Focus on Off-Season, Budget, and Cultural Travel

Most travelers choose the warm summer months to visit Europe, and there are indeed many advantages: The days are longer and the weather is warm and dry, allowing for a variety of activities outdoors. There are also a plethora of cultural, music, and art festivals all over the continent. On the other hand, traveling during high season also has many drawbacks: Airline tickets are far more expensive, trains are crowded, hotels fill up quickly, and the cost for room and board is also higher. In addition, regardless of where your destination, there will be large crowds everywhere; travel off-the-beaten-path in Europe during high season has become more and more difficult over the years. If you are seeking a less crowded and more affordable trip to Europe, you might want to consider a visit during off-seasons such as spring or fall. You will be able to take advantage of lower prices, fewer tourists, and you will almost certainly enjoy a more intimate travel experience which includes more contact with the local people and culture... Read more...

Shoestring travelers go to great lengths to stick to their budget: finding inexpensive lodging, getting cut-rate airfares, and taking the cheapest local transportation. One often-overlooked variable, however, is the time of year they visit a particular destination.

In any area that attracts a lot of tourists, high season is expensive. In some cases, downright outrageous. High season can be as long as summer, or as short as New Year's Eve weekend, depending on the location. In any case you are sure to pay top dollar. Whether it's a Thai party beach during the full moon, Goa around the Christmas break, or Europe in the summer, this is the time when prices shoot up and you'll find little to no room for negotiation.

Low season is often low for a good reason, however. Prices are cheap, but they often deserve to be. Hurricanes are blowing around the Caribbean and Florida, Egypt feels like the inside of an oven, the Andes are obscured by clouds. Many beach towns all over the world are literally boarded up in the off-season. It can be a good time to work on a novel or to meditate, but many find the lonely streets and bad weather during low season to be a downer... Read more...

Come hell or high Euro, travelers cannot resist flocking to France. Maybe it is for the crusty baguettes (despite rising food prices) or frosty skiing in the Alps and Pyrenees. For the past few years, travel to Europe has become progressively more difficult for those outside the Euro zone. But this does not mean that you have to revert to a "staycation" or put France on your list of retirement savings blowouts. With a touch of inside knowledge and a splash of French phrases, you will soon be enjoying more than a few French freebies... Read more...

As an artist I never seen to get enough of visiting art museums and so when winter arrived I started looking for inexpensive flights to Europe and this year it was Amsterdam to visit the Rijksmuseum and the nearby van Gogh Museum...

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How can you climb the French Alps, wander through Roman ruins in Turkey, cross the United States or explore the Australian outback on a shoestring budget that would make even the most frugal backpacker blush? The answer is surprisingly simple: with a bicycle...

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Contrary to popular perception, it is not only the Dutch who are cycling fanatics. As soon as Spring approaches, Czechs of all ages come out en masse on their bicycles, ranging from pre-war models to the very latest in modern technology...

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Moravia is in the eastern third of the Czech Republic, bordering on Austria, Slovakia and Poland, and containing 94% of the country's vineyards. Abounding in wine cellars and hospitable accommodations, it is an embarassment of riches for the visitor seeking the best locations for a Moravian wine tasting...

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Once considered a strictly up-market destination, the Caribbean island nation of Antigua and Barbuda is more accessible for frugal travelers than ever before. The coastal resorts that have kept the visitor secluded from the island are now facing stiff competition from locally owned and operated outfits offering a Caribbean experience that is second to none (but for a fraction of the price).  So pack light and leave your savings account untouched because an Antiguan holiday is more affordable than ever...

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I have recently returned from a month in Rome and people are commenting on how I have lost weight-not the usual response when returning from the land of pasta, vino, and gelato. But then this was no ordinary month, this was an "intensive CELTA" month...

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Vietnam is truly an exotic destination that has turned up on many travel itineraries in recent years and lies next door to Cambodia and Laos. I had lived in Vietnam in the mid-1970s and wanted to go back to photograph Tet Trung Thu — the Moon Day Festival — a holiday for children that I remembered celebrating, featuring colorful balloons and lanterns, special toys, moon cake, and parades. I also wanted to see more of the country, something that I was unable to do during my previous experience in Vietnam...

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"I wonder how much this is going to cost," I muse silently as I sit in the spacious hospital room in northern Thailand. I have called this room "home" for seven days now, while my boyfriend endures and eventually recovers from a bout of crippling Dengue Fever...

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...Moving here to central Warsaw from the warm, brightly lit dorms, the ever-open libraries, the facility-fullness of Princeton University has proven somewhat of a stark and strenuous transition. Though it is not the first time, it is for the longest period and under the most solitary circumstances that I am abroad. And I am growing into myself more every day.

A Polish maxim states simply, “Travels shape.” Undoubtedly this is valid, in the sense that, when abroad, one takes in tiny parts of a new culture to add to oneself. Qualities, mannerisms or preferences collected like souvenirs become ornamental or, sometimes, fundamental additions to a given character. But traveling also makes a person infinitely more malleable, understanding, tolerant–and appreciative–of small things that, earlier, never seemed to matter at all. Level sidewalks. Stoves. Warm weather. Cool weather. Company. Solitude...

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We are proud to launch TAzine as a monthly Webzine which continues the 31-year tradition started by Transitions Abroad magazine. TAzine features many of the same columnists who wrote for the magazine, a growing group of new columnists, while featuring many freelance writers who wish to share their experiences and expertise within the context of our innovative alternative coverage of work, study, travel, and living abroad.

Founded in 1977 by Dr. Clayton Allen Hubbs, Transitions Abroad magazine was the only print publication dedicated to work, study, living, volunteering, and immersion travel abroad. Its purpose — in print and now as a Webzine — is the dissemination of practical information leading to a greater understanding of other cultures through direct participation in the daily life of the host community.