Getting there and getting around

Reserve your airline ticket

Probably the first thing you will do to prepare is think about how you are going to get to that far off place you are dreaming of. More than likely you will fly. There are lots of things you need to take care of before you fly away. Your travel agent is a good source of information to get you pointing in the right direction. Shop around and do your research so that you are familiar with what options are available and necessary for you and your destination.

Reserving your ticket early then paying as close to the time of departure as possible will give you the flexibility to make changes closer to the time and during your planning process. The benefit of reserving early is that you are guaranteed a seat on the flight of your choice that may otherwise fill up without you. So the question is, how to do you make your arrangements most economically?

Shop around for airfares. The ones you see in the paper or posted on the windows of travel agencies may mean next to nothing when you actually start talking specific dates, time and trip durations. Call or surf around. Sign up for your local or national airline's periodic e-mail of seat specials. Remember also that fares can vary greatly depending on season and airline. Christmas time, school break and the Northern hemisphere's summertime are generally most expensive. Find out fares for both scheduled flights and charters if they exist to your destination. Look in the Yellow Pages for agents who specialize in the area you are going to. Take a walk around the areas in your city where people native to the country you want to visit are living, try travel agents there (i.e. Try a travel agent in Chinatown when looking for the cheapest flight to Beijing). Check the newspaper travel section for the agents that advertise "lowest fares" and air-only prices. When I shopped for a flight to Bangkok in 2000, I was quoted several times between C$1200 and C$1600, with a high of over C$2000. I eventually flew for C$1070.

When you find a travel agent who is speaking your airfare language, there are many questions to ask.

• Are you travelling in 'high' season - the time of year where the fares are inflated? If yes, find out when low season is, and if possible, arrange your travel days to fall within that time frame. Consider both you departure date and your return date as both will influence your final fare.
• Have you been quoted a weekend travel price, and what price difference would apply if you travelled on a weekday? (Note that in travel agent speak, "weekend" doesn't necessarily mean Saturday and Sunday proper - clarify this).
• Is the fare you have been quoted inclusive of taxes? If not, how much extra are the taxes?
• If you are a student with a valid student card, are student rates available?
• Might the fare change if you reserve now and pay later?
• If you reserve now, what is your deadline for confirming and paying before you lose your seat?
• Is there a special deal if you buy transportation pass (see Check Out Transportation Passes below) or Hostelling membership (see Paperwork: Travel's Bureacracy)?
• What airline is the flight on? Can you collect frequent flyer points? Make sure you sign up for your airline's frequent flyer plan (if they have one!) before you fly. Who knows when you might fly with them again?
• Is the flight direct? Is the return flight direct? If there are flight connections, how long and where are your stopovers? If you have overnight stopovers, are hotel rooms provided by the airline?
• What times of day to the flights leave and arrive in the destination city? You may not want to arrive as an independent traveller in a large foreign city at 2:30 a.m.
• Is there a fee to change either or both of the departure or return dates? How do you change your return date if you decide to do so while travelling?
• For how long is the ticket valid? Tickets generally range in validity from 2 months to one year. If you delay your return past the tickets expiration date, you will have to find another way home.
• Is an "open-jaw" ticket available? This means that your ticket flies you into one city and out of another. The fare is generally made up of half of each cities individual fare. Can you change your ticket to be "open-jaw" during your trip?
• How much is cancellation insurance, should you opt to buy it?
• Does the agent charge any additional service fees?

Still too expensive? There are other flight ticket options. Air courier travel gets you a cheap flight in return for you "delivering" some type of package. Your flight options are often limited and last-minute but can be extremely economical. You will also have to compromise on your own personal luggage space (i.e. carry-on only). You may have to join an organization to be eligible for the deal - prices for membership between companies may vary. Make sure your company is legit though, you don't want to be taking responsibility for goods crossing borders for a shady organization. Check into insurances and hidden costs as well. Some links to peruse are: www.aircourier.org, www.courier.org and www.courierlist.com. Internet auctions may also be your source for a cheap flight. Again, your options will be limited to what's offered and you will likely find all sorts of advertisements mixed in with the genuine auction items. Remember to do your research on the legitimacy as well, and consider payment options and how you will lay your hands on said ticket. Check into any administrative costs as well. Try www.ebay.com and www.auctions.amazon.com. If purchasing via an auction, be weary of tickets with other people's names on them.

Finally, if you are planning a big trip to many destinations, look into an "Around the World" ticket. Different airlines offer different versions of this, but essentially they offer you a certain (or unlimited) number of flights and you are permitted to take these flights (perhaps on standby or with prior bookings), in one direction around the world - either east to west or west to east. This may be an economical option for those facing individual payment on many flights.

Having said all that, you don't necessarily have to fly. You could hop on a boat. And If you are intrepid (and stupid) enough to do the ten day hike through the Darien Gap, you could technically walk from the Northern most tip of Nunavut, Canada's newest territory, to the Southern most tip of Chile. Good luck.

Once you have secured your ticket, you know where, when and how long you will be travelling for, and are then ready to get ready!

Check out transportation passes

For some places in the world, arranging for transportation passes ahead of time might be an economical idea. If used wisely, passes can afford you great travel for lower prices than the cumulative costs would be should you choose to pay as you go. Make sure you understand the ins and outs of your pass; depending on your destination and the pass you choose, it may either limit your travel possibilities or blow them wide open.

The most obvious example of a pre-arranged transportation pass is the Eurail pass (www.eurail.com). This pass comes in more permutations and combinations than your math teacher would care to know about. You can choose Eurail passes that vary in the amount of time and distance you can travel, the number of separate travel legs you can take, the number of different days you can travel, the length of time the pass is valid for and the geographical locations in which the pass is valid. For example, you can select the 2-month unlimited use pass for all of Europe, the 3-week unlimited use pass for Scandinavia, the 5 days in 2 weeks Flexi-pass for Eastern Europe, the 3 days in 1 week Flexi-pass for France and Germany only, and the list goes on. Britain has its own train pass system as well. There are also bus routes like the Blue Banana in Scotland and the Eurobus and Busabout (www.busabout.com) in Western Europe that follow a circular route and your pass allows you to hop on an off as the buses go 'round 'n 'round. Do your research into these as your travel agent may be reluctant to advertise the cheaper selling ticket to you.

If you have a more specific itinerary in mind or are limited with time, try to obtain a schedule of transportation pertaining to your pass of choice to see if the pass will work out for you. Do your homework on the payment details too, some legs of your journey may involve paying surcharges for your ticket or supplements for certain services that may be unavoidable. For example, France's TGV (Train de Grande Vitesse) charges Eurail pass holders a supplement to hop on board, and if you wind up on a train with only first class or overnight beds available, you may have no choice but to pay extra for these. Reservation fees, which are sometimes necessary, may also apply and are not covered by your pass. If your schedule is disagreeable, or if you don't plan to do a lot of travelling, but rather plan to spend longer times in single places, the pass may not be for you.

Transportation passes involve paying a chunk of money up front and subsequently acquiring a valuable ticket with your name on it. You may choose to insure it or alternatively guard it with your life! In most cases, in order to use your non-transferrable pass, you must have your passport as identification. You can find out about these passes from your guidebook or from your travel agent. In some cases, you might be able to find passes or deals on frequent travel through the airline, railway or bus company you might travel with. Many of these passes are only available to you before you leave home, but passes (same or otherwise) may also be available overseas. For example, the Eurail pass is available only to non-European residents but can be purchased at a Eurail Aid Office in one of the 17 member countries (though at a price 10% higher than at the regular sales outlets outside Europe). Your travel agent will likely say you can only buy passes ahead of time in order for them to sell you the pass and collect the commission. They may very well be correct, but it might pay to do a little research beforehand. Start with your guidebook and the web; try tourist information and transportation company sites for you destination.

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