When Scrimping on the Road Goes Too Far
Travel Blog • Eva Holland • 05.22.09 | 11:47 AM ET
We all like to save a buck when we travel. But at what point does cost-cutting cross the line?
That’s the question Carlo Alcos posed over at Brave New Traveler recently, in his look at some questionable (but common) money-saving tactics on the road. A few of the tricks listed: posing as a student or a local for admission-fee purposes, fare-dodging on public transit and inventing complaints—and then demanding compensation. After the run-down, he concludes: “I would say there is a line to be drawn. Not a black and white Sharpie fine line, but a blurry, wavy, grey line that is dependent on the circumstance.”
I’ll admit I was known to play fast and loose with the fare rules back in my wild Eurail-ing younger days, but lately, for me, the line is pretty clear. Discounts and shortcuts that are freely, knowingly offered—even if they’re the furthest thing from well advertised—are fair game, and a lot of fun to track down, too. But beyond that—call me prudish—I tend to follow the rules when I’m on the road. If I think a museum isn’t worth the price of admission, I don’t go. If I don’t feel like paying for public transit, I walk. And if I’m hungry, I don’t steal food from my hostel-mates—I get up and go to the grocery store.
It’s not that I necessarily have a particularly finely-tuned sense of morality (although I don’t steal, or lie my way past admission desks, at home, either), or that I think fudging my age or student status is likely to cause irreparable harm to my destination. But here’s the thing: budget travel is, in many ways, a kind of game, or challenge. How long can you make your money last? How much value can you squeeze out of it? How many bargains can you ferret out? And, in the same way that I don’t understand how ‘roided-up athletes take any real pleasure from their victories, I don’t see the fun in winning a game—the budget travel game—by cheating.
What do you think? Where do you draw the line when cutting costs on the road?
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Travel-Writers-Exchange.com 05.22.09 | 12:33 PM ET
You know what, I’ll create a budget when I travel. I’m a big believer in KARMA and will not do anything to compromise my morals and ethics, but that’s me. I know sometimes stuff happens when you travel, but I would rather borrow on my credit card or call mom to ask for funds to be sent to me via Western Union…I’d rather pay my mom back then get myself into a STICKY situation. That’s just me!
Ling 05.23.09 | 10:47 AM ET
I have a question - there’s places and attractions all over where you can pay what you want - or nothing, if you feel that way. I was in a restaurant some time back where they had this going. If you pay less or nothing, you feel like you’re taking something which could rightfully have helped those who really need it. On the other hand, if you pay more, you feel like you’re being a fool - you know, being generous when you’re not really rich…. So here’s a simple question - how do you decide much to pay?
Richard 05.29.09 | 12:24 PM ET
I taught abroad for a while, so I felt entitled to some of these discounts as I was a teacher who spoke the language and not just another tourist. But at some point Stuffwhitepeoplelike.com put budgeting in perspective for me, and I rolled with getting overcharged occasionally.
“Generally, they will start off with a set amount of money that will use to travel for as long as possible. This explains why a white person with an $800 backpack will haggle with a poverty-stricken street vendor about a $2 dollar plate of food.”