Suburbs Best Bet for Cheap Hotels in Big US Cities
If you want to visit any of the major cities in the United States this summer, the time to make your plans and reservations is now. Tourism in the United States will probably be up this year as North Americans who can't afford to go to Europe compete for space with bargain-hunting Europeans, Latin Americans and Asians.
There is some good news for budget travelers to the United States. Gasoline is expected to be in plentiful supply this summer, and the price is not likely to rise. It may even fall a little because of the world-wide oil glut. However, gas is considerably more expensive in the United States than in Canada, already as much as 50 per cent higher in some parts of the country.
Food costs in the United States are approximately equivalent to those in Canada. In most major cities it is easy to find good, moderately priced restaurants with a bit of looking. As a last resort, you can always turn to the ubiquitous fast food places.
The bad news concerns the cost of accommodation. Many of the big tourist cities, such as Boston and New York, suffer from a general shortage of hotel rooms, and a severe shortage of budget priced rooms. At the height of the summer tourist season the few reasonably priced rooms tend to be booked up months in advance.
The same forces that have led to the revitalization of the central part of such cities as Boston, Philadelphia and Washington have sent real estate prices skyrocketing and made the construction and even the operation of budget-priced hotels unfeasible.
For the budget traveler, the choice is to plan travel far in advance or be prepared to pay prices of $60 to $100 U.S. a day for a hotel room.
If you are traveling by car, you can often find lower-priced hotels and motels on the outskirts of major cities. Look for national and regional budget chains such as Day's Inns, Motel 6, Scottish Inns and Suisse Chalets. It is usually a lot cheaper to stay in the suburbs, drive into the city and pay for parking than it is to try to find accommodation in the central city.
Of course, if you are traveling by air, rail or bus you rarely have the choice of staying in the suburbs, and you must plan ahead. The United States was not really prepared for the recent onslaught of tourists, and the traveler is generally on his or her own to find a place to stay. I have never seen the kind of hotel-finding service common in Europe in any American train station or airport.
Another problem is that you can't assume that a low-priced hotel in the United States will be safe and clean. Often the lower-priced accommodations are located in fringe or unsafe areas of a city. Therefore, the only thing to do is to find out about the city you plan to visit in advance.
Consult columns such as this one, and budget travel books such as those published by Arthur Frommer, which are generally reliable. Consider alternatives to hotels such as YMCAs or YWCAs, or university residences. Almost every city has a convention or visitors' bureau that can supply information on lodging and points of interest.
On a recent trip to several major American cities, I was able to keep costs for accommodation and three meals a day to between $40 and $50 U.S., without staying in youth hostels or eating in fast food joints. However, I think this is about rock bottom for a person traveling alone, staying in hotels and eating in restaurants. For a couple the cost could be cut to $30 or $35 a person a day, and with one or two small children sharing their parents' room the cost per person would be lower still. But don't expect to keep to these limits without advance planning.
There is both good and bad news on air fare costs in the United States. At the moment many airlines, including Air Canada, United Airlines and Trans World Airlines, are offering discount fares to or within the United States. For example, TWA will fly you anywhere on its routes within the United States for $298 U.S. round-trip for adults, $98 for children under certain conditions.
New York Air and Eastern Airlines are currently offering a $29 U.S. one-way weekend fare between New York and Boston or Washington. A new airline to be called PEOPLExpress is set to start operations soon with discount fares between many American cities. USAir's unlimited mileage fare, good from Toronto or Montreal, is a good deal if you want to visit several American cities.
The general direction of air fares, however, is inexorably upward. If you don't or can't use the discount fares you will end up paying a lot. For example, regular economy one-way fare from New York to Los Angeles is now $438 U.S. on United Airlines.
There is some good news for budget travelers to the United States. Gasoline is expected to be in plentiful supply this summer, and the price is not likely to rise. It may even fall a little because of the world-wide oil glut. However, gas is considerably more expensive in the United States than in Canada, already as much as 50 per cent higher in some parts of the country.
Food costs in the United States are approximately equivalent to those in Canada. In most major cities it is easy to find good, moderately priced restaurants with a bit of looking. As a last resort, you can always turn to the ubiquitous fast food places.
The bad news concerns the cost of accommodation. Many of the big tourist cities, such as Boston and New York, suffer from a general shortage of hotel rooms, and a severe shortage of budget priced rooms. At the height of the summer tourist season the few reasonably priced rooms tend to be booked up months in advance.
The same forces that have led to the revitalization of the central part of such cities as Boston, Philadelphia and Washington have sent real estate prices skyrocketing and made the construction and even the operation of budget-priced hotels unfeasible.
For the budget traveler, the choice is to plan travel far in advance or be prepared to pay prices of $60 to $100 U.S. a day for a hotel room.
If you are traveling by car, you can often find lower-priced hotels and motels on the outskirts of major cities. Look for national and regional budget chains such as Day's Inns, Motel 6, Scottish Inns and Suisse Chalets. It is usually a lot cheaper to stay in the suburbs, drive into the city and pay for parking than it is to try to find accommodation in the central city.
Of course, if you are traveling by air, rail or bus you rarely have the choice of staying in the suburbs, and you must plan ahead. The United States was not really prepared for the recent onslaught of tourists, and the traveler is generally on his or her own to find a place to stay. I have never seen the kind of hotel-finding service common in Europe in any American train station or airport.
Another problem is that you can't assume that a low-priced hotel in the United States will be safe and clean. Often the lower-priced accommodations are located in fringe or unsafe areas of a city. Therefore, the only thing to do is to find out about the city you plan to visit in advance.
Consult columns such as this one, and budget travel books such as those published by Arthur Frommer, which are generally reliable. Consider alternatives to hotels such as YMCAs or YWCAs, or university residences. Almost every city has a convention or visitors' bureau that can supply information on lodging and points of interest.
On a recent trip to several major American cities, I was able to keep costs for accommodation and three meals a day to between $40 and $50 U.S., without staying in youth hostels or eating in fast food joints. However, I think this is about rock bottom for a person traveling alone, staying in hotels and eating in restaurants. For a couple the cost could be cut to $30 or $35 a person a day, and with one or two small children sharing their parents' room the cost per person would be lower still. But don't expect to keep to these limits without advance planning.
There is both good and bad news on air fare costs in the United States. At the moment many airlines, including Air Canada, United Airlines and Trans World Airlines, are offering discount fares to or within the United States. For example, TWA will fly you anywhere on its routes within the United States for $298 U.S. round-trip for adults, $98 for children under certain conditions.
New York Air and Eastern Airlines are currently offering a $29 U.S. one-way weekend fare between New York and Boston or Washington. A new airline to be called PEOPLExpress is set to start operations soon with discount fares between many American cities. USAir's unlimited mileage fare, good from Toronto or Montreal, is a good deal if you want to visit several American cities.
The general direction of air fares, however, is inexorably upward. If you don't or can't use the discount fares you will end up paying a lot. For example, regular economy one-way fare from New York to Los Angeles is now $438 U.S. on United Airlines.
Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
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