Top Ten Best Ways For Social Traveling

If you’re reading these lines, you’ve probably heard about social bookmarking. Then there’s social networking, social this and social that, but you don’t hear too much about social traveling, do you? Why is it that in our modern day and age people are not just willing, but are excited about sharing online experiences with complete strangers, while exploring less and less natural, real-life social networking and traveling opportunities?

One of my biggest passions in life is traveling and learning about other cultures. Living in the U.S. for quite some time now, though, I found that my way of traveling is different from what most Americans consider traveling. When I visit a new place, I look forward to spending as much time possible with locals, learning about their way of life, culture, politics, language, and doing less sight-seeing. It’s not that I don’t like sight-seeing, in fact, I think sight-seeing is great, but after a few hours of sight-seeing I get all anxious and I’m ready to cook a good meal with my new local friends, learn a local recipe, or a funny songs in their language.

Think about the 5 most meaningful experiences you had in your life. I’m serious. Stop reading for a moment and spend just 5 seconds thinking about these experiences. Now tell me, did most of these experiences involve PLACES or PEOPLE?

Throughout the years, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to travel the world and have found that I really enjoy the type of traveling I call “Social Traveling“.  Social Traveling is  focused on PEOPLE, not so much on PLACES. Sure, I get to see a lot of cool places along the way, but much more important, I get to share amazing experiences with amazing people, make a ton of new friends all over the world, save a lot of money on things I could care less about, like expensive hotels or restaurants, and most important, shape the way I see the world and keep on learning and becoming.

So I’ve decided it’s about time to share my top ten best ways for social traveling with my online friends (whom I hope to get to know more on a personal-level at some point

Servas

Servas is an international multicultural non-profit organization, working to build understanding, tolerance and world peace via traveling and cultural exchange. You can host people from all over the world, be hosted anywhere around the world, meet other amazing world-travelers who are interested in opening their doors to travelers just like you.

Pros: Serious world travelers, leaders, connectors, people who are passionate about social change, world peace, etc, family friendly, more mature travelers.

Cons: Cost money to join (though not too much), older audience, a bit more time consuming than CouchSurfing (next in this review), requires a short phone or face-to-face interview and application.

I’ve traveled with Servas a number of times, to Canada and in the US and enjoyed it very much. Other than membership fees, I spent no money on hotels and little on food (the people who hosted me fed me and showed me around, though that’s not always the case when it comes to food).

For more info, visit:
http://joomla.servas.org/content/blogcategory/42/77/
http://www.usservas.org/

CouchSurfing

CouchSurfing is Servas’ young and sexy version. The idea is the same yet it brings to life the power of the internet and online social networking. You create a profile just like on Facebook or MySpace and start adding traveling-friends, join groups that are of interest to you, and  most important, host and get hosted by travelers all over the world.

Like Servas, CouchSurfing is an international network of people who are passionate about social traveling, cultural and educational exchanges of ideas.

“CouchSurfing is not about the furniture, not just about finding free accommodations around the world; it’s about making connections worldwide. We make the world a better place by opening our homes, our hearts, and our lives. We open our minds and welcome the knowledge that cultural exchange makes available. We create deep and meaningful connections that cross oceans, continents and cultures. CouchSurfing wants to change not only the way we travel, but how we relate to the world!”

Pros: Free, easy web access, online social networking component, younger audience.

Cons: Not all members are willing to host, some open a profile but are not so active as real host/travelers.

I’m a big fan of CouchSurfing. I’ve hosted a number of travelers and CouchSurfed with others all over the US. It’s completely free and I like the younger vibe compared to Servas.

For more info, visit:
http://www.couchsurfing.com/
http://www.facebook.com/s.php?ref=search&init=q&q=couchsurfing

Green Tortoise

If you’re looking for some adventure social traveling, Green Tortoise is for you. It’s the ultimate road trip experience across the US and South/Central America. You’ll do lots of hiking, exploring national parks, swim in natural hot springs, jump into mud rivers, do some crazy rafting, and more important, meet great people from all over the world. Wow, I sound like a commercial… I actually enjoyed their trips very much.

You’ll drive in a cool bus with up to 36 people. The bus doesn’t have seats, just comfy mattresses and a few extra bads hanging  from the ceiling. It’s pretty cool actually. Two drivers will drive at night while you’re asleep, and kaboom, you wake up in the middle of the Grand Canyon for a 2-3 days hike/camp. Back to the bus for another night, and you wake up in Yellowstone National Park or Bing Bend National Park, or a dozen of other national parks… Most of the driving is done at night so you save time while you cross-country the US.

Pros: Great way to see lots of places while not spending time driving (since the driving is done at night), very cheap (compared to any other way of traveling), great food (that’s my experience at least) since there are lots of health-conscious, green-oriented travelers, more of an international flavor (about half the people on both of the trips I took were international).

Cons: No real daily showers on most trips (which was not a problem for me since we swam in natural springs almost every day and you bring a biodegradable soup with you).

The Bus [click HERE to see video]

Green Tortoise National Parks Loop - Part #1

Green Tortoise National Parks Loop - Part #2

Green Tortoise is my personal favorite social traveling way and I’ve traveled with them twice so far. I’ve done their 14-days Southern Cross-Country Adventure trip (lots of hiking and camping) and their 15-days Baja Beach Daze (mot too much hiking, more relaxing on the beach kinda’ trip). I’d like to do one of their Festivals  & Fairs tours next.

For more info, visit:
http://www.greentortoise.com/budget.adventure.travel.html

BusAbout

BusAbout offers two kinds of social traveling opportunities. Their adventure trips are somewhat similar to the Green Tortoise idea only they travel in Europe and to other countries around the world. Their Hop-On-Hop-Off trips, on the other hand, are unique in that you can travel at your own pace while meeting lots of different travelers along the way.

I don’t know too much about the BusAbout since I’ve never actually traveled with them, but I’ve heard good things.

For more info, visit:
http://www.busabout.com

Now I’m about to write more on social traveling… There’s house swapping. and hosteling, and RV’ing and Shamrocker Adventures and Haggis Adventures and Busabout Adventures and Busabout Explorer and Oz Experience and Kiwi Experience and Baz Bus and… so many options, so little time… But I’d love to hear from you about your ideas on Social Traveling… Feel free to comment and share with other your favorite social traveling tips!

Subscribe to this blog's RSS feed

Here’s a quick guide on how to find cheap travel airfares online. When ordering tickets online, there are a few important guidelines you need to be aware of. I won’t get too much in details on why these guidelines exist, but will provide links to in-depth articles that may explain more in details, in case you want to learn more (at the end).

1. Buy early - If you have to be at a certain place in a certain time, buy your tickers as early as possible. If you’re not flexible on the destination and dates, don’t wait for last minute deals.

2. Buy late - If you just want to go for vacation and you’re flexible on the destinations or dates, there are lost of great last minute deals out there (see list of links below).

3. Depart and return in the middle of the week - Tuesday and Wednesday are the best days for departure and arrival. Thursday is next with Saturday right after. Sunday is not as good but Monday and Friday are the worst when it comes to airfare price.

4. Search for deals early in the morning (the search, not the flight) - Airfares online change three times a day as airlines periodically lower prices to fill up flights. On the weekend, the best time to check is early Saturday morning and again at 5pm, when the industry is most aggressively trying to fill seats.

5. Compare flights to hub cities with flight to smaller airports - Most of the time, flights to hub cities will be cheaper but sometimes, a more local airport will have some surprising deals.

6. When you need tickets for two or more people - always start the search with one person only and after you get the price, order the number of tickets you need.

7. Know when to fly - FareCast.com can help you predict when flights are cheaper statistically. Delaycast.com will help you predict flight delays.

So where can you fine cheap tickets? Lets start with what most people know and use:

http://www.travelocity.com
http://www.expedia.com
http://www.orbitz.com
http://www.cheaptickets.com

The following websites are not regular ticket-reservation websites (like the four above) but rather, they are search-aggregators that search multiple sites and deals. I search all of them and then compare prices to more known airfare websites:

http://www.kayak.com (US)
http://www.kayak.co.uk (Europe)
My personal favorites. Using the option “My dates are flexible” will allow you to see when are the best deals.

http://www.farechase.com
This is the ticket aggregator used by YahooTravel.

http://www.farecast.com
Predicts when you should purchase your airline tickets based on past ticket price increases and such.

http://matrix.itasoftware.com/
This is a great aggregator but it does not sell tickets, only show seat inventory (login as a guest). Orbitz.com is running the same software but this one is more flexible and gives you some very nice warnings and other flight info.

http://www.qixo.com

http://www.sidestep.com
[UPDATE: In Dec 2007 Kayak bought sidestep so don't expect to see much of a difference in their search results. I'd stick with Kayak]

http://www.mobissimo.com

 Loading ...

Next, are the cheap/last-minute airfare websites:

http://www.cheapair.com
http://www.bestfares.com
http://www.onetravel.com
http://www.travelnow.com
http://www.hoteldiscount.com
http://www.quikbook.com
http://www.bt-store.com
http://www.LowCostAirlines.org
http://www.LowCostAirlinesUSA.org

Europe and international Travel (cheap tickets to and within Europe):
http://www.ryanair.co.uk
http://www.easyjet.com/splash.asp?lang=en
http://www.gooflight.com/
http://www.skyscanner.net/
http://www.opodo.com
http://www.LowCostAirlinesEurope.org
http://www.attitudetravel.com/lowcostairlines/europe/
http://www.airtreks.com/

If you want to bid on the price, use:
http://www.priceline.com
http://www.hotwire.com

Next, you want to look at consolidator’s websites or call them directly. Consolidator buy bulk tickets in advance and sell them cheap to travel agents. Some consolidators will sell to individuals.

The most known consolidator for students, for example, is STA travel:
http://www.statravel.com/

I got a great deal to Israel once via this online consolidator:
http://www.foraticket.com

A number of times, for flights to Israel, I used these consolidators:
Shoshanna Segal - from Shoshanna’s Travel (Chicago) - 847-827-1608
Nurit - from Israel Tours Marketing Services (LA) - 1-800-713-3407 / 310-557-2335
Nitza Miller or Miri - from International Travel Bureau (SF) - 650-494-7088 / 1-800-525-5233 / 415-495-4199/5199

Other mix of consolidators and travel agents specializing in flights to Israel (friends’ recommendations):

Dina - from Apollo Apco Tours (Chicago) - 847-724-3280
Leora or Hyun/Ellen - from  All Ways Travel (CA) - 1-888-900-9297  /  510-526-7908
Nancy - from Est Intl (Houston) - 713-974-0521
Aviva - from OKT Travel (NY) - 1-800-804-0432 / 516-622-1600
Laora - from One World Travel (CA) 408-481-4779
Rinat - from World Express Travel (CA) - 1-800-441-8908 / 818-654-2880/2881 / or Ceci - 818-702-9572
Joicy, Dario or Mara - from Melrose Travel & Tours (Philadelphia) - 1-866-722-6440  /  215-728-7870
Odi & Rachel - from Okemos Travel (Michigan) - 517-349-7040
Shami - Gadi - from Time to Travel (Dallas) - 972-633-8810  /  972-633-9400
Shami - from Specialty Tours  - 1-800-320-9091
Zack (Tzachi) - from Talma Travel - 703-848-1255
Pnina - from Travel - 1-888-world18
Steve Lieurance or Charles from - Compass Rose Travel - 1-800-972-2223
Aliza or Sara - from Israel Tourism Center (NJ) - 1-888-669-5700 or 201-556-9669
Kamla - from Holiday Adventure Travel (SF) - 1-800-559-5513
Boris - from Lakeside Paradise Travel (CA) - 415-951-8814
Monta Vista Travel (CA) - 408 446-1101

If you want to learn more about booking airfare online, here are some great reference articles:

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-23054479
http://www.timeatlas.com/mos/Web_Sites/General/Finding_Low_Airfares_Online/
http://rickseaney.com/2008/02/27/tips-to-find-cheap-airfare/
http://www.independenttraveler.com/resources/article.cfm?AID=4&category=1
http://savvytraveler.publicradio.org/show/ta/2002/20020531b.shtml
http://www.consumersearch.com/www/sports_and_leisure/travel-site-reviews/fullstory.html
http://www.1stholidaystore.co.uk/cheapflights.htm
http://www.etntelephone.com/goodbad.htm
http://www.artoftravel.com/04cheapflights.htm
http://www.hostelscentral.com/hostels-article-226.html
http://www.uk250.co.uk/Flights/

Comments? Ideas? Suggestions? I’d love to hear about your experience booking airfare online. Feel free to use the comments section of this post.