If you want to do a serious amount of travel, you will need to learn how to save money when you can. As a novice backpacker, you’ve probably booked airline tickets last minute, traveled by taxi way more than you should have and eaten at restaurants purely for convenience. Although convenience is worth its price, it should be used sparingly. Below, I have outlined the top 10 ways you can save money when traveling. Most are obvious and some require a little common sense and discipline. Follow them and I promise you will save yourself hundreds if not thousands of dollars

1. PLAN AHEAD. I know, I know, backpacking is usually a spur-of-the moment thing. You decide where to go when the wind decides to blow that way. But there are some things you can plan ahead for. For instance when you know you’ll be flying from Sidney to Singapore in the near future, make that reservation and live out the rest of your days in Sydney with a good bye party every night for two weeks! Talk about living your life to the fullest. Not a bad way to ride into the sunset!
2. BE FLEXIBLE WITH YOUR TRAVEL DATES AND TIMES. This one’s a gimme! But believe it or not, it may save you even more money than planning ahead. If you’re not an early bird, then I guess you’ll just have to bite the bullet and take a flight or tow hung over. Crack-of-dawn flights are usually the cheapest. Some people insist on specific times to fly, saying “ there is no possible way” I could get to the airport by 6AM. In the end It’s your choice, but personally, I’d rather have two hundred bucks in my pocket than two extra hours of sleep! Besides not sleeping at all the night before will give a chance to catch up on it, because lets face it, there’s not much else to do when you’re stuck in a seat for a few hours.
3. SHOP AROUND. Don’t you ever, and I mean ever take the first price on any form of travel! I realize that you may not know all the local resources for flights, trains and buses, but it’s worth it go online and read some blogs before you book. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I’ve spoken to fellow travelers who paid 200 even 300 bucks more for a ticket than I did. It just pisses me off! I feel it’s completely wrong for these companies to take advantage of travelers who are already strapped for cash! I mean this is precious beer money we’re talking about! Another piece of advice is to call a travel agency. Call three. All will give you a quote for free, and travel agents have access to consolidator tickets that you and your laptop do not. Most people assume that the web has the cheapest rates, but in my experience, a good travel agent will beat the online rate about 1/3 of the time, especially for international flights.
4. CLEAR YOUR COOKIES. This one you probably didn’t know, but the websites you visit remember your browsing history and actually jack up the price if you keep checking it. You see that the rate has gone up and think, “uh-oh, I better book it now!” This is 100% true and is one of the despicable tactics that are used on unsuspecting travelers. Don’t fall prey to it and erase your cookies often and regularly! Click Here for step-by-step instructions to erase those pesky cookies.
5. BOOK DIRECT. Third-party booking companies like hostels.com or kayak.com almost always will be more expensive. How do you think they became so rich? Booking fees that’s how! Additionally when you reserve a flight on these websites, you don’t actually purchase your ticket when “buy now.” They relay your request and only several hours later do the companies actually get your request. This means there is a chance you could actually lose your price and have to start over. They’re great for checking what’s available, but not for booking!  I realize hostels are your first choice but after months of travel you’ll want a hotel room just to feel human. Same story, book direct! If you booked through a third party and your hotel is overbooked, you get bumped first. You will also get the crappiest room.
6. GO LOCAL. Renting a car or campervan in Australia or New Zealand? Local rental companies’ rates are almost always lower, and it is easy to book online. Remember, Google knows best! Going local also applies to saving money on the ground once you arrive. Local brands of groceries, beer and toiletries are less expensive and much more fun! And don’t book a package deal unless you absolutely have to! 9 times out of 10 breaking up your itinerary and booking separately will work out to half the price if not less! For instance if you’re going to Angkor Wat from Bangkok, don’t book hotel and transport as a package. Your hotel will probably be very nice, but you will pay double for one of the same quality! My advice is to book the transportation and decide where to stay once you get there! It’s more fun this way and much cheaper! One last piece of advice about going local is to book a hotel or hostel in a new destination for no more than 1 or 2 nights unless you have to! For instance if you’re going to Brazil for Carnival, then most hostels will have 4 or 5 night minimums. But any other  time of year, book for 1 or 2 nights because you will probably find something much less expensive and better quality when you’re there. And if the place you booked is amazing and you want to stay, let them know right away, they will not throw you out! Make the hostel earn your business, don’t just give it to them!
7. TRAVEL IN THE OFF-SEASON. Air tickets to Europe or anywhere else in winter (excluding the holiday season) can be 1/3 to 1/4 the price of a peak summertime ticket. Hotel rooms and hostel beds are cheaper, tourist sites are not crowded, and your hosts will be less burned-out. Remember: there is no bad weather, only a bad mind set. One thing you might be worried about is what if it rains the entire time or what if I can’t find other travelers to hang with? In all  my years of travel, what I have found is that inconveniences make traveling more fun! I know it’s counter-intuitive, but once you get back home, you’ll remember the time you got stuck in a typhoon in Hong Kong and had to run into a crowded bar and eded up having the most amazing time. Again, there is no such thing as bad weather, only a bad mind-set
8. FLY ON WEEK DAYS for international travel especially. Weekdays are usually considered by the airlines to be Monday through Thursday. You will save a great deal of money by avoiding the airlines’ weekend surcharge on both ends.
9. BE SMART WITH YOUR MONEY. Getting around a new city may be difficult. You don’t know the local bus routes, subway stops, etc..But with the help of Google Maps, all that info, once available to a select few, is now at your fingertips. Unless you’re coming home from a night on the town or you have several friends to share the costs of the taxi, and certain other exceptions, it is usually best to use public transit. Besides it’s so much more fun as you will seldom have a better opportunity to meet locals and truly feel like you’re part of the city. Several other tips are try not to buy food or drinks at airports, buy groceries and make your own meals as most hostels have kitchens, visit tourist traps but don’t buy anything there, especially food and souvenirs. Use every opportunity to trade books as many hostels have libraries that run on the barter system. And lastly, withdraw cash in sums large enough to last you one to two weeks. Although we don’t recommend carrying large amount of cash, ATM charges can add up in a big way so be smart with your withdrawals and don’t use credit cards.
10. TALK TO THE EXPERTS. Travel agents spend every day analyzing flight routes, learning airline rules, reading maps of train stations, negotiating car rental prices, and sorting through the computer reservation systems of the airlines, systems that predate the Internet. Not only will they be able to help you make the reservation at the best possible rate, but will also be able to assist you on the best places in town to stay.

For all of you backpackers who are broke, which pretty much covers the majority, here is an event you cannot miss! The Hammer Museum in Westwood will give you free admission if you find your way there on a bicycle. First, let me tell you about the museum. It’s an incredible building acting as a gateway between Los Angeles and the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), one of the more prestigious schools in the Western United States. The art exhibits present contemporary and historical works in all media of the visual arts. With Striking sculptures, intensely colorful paintings and more, this event will be a feast for you eyes!

What you need to do now is rent, borrow or beg for a bicycle if you don’t have one as this event is a true rarity. I say that because not only do you gain free access to the art but also to amazing live music, mouthwatering food, an incredibly fun atmosphere, but best of all, you get to watch a Pee Wee Herman movie! I mean does it get any better?!? So maybe Pee Wee Herman is not the main draw of this thing,  but I promise you won’t be bored! So just to recap, free art, free live music, free movies, cool people and free food! Ummmm, yes please! Did I also mention that there will be a valet service for you bike…you heard me, bike valet! So gather your mates from the hostel, get those chevrolegs warmed up and start pedaling boys and girls, this will be a night to remember in Los Angeles!

Event details

Time: Thursday, April 8 2010 @ 7:00pm

Address: 10899 Wilshire Blvd, Los Ángeles, CA 90024.

Fun in Los Angeles

Click on the picture above to go to home page of this event.

1. Hollywood Walk of Fame
2. The Kodak Theatre
3. The Hollywood Sign
4. Grauman’s Chinese Theatre
5. Universal City Walk
6. Getty Museum
7. Rodeo Drive
8. Venice Beach Boardwalk
9. Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier
10. Walt Disney Concert Hall – self Guided Tour
11. Sunset Strip
12. Griffith Park Observatory
13. Griffith Park
14. La Brea Tar Pits
15. The Grove
16. Farmer’s Market
17. Mulholland Drive
18. Highway 1 (PCH)
19. Hollywood Forever Cemetary
20. Live taping of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno
21. Attend a movie premier – You can’t get in, but you can see the actors. This is the schedule.
22. Live taping of Jeapoardy
23. Live taping of the Wheel of Fortune Show
24. Live taping of the Bill Maher Show
25. Live taping of the Price is Right Show
26. Paramount Studios Tour
27. Warner Brothers Studio Tour
28. Universal Studios Tour
29. NBC Studios Tour
30. Sony Pictures Studio Tour
31. CBS Television City
32. Melrose Avenue
33. Venice Canals
34. Beverly Center
35. 3^rd Street Promenade
36. Olvera Street
37. Runyon Canyon
38. Bronson Caves
39. Shrine Auditorium
40. Palladium
41. Whiskey-A-Go-Go
42. The Roxy
43. The Viper Room
44. The Edison Bar
45. The Comedy Store
46. Hollywood Bowl Museum
47. Barnsdall Park
48. Mount Wilson Observatory
49. Old Town Pasadena
50. Paramount Ranch
51. Sunset Ranch
52. Annenberg Space for Photography in Century City
53. MOCA – Museum of Contemporary Art, free from 5-8 on Thursday
54. Los Angelels County Museum of Art – Second Tuesday of Each Month, admission is Free
55. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles – Admission is free on the first Tuesday of each month.
56. Downtown Art Walk
57. Miracle mile Art Walk
58. Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust
59. Bradbury Building
60. The Watts Towers
61. Queen Mary
62. Little Tokyo
63. Manhattan Beach
64. Santa Monica Beach
65. Malibu Beach
66. Zuma Beach
67. Dockweiler Beach
68. Redondo Beach
69. Marina Del Rey
70. Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits
71. Hiking at Topanga Canyon
72. Los Angeles Times Building – tours through the editorial and business facilities. Very Interesting!
73. Los Angeles Public Library – Daily Walk-In Tours of the Central Library last about one hour.
74. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences– Beverly Hills
75. California Science Center
76. Dodger Stadium
77. Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
78. Union Station
79. El Pueblo Walking Tour – 1 hr. Free tour of the birthplace of Los Angeles
80. L.A. Live
81. Staples Center
82. The Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens – Free first Thurs of Every month
83. Justice Brothers Racing Museum – Witness the evolution of Motorsports
84. Sunset Junction
85. Travel Town Museum
86. Peterson Automotive Museum
87. Ripley’s Believe it or not Museum
88. Hollywood Sex Museum
89. Guinness Book of World Records Wax Museum
90. The Bunny Museum – 2300+ Bunny items…if that’s your thing.
91. Pink’s
92. Toi on Sunset
93. The Scientology Building
94. The Bourgeoise Pig
95. McArthur Park
96. Echo Park
97. Exposition Park
98. Hollywood Reservoir
99. Los Feliz Village
100. Pershing Square
101. Culver City Music Festival – City Hall Courtyard, Summer at 7 pm

The Sunset Gate is now under construction!

This is not an alternative form of budget lodging! This  is a true hostel for the global backpackers who are looking to have a great time and make amazing memories in Hollywood! I hope you will like and connect with what we are trying to do! Stay tuned as we will soon be open!