Tag Archives: budget travel

Skiing on a budget in the US

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I have two words for you: Flagstaff, Arizona.  Yes, I know it’s not one of the big names in skiing, but if you’re on a budget and also you’re an intermediate or beginner skier, Flagstaff is a great place to go.  I’ll break down the details for you, and as soon as I’m done, you’ll be convinced!

It’s great for a beginner or intermediate skier.  Snowbowl, which is the ski resort in Flagstaff, only has one gondola (well, gondola-combination) high-speed lift.  It takes you to a black run (don’t ask me for the run names, I am not good with names of any kind) and there’s an option for a double-black.  That’s it.  The rest of the runs are either blue or green.  So, if you’re an expert skier, Snowbowl may not present enough of a challenge for you.  But if you’re an intermediate or beginner, you’ll enjoy a good day.

It’s a budget destination.  Here’s what you do:  You fly into Phoenix, and if you choose carefully and book in advance, flights to PHX can be had for the $200 RT range from many East US destinations.  Cheaper if you’re in the West.  Then drive to Flagstaff, which is about 2.5 hours north of PHX.  Combine the skiing with some hiking in Sedona, and, well, I don’t have to tell you – it’s an outdoor paradise!  Rental cars are usually cheap in PHX, running some $30-$40 per day.  Rent your skis in PHX or even in the city of Flagstaff.  A basic set is around $25-$35 per day.  Book your lift tickets way in advance, and if you can go on a weekday, it’s like… A LOT better.  Not only is it way cheaper, but you’ll have no wait on the lifts and plenty of falling-down space on the runs.  Lift tickets can be had for as cheap as $30 to $50 on weekdays, purchased 2-3 weeks in advance.  Book a hotel in Flagstaff; a good hotel can be had for $50-$80 per night.  

To sum up your trip, if you book in advance, you can have a ski trip for less than $500 per person for a couple of days… and that’s pretty much all you can do in Snowbowl.  There’s not enough runs to make it interesting for more than one day, two, tops.  If you want to spend more time, drive just south to Sedona or even to Phoenix and take on one of the amazing hikes that can be had in the Phoenix area.  Or enjoy a spa day.  Sedona has plenty of spas but it’s touristy as f*ck and expensive, so only do so if you’re wanting to splurge.  

But if you stay in Flagstaff, not only is it not so touristy, but there are plenty of places to eat for any budget.  It’s a college town, so the night life is pretty solid, and there’s plenty to taste as it relates to beer.  During the winter it’s not such a pretty town due to the trees not having any leaves, but there are pretty lights everywhere.

All the pricing I’m giving you is based on the 2021-2022 season, which has been a crazy one, cost-wise.  Nonetheless, Snowbowl and Flagstaff are affected by the economy just as much as other resorts, so if prices do rise, they will also rise in other parts, like Colorado or Utah, so Flagstaff remains a budget destination.  Let me know if you’ve ever been there and what your thoughts are (yes, I know food at the resort is quite expensive, but the pizzas are pretty good, and isn’t food expensive at all resorts?).  Bon voyage!

Fly cheaply

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My friends are often flummoxed by how cheaply I’m able to travel.  There really isn’t a big secret, I tell them, just some common-sense rules… however, for some reason, people aren’t very keen on following these simple rules, and as a result, cannot seem to travel so cheaply.  Here are some examples of flights I have taken, and their cost, for a round-trip flight:  MIA-PVG $395, MIA-PHX $88, DFW-SYD $450, MIA-MXP $380…. Anyway, there are a lot of ways to travel cheaply, but today I’m just going to focus on flights and how to get better prices.

Firstly, and I cannot emphasize this enough, you have to be FLEXIBLE.  This means you can pick the days you travel far in advance, 1-2 months for domestic travel, 1-4 months for international.  This is by far the biggest issue people have because of their availability and feasibility of taking time off.  Often, you will have to travel mid-week. It helps if you don’t have a 9-to-5 with limited time-off options.

Secondly, you have to be COMMITTED.  This means choosing a place, flight, hotel, etc… and STICKING TO IT.  You cannot be wishy-washy about it.  You’ll get the best deal when you book and sometimes pre-pay, but you CANNOT CHANGE YOUR MIND.  This seems like an easy one for me, but, apparently, it’s very difficult for many people to do what they said they were going to do.  If you’re traveling in a group, EVERYONE needs to be committed, otherwise, don’t do it.

Thirdly, use the Google Flights website, learn all the tools available for you to search.  One I especially like is the “explore” function, where you can just move around the globe and look at pricing.  This is a great way to discover new destinations that you otherwise hadn’t thought about.

Lastly, especially for international travel, have all your documents updated and ready.  Especially during and after the pandemic.  Trying to update your passport or some other document will take ages and will cause you to miss your flights.  Also, make sure you are able to travel where you want to go; check your visa requirements, etc, etc…

This is just an extremely short and simple summary of what you need to do to book cheap fares.  There are many other considerations that will allow you to save money, and they all start with your flight selection.  Things like arrival or departure times (can you reach your hotel via a $5 metro fare, or will you have to shell out on a $50 cab ride because you arrived at 1AM?).  Or did you buy the cheapo fare and now you have to pay for carry-on luggage or checked bags (don’t forget the return trip!) when you could have bought a more expensive fare on another airline but bags are included?  Consider the cost of the ENTIRE trip, not just the flights.  I’ll cover more details on other aspects of traveling on another blog.  Happy traveling!