Ten signs you might be a budget traveler

You plan to visit expensive destinations in the Off season
Would you dare go to Paris in January? For those who want to spend time shopping or browsing the Louvre, does it really matter that it’s dark and cold outside? In return for less-than-perfect weather, you can enjoy some incredible airfare savings and even a few discounts on hotels. That’s one key budget benefit of traveling in the off season. Here’s another: the slower pace of the off season often leads to more in-depth discussions with people about their city or locale. They actually have time to do it!

You are willing to be bumped from a flight in exchange for free travel
Airlines overbook their flights as a matter of economic necessity. In the current economic environment, they simply cannot afford to take off with empty seats. When every ticketed passenger shows up at the gate, someone must be “bumped” from the flight. In this situation, airline employees must ask for volunteers before they deny seating to a ticketed passenger. The reward for volunteering can be vouchers for free travel in the future. Find out more about how being bumped from a flight voluntarily can reward you for flexible travel plans.

You practice good fuel economy
Gasoline prices rise and fall, but the need to get the most from each tankful never changes. Sometimes, it’s better to leave the car in the garage A few simple techniques can eliminate the need to drive so much. If you must get behind the wheel, check out a few tips for getting better gas mileage.

You add cheap destinations to an itinerary
Travel writer Tim Leffel has written a book called The World’s Cheapest Destinations. As the title implies, Leffel says itineraries can become far less expensive when you choose places that don’t cost very much. These places might not make up your entire itinerary, but adding a few can moderate costs. Examples? There are mid-sized European cities where you can see a lot of attractions for less. Other European bargains involve places just now being discovered. There are similar locales in the Eastern Caribbean. You can also find destinations that are cheaper in certain seasons.

You would consider spending the night on a train or in an airport
The ride can be jostling and noisy. But if you can spend the night on a train, you almost always save money over the price of a hotel room, and you wake up in your next destination without spending valuable vacation time sitting in a train car. Sleeping in airports can be even more difficult, and clearly is not recommended in all locations. But there are travelers average in the no-cost option of sleeping in an airport as a way of lowering the overall cost of their trips. There are Web sites that help them achieve this goal.