Home away from home: accommodations on a budget

Unless you're lucky enough to have friends or family conveniently located, planning a trip means sorting out where to stay. For a budget traveler, there are a few good places to start:

Hostels
As a solo traveler, hosteling can be the way to go. If you don't mind sharing a room, you'll likely land the cheapest bed and might even make some friends. Hostelbookers and Hostelworld are my two favorite sites. Both offer user reviews of hostels based on a variety of criteria, including atmosphere, location, security, and cleanliness. Choose your priorities, run a search, and generally don't stray below 70-80% overall ratings. I've had a lot of good experiences this way.

Couchsurfing

For the brave of heart, and ideally, the budget-traveling duo. Couchsurfing is a concept where people offer to open their homes to you totally free of cost. (Nice mannered guests should think to bring a small host(ess) gift.) As a traveler, finding a host can be a big time sink, what with searching through lots of host profiles and writing individualized request messages, but it can result in a really personal experience and a chance to get the most "insider" perspective on the town. You can't be too picky, though, so you may end up in a less-than-central part of town and you might sleep on the floor. It's easiest to find accommodations in lower-requested locations, not major cities where hosts can be overwhelmed with requests. Not recommended for those with some extra cash nor for female solo travelers (sadly, in my experience).

Airbnb
This is undoubtedly my new favorite way to travel in a couple or with a group of friends. It can even be a solution for off-the-map destinations with few (if any) hotel or hostel options. With Airbnb, locals open up their homes—sometimes just a spare room, sometimes the whole place. Users, both hosts and travelers, are vetted through the site's security system, to which they must submit some form of state ID. People who host or are hosted by users have the opportunity to leave a review, so you can get a feel for who the person is and what their home is really like. Airbnb homes range from young couples or empty nesters with a spare bedroom to the lucky ones who have a second home that's not always in use. Personally, when I'm exploring a new city with just one other person, I love to go the spare room route in hopes of getting to hear an insider's perspective from my hosts. I've also taken advantage of full homes to enjoy a get-away weekend with a group of friends. The experiences are always unique and often much more charming than your standard hotel.

Hotels are always an option, and can even be called for in the world of budget traveling under certain conditions, say in remote places, for last minute bookings, or when someone else is footing the bill (say, when your airline goes on strike and they cover accommodations due to canceled flights). Loads of search engines exist for this. I have tested Kayak and Hotels.com, but hotel travel has never become my area of expertise.

Whatever your tastes, as Ray Bradbury wrote in Fahrenheit 451,

'Stuff your eyes with wonder,' [...] 'live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.'

Getting from point A to wherever B may be

It's no secret that I'm a travel junkie. Since I began earning a living wage, nearly every spare penny has gone to travel. And, mostly on a student stipend, I've made my way through 35+ countries. There isn't one secret to hitting the road (or the skies) on a shoestring, but here are a few pointers to book that killer deal.

Rome2rio is a fantastic starting point. If you've ever wondered how you might venture from point A to B, this site will break down all the different modes of transport and their price ranges. It's a great way to figure out if plane, train, boat, or car/car-share (or some combination of these) is your best bet.

Skyscanner.net has been my long-time favorite for its search capabilities. This site is limited to air travel, but its incredibly flexible search algorithm lets you run searches like

• Destination "Anywhere": figure out what destinations are most financially accessible from your starting point.
• Don't care when you fly? You can ask this search engine to check out flight prices across an entire calendar month, which is great if you want to take a vacation sometime in July or August, and you just want to find a good deal. 
• Need some budget-travel inspiration? Skyscanner even allows you to leave the travel dates unspecified, pulling up cheapest options regardless of date. This combined with destination: anywhere has been the starting point of many a fantastic adventure.

Kayak is a search engine of travel websites. It scans all your standard air carriers (including budget lines like Easyjet and Ryanair) as well as travel sites like expedia, booking.com, opodo, etc. After finding my inspiration on skyscanner.net, I always run my selected travel destination and time window through kayak to find the most competitive prices. (Tip: Once I've selected my flight, I always go straight to that airline's website to double check that fares aren't cheapest when booked directly through the carrier. It's not often the case, but can offer some savings.) I've also seen Momondo floated around on traveler forums as a very popular search engine.

For the students and under-26-year-old travelers, Student Universe and STA travel do offer the occasional killer deal.


Besides the above advice, a couple extra tips:

• Book early. If you can deal with planning up to 6 months in advance, you can get yourself an international flight for the price of a couple of drinks in a bar downtown.
• Be flexible on dates. Traveling out on a Thursday or back on a Monday can halve the cost of your journey, or more. Whenever you have the luxury, run your searches on kayak with specified dates + or - 3 days.
• Clear browser history and cookies. If using Google Chrome, run your searches on an incognito window. I've read over and again that websites notice if you've searched a trip more than once, and will up the price on subsequent searches. Not totally sure if it's true, but why chance it when clearing your history is just a click away from potentially cheaper airfare?
• Take advantage of the sharing economy. If the last leg of your trip takes you off the beaten track and far from public transport, check for local ride share websites that can let you travel for a fraction of the cost of—and way more convenience than—a car rental. And for shorter distances, keep in mind that uber is often half the cost of a taxi.

Hope this comes in helpful the next time you start dreaming of a faraway escape. Happy travels!

Traveling to Russia visa-free

The Cold War may be over (or is it?) but Russia hasn't exactly swung its doors open wide to American tourism. (Nor, in all fairness, has the US for the Russians.) Getting to the Motherland as a US tourist can be a huge headache: trips to the nearest Russian consulate, a letter of sponsorship from your hotel, ID photos, visa application forms, a visa support letter, and fees that currently hover around $160 USD for American citizens. All of this is hardly conducive to a nice weekend abroad. Luckily, there is another way to get yourself into Russia, and it's visa-free and totally legal.

Cruising into Russia visa-free

Turns out the tourists entering and leaving by port are permitted up to 72 hours in Russia as part of an "organized cruise excursion" when traveling with a cruise line officially licensed with the Russian government. For some reason (perhaps it had to do with who knew who when these laws got written, or just a certain interest in tourist dollars), cruise and ferry lines are not distinguished under these guidelines. So, if you take the overnight Saint Peter line ferry from Talinn or Helsinki, equipped with proof of hotel reservation for the duration of your stay, you are welcome to enjoy a couple of days of total freedom inside Saint Petersburg. Just carry a little cruise shuttle-bus ticket on your person, and you're part of an "organized excursion"! The same money you might have spent on your Russian visa can instead go to enjoying two nights on a cruise ship getting into and out of the country, with some left to spare for tourism inside the Motherland.

So guess who's heading to Russia in less than two weeks??

Russia, here I come!

1 month, 1 backpack, 4 countries: go!

Contrary to the exciting title, I'm saddened to admit that I don't have any new travel adventures to share this month. The spring round of postdoctoral fellowship proposals, aka trying to convince people that my fantastic research proposal will cure all diseases and save the world, has been keeping me way too busy. Instead, I figure I'll use this time at home to add my two cents to the world of backpacker blogging.

About a year ago, I found myself equipped with a roundtrip to Bangkok and no clue as to how I'd ever fit a month of supplies in just one backpack. For that matter, how did some people pack for much longer than that?? It turns out, the blogosphere is ripe with answers to that very question.

What advice worked best for me? Nearly a year later, there's no doubt in my mind of my #1 most important item: a comfy and durable pair of Teva sandals. These were worth every penny. From wandering down the streets and through the temple complexes of Bangkok to hiking through the jungles of Vietnam, these guys never let me down. And they even let you show off your pedicure, should you find yourself caving for their oh-so-cheap prices.

The Teva Kayenta sandal. Girly enough for a night on the town, tough enough for a hike through the jungle.

And for the rest of my top-ten pack list tips...

2. Pack light on the clothing, and clothing that's light (though at least one shirt with sleeves and a pair of pants that covers the knees). You don't need so many outfits, as you can hand wash things in hostel sinks or just pay around $1 per pound for laundry services. And if anything tears, new clothing is so very cheap. It's incredibly hot in March and April in this part of the world, so you don't want anything heavy or clingy. However, you'll need at least one outfit that covers your shoulders and knees in order to get in to certain Buddhist temples.

3. Don't bother with books. You can download things on a smartphone or buy the ubiquitous photocopied bestsellers anywhere. This is an easy way to cut down on luggage weight.

4. Buy an ultralight microfiber towel. These guys dry so fast, roll up tight, and feel feather-light. An excellent traveler's investment.

5. Get a waterproof bag. Especially if you plan to travel around New Year's in mid-April, which is celebrated in SouthEast Asia with massive city-wide waterfights. No mercy is shown. But barring that, you still never know when you'll want to take a camera or a smartphone on a kayak trip, or when the weather may turn.

6. Consider purchasing a tablet, a bluetooth keyboard, a travel-proof case if you don't already own these. Writing home is so much easier with a full keyboard and a proper screen, but you don't want to lug a laptop around all month.

7. Bring bug spray. Just make it a part of your morning and evening routine, like brushing your teeth. You won't regret it. Cinq sur Cinq tropic worked well for me. I went with a skin spray and a clothing spray, and never got too badly bitten.

8. Sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen. Enough said.

9. Stock up on any medications and get your vaccinations in advance. I was lucky not to need my stomach and gastrointestinal pills, but it was a comfort to know they were there. Taking a monster-sized malaria pill every morning might not be the best way to start your day, but it sets you up to enjoy the rest of it out and about.

10. Take one cozy sweatshirt and comfy pair of pants. You never know when a sudden cold snap may descend upon you, and you'll be very unhappy if you only have tank tops and tees to layer.

Who'd have thought that northern Vietnam would be a full 15-20 degrees Celsius (around 30 degrees Fahrenheit) colder than southern Vietnam? Thank goodness for my sweatshirt and waterproof jacket!

Don't stress too much, and certainly do not overpack. You can always buy things along your travels that you may have forgotten or didn't realize you'd need.


Finally, for anyone who really wants to dive into the nitty-gritty of it, here is my final pack list in all its glory:

Clothing

2 regular bras, 1 sports bra

10 pairs of panties

2 pairs of regular socks

Harem pants

5 t-shirts, 3 tank tops (non-strappy)

2 dresses

Fast drying shirt for hike

Fast drying pants for hike

3 pairs of hiking socks

Pair of shorts for campsite

Bathing suit

Sweatshirt

Shoes

Hiking boots

Flip flops for showers

Walking sandals

Toiletries

Toothbrush

Toothpaste

Floss

Soap (body, face)

Moisturizer

Razor

Antiperspirant

Shampoo

Conditioner

Panty liners

Band-aids

Hair ties

Minimal jewelry (1 of each item)

Nail file and clippers

Tweezers

Chapstick with sun protection

Birth control

Acne medicine and cream

Basic make-up (eyeliner, mascara, 1 lipstick, 1 eyeshadow)

Travel Gear

Microfiber towel

Sunscreen

Bug spray (skin, clothes)

Antacid/antidiarrheal

Headache medicine

Anti-malarial medicine

Small purse for day outings

Backpack

Travel pillow (inflatable)

Umbrella

Sunglasses

Light-weight foldable cloth poncho

Electronics

iPad, charger, SD card reader

Camera, charger, upload cable

Phone and charger

Headphones

USB key

International all-in-one adapter

Waterproof bag for electronics