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5 offbeat paths to foreign travel deals |
| By Erin Peterson
• Bankrate.com |
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You can enjoy a unique style of foreign travel inexpensively -- or at least get a hefty tax break -- if you're willing to volunteer your time, your home or your knowledge.
With the lowered value of the dollar, many would-be international travelers are looking for ways to stretch their budgets. Discount hotels and cheap restaurants are typical places to save, but you can save big bucks and enjoy a really different vacation experience through a cultural organization -- or even the federal government.
There are hundreds of organizations -- many accessible online -- that provide valuable travel services, but it's important to do your homework
before you sign up, says Kam Santos, director of communications at Cross-Cultural Solutions.
"There are a number of questions to consider when you're choosing (an organization)," says Santos. Make sure you know about the organization's credentials and how fees are allocated, for example. Try to get references to see how other participants feel about the program.
For programs that include staying in other people's homes -- either with or without hosts -- safety and trust is important.
"You want to find out if the accommodations are comfortable and secure," Santos says. "Who will you be living with?" Some organizations do in-person interviews to vet all prospective hosts and travelers; others require you to do your own due diligence, but provide tools that allow you to talk not just with the hosts directly, but with others who have stayed with particular hosts or in particular homes.
If you're content with high prices, tour buses and impersonal accommodations, these trips might not be for you. But if you're looking for something new and are willing to give a little, you're likely to get back a lot, she says.
Here are five ways you can experience unique travel in a foreign land while minimizing your costs.
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| 5 ways to travel abroad for less |
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| Citizen ambassador programs |
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Professional and educational exchanges plus travel. |
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Sample organization: People to People. |
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Where: Worldwide. |
How it works:
In addition to its well-known student ambassador programs, this organization provides ways for people in specific fields such as law, medicine, nursing and education to link up with their counterparts in other countries. (Programs known as "missions of understanding" are open to anyone who is interested in learning about another country.) Delegations of 20 to 40 people spend a week to 10 days in a country to discuss their day jobs and learn more about how those same jobs are done in other countries.
Benefits:
Many of the programs qualify for ongoing education credits -- and the locale beats a cramped hotel conference room any day. Thanks to the program's long history and reputation, it can occasionally book activities that you won't be able to find elsewhere, such as gorilla tracking in Rwanda. Top-notch accommodations ensure that travelers will be comfortable and safe no matter where their destination.
Drawbacks:
Up to 60 percent of your time is filled with meetings, lectures and discussions. You'll need to check with the organization to see if your tour will meet minimum work guidelines for the write off, which requires 40 hours of work each week to meet IRS regulations; extended tours usually do not qualify for the deduction.
Costs:
A typical tour will cost about $5,000, but employers often subsidize that cost. In some cases, the trip is tax-deductible.
Other notes:
Though the programs will accept adults of any age, most participants are 50 or older and quite well-traveled, according to Meredith Blanka, People to People's vice president of marketing. "They've generally done traditional trips before, and they're looking to do more, see more and give back at this point in their lives," she says.
Also check:
Sister Cities International is an organization that links U.S. cities with other cities in around the world to help residents develop business partnerships, explore other cultures and link similar organizations from different countries together.
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