With the economy the way it is these days we need to do everything we can to save money. This doesn’t mean that you can’t still enjoy life. You just have to think about the less obvious ways to do things. You can still go on vacations and they can still be relaxing, fun and cheap.

You can visit with friends. This is my favorite kind of vacation. I have friends all over the world and it’s great to visit them. I can stay at their place for free and I get to see my friends that I haven’t seen in a while. It’s the best of both worlds. Usually they can be your guide around the city, state, or country that you visit them.

Take a vacation to the beach during the fall or winter months and you can get a great deal. Also most of your beaches have campgrounds close so you can park your RV and camp in it.

Here are some others -

House sitting vacations - Someone in another state or country would need you to water plants or take care of their pet while they are away while you stay at their house. To learn more search for the Caretaker Gazette online.

Stay home - Make a list of sights to see, and things you’ve always wanted to do that are within an hour of your house and you can spend a an extended weekend checking places off your list.

Take the train or bus to travel - It’s better for the environment and you get to meet a lot of neat people so it will be an adventure.

You are planning to travel for Spring Break or for the summer and you are wondering if you need a passport. If you are traveling international you need to have a passport. The only exception is if you are traveling to Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and The Caribbean. If you are traveling by sea or land to those 4 areas before June 1, 2009 then you won’t need a passport. if you are traveling to those 4 places after June 1st then you will need a passport.

Don’t wait too long to get your passport because with this new requirement then everyone will be trying to get their passport before they take that Caribbean cruise or travel to Cancun or Toronto.

Here’s where you can get more information on this.

Most college students go to somewhere in Mexico during their Spring Break. Mexico is a very popular place for college students and many times this is their first trip outside of the US. There are many things to watch for and here are the highlights of the most popular places in Mexico.

Acapulco: Drug-related violence has been increasing in Acapulco but not towards US citizens.

Cabo San Lucas: Beaches on the Pacific side are dangerous due to rip tides and rogue waves - they are clearly marked.

Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Cozumel: In this area you will need worry about crime and the undertow down at the beach.

Tijuana: Tijuana has one of the busiest land border crossings in the world.

The basics of staying safe in Mexico is to be aware of your surroundings, travel in pairs, and don’t swim where you shouldn’t. More information can be found here.

I was talking to someone from TSA (Transportation Security Administration) about what tips they could give for traveling during the holidays. They said that the biggest challenge is when people bring their favorite foods from home that they want to bring to holiday dinners, or items from their destination that they want to bring back home.

Not sure about what you can and can’t bring through the checkpoint? Here’s a list of liquid, aerosol and gel items that you should put in your checked bag, ship ahead, or leave at home.

You could celebrate New Year’s Eve in Spain an five times - four of those times in December.

The first New Year’s Eve in Spain comes in mid-December (usually the second Thursday before Christmas). It is the Noche Vieja Universitaria (University New Year), which takes place in Salamanca. The University New Year is for students of the famous university in Salamanca who will be unable to celebrate the normal New Year with their friends because of family commitments. The students pretend it is not mid-December and go through all the usual New Year’s Eve traditions.

Next up is midday on December 30, in Puerta del Sol in Madrid, for the ‘ensayo de las campanadas’ (bell-ringing rehearsal). This is actually the first of three rehearsals that the local organizers do to make sure everything is working for the following day, but this is the only one that has been hijacked by the people. Again, this celebration is for those who can’t attend the real celebration because of prior commitments - or for those who can’t handle the idea of all the crowds that will congregate on the actual day.

Later on the same day is the Campanadas Alternativas para Frikis (Alternative Bell-Ringing for Geeks), which takes place at Plaza de Castilla, in front of the Pac-Man tree they have set up there! The Spanish ‘friki’ (geek or nerd) subculture is quite big.

Then, of course, comes the real New Year’s Eve - December 31. You may be surprised that, for a country famous for its drinking, that most bars will be closed on the stroke of midnight. This is because most people spend the time with their families. However, the city’s main square will certainly give you that communal New Year’s feeling. They do still party, but it doesn’t start until later.

Lastly, there is New Year’s Eve in August, which takes place in in the tiny village of Berchules on the first Saturday of the month. Why? Because a power cut in the mid-nineties meant that New Year’s Eve had to be canceled, so they rescheduled the big event for August. The re-run was such a success that they’ve run this second New Year ever since!

By Damian Corrigan, from About.com

Real Simple Magazine came up with this great list of favorite things you need for a plane ride - actually this can work for traveling by plane, train, bus or car.

Portable DVD Player
These are great for any kind of travel that you will be doing this holiday season. It will keep the kids entertained for hours.

Lip Balm
My lips get very dry during the winter months and even worse when I’m traveling.

Create your own Travel Care Kit
A sleep mask, earplugs, a mirrored brush, soap petals, a facecloth, a toothbrush, and a deck of cards make a great Travel Care Kit.

Blanket
It can be useful on a flight or in a hotel room.

Headphonesor mp3 player
They help with ear pressure and with noise from the person snoring beside you.

Pillow
Place the Travel Pillow on a tray table, lean forward, and pass out. Many people sleep while they are traveling these days. I know that as soon as I get on a plane I’m out cold until we touch down. You feel so refreshed after the cat nap.

They began production of the U.S. Passport Card in July 2008. They’ve issued a lot of cards and it takes about 4 weeks to process it. It’s s wallet sized passport card that is less expensive than the regular passport. The problem is that it can’t be used for international air travel. It can only be used to enter the US from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda by land or sea but not by air.

The people that it works best for are those who live in a state that borders on Canada and Mexico so that they can frequent those countries by land/vehicle. You can get more information here.

Starting Aug. 16, 2008 TSA will allow laptops to remain in bags meeting “checkpoint friendly” guidelines. Not all laptop bags are “checkpoint friendly” (see images below).

To help streamline the security process and better protect laptops, TSA recently encouraged manufacturers to design bags that will produce a clear and unobstructed image of the laptop when undergoing X-ray screening. A design that meets this objective will enable TSA to allow laptops to remain in bags for screening.

TSA screens laptops to see if the electronics have been tampered with. Transportation Security Officers know what the inside of a computer should look like, and they can recognize irregularities. This is why they need an unobstructed view as the item moves through the X-ray machine.

Purchasing one of these bags will not guarantee that you can leave your laptop in your bag for screening. If a Transportation Security Officer finds that the bag does not present a clear and distinct image of the laptop separate from the rest of the bag, the laptop must be screened separately.

There are laptop bag styles currently on the market, such as laptop-only sleeves, that have the potential to present a clear X-ray image of the laptop if they are correctly packed. However, most current laptop bags will not present a clear X-ray image and should not be sent through the X-ray with the laptop inside.

Real Simple has some great tips for traveling green.

Be choosy when booking a bed.
Rooms in all price ranges are on the green bandwagon. Many Holiday Inns use CFL lightbulbs, and they all serve Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee. Marriott, InterContinental, Kimpton, Fairmont, and Sandals offer environmental programs; go to

Go paperless with your PDA.
Save a tree — and your back — by downloading travel guides, maps, and even boarding passes onto a handheld device. Lonely Planet sells travel content in “Pick & Mix Chapters” downloads, allowing you to buy only the information you need and view it on your PDA, and Rough Guides provides free downloads of cultural audio “iToors” for iPods. On domestic flights, Air Canada offers paperless tickets featuring scannable electronic bar codes that are sent to your cell phone or PDA. Continental Airlines is currently testing this technology.

Streamline your suitcase.
Even 10 extra pounds per passenger translates into the need for extra fuel, which can then lead to more carbon dioxide emissions. Pack light.

Towel off twice.
Use only the towels you need, hang them to dry, then reuse. Likewise, why have your sheets changed every day? Leave a note for housekeeping to skip changing the sheets and towels. Opting to use them again can save up to 30 gallons of water a day.

Bring your own shampoo — or take theirs.
Hotel soaps and bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and lotion that have been opened — even if just for one use — are routinely tossed in the trash. Carry your own amenities in reusable travel containers. If you open one of theirs, toss it in your bag to be finished off at home and refilled for future trips.

Eat locally.
An American meal involves food flown in from, on average, five different countries, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. Minimize food-transport pollution by choosing a restaurant that utilizes regional ingredients.

Drink locally.
If the tap water is safe, go ahead and drink it. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, while public water gets tested for contaminants thousands of times a year, bottled-water facilities may not test their products as frequently. Plus, a discarded plastic bottle can take years to biodegrade.

Walk, ride, or rent a hybrid.
Too far to walk? Hop on a bus or the subway. Most cities’ transportation-authority websites have a route-planner function; also try www.hopstop.com or www.subwaynavigator.com. If your trip requires a car, rent a hybrid (choose “hybrid” under “car options” at www.kayak.com) to reduce emissions by up to one-half. The next best option? Find a “green” car at www.hybrids.orbitz.com.

When you need an island getaway, but the idea of a long flight takes the wind out of your sails, go to an island in the United States — which can often be found within driving distance.

Block Island, Rhode Island
Block Island, which sits between mainland Rhode Island and the tip of New York’s Long Island, is less developed than Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket but has the same New England charm. You can head to Mansion Beach for good waves and few tourists, and visit the island’s enormous cliffs, Mohegan Bluffs. The National Hotel is famous, but most families rent houses in the interior of the island.

Bald Head Island, North Carolina
Cars are not allowed on the island — only golf carts. What’s more relaxing than that? You can visit Eb & Flo’s, famous for its pots of steamed seafood. You can stay in and email a grocery list to the Maritime Market; it delivers. Most everyone stays at a private house. An average two-bedroom rental runs $2,800 a week in high season, Memorial Day through Labor Day. Renting through Bald Head Island Limited gets you free access to the Bald Head Island Club, which caters to golfers, and to the beachside Shoals Club.

Catalina Island, California
Catalina has some of the best snorkeling in the US and its famous colored tiles (created by local artists in the 1920s and ’30s) decorate everything from fountains to trash cans. people usually shop and eat in Avalon, the island’s only city. You can hike the many trails or ride horseback. And stop by the airport, a bona fide tourist destination, high on a mesa in the middle of the island.
The Hotel Villa Portofino has a sundeck with views of Catalina Harbor.

Isle of Palms, South Carolina
A 20-minute drive from Charleston, Isle of Palms is a cinch to get to. You can play golf or tennis, and sun yourself on the beach at Wild Dunes, the largest resort on the island. On Sullivan’s Island, 10 minutes away by car, you can watch the sunset while dining on the patio of the restaurant Atlanticville. The Wild Dunes Resort offers private villas in addition to rooms at its Boardwalk Inn hotel.

Little St. Simons Island, Georgia
A hop away from the more popular St. Simons and Sea Island and home to only one lodge, it’s about as close as you’ll get to having your own private island — no phones, no email, few tourists. You will enjoy your solitude on the beach, kayak, or consult the naturalists who work on the island. They give guided tours to the loggerhead-turtle nests that dot the beach in the summer. The Lodge on Little St. Simons accommodates just 30 people at a time. The double-occupancy room rate includes all meals and activities.

Mackinac Island, Michigan
It’s one of a few islands not on a seacoast; it’s in Lake Huron. Take a tour in a horse-drawn buggy or rent a tandem bicycle. Stop at the Cannonball Drive In, a hot-dog stand known for its fried pickles. And don’t miss the Grand Hotel’s front porch, the longest in the world.

Marathon, Florida
Marathon is a quieter alternative to Key West and only a two-hour drive from Miami. Drive north and south on the road that links the Keys, gazing at less-developed islands. Stop for breakfast at Leigh Ann’s coffee shop on your way to the Dolphin Research Center, on Grassy Key, 10 minutes from Marathon.

Orcas Island, Washington
Orcas Island, the largest of the San Juan Islands, has two big sights: Mount Constitution, the highest point on the islands, and whales. The San Juan Islands don’t see much of the rain that hits the mainland and get half as much precipitation as Seattle. Visit the art gallery at Crow Valley Pottery, in the village of Eastsound. And sample organic food at Christina’s Food & Wine restaurant.

Sanibel Island, Florida
The beaches of the Gulf Coast have some of the most beautiful white sand in the world. Get up early and look for shells on the beach. Because of the beach’s east-west orientation, shells wash up by the bucketful. Keep a lookout for junonias, rare conical shells with brown spots. The Lazy Flamingo has the best mesquite grilled– grouper sandwich you can find.

Remember when you go to any if these island to get your sturdy and durable luggage ready.