Love to travel, but hate tours? This blog offers insight on how to go it alone, from safe accommodations to seeing the best, and maybe the worst. After all, independent travel is an adventure. Flexibility and traveling on a budget are critical. No five-stars or all-inclusives. So hop aboard. Learn to enjoy travel at your own pace and price. Meet other adventurers like yourself and mingle with the locals. Remember: You may travel alone, but you wonʼt be lonely. gloria.independenttraveler@gmail.com
Gloria Maschmeyer
I've been a traveler since I can remember. I spread my wings as a flight attendant at age 20, then married a traveling man and we've never stopped. While based in Anchorage, we've ventured to India, Peru, Bali, Morocco, Burma, Tunisia Singapore and Ecuador. I love ferreting out places off the beaten path. And when things don't go quite as planned, that's just part of the adventure.
Gloria's videos
Plan your trip
BEST TIME OF YEAR
www.myforecast.com
Click on "almanac," then on "historical climate" and plug in the city you wish to check.
CURRENCY RATES
www.oanda.com
For more information on currency exchanges and helpful hints, read my blogs, "Should I change" and "I've decided to change."
TRAVEL WARNINGS
www.travel.state.gov/travel
This site can help you determine the type of crime that goes on in foreign countries against visitors. It also will tell you areas of the country you should avoid.
WORLD TIMES
www.worldtimeserver.com/
Features the current time anywhere and weather. Helpful when you need to call for reservations or want to call back home while away.
WHAT TRAVELERS SAY
www.tripadvisor.com
A favorite sites to see what other travelers have to say about places to stay and visit worldwide
CAR RENTAL
www.hotwire.com
A good site for finding the best deals on renting cars anywhere in the world
TRAVEL INSURANCE
www.squaremouth.com
Web site that compares costs of travel insurance between companies.
All that glitters is gold in Rangoon, Burma, site of the world famous Shwedagon Paya (temple)...
- 2/8/2012 3:23 am
Unique waterfalls outside of Luang Prabang, Laos...
- 2/4/2012 7:41 pm
Buddhism and Laos, religion first and foremost...
- 2/3/2012 1:34 am
Luang Prabang, Laos, a respite in Southeast Asia...
- 1/28/2012 7:46 pm
Thailand is synonyms with Temples...
- 1/23/2012 5:21 am
Bangkok street food, I gave it a try!
- 1/21/2012 1:51 am
Check these travel spots for your 2012 Travel Bucket List…
- 1/1/2012 4:53 pm
Merry Christmas...
- 12/24/2011 9:28 pm
full archive »
Finally a website that gives you good rental car rates every click…
Posted by indietraveler
Posted: September 21, 2009 - 7:14 pm
I’ve just spent days trying to find the best rate on a rental car domestically over the web. It’s been a crazy ride. On Friday, I found a great rate on Expedia.com, but when I went back to book it the following day the rate was double. So I checked out PriceLine.com and found the same car for $150 over the lowest Expedia rate.
When I finalized my dates, I tried to book it on PriceLine and viola, it was $300 more. What in the heck gives? I wondered. Out of curiosity I started checking out other cities and rental rates. They were all over the place too, changing every time I logged onto the site.
Finally, I hit pay dirt at HotWire.com. Not only did I get a low rate compared to the other sites (anywhere from $200 to $300 less), I also got the same price consistently for the same city and same class of car every click.
I’m renting through HoteWire an Enterprise Rental car, that quoted me a price $300 more for the same dates and same car on their website, Enterprice.com.
It was a steep learning curve, but worth it. As a result of HotWire.com’s consistently low prices, my husband has decided to book a car for a trip that was going to be all air travel.
Have any tips for booking rental cars? Post them below.
Important warning about e-mails purporting to be from the adn.com staff.
