There are common sense travel tips, like "Check at least three web sites to get the best deal on plane tickets." Then there are the tips that are more along the line of "secrets." These are the little-known tricks learned by experience. Here are some of the best of those.

Cheap Travel Tips

Find out where local visitors from within the country stay. The cheapest "tourist hotel" I could find when in a resort town in Mexico was $135. I asked a local businessman where to find a cheap room, and got one for $10. There wasn't a swimming pool, but the room was spotless. I was there to travel, not to lounge, so this suited me fine.

Negotiating room charges is common in many countries. In Banos, Ecuador, we negotiated our room rate down from $12 to $6 per night, by paying for several nights in advance. The trick here is to be sure that there are other options, then make your final offer and walk away. Most owners will call you back and lower the price.

Consider hostels, if you don't mind sharing a room. They're much more common overseas. This saves you a lot if you are single, because you pay for the bed. I once spent four days in a hostel for $4 per day, breakfast included. I shared a room with several others, and a TV room with travelers from 16 countries.

Hotels in the U.S. are less likely to negotiate, but we have done it. Most small chain motels are not company-owned, but franchises, so it is usually the owner behind the counter. Paying for several nights in advance, or just starting to walk away, has resulted in discounts for us many times.

Travel is often only as cheap as your plane tickets. For international travel, search the fares to several countries that you would like to visit. Go to the cheapest one now - the others will be cheap another time, and a savings of $500 can buy a few extra days, or an extra mini-vacation some other time.

Anywhere you go, there are things you can do to keep it cheaper. Eat where locals eat, for example, instead of at tourist restaurants. See the free and cheap attractions first. You might have so much fun that you'll never get around to doing the expensive things. Higher prices mean better quality with travel bags, but not necessarily with travel experiences.

Other saving ideas!

Did you know that international corporations will
pay for you to fly to Zurich...or Paris...or Rome? All
you have to do in return is agree to carry time-
sensitive business cargo (it could be files or computer
discs, for example) to your destination. You may never
have to touch, let alone actually carry, the bags.
Representatives of the firm that has hired you will
take care of all the dirty work. All you have to do is
check the cargo as your luggage.
It's called traveling as an air courier. And it's
perfectly legal. Thousands of travelers do it every
year. As an air courier, you fly like any other
passenger on the plane, enjoying the same comforts and
amenities. There are only two differences. First, you
don't have any checked luggage (just your carry-on
bags). And second, you don't pay full fare for your
ticket. In fact, you may not pay anything at all.
But more than that, there is something exciting,
even romantic about traveling as an air courier. You
can be called up for duty with little more than a day
or two notice -- like a foreign correspondent or an
international spy. What an adventure, to receive a
telephone call asking if you can leave for the Far East
in 24 hours...or if you're interested in flying to
London in the morning.
Of course, it can be much less spontaneous, if you
prefer. Some courier services allow you to make
reservations weeks or months in advance.

Making the connection
You want to fly to Sydney, Australia, and then
take off for a grand adventure Down Under...exploring
Queensland's rain forest...sailing the Great Barrier
Reef...maybe traveling northwest from Sydney to Mudgee,
a little, undiscovered town cradled in the Cudgegong
Valley on the western side of the Great Dividing Range,
where you can visit stud and sheep ranches, go
prospecting for gold, and marvel at Frog Rock (a huge
sedimentary amphibian that crouches beside the road)...
But the cheapest round-trip ticket to Sydney
you've been able to find costs US$1,500 -- considerably
more than your pocketbook can afford.
Don't give up on your trip. Pick up the phone and
call a courier service. Explain where you want to
travel and when and ask if the service has any packages
going to that destination at that time. Most services
require that you call not more than 60 days in advance
of your trip.
If it is your first time looking for work as a
courier, it might be better to make the initial contact
by letter rather than telephone. Tell the service a
little about yourself, include a resume, and assure
them that you are flexible, available, eager to travel,
and accustomed to packing light (remember, you'll only
be allowed your carry-on luggage). Then follow up on
this letter with a phone call, requesting a specific
assignment.
But before you accept an assignment, verify the
terms of the arrangement. Some services no longer offer
free tickets to their couriers; some offer only deeply
discounted tickets. In fact, as the occupation becomes
more popular, it is becoming harder and harder for
couriers to travel free. Years ago, courier services
not only provided couriers with free airfare to their
destination, but they paid them a fee as well. Today,
this is unheard of.
It is still possible to get free airfare, though,
but you may have to shop around. And you probably will
have to settle for a last-minute booking. Even if you
can't get your ticket for free, you will be able to get
it for about 70% less than you could buy it anywhere
else.
Another thing to keep in mind is that you can
bargain for a fare. If you're interested in flying in
two months to Buenos Aires, you may not be able to find
a free ticket. (Remember, free tickets are usually
associated with last-minute bookings.) But neither do
you have to settle for the first fare quoted you.
Haggle. Bide your time. The closer it gets to the date
of departure, the more eager the courier service will
be to make a deal.
The only red tape involved is an application form
that the courier service will ask you to fill out. Some
services also charge minimal annual registration fees.

The reason for couriers
More and more businesses are using courier
services. The reasons are simple. First, nearly all
major businesses now operate internationally. When
someone says, "I want it on my desk by 9 a.m.," he
doesn't care that the person he's speaking to is
halfway around the world. If packages or documents are
shipped by traditional methods, they can take hours,
even days to clear customs. Not so with material
shipped with a courier. It clears customs within
minutes of landing at the airport, just like any other
passenger's luggage.
Second, material shipped with a courier flies on a
scheduled airline, and, because of that, it usually
flies on time.
So, when a marketing manager in Des Moines wants
to send the results of his most recent studies to his
affiliate in Hamburg -- and ensure that they reach
their overseas destination by 9 the next morning -- he
picks up the telephone and calls an international air
freight company.
The major freight companies, such as Federal
Express and DHL International, fly their own planes and
therefore have no need of couriers. Smaller operations,
however, must rely on courier services to arrange for
the transport of their parcels. These freight companies
contact a courier service, which in turn tries to find
a free-lance courier who wants to fly -- immediately --
to Germany, for example. If you happen to call the
courier service that same afternoon, you're on your way
to Europe.
For your part, the work involved is minimal.
Always check in the day before you are scheduled to
depart to make sure the time or the flight or the
carrier has not been changed. This is not a formality;
it is a safeguard. It is not unusual. In fact, it is
common for courier flights and times to be changed at
the last minute.
Once you're sure of your flight, simply arrive at
the airport about an hour ahead of your departure time.
A representative from the freight service will deliver
the material to the airport and check it in as the
baggage for your ticket. You'll then be given the
ticket, the baggage claim check, and a form detailing
the contents of the baggage.
When you arrive at your destination, another
representative from the freight service will meet you
at the airport, where you'll retrieve the baggage,
clear it through customs, and then take off to enjoy
your trip. The service is responsible for making sure
that the contents of the baggage are as they should be
and that they are delivered where they are supposed to
go. Your only responsibility is walking the parcel
through customs.
The courier service will have given you a sheet
with instructions for your return flight. Don't lose
it. And the day before you are scheduled to return
home, again check in with the courier service to verify
your flight time.

Finding a service
To find a courier service, you could simply open
your local yellow pages, look under "Air Courier
Services," and then call each firm listed to see if
they use free-lance couriers and if they provide free
tickets or only discounted tickets. But you'll probably
be disappointed. The services that advertise in the
yellow pages rarely use free-lance couriers and never
give free tickets.
A better way to start is to contact Now Voyager,
74 Varick St., Room 307, New York, NY 10013; (212)431-
1616, a large courier service that deals with a lot of
different freight companies and uses a lot of free-
lance couriers. Call between 6 p.m. and 11:30 a.m. to
hear a tape recording detailing all available flights
and prices; call in the afternoon to book flights.
Other courier services that use free-lance
couriers and that sometimes offer free tickets to their
couriers include:
Airhitch, 2790 Broadway, Suite 100, New York, NY
10025; (212)864-2000
Courier Network, 295 Seventh Ave., New York, NY
10001; (212)691-9860

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Packing Tips

Packing for a cruise can be quite a daunting task - when else are you expected to show up in everything from a bathing suit to an evening gown, yet are allotted such little closet space? Some things to consider when packing your bags:

At the cruise terminal - or even at the airport if you have an air/sea or a land/sea package - your luggage is taken by the porters to be brought to your room. The cruise line will tell you that it is possible that you won't have your bags until after dinner (it is generally quicker, but there are no guarantees), so you want to be sure to have bathing suits, dinner clothes and your toiletries in your carry-on just in case.

Another thing you want to think about when packing is what type of luggage will work out best. Some cruise lines offer to store your empty bags during the duration of the cruise (call ahead to check), but if they don't, you may want to consider soft-sided luggage - storage in your cabin is at a premium! - and if there are several people sharing the same cabin, it would be even more helpful if your luggage nested inside each other.

Now that we've discussed your actual luggage - and how long it might be before you see it again ? perhaps the last item to consider is what you are putting in the bags. There are many things to consider - formal and semi-formal dinners, sporting events, shore excursions, casual days - and because of the whole space issue, you want to be sure to choose wisely. Consider clothing in complementary colors, so that every item matches other things you have brought, think wrinkle-free and low maintenance as much as possible, and cut out excess as much as possible (large shampoo bottles, etc.). If you are traveling with other people - in your cabin or otherwise - see if there is anything that can be shared, such as irons, steamers, hair dryers and similar supplies. Remember, it was no less a person that Sherlock Holmes (even though hes fictional!) who pointed out that if the walls dont distend, then only the absolute necessities belong with you, and you need to keep them accessible!

I've flown over two million miles in the last 15 years, and I've discovered many ways to make traveling smoother and more comfortable. Here are four ideas you might want to try...

1.

Getting Flight Upgrades

If you're a frequent traveler, here's how you can get upgraded more frequently:

Airlines have ticketing classes, and each class has different rules that determine things like your ability to change the ticket, whether you will get prioritized on the upgrade list, etc. You can often buy a ticket at the same price but in a higher ticket class. For example, Northwest has ticketing in classes K, T, L, V, Q, H, M, B, and Y. In general, a ticket in class M gives you a better chance of being upgraded than a ticket in class T. When booking, check the different ticket classes with the airline in addition to the price.

2.

Decoding Plane Delays

When waiting for a delayed flight, you may have been frustrated to find that the "estimated" arrival/departure times posted on the notice boards in the airport aren't updated promptly. Asking the question, "When did the equipment depart and how late is it?" will give you a more accurate idea of how long you'll have to wait.

3.

Jumping Rebooking Queues

Don't wait in line with all the other frustrated travelers to rebook a cancelled flight. Join the queue (just in case), but use your cellphone to call the airline's customer service number and rebook through them.

4.

Sidestepping Inflexible European Airlines

I'm British (though I live in the U.S.), so I know how inflexible and unwilling to make changes to "non-changeable tickets" most European airlines can be. But by calling the airline's U.S. office, you may receive a much more favorable response - like "There's a $100 change fee, but I can make that change for you."

I've found that airline ticketing policies aren't always as strict as they seem. By being polite and asking the right questions, you can enjoy a better and more relaxing travel experience.