It’s in the can ...

My friends often gaze at me and ask one, simple question: “How do you find the time and money to travel as much as you do?”

That simple question has a very simple answer — it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to ...

... tuna fish.

That’s right, tuna fish; you have to really, REALLY, REALLY like tuna fish, because that’s all you’ll be eating for several weeks to make up for the money you’ve spent on that latest plane ticket.

But, alas, such is the plight of someone bitten by the travel bug. I would forsake food for travel. Luckily, I LOVE tuna fish ;-).

In all seriousness, it takes a certain finesse to be able to milk every last minute of vacation time you have out of your company so that you can jet off to London for a long weekend, or craft a 10-day vacation out of just 3 days off of work.

Planning around holidays is the first trick. True, ticket prices and hotel stays might be more expensive, but that’s not always the case. If you have a Friday and Monday off for, say Labor Day, try taking two days at the start and two days at the end, so you end up flying out and in during the middle of the week, rather than on the holiday, which usually is much cheaper. If that’s not an option, try searching for destinations that simply are cheaper to get to. Or, for example, do what I did a few years ago and fly OUT of the country on Thanksgiving, when most others are flying IN. True, I missed Thanksgiving dinner, but while my aunt’s turkey is phenomenal, Thanksgiving is not such a big holiday in my family, so it wasn’t all that much of a problem.

Yummy pastries at Portobello market

Street sausage in Prague

The money thing is a bit trickier and I certainly have incurred some credit card debt in my vast attempts at scratching that nagging travel itch. But looking for deals on any site you know of, combined with making friends in a plethora of countries, combined with traveling at odd times throughout the year helps to patch up that hole that’s burning in my wallet. Staying with friends certainly saves a lot of money, and you have to be willing to survive at least a few meals on international street grub, which can be quite tasty.

On the first-class overnight train
to Aswan, Egypt

Also, for certain countries, it makes a lot of sense to book a tour through a travel company. You pay one flat fee at the start and don’t have to worry about booking transportation or accommodations. There are varying levels of trips, ranging from budget to luxury. I opt for the budget trips, though not the very budget trips, and have yet to be disappointed or disgusted with any accommodations or transportation I’ve encountered. I actually would say that I was pleasantly surprised by many of the places I stayed in, in Egypt, India and Nepal. Also, be sure to see if there are any discounts you can take advantage of, such as student discounts or youth discounts — most European railways offer a youth ticket for those under 25 at a significant discount.

In the end, if you’ve truly been bitten, like I have, by the travel bug, you’ll find a way to book that next trip. Whether it means surviving on tuna fish and Wonder bread for a few weeks, calling out “sick” for a couple of days around a weekend or thoroughly planning out each vacation day before the year has even started, you’ll be on that plane going to that exciting, new destination, no matter what — because you can’t imagine life any other way.