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Today, we show you what “flower power” really means. Let’s just hope you don’t have allergies.

Select Renaissance hotel guests can opt into an over-the-top romance package that includes a decked-out hotel suite complete with 27,000 blossoms in each room.

From hydrangeas to tulips, peonies and, of course, roses, flowers line the walls and are placed throughout the room.

As part of the brand’s “Live Life To Discover” motto, other experiential touches include an extravagant breakfast in bed, daily Valentine’s Day love potion cocktails, an aromatic bubble bath experience with deluxe bath salts and bubbles, and a wide range of decadent chocolates, fruits and cheeses.

Of course, they have some cheaper romance packages too.

But what’s the fun in that?

Want to know what other ways you can woo your jet-set love this Valentine’s Day? We’re tracking 10 of the most over-the-top romance experiences we can find. See all of the coverage on our “over-the-top” tag, here.

Why it’s great: The app provides seamless transitions from still photos to videos and vice versa that transport you to spots in Australia from beaches to kangaroo moments in the wilderness. With a data connection, onboard links connect you to websites of accommodations and activity providers along with australia. com. The Sydney guide is comprehensive, and it’s helpful that much of the information is available when you are offline. You can create a trip itinerary by adding activities and accommodations to “My Itinerary.”

Why you might hesitate: The itinerary feature is limited to info on the app, so you can’t add in a destination such as Adelaide and Tasmania, which are not currently included, and I wish you could export the itinerary via email, but the interactive nature of the app makes up for these current shortcomings.

Sydney Travel Guide Essentials by Kate Armstrong from Sutro Media ($3.99 for iOS)

What it is: an app designed to let travelers experience Sydney and its surrounding neighborhoods like a local, known as a Sydneysider. Australian travel writer Kate Armstrong has loaded the app with comprehensive insider info that a visitor otherwise might never discover.

How it works: You launch the app and can scroll through “Everything” or filter information based on categories including Accommodations, Afternoon Teas, Beaches Pools, Coffee, Outdoors Getting Active, and Practical Info.

Why it’s great: The app is packed with links that make it fun to use with a data connection because along with links to websites, the app provides YouTube channel links and Twitter and Facebook handles for the most social destinations. Practical info about transportation (from ferries to the monorail), City Sightseeing tips and details about Visitor Centers for Sydney and Manly are all onboard. When you have a data connection, the app works with Google Maps to provide directions. The app even has a feature that allows you to ask the author questions and offer comments about a particular location or activity.

Why you might hesitate: There’s no reason to, unless you don’t plan to visit Sydney.

Voxer (free for iOS and Android)

What it is: a Walkie Talkie multimedia app that allows you to send text, audio and photo messages to friends, family and fellow travelers.

How it works: You invite friends and family to connect with you on Voxer, and the app also finds contacts that already are on Voxer. You can adjust privacy settings to let other Voxers find you by name or your email address. You don’t have to maintain a constant Wi-Fi connection. After sending a message, you can log off, and Voxer will alert you to responses or new messages the next time you log on.

Why it’s great: It’s fun to use and allows you to keep in touch with individuals and groups while traveling. This is especially helpful on international trips where you use Wi-Fi to connect to avoid international data roaming. It’s fun to use your phone like a Walkie Talkie. The app also can help a group meet up late in the day if members separate while exploring a destination.

Jetstar’s feng shui flight wheel. Let the prosperity flow. Want to get rich? Sit in row 6, says Jetstar Asia, which claims to be the world’s first airline to release a study of an aircraft’s feng shui.

In honor of Chinese New Year, the Singapore-based carrier brought in feng shui master David Tong to analyze its fleet of 17 A320s, asking him to look at the planes’ energy flows and figure out how passengers can better stack their personal fortune decks when flying.

It’s an obvious marketing ploy -– and dare we say a fun one.

The campaign’s website, Fengshui.jetstar.com, tells you everything from which seat rows will bring you love and luck to the time you should fly based on your zodiac sign.

To get your personalized results, enter your date of birth, gender and what you’re looking to improve this year (wealth, health, career, love, friendship). You’ll be advised on the best seats to choose, where to fly (not sure what that has to do with feng shui, but OK) and the best times to fly.

Jetstar says that while its findings are specific to each individual passenger, there are some popular recommendations for prosperous travel.

For instance, men traveling for good health should seat themselves in rows 9, 19 or 29. 

Women looking for wealth should choose rows 1, 11 or 21. 

Looking to make new friends? Pick rows 3, 4, 13, 14, 23 or 24. 

In terms of flight times, Jetstar says the early bird is indeed lucky with worms — between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. to be exact. Those are the hours that will bring the most amount of luck to travelers, says Tong.

Sounds great. What’s feng shui?

Feng shui literally means “wind water” in Chinese. Dating back more than 3,000 years, it’s an ancient belief that energy flows through your surroundings, but it’s up to you to harness the “good energy.” 

Masters conduct surveys of how to effectively combine the three natural elements — heaven, earth and man — so that they work in harmony.

Today it remains big business in much of Asia, with most companies consulting a feng shui master for everything from building design to which day is most auspicious for an opening ceremony.  

It’s prevalent in the tourism industry, too.

Casinos are famous for designing their facilities to “suck in” as much prosperity as they can, with everything from logo design to door positioning taken into account.

Gamblers, on the other hand, have their own feng shui guidelines. For instance, if you’re on a hot streak, the last thing you should do is get up for a pee break. According to a blog post on Feng Shui Tips, a slang Cantonese word for pee means “to let go of water.”

“To the Chinese, water always means money, so if you leave the gambling table to go to the toilet, it is like pouring your money down the drain,” says the post. 

Do you believe in feng shui? Sound off in the comments box below. 

Rogers Marvel Architects
Property Report: A revival of condo-hotel projects is under way in a handful of major U.S. cities popular with international buyers. Starwood Capital is planning a 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge with 193 hotel rooms and 123 condos.

Here is a look at real-estate news from Wednesday’s WSJ:

Have Troubled Assets, Will Travel: With concerns easing in Europe over the possibility of the euro collapsing, banks are picking up the pace of selling off distressed real-estate assets.

Brookfield Faces Bribery Charges in Brazil: A Brazil prosecutor filed civil charges on Tuesday against a unit of Brookfield Asset Management, one of the world’s largest property investors, alleging that the subsidiary committed bribery to win construction permits.

A Hotel-Condo Revival: Developments that combined luxury hotels with pricey condominiums got hammered during the downturn, but now a revival of these projects is under way in a handful of major U.S. cities popular with international buyers.

Spain Selloff: a Bargain-Hunter’s Dream?: Tens of thousands of homes are waiting for buyers in Spain. The government took control of these and other assets late last year and now is expected to sell them at bargain prices as part of efforts to put an end to a banking crisis triggered by the land bust.

Ireland ‘Bad Bank’ Tries to Make Good: As Ireland’s National Asset Management Agency—known as NAMA— picks up the pace of its sales efforts, a group of supporters is emerging in the real-estate industry who say it has done the best job possible, given the terrible hand it was dealt.

— Much of China is on the move.

Millions are making their way home from cities across the country to celebrate the Lunar New Year with family. 

The massive annual spring migration, or “chunyun” as it is called here, will peak in the coming days with hundreds of thousands passing through train stations from Guangzhou in the south to Beijing in the North.

And for many, the burning question is: did you get a ticket?

One woman traveling to Hunan from Beijing says she easily bought her tickets online. She expects her train not to be very crowded because she’s traveling on the high speed rail before the big crowds are expected to hit.

State media reports a record 3.4 billion trips are expected to be made during this year’s Lunar New Year period, which will usher in the Year of the Snake on Sunday, Feb. 10.

China has expanded Internet purchases of tickets this year, allowing travelers to book online 20 days in advance.

But many have complained that it has been extremely hard to get a seat.

One man says it took him more than a week to get his ticket, adding that while it is easy for younger Chinese like him to book online, migrant workers can only come to the train station and wait.

Wang Xiaohui, who works at an education center in Beijing, says he gave up after spending an entire week trying to purchase a ticket online.

This year he’s taking a long bus ride to his hometown in Inner Mongolia for the first time. He says the entire trip will take 15 hours.

Wang Xiaohui says it was easier to book tickets prior to February first, but after that getting tickets was harder. He adds that while he went to the train station to wait in line several times in the evening, he could not get a ticket that way either.

For some it is difficult to get away from work long enough to stand in line and buy a ticket, so they give up.

Not everyone has trouble.

Li Sai, a Beijing resident who works in the northeastern province of Shandong, says he’s flying home and only paid about $11 for his ticket.

Many of his friends from Beijing, however, are staying put.

According to Li, most of his friends from Beijing would rather stay in Shandong than come home because the city gets too polluted during the holidays from all the firecrackers.

There appears to be no simple solution to China’s once-a-year transportation bottleneck. 

Cai Jiming, a professor at Tsinghua University, believes the problem highlights China’s need for a strategy to address the growing percentage of city dwellers.

Cai says migrant workers should not only be allowed to come to China’s major cities and work, but to settle there as well. He says if they were encouraged to freely migrate to the cities, their families and parents would be there and they could spend the New Year together in the city.

More than 200 million migrant workers work in cities across China. But the workers and their families are not considered city residents and lack basic rights such as access to public education and health care. To cope, many families split up, with children and grandparents remaining in the countryside.

Until residency laws change, the Chinese New Year will continue to require the annual migration home to reunite with family for the holiday.

ON THE DANUBE RIVER, Germany (AP) — We finally made it to our European river cruise, but not exactly according to plan.

Our trip along the Danube, from Germany to Hungary, began in Augusta, Maine, on a nine-seat plane that would bring us from our home state to Boston, where we were booked for our overseas flight.

Everything was fine as the small plane taxied down the runway. But then the pilot stopped, turned the plane around and took us back to the terminal. Heavy rain had closed a runway in Boston, and our plane had no clearance to land. The scene was set for what travelers most dread: A missed flight, caused by events beyond your control, that threatens an entire vacation.

Lucky we had travel insurance.

When we booked the trip a half-year earlier, we paid $798 to Travel Guard through our travel agent, not a piddling sum but prudent, we reasoned, for a major ($7,856) trip.

Our itinerary called for me and my wife Betty to take an evening flight to Paris, followed by another flight to Nuremberg, Germany, to start the cruise. With the Augusta delay, we hopped in the car and sped to Boston. By the time we found the right ticket counter, it was too late. The final boarding call had already been announced.

This prompted a frantic call to the travel agent. The next available flight was that night — but we were told it was unlikely we’d get on that one. Another flight was scheduled for the next afternoon; that’s the one we ended up on.

The travel agent contacted the airline about rebooking our missed flight, reserved a hotel room for the night in Boston, and sent a message to Viking River Cruises. She also got the insurance paperwork going.

Her calming, after-hours assistance served as a reminder that having a travel agent and insurance can be well worth it when you get into a stew.

The insurance reimbursed us for an unplanned night at the Boston hotel, parking fees and meals, and a lost day aboard ship, for a total of $530, and we paid nothing extra for the rebooked flight. In the end, all we missed was a tour of Nuremberg before our ship, the MS Bolero, left its berth. As it turned out, our Boston-to-Amsterdam-to-Nuremberg flight got us to the dock a half hour before the ship, part of the Viking River Cruises fleet, left port. On board, we became known as “The Couple Who Missed Their Flight.” It was a real conversation-starter.

Folks who plan ocean-going cruises might also want to consider travel insurance, said Michael Driscoll, editor of industry journal Cruise Week.

“I don’t think you’re going to find anyone in this business who wouldn’t say that it seems a wise decision to buy travel insurance during hurricane season for Caribbean/Atlantic cruises given what has happened over the past 15 years,” said Driscoll.

Some travel insurance vendors offer coverage online with trip cancellation allowed for any reason, with conditions. You can buy coverage for medical treatment and assistance, lost luggage and expenses related to other types of emergencies, such as itinerary changes caused by weather. The online Travel Insurance Review says more than 124 million travelers in the United States are covered by travel insurance or emergency services every year.

Depending on the terms of the coverage, insurance can run 4 to 10 percent of the cost of a trip. Travel agents can help you choose the right policy, but if you’re booking your own itinerary online, some websites have an automatic option for adding travel insurance. You can also buy travel insurance after you’ve booked your trip. To get a quick comparison of quote estimates from a variety of companies — including well-known providers like Travel Guard and American Express — visit Travel Insurance Review’s Squaremouth.com site.

At worst, had we missed our ship at the first port, a taxi ride would have gotten us to the next port, Regensburg, over lovely German countryside. I secretly smiled at the prospect, though we ended up seeing plenty during our Danube stops. That’s one of the beauties of a river cruise: The stops come one after another, rather quickly compared to an ocean cruise.

The travel nightmares faded as we visited the medieval city of Regensburg, with its 12th century stone bridge and towering structures built by merchants of eras past. Stops also included Passau, where the Danube, Ilz and Inn Rivers meet. We opted for a side tour on a separate boat through the Danube Gorge, where towering cliffs loom over the river, and Kelheim, where we sampled beer which has been brewed at the Weltenburg Abbey since 1050.

In Vienna, the city’s easily navigable metro system could be accessed a pleasant walk from the ship to the city’s center. Another stop was Melk in Austria, and finally Budapest, whose breathtaking sites are too countless to list. The Central Market Hall is one stop that shouldn’t be missed.

Along the Danube, the ship maneuvered through a series of locks that raise it to the high waters at the continental divide, before lowering it stage by stage as the Danube works its way to the Black Sea.

The return journey from Budapest to Amsterdam to Boston was trouble-free, no cancellations.

That was not the case on our previous trip to Europe.

When returning from Italy, we were told by the airline at London’s Heathrow Airport that our confirmed flight to Boston had been canceled. The clerk handed us a plastic bag with overnight toiletries and chits for a hotel, bus rides and meals before the next day’s flight.

She didn’t mention the European Union’s Compensation Claims program for such instances, but a British passenger who had been scheduled on the same flight brought it our attention. In the end, we were mailed a check for $1,700 for our trouble. No need to access the insurance that time.

In case you haven’t heard, we’re counting down to Valentine’s Day here at Gadling by tracking some of the craziest and best over-the-top romantic travel experiences available. Today’s package comes from Arizona’s Royal Palms, where The Desert Romance Package is part of the property’s “ROMANTICATION©” offerings. You know when a property starts copyrighting words that things are getting REAL.

Priced at $7,500, the two-night package includes Villa accommodations, which already makes it a bit more luxurious than most of the one night offerings we’ve been seeing.

Guests enjoy a welcome amenity (read: signature hotel swag) of a coffee table book, Neroli products, candles and champers, two 80-minute couples (or individual, if you prefer) spa treatments, a private seaplane tour/ flight and a private four-course meal prepared just for you with a special menu from the hotel’s Executive Chef.

Guests can also choose an additional “private romantic excursion” like hiking, horseback riding or stand-up paddleboarding.

Additional nights start at $1,000, plus taxes and fees.

Leave Catalan artist Joan Sallas alone in a dining hall with a tablecloth and some napkins for a few hours, and you might return to find a garden of paper lilies or a zoo of posturing beasts. 

But the world’s leading (if not only) expert on napkin folding is not some space-filler on a Martha Stewart show. 

Sallas, 48, has built a career as a master craftsman and artist and also as a writer, researcher and lecturer of the lost art of linen folding.

Working from old engravings and records dating to Renaissance Italy, Sallas has revived the art of European dining culture, in which nobles and royalty would compete over who had the more elaborate table decorations at banquets, resulting in dramatic fabric sculptures. 

Following exhibitions across the United States and Europe, Sallas’ works went on display in the United Kingdom for the first time this week at the Holbourne Museum in Bath. 

Titled “Folded Beauty: Masterpieces in Linen by Joan Sallas,” the exhibit recreates the magnificent centerpieces that adorned the tables of European courts.

The show’s highlight is a 7.5-meter-long table display in the museum’s Ballroom Gallery.

“Folded Beauty: Masterpieces in Linen by Joan Sallas”

February 2-April 28, 2013
The Holburne Museum, Great Pulteney Street, Bath, England; +44 1225 388569; Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; www.holburne.org

More on CNN: Eat your way around the world without ever leaving London

Despite tense relations between the United States and North Korea, and increased rheotric from Pyongyang, the isolated state remains open to U.S. citizens, among other travelers.

More on CNN: Rescind North Korea’s license to provoke

But what do you do if you want to know how to travel to North Korea?

Tourism is highly restricted, so booking a guided tour with one of the dozen or so companies endorsed by the state-run Korea International Travel Company is the only way in — even if you’re flying solo. 

A popular tour stop, Mansudae Hill in Pyongyang is home to statues of late President Kim Il-Sung and leader Kim Jong-Il. In January of 2010, North Korea changed its policy to allow U.S. travelers to visit on official guided tours any time of the year. Previously, U.S. citizens were only allowed into North Korea during the famed Mass Games, which usually take place in late summer to early fall. 

Beijing-based Koryo Tours, which has been specializing in North Korean travel since 1992, says the revised rules on how to travel to North Korea have indeed led to an increase in visits from U.S. citizens.  

“I wouldn’t say a surge, but we do have a lot more interest,” says Koryo tour organizer Hannah Barraclough. “Around a third of our 2,000-plus annual tourists are Americans.” 

Despite the change in policy, U.S. citizens still face restrictions that don’t apply to other travelers. For instance, they can only enter the country via airplane, unlike travelers of other nationalities who can enter from China by train.

Barraclough says that with the exception of journalists, most North Korea visa applications — U.S. citizens included — are approved with no problems.

Here’s some more information on how to travel to North Korea.

More on CNN: Gallery: The unseen face of Pyongyang

No wandering around

Regardless of whether you’re on your own or in a group, two Korean guides employed by the state-run Korea International Travel Company and a driver will accompany you at all times. This means you aren’t able to get out and explore at will.   

Although U.S. citizens can legally travel to North Korea, the U.S. State Department warns that travelers need to make sure their paperwork is pristine.

“The Department of State continues to warn U.S. citizens about travel to North Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or DPRK),” says the State Department website.

“The North Korean government will detain, prosecute and sentence anyone who enters the DPRK without first having received explicit, official permission and an entry visa from its government.”

Can I bring my phone? 

In January of this year, North Korean authorities announced that travelers no longer need to surrender their mobile phones before entering the country.

“You will not have any network coverage with your own SIM card, but it is possible to purchase local SIM cards from a booth in Pyongyang airport,” confirms Barraclough.

The pay-as-you-go SIM cards allow users to make and receive international phone calls or call any other foreigner in Pyongyang with a phone. There’s no 3G access or international texting and you won’t be able to call your guides, as they’ll be on the separate North Korean network. 

More on CNN: North Korea on Google Maps: Monuments, nuclear complex, gullags

Key dates

Most tour companies offer the main North Korean highlights — Pyongyang monuments, museums, natural attractions — but there’s room for some variation in itineraries depending on the length of time you visit. 

Some tours offer travelers the option of visiting Pyongyang’s Rungna People’s Pleasure Ground, an amusement park that opened last year.

For instance, a new addition to some tours is the Rungna People’s Pleasure Ground, an amusement park that opened last year.  

Attractions aside, most visitors time their North Korea visits to coincide with its elaborately planned celebrations.

Here are some of the key dates Koryo Tours recommends for 2013.  

Kim Jong Il’s birthday

February 16 would have been the late Kim Jong Il’s 71st birthday, now known in North Korea as, “The Day of the Shining Star.”

“February 16 itself remains a national holiday and we expect it to be celebrated with sporting activities and a mass dance, as well as other commemorative events,” says Koryo.  

Kim Il Sung’s birthday

Another big day of celebration, April 15 will be the 101st anniversary of North Korea founder Kim Il Sung’s birth, known as “The Day of the Sun.”

Army Day

April 25 is the 81st anniversary of the founding of the Korean People’s Army, “a day of celebration for servicemen and army veterans [thus, almost everyone] in the DPRK,” says Koryo.

Dancers perform during the opening ceremony of the Spring Arts Festival in Pyongyang in April 2012, prior to the 100th anniversary of Kim Il-Sung’s birth on April 15. May Day

Just like the rest of the world, North Korea celebrates May 1 as International Labor Day.

“This is the best day of all to mix with local people by attending their folk festival in Taesongsan park,” says Koryo.

Victory Day

July 27, 1953, was the day the Korean War armistice was signed, an occasion celebrated annually in North Korea as “Victory Day.” Given that 2013 marks the 60th anniversary of the end of the war, this year’s celebrations — including a famed Mass Dance — are expected to be particularly spectacular.

More on CNN: North Korea’s ghostly “hotel of doom” could open in 2013

Mass Games

Victory Day leads into Pyongyang’s Mass Games, a hot tourist ticket, that usually take place from July through October. Also known as Arirang, this arts and gymnastics event features more than 100,000 performers participating in a spectacle of colorful, intricately choreographed shows.

“We expect the games to run from July 27 to September 9, 2013, but as yet have received no official confirmation,” says Koryo Travel.

Packages that include tickets to the Mass Games start at around US$1,500. Visas typically take 10 days to process from the date of application made via Beijing.

Koryo advises visitors to apply for the tours one month before departure date, though this can be reduced for those who live in Beijing or if they’re in a country with a DPRK Embassy. 

Airlines that fly into North Korea via Beijing include Air Korea, Air China and Air Koryo. Non-U.S. citizens have the option for train travel from China. 

More on CNN: ‘World’s worst airline’ launches world’s worst booking site 

North Korean tour operators

Koryo Tours: 27 Beisanlitun Nan (East Courtyard), Chaoyang District; Beijing; +86 10 6416 7544; koryogroup.com

Young Pioneers Tours: Beijing; +86 186 2902 7684; dprk.youngpioneertours.com

Asia Pacific Travel: Kenilworth, Ill., United States; 1 847 251 6400, toll free 1 800 262-6420; northkorea1on1.com

Regent Holidays: Colston Tower, Colston Street, Bristol, UK; +44 (0)20 7666 1244; regent-holidays.co.uk

Explore North Korea: Dandong, China; +86 159 4154 5676; explorenorthkorea.com/index.html

Travel is one of those things that almost everyone wants to do more of, but few ever manage to make happen. The more I talk to people about traveling, the more I keep hearing the same reasons why people don’t travel more—and it’s all about time or money.

The travel industry does a good job of hiding deals and affordable ways to travel. They prefer to paint the image that travel is very expensive and in order to have an enjoyable vacation, you must spend a lot of money. Why? Because big, expensive vacations mean more money for them. And, it’s the big hotels that have advertising budgets, not small mom and pop shops. As a result, people tend to be unaware of the plethora of ways to save money on traveling.

Below is a list of 10 of my favorite travel hacks from around the world to get you traveling cheaper and more often.

Editor’s note: To get more of Matt’s best hacks, check out his just released book How to Travel the World on $50 a Day.

Avoid All Bank Fees

Bank fees can really eat into your trip. You didn’t save all that money only to give it to a bank, right? To avoid paying bank fees, sign up for a Capital One or Chase credit card (no foreign transaction fees) and a Schwab checking account (all ATM fees reimbursed each month). Five dollars here and there might not seem like a lot at the time, but it all adds up in the long run. By doing these two things, you’ll never pay another bank fee again. Save your money for more important things. If you don’t want to get a Schwab account, you can also join a bank that is part of the Global ATM Alliance—all ATM fees are waived if you use a machine from banks involved in the alliance. Image via Shutterstock.

Find Cheap Accommodation in Asia

If you are traveling through Southeast Asia, try to avoid booking your accommodation online. While you can find good deals online in larger cities, the best and most affordable places are the guesthouses and budget hotels not found online. Since most hotel booking sites take a commission for bookings made, most small guesthouses in Asia don’t have the profit margins to afford that fee and thus are not listed. To find a more complete listing of accommodation in Asia, use Tripadvisor or Travelfish—free services which have better lists of budget places.

You can use this tip throughout the developing world. While looking up rooms in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica, I found over 100 properties on Tripadvisor but less than 20 on Hotels.com. This mismatch happens throughout Central and South America, Southeast Asia, and many other places around the world. Look on Tripadvisor before you book, and you’ll find more places to stay than on regular booking sites.

Better Yet, Find Free Accommodation

One of the best ways to save money on accommodations is by not paying for it. Stay with a local who will give you a free place to rest your head, local information, and someone to hang out with! There are a few websites that make this happen:

Couchsurfing
Global Freeloaders
Hospitality Club
Stay4Free

All of these services connect travelers with people in various cities that offer a no-cost place to stay. Sometimes it’s a bed, sometimes it’s a couch, sometimes it’s literally just space. The purpose of these websites is to help travelers not only save money, but also learn about the local culture. Additionally, you can also house swap with someone or house sit for someone while they are on a vacation.

Eat Cheap in England

The Taste of the UK card is a dining card that offers 50% off and many 2-for-1 specials at over 5,500 restaurants in the UK. Considering how expensive it is to eat out in the UK—especially in London—this card can be a lifesaver. Additionally, you get a free 30-day trial, so you won’t have to pay for the card providing your holiday is less than 30 days long. You do need to have it mailed to a UK address, so I simply provide the address of the hotel where I’m staying and the problem is solved!

Take 50% Off Train Tickets in Europe

Train tickets in Europe are up to 50% off when you book two or more weeks in advance. Booking trains at the last minute gets you a much higher fare than booking early. If I’m not traveling on a rail pass, I always book my tickets as soon as I know my travel dates. You should too, if you want to save money. For most countries in Europe, you can simply purchase your tickets online via their national rail website. Image via Matt Kepnes.

Take 70% Off Train Passes in Australia

You know what’s really expensive? Taking the train in Australia. You know what is one of the most scenic things to do in Australia? Taking the train in Australia. The famous Ghan through the desert is $774 for an adult. (Though it’s $460 for students or those with a YHA card). The Sydney to Perth Indian Pacific line? $779 ($377 for students).

Luckily, there’s a loophole—getting an Australia rail passes cuts your costs by up to 70%! You can buy a pass for all the train lines in Australia (about 10) for $722 AUD or one for only the 3 most famous: The Ghan, the Indian Pacific, and the Overland (Melbourne to Adelaide) for only $450 AUD. And the backpacker/student pass is only $298 AUD. These passes are incredible value and make train travel in Australia an affordable option. Even if you are only using one route, buying the pass is still cheaper than buying the normal priced fare. Image via Shutterstock.

Buy City Tourist Cards

City passes are tourism cards that provide free (or discounted) entry into a city’s museums and activities as well as free public transportation and discounts on some restaurants and shopping. If I plan on seeing a lot of attractions in one destination, I always get these passes. I’ve saved hundreds of dollars using them and the free public transportation comes in really handy. Even if these passes will only save me a dollar, I get them. I used one in London and save over $100 dollars on attractions.

Get Free Booze on Your Cruise

Alcohol is not included in the cost of a cruise. A way to get around those $6 drinks that is to sneak your own booze onto the ship. While not illegal, it is frowned upon and if the crew catches you, they will take your alcohol away. To ensure they don’t catch you, get a Rum Runners flask. These containers pass through x-ray scanners by not showing any air bubbles, thus appearing as a solid object and therefore undetectable. Bring a few of your favorite bottles onboard, save lots of money, cruise cheaply. Image via Shutterstock.

Go On Free Tours

In most major cities around the world, you can find free walking tours that will show you the city’s highlights and help you learn about the culture. In NYC, you can use Big Apple Greeters; in Paris, there’s “Paris Greeters.” In Europe, almost every big city hosts a free walking tour, with the biggest company being New Europe Tours. Moreover, you can also use the hospitality site Couchsurfing. Many of the locals on that site are more than happy to show visitors around and they’ll give you a first hand look at the local culture.

Fly for Free

Finally, let’s talk about how to get free flights. Flying is one of the biggest expenses of someone’s travel budget but luckily, we have tons of opportunities to fly for free. Airlines in the States give out miles like candy on Halloween. Simply sign up for a few airline-branded credit cards, grab those mega bonuses, and find yourself on a flight for little more than the service fee for using those miles.

Good resources to stay up to date are:
The Points Guy
Travel Hacking Cartel
Million Miles Secrets

I’ve gained over 700,000 free miles using reward credit cards. I always sign up for new bonuses, use the card, get the miles, and then fly where I want for free. There is a whole subculture related to this type of “travel hacking.” If you don’t want to use this method but are still looking on ways to find a cheap flight, consider racking up miles doing the following things:

Shop at member stores: All airlines have special deals with large consumer companies such as Amazon, Apple, Best Buy, and Target. Shopping at those preferred stores will earn you on average 2 to 4 miles per dollar spent, sometimes even up to 10 miles per dollar spent. If you spend 1,000 dollars a month, you can earn up to 3,000 miles just by going through their websites. The products don’t cost extra so you only win, you don’t lose. I do all my shopping through the airline partners simply for the extra miles.

Watch for special promotions: I sign up for newsletters because they often have featured offers not found on an airline’s website. This could be triple miles on a selected route or as simple as Starwood’s recent promotion. I signed up for their newsletter and got 250 SPG points. American Airlines once gave away 1,000 points for installing a shopping tool bar into your web browser. I GOT 500 United points for filling out a survey. These bonuses don’t go into the high tens of thousands but you can get a little over a long period of time by doing virtually nothing. They add up.

Be a Crazy Flyer: On forums like Flyertalk, where people hunt out the latest chances for miles, you often find people doing mileage runs. When airlines get into price wars or offer new routes, they often launch ridiculous double or triple mile offers or a stupidly cheap ticket like when United and American Airlines offered NYC to Hawaii for $400 round trip. Mileage runs are very common and while not free, can be a useful method to gain a lot of miles on the cheap. Image via Shutterstock.

Put everything on the card: I pay nothing in cash. I put everything on my travel credit card—from Starbucks to phone bills. My total monthly spending, including my business expenses, is about $3,000 per month. That’s 36,000 miles—a one way flight to Europe for doing nothing special.

Sign up for newsletters: Get all the airline newsletters you can and watch out for special deals and fare sales because deals don’t last long and when they are around, the can be amazing. I collate all the best deals on my newsletter each week and I also recommend Airfarewatchdog.

I don’t have a lot of money. I never have and I’m also naturally cheap; I hate spending money, especially when I don’t think I’m getting a lot of value for my dollar. Thus when I travel, I look for every little way to get more out of money so I can travel longer and cheaper. By following these strategies, you’ll be able to have a great vacation, be closer to the people in the country you meet, and enjoy everything you’d do on one of those expensive magazine vacations—but without that expensive advertised price.

Matthew Kepnes runs the award winning budget travel site, Nomadic Matt. He got the travel bug after a trip to Costa Rica in 2004, and decided to quit his job, finish his MBA and travel the world. His original trip was supposed to last a year. Over six years later, he is still out exploring and roaming the world. He’s scuba dived in Fiji, played professional poker in Amsterdam, taught English in Thailand, got lost in a jungle in Central America, and broke down in the middle of Australia’s outback. Matt’s advice has been featured in The New York Times, CNN, The Guardian UK, Budget Travel, BBC, and Yahoo! Finance. His new 272 page, 60,000+ word book, How to Travel the World on $50 a Day, is now available to help you travel cheaper, better, and longer. It contains tons of tips and tricks to cut your trip expenses in half whether you are going away for two weeks or two months.