TripHip - Travel Tips and Advice for Traveling on a Budget

Everyone has their preference of whether they think a window seat or an aisle seat is better. If you are allowed to choose, and especially if you are on a long-haul flight, consider this one important point:

On long-haul flights, people like to sleep. If you travel alone and you get a window seat, you'll have to wake up the people next to you in order to get to the bathroom, and they'll have to get up again when you come back.

Of course the majority of people don't mind doing this, as it is common courtesy. But you can save yourself the hassle by taking an aisle seat.

Also, if you need to use the loo and you're stuck in a window seat, and the people next to you have their laptops or dinner trays spread out, it will be a big hassle for them to arrange everything for you to get up to use the restroom. Like I said, most people exercise common courtesy on these long-haul flights. But sometimes you just want the freedom to get up and move around as you please. :)

Not exactly a surprising tip, but you do need to head to the airport with *plenty* of time to spare. An hour before your flight won't cut it.

With today's extra security checks, it's recommended that you give yourself at least an extra 3 hours before your flight. Give yourself even more time if you have a long drive into the airport from your home. Delays can pop up on public transport, and traffic snarls can slow down your taxi.

Better to get up at the crack of dawn, than to miss your precious flight.

If your travel dates are flexible at all, always try looking a few days before and a few days after both your departure and return date.

You'd be surprised at how much airline ticket prices can fluctuate from day to day. Sometimes you can find a much better deal just by flying a day earlier or later than you originally planned.

You can often get cheaper plane tickets by searching for flights to and from airports that are near your destination. For instance, if you are flying to Orlando, look for flights that fly into Tampa and vice versa. Orlando and Tampa are only about an hour apart, but sometimes you can get a cheaper price by flying into or out of one instead of the other.

This is especially true for major cities like New York, London, etc. You can then get a bus or train to your final destination.

Many flight search engines allow you to select "search nearby airports" - so make sure you hit that button!

The idea behind Priceline.com is that they auction hotel rooms and flights to the highest bidder, more or less. The flights are often last-minute deals where the airline is trying to fill the last few seats. Hotels may be offering cheaper rooms during off-season periods. Whatever the reasons, you can find these deals at Priceline.

While there are undeniable bargains to be had, you should be aware of the many customer complaints against the company. The main problem is lack of customer service if you need to make any changes. It can be very difficult to get anything changed, either with Priceline or the actual airline or hotel. Just hope you don't have to cancel, because there is a good chance you won't get your money back.

Just be aware that you might be taking a bit of a risk with them. Make sure you double-check all dates and prices before agreeing to anything.

In-flight meals have come a long way since the days when your options were the regular meal, or the kosher meal. Many major airlines now offer many other choices, based on dietary habits or custom.

It will depend on the airline, the length of the flight and your seat class, so you might want to ask about options. You can get meals that are vegetarian, low fat, diabetic, or gluten-free. And for religious restrictions, there are Muslim halal meals as well as Jewish kosher.

Many people will choose the vegetarian option, even if they are meat-eaters as the food is often healthier and fresher.

To check on your airlines options and food quality, take a peek at airlinemeals.net for a whole gallery of passenger photos and reviews.

If you're going to be sitting on an airplane for several hours, it's a very good idea to get the best seat possible to make your trip comfortable.

The most immediate option that people think of is the classic "window or aisle" choice. While the window does provide some great views, you may find that perk starts to get stale after an hour of flying over the clouds. Aisle seats don't give you much to look at, but you have more leg room and won't have to jostle past your seat-mates if you want to get up to use the washroom or when it's time to disembark.

For the most leg room, a seat in any of the rows with an emergency exit is your best bet because the rows are wider.

Another thing to consider is turbulence. Flights near the wings will feel less bumpy if the plane hits any rough air pockets. A nice touch if you are prone to motion sickness or just get nervous while flying.

If you travel a lot, definitely sign up for the airline's frequent flyer program. Those miles really add up.

Even if you don't travel a lot, but you are planning a trip overseas, (say from the US to Asia), you'll defiintely want to sign up for the airline's frequent flyer program as well. You'll rack of loads of miles just on that one trip!

With all the recent changes in airport security procedures, one thing remains fairly constant: the metal detector scan. It's just part of travel life, so plan for it and make your trip through security quicker.

Don't wear clothing with too many zippers, snaps or metal buttons. Don't have your pockets filled with keys, change, phones or other gadgets. Try to have such odds and ends in a single purse or bag so security can check it all quickly without you having to dump each pocket out as you go.

For body jewelry that you can't simply remove for the flight, have any metal jewelry removed beforehand and replaced with plastic or bone pieces so you don't set off the detector.