Travel in Budget
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What is a ‘sister city’ and how can you travel to one on a budget? A number of cities all over the globe have adopted a sister city in another part of the world to promote greater understanding, among other things, between the two cities and their nations.
The sister city ‘movement’ began at the end of World War II and was instigated by America. Participating cities aim to develop friendships and foster relationships between their chosen sister cities (some cities have more than one sister) and to encourage peace and understanding between nations. This is done in a number of ways – encouraging business and economic relationships through trade and technology, stimulate cultural and creative networks, develop partnerships between cities and countries and to provide the opportunity for sister city citizens to experience other cultures through travel.
Traveling to your sister city may be something you wish to do and it can be done at relatively low cost if you are able to become part of an exchange program. Cultural exchanges between sister cities are generally paid for by your home town. Some cities select students to travel to their sister city for a period of time, (it could be weeks or months) and pay all expenses. If you are a student, investigate what opportunities are available for this type of travel.
Traveling to a sister city is not only for students. Other residents may participate in the program as well. You may be selected as an ambassador of your town to travel to the sister city and take part in projects fostered by the sister cities. You will then likely to be asked to host visitors from the sister city when they travel to your country. If you are able to get on one of these exchange programs you can expect accommodation and food to be taken care of (you will probably be living with a sister city family) but you may have to get involved in fundraising for your trip.
If you think this sounds like a fun (and cheap) way to travel, visit your town’s web site and find out about their sister city program. You’ll need to become a member and join in the volunteer program to help with fundraising. You could be asked to host visitors from your sister city and you may get the opportunity to travel. Becoming involved in the sister city program means becoming a part of creating community links and learning about other cultures – exactly what traveling is all about. You may even have ideas for your community’s sister city program and how it can further foster its global sisters’ relationships.
This article is brought to you by: Stuart S. Travel – Your Online Travel Guru
www.stuartstravel.com
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Paul Hata asked:
Many budget travelers assume that a multi-city European vacation is beyond their means, but that is often not the case. The large number of budget airlines that have sprung up in Europe in recent years have dropped the average cost of airfare between many major European cities.
In some cases, the cost of coach airfare between major European hubs like London and Amsterdam is lower than a comparable first or even second class train ticket.
And of course flying between cities is far less time consuming than taking the train or driving yourself, and that means more time to explore the places you’ve always wanted to see, as well as more money to spend once you get there.
The key to getting the best airfares, both from the United States to destinations in Europe, and between European destinations, is to shop around and compare carefully.
Most major American air carriers have partnerships with one or more European airlines, and therefore it is often possible to shop airfares between European cities from the web sites of these airlines.
In addition, the major European only airlines all have their own web sites, and most provide for online booking and confirmation as well. This makes it easy to line up all your airfare before you leave the United States.
This is an important consideration, since it is often more difficult, and more expensive, to book airline tickets or train tickets after you have arrived in Europe.
The choice of European cities you plan to visit can also have a major impact on airfare between destinations. Many of the low cost European air carriers are based in London, so it is often considerably less costly to fly from London than to fly from many other major European cities.
Therefore, many budget travelers choose to make London their primary destination, and to take two and three day trips from there to the places they have always wanted to see.
While it is possible to get great deals from other European gateways, it is often more difficult than flying to and from London.
Just as American airlines have their own major gateways, such as New York, Los Angeles and Atlanta, so too do budget European airlines.
Planning your visit around these hub cites is often the best way to get the lowest possible airfares between European cities.
Flying within Europe is surprisingly affordable for way for many budget travelers to get around.
Many first time travelers to Europe, and some seasoned travelers as well, are shocked to find just how affordable it is to fly around Europe.
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