Frankfurt/Hahn to Madrid with Ryanair €0.01 - free transfer by hotel from airport to 4* hotel in downtown Madrid for €15 room (incl. breakfast) (hotelclub promotion).

whatever thing with RyanAir for 1.98€ RT taxes included...just came back from Paris for that price...but I promise not flying RyanAir ever again

Back in the 80's; Fort Lauderdale to Atlantic City on Bally Air. For $7.11 each way.