We covered a lot of ground by foot in Naples. But we had no choice but to pay asking prices for the ferries to Capri and Ischia. Swimming was just not an option. :p The hotel staff in Naples would consistently tell us to take a taxi as the first choice to get within the city. They would then roll their eyes when we asked for directions on the map to walk to the destination instead. (We were staying on points.) On our last day, I asked how to take the bus to the train station, and the lady was aggravated that she had to look for a bus schedule to answer my questions. So I gave in and finally relented to the taxi as it would be better than schlepping our rollerboards for 20 minutes. She called the taxi before we were fully ready to leave (my husband had not yet returned from the rest room). When I got into the taxi which was about 10 minutes after he had arrived, the dude had already been running his meter from the moment he pulled up. Scam! :mad:

To answer the OP, international travel for leisure is not an uncommon thing to do amongst my friends and professional colleagues. Our friends do still think we are up to something very much not legit because we travel so much more often than them, but no one ever really questions if we can afford it. However, the staff I work with and clients at our offices would be in utter disbelief and jealous that I am probably one of those awful 1%-ers ruining this country one luxury vacation at a time if I told them of my vacation plans. To get around this, one colleague always tells his staff and clients that he is going to Albuquerque for business every time he goes away for a trip. No one ever questions a trip to Albuquerque and no one really desires to go there multiple times in a year. Of course this requires that you keep your FB account on super lockdown and not post pictures of Brazil when you were supposed to be in Albuquerque.

Unfortunately at my job, I had no way around it because I used to go to the airport straight from work, so when you show up with a rollerboard in a tiny office, people of course want to know where you are going.

In Europe the custom is, when the hotel calls a taxi for you, the taxi starts its meter running from the moment the taxi is coming to the hotel... If your taxi driver started his meter when he arrived the hotel, you were already being charged LESS.

I discovered this to be the case in Paris on our 1st europe trip. I also learned to keep exact change on me, otherwise taxi drivers seem to like to keep a big tip for themselves when giving change because all americans are big tippers right :D

I had just assumed he started the meter when he arrived. It may have very well been when he was called. I didn't know this is the custom in Europe. Learned something new on FT today!

He could simply claim he made a wrong turn on the way to Albuquerque

That's gotta suck. The thing I enjoy the most--besides my actual travel--is bragging about my travel.:D

Haha that quote by sent was the funniest and the saddest thing I've read in a while.

This is great information -- thanks for sharing!

DOWN LOW
 

We also have to keep most of our trips on the down low from our staff, as they will think that we make too much money! Sometimes we go and don't utter a word about where we are going.... like Istanbul or Petra. That is a hard one to keep under the brim, as I am usually beaming with excitement! Other times we tell them we have a conference we need to go to for work... but we never befriend our staff on FB! that way I can still post my picks!

Love it!!!

And agree with the general sentiment expressed here that it's best to avoid the issue of how one pays for things altogether. My family's finances are no one's business but our own, and we are very private about them.

Never! I am proud of my trips and it's no one else's business as to how I financed them. Sounds like you have a rubber spine - get some backbone and take pride in what you have accomplished!

Amen! The same goes for when the concierge tries to hook us up with a private car and driver for sightseeing. We were at the Le Meridien in Amman, Jordan trying ask about a public bus down to Petra for a few days. (Our guidebook was a little outdated.) Honestly, none of them knew where the bus station was and told us it would only be $300 to have a car & driver to take us down for a day trip. We ended up walking a few blocks away from the hotel and got a cheap taxi (although still probably a rip off) who took us to the bus station and got to Petra for $5.

It's a myth that Japan is so expensive. I lived there for 2 years and there are plenty of cheap places to eat, but they are not in the hotel nor near the hotel. You'll find lots of cheap places near train stations. A huge bowl of ramen and a beer is less than $15. Most temples and gardens are less than $10 to get into.

I try to avoid expensive countries but I can't think of anywhere that is truly too expensive to go to, except maybe Bhutan that I think still has a min. daily spending requirement. Generally, if there are local people living in a place, there are local places to eat for less.

Well, Africa can be awfully expensive. Been doing a tiny bit of research right now. 2 FT friends have done African trips - both were frugal minded, esp one traveled in a family of 5... both told me it was a very expensive trip and there were very little ways to keep the cost down. The family of 5 has gone to many exotic places, incl Easter Island, Galapargos and Chilean Fjords yet he said the South African trip has topped the chart in terms of both expenses and excitement... I guess it boils down to in countries / cities where the infrastructures are not there, it can be an expensive trip.

Poor rookie! You just haven't met the good cardinals of The Spanish Inquisition over at AMEX.:D

Competition also drives down prices, too. Many of the expensive places have less competing transportation, lodging and meal facilities.