Here are the amazing travel deals
we've found for you this week!
You can get this list of deals e-mailed to you
every month! Simply send a blank e-mail message to subscribe@youtrek.com
and we'll do the rest!
May 11
MASTER THIS
Icelandair has a sweet-sounding 2 for 1 deal if you purchase a RT ticket to
Europe using your Master Card. When you purchase one ticket at the "special economy class
MasterCard fare" for travel to Europe (excluding Iceland), you'll get a
free companion ticket. You have to purchase before May 31, and travel before
June 30. You have to mention the offer when calling! Icelandair's number is
(800) 223-5500 (and to hurry things along, go straight to prompt 2 , then prompt
1).
A HUNDRED BUCKS FOR YOUR THOUGHTS
AsianTrail.com is a super starting point for anyone into Asian travel. Put it on
your favorites list if you've traveled or are thinking of traveling there. And,
if you're talented with a pen, sign up to be an AsianTrail correspondent and win
a $100 prize for the best trip report! Head to their site for more info.
NEED SOME HELP?
Manuel from Portugal has been maintaining a handy little database of friendly
travelers helping others since 1996. If you have a question - or want to answer some
inquiries about your part of the world, it's a nice place to visit: http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/2442/database.html
NOT FOR MEMBERS ONLY
You don't have to be a member of Hostelling International/American Youth Hostels
to get their free monthly newsletter. It's fun, friendly, and full of
travelin' tips, contests, and hostel news. Subscribe online here.
LONDON IN THE SUMMERTIME
If you can fly before June 14, StudentUniverse.com
can get you to London (and back
again) for just $248 out of Newark. Not a bad price, and word is that
non-students can easily get that same rate. You should also sign up to win a
trip for four to Europe.
STUDENTS AND SENIORS CAN SAVE
If you're a student or just play one on TV, bookmark this page: http://www.mileageworkshop.com/students.html
It summarizes most of the current student savings programs sponsored by major
air carriers. They have a similar page tailored to seniors: http://www.mileageworkshop.com/seniors.html
SALE PRICES UPDATED
Economy Travel is emerging as the hassle-free online ticketer.
Prices aren't always rock bottom, but they're consistently fair. Check their
prices before buying elsewhere at EconomyTravel.com 
PUTTING THE SMACK DOWN
Airlines are cracking down on the trading and selling of miles and air
points. Recently they've threatened legal action against people on ebay selling
those American Advantage miles certificates on the back of cereal boxes.
So now people are selling empty cereal boxes that just happen to have
"free" AA miles attached. Heh heh.
April 27
GET IT WHILE YOU CAN
Europe continues to be an astounding deal right now. A couple fine fares crossing
our desk this week include:
$299 RT Newark to London on weekdays. Weekends just $30 more! Contact Danikon@aol.com
$288 RT Newark to London from Discountairfare.com
$299 RT from Newark (on British Airways -- a plus!) from 4airlines.com
$298 RT to London or Glasgow via Icelandair. Book online at icelandair.com
GOIN'
SOUTH
Tico Travel has some good airfare deals to Central America, including a $299
special from Miami to San Jose (Costa Rica). They have some other specials
posted at http://www.ticotravel.com/costarica/aireurop.htm
WORLD HOSTELS
A few new resources for hostel hoppers...
UK-bound travellers should visit www.uktrail.com,
a comprehensive database of hostels in Great Britain. A fun place to hangout
online.
You may also want to peruse your closest bookshop for new
editions of many of Brad Karr's excellent Hostels guidebooks from Globe
Pequot Press. Guides to the US,
the UK, Canada, France/Italy, Ireland, and the Benelux countries are all
available. If you feel lucky, you can even win a copy of your choice by
entering Big World's weekly world
trivia contest.
The American
Youth Hostels site has been redesigned; it's a much easier site to use
now. Take a gander if you haven't lately. Check out their list of hostel
jobs and volunteering opportunities!
April 17
LONDON REIGNS...
As the bargain destination for the summer. A decent rate of exchange, and
all that hubbub about foot-and-mouth keeping less hardy tourists at bay. Here are some fine fares to the grand
city:
$295 RT from Newark through June 15 from Interworld
Travel: info from mayra@interworldtravel.com
$308 RT from Boston from StudentUniverse.com
through the end of May
$490 RT from LA from TicketsforLess.com
OUTDOORSY
BARGAINS
If you need any kind of outdoor clothing, travel gear, or sports stuff, see
what REI's
Outlet has on sale this week. Right now, they're clearing out wool
pants from Sweden for $13.93, yellow Cannondale biking jerseys for under $17,
and a selection of hiking shorts for $15! Tons of nice bike helmets, too.
GUIDE TO JAPAN
TokyoQ is
the famed off-the-beaten track online guide to Tokyo's coolest spots. But
online guides aren't exactly of use when you're crammed in a Japanese subway
looking for a place to eat. Now in handy book form, TokyoQ:
2001-2002 makes for a comprehensive, orderly guide to the alternative and
hip in an often bewildering city. Only $9.95; published by Stone Bridge
Press.
NEED A CAR IN THE STATES?
Enterprise
rent a car has a sweet $9.99 per day deal at many locations. The
catch is that you have to have the car over a weekend and for at least three
days. And it doesn't apply in New York City, San Francisco, or some other
locations. Still, a sweet deal!
NEED A CAR OVERSEAS?
Auto Europe,
despite their name, has some great deals on rental cars throughout the world,
including Australia, Japan, and the Middle East, though their best deals are
still in the UK and Europe. Rates as low as $15.99 a day with unlimited
miles!
April 8
FINE FARES TO
AUSTRALIA
It's never been a better time to go down under. The Australian
dollar is at a laughably low rate of exchange and Qantas has a great
summer sale going on. Fly from Los Angeles (or San Francisco) to Sydney for just $799
roundtrip. That fare is good anytime between May 3 and June 11 or July 12
to August 3. From New York, add another $300. Book online at www.qantas.com.
FREE
WORK / TRAVEL / STUDY ABROAD CATALOG
Impact Publications has put together a fine 12-page print catalog of books for
anyone interested in working or studying abroad. Ask for your free copy by
calling 703/361-0255 or e-mailing abroad@impactpublications.com.
SOUTH AMERICA THIS SUMMER?
If you're headed south soon (and reasonably proficient in Spanish),
search for some good fares at
Despegar.com.
It's a Miami-based travel agent serving the Latino community with decent prices
and packages, especially to Argentina and Columbia. Sign up for their
last-minute newsletter for special deals. The site's only in Spanish, so good
luck!
MAKE SOME MILES!
Mileageworkshop.com
is a dandy little site that promotes special deals and whatnots for people who
collect frequent flyer miles.
COMBINE THOSE MILES!
If you're a frequent flyer, with a plethora of frequent flyer accounts,
keep track of 'em all, exchange points between 'em, and find out what awards you
can claim, all from one new site called
points.com. Very nice idea, great site. Participants include American
Airlines, America West Airlines, Air Canada, and more.
AROUND THE WORLD -- FREE
Well, if you're lucky, that is. AirTreks.com
and StudentWorldTraveler.com
are teaming up to offer one lucky winner a trip around the world!
Second-place winners get free Jansport backpacks! Signup here!
CHEAP TRAVEL MAGAZINES!
Maybe it's not the best magazine in the world, but it's well worth the
price. You can get a free subscription to Microsoft's Expedia
Travels by filling in this
form. And for only $9.49 more, you can get a year's subscription to another
travel magazine called Big
World which we recommend pretty darn highly
RUN
AWAY! RUN AWAY!
Elho Press has a great new e-book for anyone who's thought of picking
up and moving overseas. "Generation X-Pat: Running Away to
Safe Havens Abroad
For Retirement, Prosperity, or Family's Sake" by
Nelson Pahl examines why 141,000 Americans are expected to move abroad this year
-- and how best to go about doing so. The book's available for $29.95 directly
from www.generationx-pat.com.
AIRFARE
SPECIALS
A few assorted deals we've come across:
RT to London in May from Washington DC ($350), Boston ($400), Los
Angeles ($490) from TicketsforLess.com.
RT to Eastern Europe this summer starting at just $340 from NY to
Warsaw - many other cities available, too, from Danikon.
RT flights within the USA from icruises.com. They say they'll
beat any price; try 'em at 1-800-754-4136!
March 29
FOOT AND
MOUTH, PART 1: THE BAD NEWS
Planning a trip to Britain? Well, well,
well. By now you know all about the Foot-and-Mouth epidemic in the
countryside, which is threatening to disrupt tourism for the foreseeable future.
If you're headed outside the major cities, be prepared to change your
plans. Many campsites, walking paths, and farms are closed, as are 120
youth hostels in rural areas (here's the list of closed hostels: yha.org.uk/closed_foot-and-mouth.htm).
While they are trying to put a positive spin on it all, the British
Tourist Authority gets kudos for being frank and honest and bout the
severity of the disease and any restrictions concerning tourism: call them
at (800)462-2748 with your questions, or better yet check out the official F and
M information clearinghouse at co-ordination.gov.uk.
If you're headed to continental Europe, be prepared for many similar
restrictions as the disease spreads.
FOOT AND MOUTH, PART 2: THE BRIGHT SIDE
The Chinese word for crisis and opportunity
are one in the same: Let this crisis be your opportunity. Many
American tourists will undoubtedly be canceling their vacations to Europe
this summer: watch for fire-sale prices on many charter flights and tours. To
save money, get creative: call your local travel agency or tour group
coordinator and ask if you can be put on a last-minute or standby call list. And
don't be afraid to bargain: better the agent make $200 on an already-paid-for
transatlantic ticket than nothing at all. Watch your local paper's
classifieds for people selling their tickets. Watch ebay. Even though
people can't contract Foot and Mouth, this is really frightening most of middle
America. Use their paranoia to your advantage!
GERMAN, RIGHT
Quiet little e-ticketer go-today.com
has a super deal good til the end of May: Roundtrip air to Frankfurt and
a 7-day auto rental for just $399. That is an awesome deal for springtime, my
friend.
CAR
RENTALS, WORLDWIDE
It's almost always
easier (and cheaper) to reserve and pay for a rental car from home than
when you get to wherever you're headed. And now (despite the name) Auto
Europe rents cars throughout the world, including Australia and the
Middle East, at discount prices.
NORTH,
TO ALASKA
There's nothing like a driving vacation to Alaska, and nothing like The
Milepost. This fat, 768-page monster of a guide to driving the
Frontier state (and the neighboring Canadian provinces) is packed with maps,
listings, and tips for your journey on the Alacan Highway and beyond. This year
marks its 53rd year of publication! It's available at most shops along the
route, or online.
NOTHING LIKE THE FIRST TIME
Rough Guides has new versions of their excellent titles First-Time
Europe and First-Time
Asia. They're both wonderful little references that'll prepare
you for your big trip. Lonely Planet also has similar guidebooks called
"Read This First:" they're available for Africa,
Asia
& India, Europe,
and Latin
America.
WHAT'S ON THE TELLY?
If you're lucky enough to receive BBC
World, then turn it on in April during what they call World Trekking
Season. They'll be showing reruns of Michael Palin's charming Pole
to Pole show and premiering a travelogue on walking to the North Pole
without a support team in Team Polar. BBC World is the world's most
trusted 24-hour news channel (and immensely better than CNN) and available in
North America via the ExpressVu
and StarChoice
satellites.
MAKE ROOM, AMEX
There's a new 800 lb gorilla in the travel/currency game: Travelex has
just acquired the Thomas Cook family of companies, making them the
world's largest foreign exchange service and giving American Express a
real run for their money. Thomas Cook is the big traveller cheque company
in most of the world excepting the United States. Watch for Travelex to make
some innovative new moves to get US market share; sources say they'll be
instituting an online/by mail currency exchange service soon. Watch Travelex.com
for details.
March 23
WIN! WIN! WIN!
Independent travel portal GoNomad.com has a fantastic
new contest every month
where you can win some sweet prizes. And we're not talking the usual Disneyworld
stuff that your local paper gives away. Prizes from them include birding
adventures in Brazil, homestays in Ghana, aboriginal culture studies in outback
Australia, and more. Transportation to the destination isn't provided, but
lodging and everything else is. Head to GoNomad.com
to participate. Brought to you by Earthfoot.org
...Some other contests worth checking out include a funky Amsterdam weekend from
HipTrips.com,
a Paris getaway from Fodor's, and Smarter Living's
weekend in London 
And this week's prize in Big
World's trivia contest is a copy of the book Alternatives
to the Peace Corps. Ya can't win if you don't enter!
SAVING
EUROS IN EUROPE
Looking to do Europe on the cheap? Check out Deb Leiter's cool little site
Europe On Pocket Change.
TEN-HUT!
The military analogies are a bit weird, but Brigade
Quartermasters (formerly known as ActionGear.com) is a great
place to get camping, outdoors, and travel stuff cheap. They have those
nice zippered travel pants in their clearance section for $19.99, and portable
outdoor stoves for $4.99. Use the coupon code LS0550 at checkout to get $5 off a
$50 order! At ease, soldier!
COOL
AS ICE
Once again discount airline Icelandair has some great deals if you're
looking for an Icelandic adventure. If you buy in the next week, you can
fly to Reykjavik roundtrip from New York anytime during the month of May for
just $349. Go to
Icelandair.com and look for "Lucky fares."
GO...GO...
GOOOOOOAAAAAL!
It's not too early to grab some tickets for the World Cup 2002 in Korea and
Japan. They're available now at FIFA's webpage www.FIFAWorldCup.com
and will, of course, sell out quickly. And if you are thinking of going,
make hotel, hostel, or campground reservations now or you'll be on the street!
The Korean National
Tourist Office (at 800/868-7567) and Japanese
National Tourist office (at 212/757-5640)will both help with free listings
of low-cost accommodation in each country.
COUNCIL'S
CLEANING OUT
Big student travel agency Council Travel is clearing out its supply of travel
gear: check out the bargains at http://www.counciltravel.com/gear/Thumbnails.asp?BargainBin=1
March 20
KEEPING CONNECTED FOR LESS
Hostelling International has a handy communications package called the eKit.
It's a combination calling card, free voicemail/fax service, free travel
assistance, and more, and it's free when you join your country's Hostelling
International affiliate. Terrific for travelers, and one of the most under publicized
advantages to joining HI. Connect through to your national
affiliate through the main IYHF
site at www.iyhf.org.
$99 TO THE UK!
4Airlines.com has a sweet
$99 deal to the UK (one way from New
York), which includes a free one-day car rental! Look for the "NY to
London" button on their site. You have to buy before 31 March, though!
10% OFF LAST MINUTE FARES
Internet ticketer Site59
usually has some great last-minute deals. Make 'em
even better by typing in code LSNY in the promotion box when you register to
save an additional 10%!
VANCOUVER VALUES
Lots of great last-minute fares from Blaney's
Travel if you're flying out of Vancouver: RT to
Honolulu for just C$329 (that's US$210) until April 4. RT to Mazatlan (Mexico)
from Victoria, BC for just C$299 (or US$191).
They also have super fares to and from Japan. E-mail 'em
at hjo@blaneystravel.com.
EURO HOSTEL HANDBOOK
The 2001 edition of the Independent Hostel Guide
is out. Amazon's got it for $13.42 (with special order fees and shipping), but you
can buy it for just $6.95 postpaid from Big World. Allow a couple weeks for
shipping from the UK... Check out details at http://www.bigworld.com/bp
FIVE
FOR FOUR IN BRITAIN
The British YHA is running a special deal this spring: Stay in their
hostels for four nights and your next YHA night is free. The ofgfer is
valid through the end of march in 25 of their hostels, including the big ones in
Cardiff, London, Manchester, York, and many more. See www.yha.org.uk
for all the details.
A PDA WITH YOUR RTW
If you buy your round-the-world tickets from AirTreks before the end of March,
they'll throw in a FREE digital camera or PDA (personal digital
assistant). Even if you can't buy right away, be sure to get a free RTW
travel planning guide here.
NAAN BREAD - IN NEBRASKA?
If you don't have access to an ethnic grocery, check out a couple new specialty
grocers on the web:
Namaste.com
features Indian foods, clothing, and
gifts.
MexGrocer.com has - guess what - Mexican food items. They
have a $5 off $25 order promo right now!
COOL IMPORTED CRAFTS - FOR FREE (OR JUST ABOUT)
NOVICA
is a great online marketplace that connects you with individual artisans
throughout the world. Great place to buy anything from little trinkets to
fabulous oriental rugs. And if you enter "TCY444" in the coupon
code box when you order, you'll get $15 off any order $15.01 and up!
week of March 12
COAST TO COAST, CHEAP
Bestfares.com
is one of those pay-to-join travel agencies that can indeed be worth the $60
yearly fee if you use it. Currently, they have a couple nice fares for
members only, including coast-to-coast US fares for $158 through August 4,
Caribbean $328 RT fares (from the east coast), or New York to Ireland for $349
RT. Add in the membership fee and you still have some sweet deals.
CALLING ALL BRITONS
If you're a UK resident, you're welcome to apply for a £2700 grant from Enfield
College that'll enable you to study and work on mainland Europe during your gap
year. This is the second year for their exceptional Leonardo da Vinci Gap Year
Program. More info can be obtained from courseinformation@enfield.ac.uk;
Letters and CVs should be sent to: Mrs Leonie Breeds, GAP YEAR Programme
Coordinator, Enfield College, 73 Hertford Road, Enfield, Middlesex EN3 5HA.
There will be 24 twenty-six week work placements available in the academic year
2001 - 2002 in such countries as the Netherlands, Spain, Italy and Finland.
JUMPIN' JORDAN
You've probably never thought about a trip to Jordan. But
reconsider. It's a friendly place with loads of history, kind people, and
few mainstream tourists. And right now, it's a bargain: Sunnyland
Tours has a $599 special that includes roundtrip transportation form New York
and a one-week stay in an Amman inn (with breakfast). For just $360 you can also
add a one-week unlimited mileage car rental (insurance included). Ask for info
at tours@sunnylandtours.com or
check out jordanhotdeals.com.
TRAVEL BIBLE
Independent travel guru Edward Hasbrouck has a new book specifically for
those of us planning our trips on the internet: The
Practical Nomad Guide to the Online Travel Marketplace is the unwieldy
title to an absolutely vital guide to buying, researching, and planning travel
over the internet. Released this week by Avalon Travel Publishers, this
440-page guide is an ideal companion to the acclaimed Practical
Nomad, also by Hasbrouck. Necessary reads for both novice and
experienced travelers of all stripes.
READY TO GO?
If you're ready for a trip this month, Trek America is offering you a 10%
discount! They have a few seats to fill on some of their western treks,
including their excellent Western
Highlights trip (departing LA on 26 March), their Yucatan
Adventure trip (departing Cancun on 1 April), and the 2-week Westerner
(departing LA on 28 March), and some others. See what else they have
to offer at Trekamerica.com
TRADE IN THOSE MILES
Have a TWA Frequent flyer account? Better use up your miles quick - looks
like they'll not be around much longer. One way to use up stray frequent
flyer miles is to register at Milepoint.com,
where you can trade your FF miles for cash when you shop online.
HEY, YOUNG-UN
Under 26? Before you buy a railpass, see what YouTrek has to offer. Even if you're buying elsewhere, check out our Eurail pages first. Some
railpass dealers have been known to sell students the higher-priced adult passes
simply to get a couple more dollars commission; keep 'em honest by checking
prices here first. Most students can save 1/3 off the price of higher-priced
tickets and passes throughout Europe.
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