An old friend who is currently traveling the world for a few years (was going to be one year traveling, but he extended it) has let me in on his secret to cheap airfare travel, basically how he gets his plane tickets cheap.

He’s not a rich person, never known him to travel with a 1st class ticket, though I know he earns enough money online without having to work (not sure how) to be able to take time off to travel.

After receiving another email from him while he was traveling to Africa for I think the third time this year! He emailed me on the plane again, think he does it to show off as he knows I’m lucky to afford two short holidays a year.

This time he’s on his way to Botswana to explore the Okavango Delta then on to Namibia for some kind of wildlife reserve and to finish of Africa visit Mount Kilimanjaro which I think is in Kenya!

I decided to ask him how he can afford to do what he does, how does he afford the airfare tickets to so many places?

He was quite candid in his response and we got to chatting online about how he manages to travel to so many exotic locations for so little money by air! Traveling to see wild life isn’t really my thing, I prefer ancient ruins like the pyramids in Egypt, palaces/temples in Tibet or even prehistoric caving in France.

As we all know the biggest cost in traveling is the airfare tickets (and it’s getting worse), Bernard (my friend, though I call him Bernie) confirmed the biggest cost is air travel tickets since the countries he tends to travel to the cost of living is far lower than where he lives.

Basically once he gets to a country paying for food and accommodation is easy from the money he makes online (I must ask him what he does as I wouldn’t mind traveling a few years without having to work :)).

Anyway, Bernie told me about a book about cheap airfare travel only available online that’s written by a sacked travel agent! Apparently this travel agent got pissed off about being given the boot so wrote a book revealing industry travel secrets about cheap airfare travel etc… and keeps the book updated with how/where to get cheap flights etc… No idea if the sacked travel agent bit is true, sounds like a marketing ploy to me, but as long as the cheap travel secrets are useful, I don’t care if it’s a sacked travel agent or a teenager with his Dad’s lap top (OK maybe I’d worry then :)).

I’m planning on a two week vacation mid September 2008 to Egypt to see the pyramids (for the first time) and so was interested in cheaper airfares: with how things are going might not even be able to afford to leave the country!

I needed to be sure I’d be able to book my air ticket in advance: I can’t drop everything at a moments notice like Bernie can and travel to whatever country is cheap that day, has to be a specific country (and airfield) on a particular day (when my planned vacation starts). He assured me this was possible and the money I’d save on the one return airfare ticket would easily reimburse me for the cost of the online book.

I was still skeptical, but he’s never led me wrong before so bought the book from the website My AirFare Secrets (the books called “Save on Airfare Secrets”).

I’ve had the book a couple of weeks now and have been checking out the cheap travel information and discussing my findings with Bernie to confirm I understand everything correctly and OMG, this is going to save me a fortune on airfare tickets, hotel bills, car rental and even food!

It’s no wonder Bernie decided to extend his world travel vacation, he must spend less a week living while traveling the globe than I do stuck at home watching reruns on TV.

Even with this cheap travel guide I still couldn’t afford to do what Bernie does, (I have to work for a living) but I think if I save as much on the travel tickets as I’m estimating in September I should be able to afford three and maybe even four vacations a year (normally have two vacations).

You will be pleasantly surprised at the savings possible, I would find a great airfare ticket deal and email Bernie to confirm I’d understood things correctly, the airfares are way too cheap (Bernie had a few good laughs at my expense :))

If you go on just one vacation a year and travel abroad, the information within Save on Airfare Secrets will save you a big chunk of cash, no BS.

I’ll add an update here in September how things go with my Egyptian vacation: I am so looking forward to this, been wanting to travel to see the pyramids for almost 10 years so well over due.

Egypt Vacation Picture

Update: As planned I went on my Egyptian vacation (got back late last week) and the country is even better than I could have ever imagined, the people are so friendly and interesting (I must go again).

I used half a dozen tips from the Save on Airfare Secrets book and estimate I saved over $2,000 on the trip from cheaper flights, cheaper hotel rooms and even cheaper car hire! Like I said above if I saved enough from this vacation I might be able to go on three vacations a year rather than two. Well if I save a similar amount on my next vacation AND I can wangle another two weeks off from my boss I’ll be able to afford a third vacation next year :)

The image to the right in one of my vacation photos, click the image to see a full size version.