Travel for Tightwads

I know this tightwad travel tip is a little odd, but how about getting your next vacation 100% absolutely totally free? Ever won a trip? It's a great feeling - trust me, I've been there. The best travel good deal I've experienced was a weeklong trip to Mazatlan, Mexico for two, courtesy of Tecate Beer. Now as a starving college student this was pretty much as good as it gets! :-) All I did was come up with a couple of silly nicknames for the Aztec dudes on the can and bingo - a girlfriend and I were off to Mehico for spring break - budget style! Muay gracias, Tecate!

I came across a couple of contests that I thought you might want to try your luck at.

Trip Around the World

RIM, the BlackBerry cell phone company, is offering weekly travel prizes like a weekend getaway for two anywhere in the continental US, as well as the big prize of a round the world trip. They also throw in daily giveaways through February 27th to keep it interesting. The grand prize is valued at about $35,000!!! Yowza - airfare and hotel for two for pretty much anywhere you want to go, plus $6,000 cash for incidentals. Enter daily here.

B&B Weekend Trips

Offered by Independent Traveler, this giveaway boasts two winners weekly through February 26th. Prize is a $250 gift card valid at BedandBreakfast.com with access to over 4,000 resorts. Enter here.

Oceania Cruise

Lucky winners receive a 10 day western Mediterranean voyage for two in a veranda stateroom aboard luxurious Oceania Cruise Lines. You do have to cover your own airfare for this one, but the cruise is valued at about $2,800. Enter by March 2nd here.

Technorati Tags: cheapest cruise, dirt cheap travel, inexpensive vacation

Who doesn't love free stuff? Well, I meant to give you guys some neato gifts for the holidays, but hey - best laid plans.

I know, I know, this isn't exactly the normal dirt cheap travel advice you usually see, but if you've been here before, you probably know I'm not really normal! :-)

Here are a couple of items that don't cost a cent and if you're truly a travel tightwad, then that's the price you like.

Free Museum Days

Did you know that Target, or "Le Target" if you want to get all hoity-toity, sponsors free admission to major museums around the U.S.? And no, it's not just obscure little places. Check out the details on a museum in your city or for anywhere you might be traveling to. Talk about great free travel entertainment!

Free Disney Day

Seriously? The biggest theme park monster in the world is offering free admission on your birthday to either Disney World in Orlando or Disneyland in Anaheim. Do you know what a ticket runs to those parks nowadays? Grab your free Disney pass here.

Technorati Tags: cheap entertainment, dirt cheap travel, disney theme park, inexpensive vacation, theme park discount, travel entertainment

Today's tightwad tip is about being informed so that you can recognize and take advantage of travel good deals when you come across them.

One of my favorite methods for finding inexpensive vacations is to let them find me. What do I mean by that? Well, you can search around online all day everyday and still not see all the best travel bargains out there. And who has time for that anyway? Many websites offer travel deal notification services that send you regular emails with great discount travel opportunities. It's easy, convenient, FREE, and can even be tailored to your particular interests.

Not only do these notifications help you find all the best cheap reservations and travel good deals, but they help you get and stay educated on what is happening in the travel industry, pricing trends, and vacation types. After just a few weeks, you will start to recognize a good price for a 7 day Caribbean cruise, or round trip flight from New York to Cancun, Mexico, or a night at the Westin in Maui, etc.

Many travel websites offer this service, but this one is the absolute best and my personal favorite. This NASDAQ company has over 14 MILLION subscribers. You don't get that kind of loyal following without delivering on the promise of travel good deals.

Technorati Tags: cheap reservations, inexpensive vacation, travel good deals

Thanks for visiting the Travel for Tightwads blog. My name is CJ and I will be your guide to the wonderful world of budget travel.

I look forward to helping you plan, find, book, and enjoy many dream vacations. This site is all about assisting those with a short budget or just a penny-pinching mindset to experience all the adventure, excitement, and education of world travel. Please stop by frequently, ask questions, provide feedback and comments, so that I can customize the site as we go.

I have a ton of new content coming in the next few weeks, so you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. (see the newspaper image at the right of this page)

Happy Travels!

Technorati Tags: dirt cheap travel, inexpensive vacations