This weekend, I went from New York City to Washington, D.C., for one dollar on the BoltBus. Was it luxurious? No way—it was a 5-hour trip, and I can tell you that by hour three, I would have traded anything, including the free Wi-Fi and leather seats, for a foot rest (or, heck, an arm rest). But it cost me one dollar.
As a frequent traveler, I rely on deals like that one to keep traveling frequently. I’m lucky to work for a company that enables cheap travel, so I tend to be up-to-date on the latest deals. But it’s still a challenge to find those bargain-basement travel steals that become the stuff of legend, whispered to disbelieving friends of friends on planes and in pubs everywhere.
Along with my one-dollar, 230-mile excursion to D.C., I count a $300-with-taxes-and-fees round-trip ticket from Chicago to Dublin, a $7-per-night stay at a lovely inn in Greece, and a $25 stay at a luxury hotel in Africa (thank you, Travelocity MasterCard reward points!) among my top travel coups. It’s my ongoing challenge to meet and beat stuff like that.
So I’m curious, what are other travelers’ all-time best travel gets? What's the one deal you’ll never forget, that one you still boast about?
Washington, D.C., photo by IgoUgo member Dutchnatasja
Comments
Jul 29, 2009
I flew from SFO to London for $150 round-trip. Virgin Atlantic was running a crazy, crazy deal.
And then when I arrived I checked into my hotel with my American Express Rewards Plus card and got a free upgrade to a suite. You'd have to pry that card out of my cold dead hands after that trip. It's a must-have for frequent travelers!
I love that you mention BoltBus. Every time I'm in NYC and I want to go see my sister in D.C., I end up doing one of these buses. The facts are, they're much cheaper than flying and taking the train--and their faster too (if you include airport travel times). You can't beat them!
Jul 30, 2009
We got buy-one-get-one-free round trip tickets from Atlanta to Paris once - total of $500 for two tickets, but that was in the days before multiple fees and taxes.
Feb 09, 2010
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