Sunday, May 15, 2011

Website Offers Cheap Flights for 18-25 Year Olds

It’s good to be young. And now it’s also cheaper. StudentUniverse.com – which bills itself as the United States’ leading student travel website – has expanded its flight discount program to include non-students.
Now anyone between the ages of 18 and 25 can buy cheap fights on some of the world’s best known airlines. Previously, only those still worried about final exams were eligible. But with the economy what it is and may recent college grads unable to find decent paying jobs, they figured there was a need. And a market.
So if you’re still young enough to be considered young and you want to head out of town, go here to book cheap flights through StudentUniverse.com.
(No, BackpackTravelStore.com doesn’t get a cut or a commission. We just like to share when we find cool, cheap ways to travel.)

Backpacks and Gear for Backpack Travelers

Monday, May 2, 2011

Website Lets You Pay Local Prices for Int'l Adventure Tours

So you’re at your computer in your kitchen in San Francisco booking a tour of Guatemala's amazing Tikal ruins. You find a reputable international tour operator and unload your remaining credit card limit into the tour operator’s bank account.
You then get in country, are picked up at the airport by Miguel your guide and proceed to have a great week among traipsing around ancient buildings.
No problem, right? Perfect trip? Sure. The only thing is you could have paid less than half of what you did for the same experience.
The dirty little secret is that most U.S. and International tour operators are really just marketing machines. They don’t actually operate tours. They post expensive websites and pay tens of thousands of dollars for banner and Google ads to bring people to their site. But, when someone actually buys a tour, they dish the actual tour responsibilities off to a local company. To cover all those marketing costs and to make their profit, they charge you a huge markup over what the local tour operator would charge you.
So someone got the rather cool idea to create a system to cut out the middle man and connect adventure travelers directly with local tour operators. That’s where www.detourdestinations.com comes in. They hook you up with local, sustainable travel companies – primarily in Africa, Central and South America – to whom you pay local prices. And local is always better. Buy local, pay local.
I’ve checked out the site and it offers a ton of adventures across many countries. They're also partners with a slew of eco-friendly organizations such as The Rain Forest Alliance and Carbon Free.
So next time you want to go to paddle boarding in the Galapagos, check out www.detourdestinations.com to get hooked up with the local guide that would have ended up taking you on the trip anyway.

Or share with the rest of us if you know any good eco-friendly, locally-minded guides who can hook us all up with our next adventure. Just leave your tips/suggestions in the comments section below.

Gear and Backpacks for Adventure Travelers