guides and-tips

Introduction One friend books the apartment. Another pays for taxis. At dinner, some people order drinks and others don't. By the final evening, everyone remembers paying for something, but nobody

A less expensive room can be a poor bargain if reaching it requires another flight and every outing needs a driver. Before adding a smaller city to a Southeast Asia

You just spent $350 on a new backpacking setup. Three days into your first multi-night trip, your tent zipper pops, your sleeping pad has a slow leak you didn't notice

A cheap room and a few inexpensive meals can make a week in Southeast Asia look easy to budget. Then you add the airport ride, a domestic flight, baggage, and

You are on the Namba walk, heading toward Dotonbori, with a four-year-old who has been walking for twenty minutes and is starting to slow. Your stroller wheel just made a

Introduction A planner says your trip will cost $1,200. Before using that number, try changing the hotel to a private room, adding checked luggage, and moving the return flight to

You've saved enough for a holiday, but the shortlist keeps growing. One place has cheap hotels and an expensive flight. Another costs more each day but takes only a few

The question used to be simple. Albania was the dirt-cheap secret; Croatia was the polished, overpriced version of the same thing. That calculation worked when Croatia was still using the

You are on a train to Kanazawa. You have a $35 daily budget. You just spent $12 on lunch. It was good lunch — you are not regretting the food.

You are looking at a hostel dorm bed for $14 a night. It has decent reviews. You are also looking at a private room for $38 — the kind with