Jun 18, 17, 5:17 pm
Last edit by: EmailKid
Best items to have for Budget Traveler:
Unlocked SmartPhone with local Sim card with data (not all countries have addresses posted)
Extension cord with multiple outlets (some budget hotels have exactly ONE electrical outlet)
Free local maps that you might pick up at tourist information places (the more the better - different versions seem to list different streets depending on what printer considers important)
USB battery pack for when you are lost and mobile is running low on juice and you need Google maps
Unlocked SmartPhone with local Sim card with data (not all countries have addresses posted)
Extension cord with multiple outlets (some budget hotels have exactly ONE electrical outlet)
Free local maps that you might pick up at tourist information places (the more the better - different versions seem to list different streets depending on what printer considers important)
USB battery pack for when you are lost and mobile is running low on juice and you need Google maps
Favorite budget travel items?
Nov 4, 09, 9:06 pm
#151
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Montreux CH
Programs: FB Platinum, M&M FTL, BA Blue
Posts: 10,828
A Michelin map of where I am going, an absolute must in Europe. In North America, I find Rand McNally pretty reliable. Also, Lonely Planet for decent cheap hotels.
Good Hotel Sales
Dec 30, 09, 3:32 pm
#153
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: USA
Posts: 356
My favorite budget friendly travel item
Love all of your budget-friendly travel items.
My favorite happens to be the Lonely Planet travel guides... they list the best hostels and readers rate them so you know you won't be steered wrong in a foreign land. Some of the hostels I've stayed in that were recommended by Lonely Planet resembled upscale B&B's.
Also, I'm a geography teacher in the US and if you sign up on Lonely Planet's website, you can use it's virtual map to plan your next vaca... on points of course!
Oh, and how could I forget. Sign up for a frequent flyer card # on every airline you travel with! Points definitely add up. I'm with over 5 and fly for free quite often.
Happy trails,
EveryPointCounts
My favorite happens to be the Lonely Planet travel guides... they list the best hostels and readers rate them so you know you won't be steered wrong in a foreign land. Some of the hostels I've stayed in that were recommended by Lonely Planet resembled upscale B&B's.
Also, I'm a geography teacher in the US and if you sign up on Lonely Planet's website, you can use it's virtual map to plan your next vaca... on points of course!
Oh, and how could I forget. Sign up for a frequent flyer card # on every airline you travel with! Points definitely add up. I'm with over 5 and fly for free quite often.
Happy trails,
EveryPointCounts
Feb 14, 10, 12:34 am
#155
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 1
The most useful item of all time
Most of the items listed in the forum are awesome for dealing with anything that comes up on the road, especially safety pins and duct tape - nice posts.
However, the most useful item for any backpacker, traveler, vacationer, day tripper, or business man on the move is...
A towel.
Douglas Adam's said it best in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
"A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have."
It's a blanket, a pillow, a sun shade, a cape, a shawl, a bag, a flag, a sling, a hat, a hood, a picnic throw, a rug, and like Adams said, " [you can]of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough."
I prefer a quick dry towel which I just bought for my trip to New Zealand and I'm in love with the softness, quick drying time (seriously five minutes) and the compact design (it's about the size of a small paperback book).
I've been rocking the MSR personal towel which I bought for $14.99 (US) and it's going strong after some pretty solid abuse (see the list above).
So yeah...all the gizmos and clever fix it tools are great if and when a problem occurs, but the towel makes itself useful every single day.
p.s. I also like sandwich twistie ties. They make a great deterrent for backpack pickpockets if you wrap them around the zipper togs while you're walking around town and you can use them to keep your stuff organized or hang anything from poles and stuff. I strung up some solar powered twinkle lights in my van with em just the other day. Good stuff.
See ya guys.
However, the most useful item for any backpacker, traveler, vacationer, day tripper, or business man on the move is...
A towel.
Douglas Adam's said it best in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
"A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have."
It's a blanket, a pillow, a sun shade, a cape, a shawl, a bag, a flag, a sling, a hat, a hood, a picnic throw, a rug, and like Adams said, " [you can]of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough."
I prefer a quick dry towel which I just bought for my trip to New Zealand and I'm in love with the softness, quick drying time (seriously five minutes) and the compact design (it's about the size of a small paperback book).
I've been rocking the MSR personal towel which I bought for $14.99 (US) and it's going strong after some pretty solid abuse (see the list above).
So yeah...all the gizmos and clever fix it tools are great if and when a problem occurs, but the towel makes itself useful every single day.
p.s. I also like sandwich twistie ties. They make a great deterrent for backpack pickpockets if you wrap them around the zipper togs while you're walking around town and you can use them to keep your stuff organized or hang anything from poles and stuff. I strung up some solar powered twinkle lights in my van with em just the other day. Good stuff.
See ya guys.
Mar 14, 10, 8:43 pm
#156
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 28
Originally Posted by EveryPointCounts
Love all of your budget-friendly travel items.My favorite happens to be the Lonely Planet travel guides... they list the best hostels and readers rate them so you know you won't be steered wrong in a foreign land. Some of the hostels I've stayed in that were recommended by Lonely Planet resembled upscale B&B's.
Also, I'm a geography teacher in the US and if you sign up on Lonely Planet's website, you can use it's virtual map to plan your next vaca... on points of course!
Oh, and how could I forget. Sign up for a frequent flyer card # on every airline you travel with! Points definitely add up. I'm with over 5 and fly for free quite often.
Happy trails,
EveryPointCounts
Last edited by dakosta; Aug 5, 10 at 4:38 pm
Apr 14, 10, 8:32 am
#157
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 95
My best recommendations is to put everything into a black roller bag for carry on. The bag I got was from walmart for less than $20. When I try to voluntarily bump myself to get free flights and upgrades I always tell them that I have only carry on and it is very helpful for this. Also a laptop bag is useless dead weight that will slow you down. I just put my laptop ontop of the clothes and put it into the black carry on roller bag thereby keeping my bag to only one bag.
Also my other budget travel item is to go to a clothing bank to get an outfit for the first day of travel. Then after I arrive and settle in after my first shower at my destination I promptly throw out this outfit thereby (which was acquired for free) freeing up precious space in my black roller bag. I also try to gather pack some older socks and/or underwear and throw these away after each use during a trip and then stock up on new socks and underwear at walmart when I get back or if I run out but a bag of new socks instead of washing the older ones.
Another cool thing which I mistakenly canceled is a Delta American Express card because it allows access for only $25 to the Delta lounge and you can take a shower there which can cut one day of hotel expense out of the total cost by sleeping on the plane or in the terminal lounge. Without this card the price is $50 for the Delta lounge so I need to get that card again because I might as well just get a hotel if I am paying them $50.
And last my favorite is from my orthodontist who I sometime go to his office just to say hi and take some of these from his bathroom where they are stored is a disposable single use toothbrush with toothpaste embedded into it. He makes all his patients brush with this before each visit but I can take a few and use them for future travel.
Another thing that is the best thing is to make sure you get you tonsils removed if you plan on alot of traveling. I got my tonsils out in my 30's and let me tell you a tonsil is a germ magnet (and provide no useful function) for the many germs floating around airports and planes so the best thing you can to is to have them removed. Also I am a guy so this may not work on girls but I started getting my hair cut very short so I do not need to carry a brush or comb anymore which cuts down on my total travel items.
Also my other budget travel item is to go to a clothing bank to get an outfit for the first day of travel. Then after I arrive and settle in after my first shower at my destination I promptly throw out this outfit thereby (which was acquired for free) freeing up precious space in my black roller bag. I also try to gather pack some older socks and/or underwear and throw these away after each use during a trip and then stock up on new socks and underwear at walmart when I get back or if I run out but a bag of new socks instead of washing the older ones.
Another cool thing which I mistakenly canceled is a Delta American Express card because it allows access for only $25 to the Delta lounge and you can take a shower there which can cut one day of hotel expense out of the total cost by sleeping on the plane or in the terminal lounge. Without this card the price is $50 for the Delta lounge so I need to get that card again because I might as well just get a hotel if I am paying them $50.
And last my favorite is from my orthodontist who I sometime go to his office just to say hi and take some of these from his bathroom where they are stored is a disposable single use toothbrush with toothpaste embedded into it. He makes all his patients brush with this before each visit but I can take a few and use them for future travel.
Another thing that is the best thing is to make sure you get you tonsils removed if you plan on alot of traveling. I got my tonsils out in my 30's and let me tell you a tonsil is a germ magnet (and provide no useful function) for the many germs floating around airports and planes so the best thing you can to is to have them removed. Also I am a guy so this may not work on girls but I started getting my hair cut very short so I do not need to carry a brush or comb anymore which cuts down on my total travel items.
Last edited by m90291; Apr 14, 10 at 8:46 am
Apr 19, 10, 4:47 am
#158
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Europe
Programs: General Member UA
Posts: 3
In my (limit) travels the one thing I always have prioritized is:
* iPhone + Sennheiser in-ears (my god I can not live without my in-ears)
* K-swiss classic shoes (perfect comfortable all-rounds shoes)
* Soft Hoodie (keeps you warm and can act as a pillow)
* North Face Dayback with laptop back support system <3
* Lonely planet
* iPhone + Sennheiser in-ears (my god I can not live without my in-ears)
* K-swiss classic shoes (perfect comfortable all-rounds shoes)
* Soft Hoodie (keeps you warm and can act as a pillow)
* North Face Dayback with laptop back support system <3
* Lonely planet
Apr 27, 10, 2:06 pm
#159
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: The Islands..
Posts: 23
Bought of all places a cashmere shawl at K-Mart that is so perfect for long flights and for warmth in travel and I got it for $7 on clearance!
I don't think its 100% cashmere but its a nice blend and feels luxurious and keeps me warm..all for $7 bucks!
I don't think its 100% cashmere but its a nice blend and feels luxurious and keeps me warm..all for $7 bucks!
May 12, 10, 3:55 pm
#160
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: Amtrak Guest Rewards,many FF programs
Posts: 67
I love rubber bands
I use rubber bands to corral every thing., including charger cords. They also can be used to make clothing smaller, to keep guidebooks and paperbacks from splaying out and folder sized ones (found at any office supply) are good to keep folders intact. One or two slipped around your wallet makes it hard for a pickpocket to extract it unnoticed from a pocket or one threaded through zipper pulls and looped around a few times does the same for a purse or backpack. For general travel supplies I've had good luck with the Rick Steeves line. I use one of his carry-on rollie bags with expansion gusset and and a frameless backpack. I also use one of his yellow key chain lights for a flashlight.
For laundry I don't bother with powdered soap and just use either hotel shampoo or the soap bar and wash as I go.
For laundry I don't bother with powdered soap and just use either hotel shampoo or the soap bar and wash as I go.
Jun 25, 10, 12:27 am
#161
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 95
for people with sensative skin you can get some good ziplock bags and put tide free powder soap in single doses and then bundle the small ziplock bags into a big ziplock bag to assure no leakage
Originally Posted by clarelouise44
I use rubber bands to corral every thing., including charger cords. They also can be used to make clothing smaller, to keep guidebooks and paperbacks from splaying out and folder sized ones (found at any office supply) are good to keep folders intact. One or two slipped around your wallet makes it hard for a pickpocket to extract it unnoticed from a pocket or one threaded through zipper pulls and looped around a few times does the same for a purse or backpack. For general travel supplies I've had good luck with the Rick Steeves line. I use one of his carry-on rollie bags with expansion gusset and and a frameless backpack. I also use one of his yellow key chain lights for a flashlight.
For laundry I don't bother with powdered soap and just use either hotel shampoo or the soap bar and wash as I go.
For laundry I don't bother with powdered soap and just use either hotel shampoo or the soap bar and wash as I go.
Jul 18, 10, 8:16 am
#163
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 29
A towel, and Eastpak Transfer S carry-one bag. It qualifies for the carry-on bag, and it is light and holds a lot more than other bags of the same size. Fabric bags such as Mandarina Duck would do the similar thing, but Mandarina Duck is way more expensive. Carry-on bag saves you a fortune if you are travelling on a number of budget airliners.
Jul 29, 10, 12:55 pm
#164
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: yyz, ytz, (fly from BUF often)
Programs: Delta Silver, United Silver, Aegean Silver, Avis First
Posts: 125
My new favorite travel item is my iPad. Perhaps not a budget item, however it is saving me time / money in my travels.
It's in flight entertainment (books, movies and music) so on the cheapo airlines, I dont ever have to pay for a movie. And of course no added weight of large books (but always bring at least one paper book/magazine as the time before takeoff / landing can sometimes drag, and you can't use the iPad)
It's light, and has eliminated one bag form my travel, no longer a need for a separate computer bag, however, I usually still travel with a reasonable size sling, to hold the ipad, earphones and some food / water and my iphone (which doubles as my travel sized camera).
When I reach my destination, it's now a cheap way to get on the internet. No more $10 a day in hotels, when $15 a month is often more internet I need for any trip. Maps can be pre-loaded, and saves me the GPS charges at car rental companies.
And my favorite reason for loving the iPad when I travel. It's still new enough to be a conversation piece.
It's in flight entertainment (books, movies and music) so on the cheapo airlines, I dont ever have to pay for a movie. And of course no added weight of large books (but always bring at least one paper book/magazine as the time before takeoff / landing can sometimes drag, and you can't use the iPad)
It's light, and has eliminated one bag form my travel, no longer a need for a separate computer bag, however, I usually still travel with a reasonable size sling, to hold the ipad, earphones and some food / water and my iphone (which doubles as my travel sized camera).
When I reach my destination, it's now a cheap way to get on the internet. No more $10 a day in hotels, when $15 a month is often more internet I need for any trip. Maps can be pre-loaded, and saves me the GPS charges at car rental companies.
And my favorite reason for loving the iPad when I travel. It's still new enough to be a conversation piece.
Aug 3, 10, 6:02 pm
#165
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 27
Originally Posted by m90291
My best recommendations is to put everything into a black roller bag for carry on. The bag I got was from walmart for less than $20. When I try to voluntarily bump myself to get free flights and upgrades I always tell them that I have only carry on and it is very helpful for this. Also a laptop bag is useless dead weight that will slow you down. I just put my laptop ontop of the clothes and put it into the black carry on roller bag thereby keeping my bag to only one bag.Also my other budget travel item is to go to a clothing bank to get an outfit for the first day of travel. Then after I arrive and settle in after my first shower at my destination I promptly throw out this outfit thereby (which was acquired for free) freeing up precious space in my black roller bag. I also try to gather pack some older socks and/or underwear and throw these away after each use during a trip and then stock up on new socks and underwear at walmart when I get back or if I run out but a bag of new socks instead of washing the older ones.
Another cool thing which I mistakenly canceled is a Delta American Express card because it allows access for only $25 to the Delta lounge and you can take a shower there which can cut one day of hotel expense out of the total cost by sleeping on the plane or in the terminal lounge. Without this card the price is $50 for the Delta lounge so I need to get that card again because I might as well just get a hotel if I am paying them $50.
And last my favorite is from my orthodontist who I sometime go to his office just to say hi and take some of these from his bathroom where they are stored is a disposable single use toothbrush with toothpaste embedded into it. He makes all his patients brush with this before each visit but I can take a few and use them for future travel.
Another thing that is the best thing is to make sure you get you tonsils removed if you plan on alot of traveling. I got my tonsils out in my 30's and let me tell you a tonsil is a germ magnet (and provide no useful function) for the many germs floating around airports and planes so the best thing you can to is to have them removed. Also I am a guy so this may not work on girls but I started getting my hair cut very short so I do not need to carry a brush or comb anymore which cuts down on my total travel items.
Last edited by albertinio; Aug 11, 10 at 3:31 pm
