S Hooks:

When you travel light, it usually means you end up carrying most of your belongings near or on your person. A side effect of this is that during the course of your excursion, you’ll need to create hanging space where none exists. For my money, the best way to do this is with an s hook. You can get large ones at the hardware store, but the ones with the wider curves tend to be thicker and heavier than necessary. I like to pick mine up at Ikea in the kitchen section. They’re thinner, still sturdy, and have a wide enough s curve to accommodate shower poles, restroom stalls, door knobs and the cross bars on a Southeast Asian tuk tuk. They also have the flat versus the round variety, which provides greater flexibility in my opinion.

Electrical Adapters:

Speaking of travel gear you can buy at hardware stores, electrical adapters are another extremely flexible vacation or business travel item. While the adapters that allow you to switch from a European plug to a North American one are helpful, what I’m talking about here are the adapters that allow you extend a single outlet into one that allows you to charge three or more items. This comes in handy during an airport layover when outlets are scarce. If all the outlets are taken, it’s no big deal to ask someone to unplug their machine for a second while you expand the power access.

Bandanas:

Thin, quick-drying and easy to pack, the travel uses for bandanas are many. Use one for a small picnic surface, to wash your dishes and even as a wash cloth. Of course, they also make great napkins for inexpensive street food purchases. If you have room, consider packing several. You’ll be surprised how often you’ll need them once you get used to having them around.

Lip Balm:

Aside from its obvious use, lip balm can serve a number of uses on the road, saving you money and luggage space in the toiletry department. The key is to purchase an unscented balm with no color tinting. Once you do, you can use it for a variety of skin care tasks. Rub some on your finger to treat dry spots on your heels and elbows. Your balm will remain sanitary for lip use, and you’ll have fewer cosmetic items to pack. The same idea applies if you need to moisturize the inside of your nostrils in dry weather conditions such as high-altitude villages or desert climates. Another great idea is to use your lip balm as a cuticle treatment. It saves having to pack nail oil, and doesn’t need to be included in your one-quart bag of liquids required by airport security.

Bobby Pins:

Sure, bobby pins can help you have great hair for less. French twists, bang management and more can all be accomplished with hair pins in a color that coordinates with your natural shade. But have you considered allowing them to do double duty as bookmarks, emergency zipper pulls and on-the-fly paper clips? All these things are possible with bobby pins. They can also help you securely close bags of food in your hotel room, and are much more space efficient than chip clips.

When trying to travel light, packing multipurpose items that don’t take up a great deal of space is crucial. These five items are among my favorites. What do you use to create a more streamlined life on the road?

Photo Credit: Lastonein

Many people include hiking in their travel agendas when they come to New England.  Because of a National Park, a National Forest, several state parks and other preserved land, there are a lot of hiking trails in the 5-state area. What people may not know is how many of those trails include waterfalls. Over 400 of them!  A waterfall is always a treasured find on a hike.  No matter how big or how small, a waterfall holds a certain mystique to most of us.  We watch them; we listen to them; we photograph them a lot.

Most New England falls are not right off the road. A small hike, at least, is required. The reward is worth it, though. The trick is usually finding the way to your destination. If you’re in any of the New England sites and you’re planning a hike, before you head out, visit New England Waterfalls (which is a companion to the book of the same name) to find which hiking trails have a waterfall as an attraction.  It conveniently breaks down the destinations by state, offers photographs and the authors’ opinions.

Don’t forget to take your camera.

Photo credit: sskennel

Feet: A network of national walking trails already exists to tempt fitness-minded tourists in search of the perfect photo op. However, the completion of the Wales Coast Path – scheduled for May 2012 – will make it the only country in the world with an entirely walkable coastline. Vacationers interested in exploring the new path, 85 percent of which is within the national parks, will enjoy roughly 70 sweeping beach vistas, 15 picture-worthy ports and a number of secret coves. Also of note is the Cistercian Way, a long-distance trail which takes travelers on walking tours through a network of abbeys and churches located in the Welsh interior.

Festivals: Who doesn’t love a good party? Fun-loving travelers have a number of options when visiting this part of the UK, including the National Eisteddfod of Wales. With origins traced back to the year 1176, it is the oldest cultural festival of competitive music and poetry in Europe. With thousands of registered competitors and hundreds of scheduled performances, it is arguably the country’s premier artistic event. Additionally, the Hay Festival offers merriment in the form of music, comedy, gastronomy and more. The event celebrates its 25^th year in 2012, and is scheduled to take place in early June.

Food: One of the simplest ways to experience frugal fare in Wales is by ordering the fixed price lunch option. It’s a common practice at many of the pubs and eateries, allowing to you affordably taste test home-spun traditional favorites such as Welsh cakes, toffee waffles, Cawl Cennin – a leek soup – and Gower lamb. ( See also: Fun Picnic Lunch Ideas for Travelers )

Frugality: Priced as low as $21, the Cadw pass provides pay-once access to sought-after tourist sites, including the castles of Conwy, Caernarfon, Harlech and Beaumaris. Is free more your speed? National Museum Cardiff, and the National Coal Museum both offer complimentary entry.  Regarding accommodations, various camping options are available in the national parks, along with numerous boutique hotels if you’re interested in an affordable splurge. Examples include the cliff-top St. Brides Hotel Spa in Pembrokeshire, and the Parc Hotel in Cardiff, located within walking distance to both Millennium Stadium and Cardiff Castle.

Photo Credit: Duncan

All eyes will soon be turning to England for the 2012 Summer Olympics. For the budget conscious, reducing accommodation costs and looking for other ways to keep expenses low while planning to visit the Olympics will help make a visit memorable but not bank busting.

Photo courtesy Andy Roberts Photos

Food:

Happy hour deals offer a source of cheap eats for Vegas visitors. Wolfgang Puck Pizzeria and Cucina features several $7 bite-sized bar food items in a happy hour menu that lasts all day long. Snacks of note include baked polenta with sausage and peppers, grilled pork belly and a chilled mushroom antipasto plate. Matt Reider of Canuck Abroad, a Canadian travel Web site, favors late night dining for the best deals. Many restaurants and buffets offer steep discounts between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., advises Reider, providing penny-pinching meal opportunities for night owls and early birds alike.

Transportation:

If your desired destination is a little too far away to find your way to on foot, Reider also recommends the Deuce – a popular double-decker bus – to travelers looking to save money. This bus services the Vegas strip around the clock, with 24-hour passes ringing in an only $7. For affordable site-to-site transportation without all of the stops and starts that come along with bus travel, consider the Las Vegas Monorail. The $12 one-day pass allows unlimited transportation between all of the major stations along the strip, with climate-controlled cars that are clean and comfortable.

Accommodation:

Room rates in Vegas are frequently priced to entice. Travelzoo.com for example, currently lists affordable accommodation options for less than $100! While costs fluctuate with availability, the site provides real-time pricing options for vacationers in search of the ultimate Vegas deal. Condo rentals also offer significant savings. This was recently evidenced on a site called Flip Key, where I found a two-bedroom, two-bath condo listed for $149 per night which was connected to the MGM Grand by a moving walkway.

Experiences:

To get a sense of Las Vegas on foot, try a downloadable walking tour and scavenger hunt you can participate in from your cell phone. Strayboots.com has family-friendly options available for as little as $9 per person, providing an interactive tourism experience. Prefer something a bit more posh? Book any treatment at The Spa at Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas and receive complimentary same-day access to common-area amenities, including heated relaxation chairs, vitality pools and personal experience showers. With face and foot treatments priced below $100, this can be an affordable spa strategy to spend the day in decadence.

Photo Credit: Http2007

Storage:

Even with a copilot, the ability to easily reach your road food is important. One organizational strategy is to fill canning jars with nuts, dried fruit and other vegan road trip items and store them in a sectioned wine bag. This keeps the jars upright and snack items orderly. Seat covers with storage pockets on the back and sides provide easy-to-reach spots for things like packages sunflower seeds, wet wipes and zero waste lunch kits.

Supplies:

Your road trip supply list is a personal choice. Those traveling with food allergies may need to avoid things like peanut packs and string cheese, while the hard core carnivores might prefer road eats like beef jerky and hard boiled eggs in the cooler.

Hot dog rolls:

Hot dog rolls are a great resource for creating meals that travel well, because only one side is susceptible to leaks, compared with the four sides of a standard sandwich.  With the roll’s opening facing straight up, it’s possible to easily grip your sandwich from all sides. Try out a few different sandwich ideas for a meal is easier to eat, with fewer dry cleaning bills.

Pullovers with purpose:

Road trips with time crunches are stressful. When you must stop, make it count. Rest areas are perfect for pet travel and family road trips alike.  Make sure you remember to give your pet a romp session and make time to enjoy some road trip snacks. Pulling over for gas? Make sure to hit the restroom and recaffeinate. On multi-day road trips, look for gas station signs from the highway that are posted with numerous other resources. This is a good indication of a more populated area, with a high probability of finding a grocery store. Stocking up on healthy grocery items during a mid-day gas stop will save you having to deal with it at the end of the day, when you’re tired and hungry.

Tailgating:

Use the grill boxes at rest areas and camp grounds to whip up some kabobs and explore other tailgating menus if you’re on a longer journey. Some stations also come with electrical access, which means you can make sandwiches with a press, fire up a hot pot for flavored rice and boil water for tea and coffee.

Picnics:

There are plenty of picnic lunch ideas suitable for eating on the road. Take advantage of scenic turnoffs and urban parks with convenient parking to grab a fast lunch before hopping back on the highway. You’ll skip the time it takes to get seated at a restaurant, wait for your order and stand in line to pay your bill. Bonus? You’ll probably be eating healthier too.

Picture Credit: Kfoodaddict

Food: Breakfast is one of the most affordable meals to enjoy while traveling. When possible, consider choosing an eco option. Locally-supplied restaurants offer travelers a chance to vote green with their pocketbooks while still experiencing a relaxing vacation. For example, Max’s Harvest in Delray Beach, Florida is a farm-to-forks venue offering surprisingly reasonable Sunday brunch selections. Sustainable snack options include hand-cut rosemary chips and gourmet deviled eggs, both available for $5.

Supplies: Cosmetics, sunscreen and other personal care products are available in reasonably-priced eco versions suitable for travel. HandSan, an organic spray-on hand cleaner from Bio Green Crystals is packaged for easily tucking into your messenger bag or day pack and rings in at roughly $6 per travel-sized bottle. Similarly, Badger, an all-natural body care company sells $3 tubes of USDA – certified organic lip balms in flavors such as Madagascar vanilla, highland mint and tangerine breeze.

Accommodations: Researching your chosen hotel’s green efforts in advance is a great way to stay informed. I try to pay particular attention to linen-laundering procedures and the venue’s selection of personal care products. Does the hotel encourage you to be more conscientious in your requests for fresh towels or drop off more than you would reasonably need? What types of soaps and shampoos are stocked in your room? On a recent visit to the Plantation at Crystal River along Florida’s nature coast, I enjoyed cruelty-free shower and hand soaps with sustainable packaging as well as paraben-free shampoo and conditioner.

Activities: The venue also offers legally-guided manatee snorkeling tours for less than $50 per person, along with low-impact kayaking tours, bird watching and a variety of other ecological activities. Interacting with nature is one of the most inexpensive ways a traveler can keep it green on the road. Parks, nature trails and more can be accessed for free around the world. For those who want to take it up a notch, volunteering is an affordable way to have a higher-end experience for less. Govoluntouring.com provides a variety of international eco packages, including marmot conservation in the French Alps, low-carbon desert living in southern Spain and lion encounters in Zambia.

Photo Credit: Pictures of Travel Places

Cabin Rentals:

Remote cabins are sexy, intimate and a great way to leverage vacation rentals into an affordable holiday. Whether you are renting a cottage in Papallacta for a couple’s spa getaway, or camping in Shenandoah National Park, the rustic atmosphere will provide a wonderful backdrop for getting back to the basics of your relationship. Bring easy, sensual food to prepare such as wine with a fruit and cheese tray or a hummus and falafel platter. If the weather is cold, then hot toddy supplies to enjoy by the fire are an absolute must.

Teardrop Trailers:

The teardrop camping trailers popular in the 1950s have made a comeback with thrifty travelers, who want more comfort than a typical tent can provide. Towable with a regular car, these campers provide a fuel-efficient way to get where you’re going and camp in comfort. Featuring sleeping compartments as large as a king-sized bed and full gourmet galleys, these campers allow you to begin having fun almost immediately. The candlelight al fresco dinners with full bar are an added bonus.

Boutique Hostels:

Today’s hostels are just dorm rooms with multiple bunk beds. Don’t get me wrong. There are still plenty of those options out there if you want them. But if romantic travel opportunities are what you desire, there are plenty of hostels around the world boasting private rooms, fireside soft seating areas and picturesque courtyards. Hostelbookers.com is certainly one place to check, as is any independent guide book worth its price tag. My husband and I have enjoyed precious private hostel rooms in destinations such as Lima, Peru, Slovenia’s Lake Bled, Haifa, Israel, Prague and even Munich, Germany.

Memberships:

Research your credit card’s membership perks to see if your reward program provides any deals or discounts. For example, there are a number Discover Card travel perks available to members including cruise discounts and other travel products you can purchase with your annual points. Similar programs are available with other credit cards. For example, some friends of ours visited us in the Tampa area and received two free admission tickets to Busch Gardens to use during their vacation. The membership benefits strategy also applies to hotel loyalty plans. During a Hilton stay for a science conference, my husband and I received complimentary access to the executive lounge where we received complimentary breakfasts, day-long beverage service, happy hour food and open bar in the evenings. (See also: Tips for Using Credit Cards Abroad)

Home Swaps:

If you own a home in a sought-after tourist destination, then arranging a home exchange is a great way to reduce accommodation costs on romantic trips. I’ve seen homes available for swapping in Paris, Amsterdam, NYC and in various picturesque locations throughout Italy. You just need to get online and start searching for an opportunity that suits you.

Planning:

Choosing to share travel costs with another couple on a vacation rental or booking your trip during shoulder season for off-peak travel savings are two very effective ways to get the most for your romantic travel dollar. The time of week you fly out is also a large part of the financial equation.

What are your favorite romantic travel ideas? Have any of them made the list?

Activities: Ready to relax? Align Spa’s atmosphere is part Zen garden, part Bohemian loft. Their $35 Ski Boot Revenge treatment includes a foot soak, paraffin dip and muscle-relieving leg massage. It’s one of several spa values the destination has to offer. Family adventure options include Park City Mountain Resort’s Alpine coaster and the 2,111-foot zip tour adventure at Canyons, each available for $20. Canyons Resort also offers free Saturday afternoon concerts all spring, which are fun to enjoy with a casual beverage. More than 400 miles of public trails provide free fun to those preferring snowshoeing or Nordic skiing to a downhill experience.

Food: Stay on budget by hitting the appetizer menus. At High West, a ski-in distillery and restaurant housed in an antique livery stable, you and a friend can sample a selection of in-house whiskeys for the price of roughly one cocktail each. Fun snacks include the $5 bourbon-caramel popcorn and $6 giant soft pretzels with rye-infused dipping sauce. Silver, a slightly more sophisticated venue, offers several hearty starters for less than $15, including mushroom crostini and potato pancakes with smoked salmon. Don’t want to leave the mountain? The Royal Street Café at Deer Valley serves noteworthy turkey chili and chive hummus with homemade pita chips for less than $10.

Savings: Ski free your first day! Out-of-state visitors taking a ski vacation can convert same-day boarding passes into complimentary lift tickets at any of the town’s three major resorts with the destination’s quick start program. Those with direct morning flights can be on the slopes by early afternoon. Park City Mountain Resort lets children six and younger ski free, and the area’s transit bus provides no-cost transportation to ski resorts, recreational areas and the historic downtown district.

Splurges:

Got extra dough? Summit Mountain Adventures offers 7,000 acres of snowmobiling with spectacular mountain vistas and a large meadow to indulge the need for speed. Prices start at $100. Utah Olympic Park’s $200 bobsled ride is the real deal, reaching five G’s in 55 seconds. Typically, astronauts experience only three G’s during a space shuttle launch, albeit for a longer period of time. Children will remember a real-life dogsled ride through the forest for a lifetime. At $350 through All Seasons Adventures it’s a bit spendy, but the rate allows for multiple little ones in the sled. Sacrificing a day’s lift tickets will help defray the cost and make a magnificent family memory.

Photo Credits: TrekHound.com

Fairbanks also enjoys the free rides on the Staten Island ferry, which provide a great vantage point for photos of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. Here are other options for those trying to experience the Big Apple on a Budget.

Entertainment:

Podcast personality Brian Peters, of No Debt World Travel, is an avid excursionist. He recommends free tours through Big Apple Greeters. This not-for-profit organization is staffed by volunteers who greet travelers in more than 20 languages and offers free tours with a strict “no tipping” policy.

Food:

Pamela Parisi of The Elegant Tightwad, a frugal fashion and money-saving web site, dines for a buck in midtown Manhattan. Her menu includes pizza for $1 a slice at Bros Pizza and Z Deli. Poultry fans can score southern-fried goodness at Piece of Chicken for a buck, and fresh produce is sold for $1 per pound at the Stiles Farmers’ Market. When in a rush, Parisi buys hot dogs – also for a buck a piece – from her favorite vendor carts.

Lodging:

Pauline Frommer, author of “New York City: Spend Less See More,” had the inside scoop on where to rest your head on a budget. Dorm-style rooms can be booked at the Gershwin Hotel for as little as $34 per night, according to Frommer. As anyone used to taking holidays to New York can tell you, that’s one seriously great bargain.

Photo Credits: Trek Hound