Vagabond Quest » Travel tips

How to Snag a Discount by Buying Two Tickets at Once

Ryan — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 13:00:44 +0000

Looking for a crazy bus ride?

It’s a common problem when traveling as a couple: you’re looking for a plane, train, or bus ticket and you think you’ve found the perfect one. Then you go to buy it and find the price shoots up. What the?!

What happened is there’s only one cheap ticket left, and when you try to buy it for two people you’re getting one cheap ticket and one expensive.

It happened to us today when we tried to book a ticket from Toronto to New York City on Megabus. Megabus is known for having some super-cheap fares, if you can find them. And in this case, I’d found a great one: $12 per person for the 11 hour overnight bus trip.

Trouble was, when I entered two passengers, I got a price of $35 for both of us. We were getting the last $12 ticket, and then a more expensive $23 ticket.

Happily, there’s a way around this problem: two computers, simultaneously purchasing the low-priced ticket.

Two laptops in the same time

I got both our laptops ready, and did the ticket search again, for 1 passenger only. Both showed the $12 fare available. Then I added both tickets to the shopping carts, and went through the payment process on both computers, making sure to hit the ‘next’ button from each screen at the same time.

We made it all the way to the end, put in our payment details, and success! Two tickets purchased for a total of $24.

We’ve used this trick before, and it works with all kinds of tickets: air, train, bus, anything where there’s different classes of tickets with limited numbers available.

Here’s our method to make sure we’re getting the best price buying tickets for two:

Always search for the best fare for only 1 passenger
Once you’ve found the best fare, add a second passenger.
If the fare per person stays the same, great!
If not, use a second computer and purchase the same ticket twice, making sure to go through each step of the process at exactly the same time on both computers

Has this tip been helpful to you? Any ideas to share? Post a comment!

New York, here we come!

Tips by Ryan

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Itchy and Scratchy: Bed Bugs, Sand Flies, and Other Travel Hazards

Dina — Wed, 05 May 2010 16:00:25 +0000

Gorgeous sunset at the Lake Taupo with Ryan playing skipping stones

This picture shows you one of the most beautiful sunsets we’ve ever watched. Let me tell you about it. We were driving across the North Island of New Zealand. The stretch of the giant Lake Taupo was in our west, when it was near the time of sun to rest. The sky was clear, and from the road we could see nice black sand running along the lake with a grassy area to park our car. I guess many of you, given the same situation, will choose to stop driving and jump in lake while enjoying the sunset. Well, that was exactly what we did.

After we parked, we changed into our bathing suits, privacy provided by a sarong. Then we went splashing down into the cold refreshing water. Ryan stayed in the water longer to skip stones, while I chose to enjoy the scenery from the sandy beach. Just before the sun started to slip past the horizon, Ryan joined me on the beach to watch the brilliant sunset. We sat on our sarongs watching the sun’s colours transform the lake’s surface turn into a mirror of shimmering gold. Perhaps a poet could say it better, but that was one of the most beautiful sunsets we’ve ever seen.

So, what does this have to do with itching? Something that my camera couldn’t capture was that there were hundreds of sand flies swarming around where we sat! The sunset was so gorgeous that we sacrificed ourselves to be eaten alive by these nasty sand flies. I don’t know why, but those sand flies mostly ignored Ryan and came after me: I got 20 bites for every 1 bite he got. As the sun was slowly sliding down the horizon, I was constantly slapping my feet, legs, body, and arms frantically trying to remove these little monsters. Despite that, there were tens of them pestering me at any given time. So much for watching a beautiful sunset. Once the sun had disappeared from the horizon, we jetted up from our sarongs and ran to the car. I scratched my whole itchy body frantically almost all the time. I felt the sand flies were still biting me when I changed, but maybe I was just being paranoid. Very soon, I totally covered up my body with clothes, armor against these little monsters’ attack.

One of many insects on the beach of Lake Taupo that day, can you spot it in the picture?

As we drove to Taupo City, I kept scratching myself furiously. I generously applied (read: drenched) my itch relief liquid onto the bites. It soothed a bit for a short time, but not much a help for the long run unless I keep pouring that on my skin. In the motel I checked that there were more than 50 little sting pricks all along my body, with my feet being the worst.

This was the worst insect itch I’ve ever had. A week or two later, even though it had gotten a bit better, the itchiness of some punctured spots were still intense. Four weeks after that, the itch had become much milder, but still noticeable. Little scratches here and there were still needed. Yes, I know I should not have scratched, but it was so dang itchy, I couldn’t control myself. Believe it or not, now, three months from that, I still have a few of the itching marks. Even though rarely, these spots still give me mild itchy sensations sometimes.

The Itchy & Scratchy Show (copyright by Fox)

Being a traveler, we are exposed to various skin problems, more so than when we are staying at home. Bedbugs from mysterious beds are a classic problem for backpackers. Nature, while it is beautiful, could send you various insects and prickly plants to give you hell-scale itchiness. I remember one time I was in the wild, I was leaning on grass for taking picture of gorgeous cliff. Apparently my right leg was landing on a plant covered with tiny needles. The sharp sensation I got made me stunned in pain for a minute. Thank goodness it was quickly passed after I removed the needles from my leg.

It’s not all about plants and insects. If you are a cheap backpacker like me who likes to wash clothes by hand in the sink, and you happen to have sensitive skin like me as well, those harsh detergents could give you itchy skin or even rashes, while washing with soap or shampoo doesn’t give the cleanest result. Even random body soaps and lotions provided by places that we stay at could irritate my skin! Also living on the road, general hygiene is sometimes, if not often, compromised, leading to various skin problems.

How do I try to minimize these problems? We are traveling light so we can’t bring the whole range of skin care products with us. For me, these are a few items that I need:

Benzocaine containing itching relief spray – Stinging when you apply it (I like that somehow!), but it reduces the itchiness quite well, at least for a period of time. I also have the creme kind.
Dove bar soap – The only bar soap recommended by my dermatologist for my super sensitive skin, and generally available in many countries that I’ve visited. Even my face skin loves this soap.
Topicort cream with active ingredients desoximetasone – Fighting dermatitis type of rashes, for example those cause by mysterious body soaps, lotions and detergent. Working really well but you need a prescription to buy this.
Tea tree oil – new member of my med pouch. I thought it only helps problem of acne, but Francoise from the Cult of Travel mentioned the magic of this oil, in fighting insect bites itchiness and even dandruff! Now I’m searching for a crowd of sand flies to bite me to confirm the potency of tea tree oil!
Lotion – My skin is less problematic when it’s not dried out. I love trying new lotions, even though unfortunately some of them cause skin irritation to me.
Mild laundry paper soap and a pair gloves – To do manual laundry, I choose mild detergent in paper sheets form by Muji because it’s quite mild in hand, and gives cleaner result than shampoo or liquid body soap. When even with this mild detergent my skin is still not happy, I will use gloves when doing my laundry.

Skin friendly items from my stash

Another popular item for backpackers that I don’t have is insect repellent. I hear DEET is working really well but unfortunately harsh on skin. There are various DEET alternatives like Autan lotion that containing icaridin as the active ingredient, and eucalyptus or citronella oil based repellent. I will get one of these insect repellent before going to places that are famous for their mosquitoes. It was just that when we were in New Zealand, we didn’t know there’d be such vicious little sand flies waiting for us on such a beautiful beach.

So, what about you? Have you had an itchy and scratchy problem while traveling? Tell me your worst! And also, share your secrets in preventing and combating skin itchiness.

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Transatlantic cruises for backpackers: a way to see more and pay less

Ryan — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 08:51:40 +0000

Usually when I mention the idea of cruising to fellow backpackers or bargain travelers I get strange looks and the same question: “Aren’t cruises too expensive for a backpacker?” A lot of people have a mental picture of cruises based on what they’ve seen on the love boat, but this isn’t accurate anymore. In fact, cruising can be a very cheap and rewarding mode of travel for backpackers, bargain hunters, and slow travelers. It’s a fun and inexpensive way to cross the ocean, visit out-of-the way places, and take some time to relax.

When Dina and I started planning to head from our home in Canada to Europe we checked into the best way to cross the Atlantic. We were shocked to find out just how cheap a transatlantic cruise can be. We ended up on the Ruby Princess for its first transatlantic sailing. Yes, the days spent at sea were long, but it was very relaxing and peaceful to be out there in the middle of the ocean. A great time for reading, writing, and conversation with friends.

Our transatlantic cruise itinerary

Taking a cruise can also be a great way to see some out-of-the way islands that you might not get to otherwise. How about Madeira, Sardinia, the Azores, or the Canary Islands? They’re a bit difficult to get to and expensive, not usually on a backpacker’s itinerary, but a handy stop with a cruise. And arriving in a new city by ship is so much more exciting than by land. Sure, your time in each city is short, but it’s a great way to get a small taste of a lot of different places. That can help planning which places you’d like to come back to and spend more time in.

What do you do during a transatlantic cruise? Usually the ship will spend 7 days or so in various port cities, so you’ll spend that time exploring the cities you’re in. Then you’ll spend another week or so at sea. There’s lots to do on the ship, but what I liked most was the peace and quiet. If you’re returning home after backpacking through Europe, a cruise would be a perfect time to unwind, reflect, maybe get your photos organize and fill in the gaps in your travel journal.

It's pretty windy out in the middle of the Atlantic

How cheap is it? There are lots of cruises available now crossing from the USA to Europe, usually lasting about 14 days or so, for about $600 USD per person including your accommodations and food. That’s around $45 a day! How much would you pay for basic hostel accommodations and simple food for 14 days? On the cruise you’ll be served fabulous meals, have all kinds of entertainment, stay in a nice private cabin and have all your transportation included. If you flew, you’d pay at least $600 for the flight, plus you’d need to organize a bus or train and spend hours riding and waiting when you want to head to a new city. On a cruise you’re sailing while you’re eating, sleeping, and enjoying yourself. Then you wake up in the morning docked in a new city to explore.

The rock of Gibraltar, one of the popular transatlantic stops

If you have a few friends to go with you, it can be even cheaper. You can often add a 3rd and 4th person to your room for another $200-300 each bringing down the cost even more.

Sure, there can be downsides. The cruise line will try hard to push expensive excursions, cocktails, photo packages, and souvenirs on you. It’s simple: don’t buy them. And I always remember that the reason my cruise was so cheap is that the other travelers are subsidizing me with their purchases of trinkets and alcohol.

The best time to take a transatlantic cruise is when the seasons change. At the end of winter, roughly March-May, ships move from the Caribbean and South America to Europe. That’s when you will find great bargains on these sailings. Then those same ships head back across the ocean from Europe to the Americas once it gets cold, from October-November. Check the search box below and choose the destination “Transatlantic” or “Transpacific” to see the deals.

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