The way travel agents make money has morphed in the last decade away from commissions on flights. I still book my plane tickets to Europe with a living, breathing travel agent for whom I’m very thankful. Who else still uses a travel agent? Why? For what? And, when it comes to getting a ticket from the USA to Europe, what tips do you have for scoring the best fares? How about tickets for flying within Europe?
For 30 years I’ve had chapters in my ETBD guidebook about hitching and camping. Do any of you still do that? Should I just drop both chapters?
I used to do everything on the cheap. It’s only recently that I’ve started to splurge (occasionally) on meals and a few other indulgences while traveling. How important is it to you to travel on the cheap? Do you want more budget tips? If you’ve traveled, what are your top budget tips?
After traveling to Europe for 30 years, things that seem obvious to me may not be to newer travelers. If you’ve traveled to Europe, what do you wish you’d been warned about? If you haven’t traveled to Europe, what are your biggest concerns about going? What would you like advice on?
The first guidebook I ever wrote was Europe Through the Back Door. For 30 editions since 1980 it’s evolved, but I’ve realized that travel in the 21st century doesn’t always fit a 20th-century template. Now I’m considering reinventing entire parts of the book rather than just updating it, and who best to help me with this task than my travel-savvy Blog fans?
For the next week or so, I’d like to tap into your cumulative travel wisdom as my Blog “road scholars.” I love the notion that we’re all in the same “Travelers’ School of Hard Knocks,” so every day I’ll be seeking your travel advice. Let’s compare notes to make the best travel-skills handbook possible together.
Today, I’d love to poll you for general comments on the book (more specific questions will come later). For example: Has anyone read all of ETBD? What was most helpful? What did you want to see more of? What did you want to see less of? Are there new concerns for travelers that it doesn’t address? How can we improve ETBD for our travelers? Anything else?