| This travel secret isn't a secret, but do you | | | | out without rushing. We asked around and |
| know why going slow can mean saving money and | | | | heard about a hotel above a pub. The rest of |
| having more fun? | | | | the hotel rooms in town were generally $60 |
| | | | per night and up, but we got a room above the |
| Our top travel secret isn't really a secret | | | | pub for $120 - for an entire week. It had a |
| at all, but it takes a while for some of us | | | | stove and refrigerator, so we could cook our |
| to learn and apply it. Here it is: Slow down. | | | | own meals if we wanted to save more. |
| Slowing down and spending more time in each | | | | |
| location is not only a secret of cheap | | | | Slowing Down Means Better Travel Experiences |
| travel, but in our experience, it means more | | | | |
| fun. | | | | More important than the fact that slowing |
| | | | down means cheap travel is the fact that when |
| Slowing Down For Cheap Travel | | | | you go slower you discover things you would |
| | | | have missed. While at the hot springs |
| We returned yesterday (August 13, 2007) from | | | | mentioned above, for example, we befriended a |
| a ten-day road trip, and I can report that | | | | Mayan Indian who brought us to an old Pony |
| going slower saved us money, as it usually | | | | Express station in the desert hills. It still |
| does. This isn't just about driving less, | | | | had parts of the old walls remaining. |
| though when we started driving 200 miles in a | | | | |
| day instead of 600 we certainly saved on gas. | | | | He showed us areas where we could find old |
| However, we also found that with time on our | | | | arrowheads, and we found some. Out in the |
| hands, we could do a better job shopping for | | | | middle of the desert, he showed us perfectly |
| a place to stay or to eat. | | | | round holes that had been drilled into the |
| | | | rocks hundreds of years earlier. They were |
| Make the big mile days the ones that pass | | | | used for water storage. In our van, we |
| through the boring stretches. Then when you | | | | followed him to an area where ancient pottery |
| come to an interesting place, find nice, | | | | littered the desert, and where gemstones |
| affordable lodging and stick around a while. | | | | could be found as well. |
| Once, while driving around the country | | | | |
| camping in our van, we discovered hot springs | | | | We wouldn't have found these things on our |
| in a wild part of Arizona, with picnic tables | | | | own. The experiences were also only possible |
| and bathrooms and desert hills to explore - | | | | because we didn't rush from one park to |
| everything we needed at the time. It cost | | | | another, trying to fit as many "sights" into |
| just $3 per night, so it was easy to stay a | | | | a trip as possible. It may not be a secret |
| while. | | | | that a slow trip can be more interesting, but |
| | | | not many people seem to want to try this more |
| In fact, we stayed for eight days, enjoying | | | | relaxing, slower pace. |
| the hot pools even during an unusual snowy | | | | |
| day in the desert. We took daily hikes and | | | | Where we stayed a week for $120 in that |
| hunted for antiquities and rocks in the | | | | mountain town, we discovered area waterfalls |
| surrounding hills, but more on that in a | | | | and secret mountain lakes that only the |
| moment. Just once, we drove into the nearest | | | | locals knew about. The town was our base as |
| town for groceries and water, so the entire | | | | we made trips into the surrounding area. |
| eight days might have cost us $80 or so. | | | | Talking to people in local bars lead us to a |
| That's cheap travel. | | | | well-preserved ghost town that wasn't on our |
| | | | map. Its streets were still full of buildings |
| Five years back we stumbled into a great | | | | and foundations, but no tourists - one other |
| mountain town where we wanted to stay a | | | | car pulled in while we were there. |
| while. We were in town early, instead of our | | | | |
| usual driving until evening and scrambling to | | | | Our travel secret number one: slow down to |
| find a hotel, so we had time to check things | | | | save money and enjoy the trip more. |