TripHip - Travel Tips and Advice for Traveling on a Budget

The news can always alert you to major conflicts in your destination area, but you should be prepared for the unexpected. Check for any possible risks to tourists at the U.S State Department website (travel.state.gov) in their travel warnings section. Warnings with regards to violence are usually well-known due to news coverage, so it won't be much surprise that certain countries are not safe for tourists.

What may not be reported in the news as often, are outbreaks of disease in various parts of the world. They may not be newsworthy, but you need to know before you plan your trip. The CDC website (www.cdc.gov) offers warnings for even minor disease outbreaks around the world.

This used to be a great tip for saving money while traveling, but is no longer a sure thing. Still worth checking out, if you ask me.

It used to be, that if you booked round-trip ticket, that had you departing and returning within the same week (in other words, the entire trip included no weekends), you would often get charged more because you would be considered a business traveler. So it was smart to have your trip include at least one weekend day to help keep the rate lower.

These days, travel fares aren't quite so black and white, so you might not save anything. But if you are browsing around a site like Expedia anyway, see if your flight costs changes when you adjust the dates to include a weekend.