Readers share their tips for saving travel money

Lots of our readers have offered ideas on how to save money when traveling — especially in these days of high fuel costs and a plunging dollar.

Here are a few of them:

My friends and I saved money during our latest trip to Ireland by planning on staying at B&Bs. They offer loads of food in the morning, very filling Irish breakfasts that will keep you fueled longer into your day. We also brought with us a few of our favorite cereal or granola bars to have at lunch and keep the cost of food down. For dinner, full pub-grub dinners are very filling and affordable instead of eating at more formal restaurants.

— Joemarie, Everett

We just got done traveling to Cambodia and Bangkok. For a full five days in Siem Reap for four people, including guesthouse, driver for three days, tuk-tuk for one day and food, we spent about $600 U.S. Since in Cambodia the currency is basically the U.S. dollar, pricing is easy to figure out.

The airfare would by far be the most expensive item. We planned our trip several months in advance and bought through Thai Airways when they were having a sale, and then through Bangkok Air for the round trip from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. Bus is much cheaper, but we were under a time constraint. We live in Hong Kong right now, so admittedly we pay less than flying from the States. However, there are ways to get here. Oasis airlines flies to Hong Kong nonstop from Vancouver B.C.; discount airline, but we have had great service. Flying to the rest of Southeast Asia is easy either from Hong Kong or from Shenzhen, which is easily accessed from the Hong Kong airport via bus or ferry, or Singapore and Bangkok as well.

Southeast Asia is an amazing place — use this chance to explore some different sorts of places.

— Piratequeen, Hong Kong

We just finished an around-the-world trip over the past 10 months. One of the best money savers, and coolest programs ever, is something called Couchsurfing — www.couchsurfing.com. We signed up before we left.

— Molly and Ken, Seattle

I've found that most everywhere I've traveled in Canada, Mexico and Western Europe, the university districts offer great values for food/drink/lodging if you don't mind patronizing establishments that are a little tattered around the edges. And an added bonus for mono-linguists is that almost all college students speak English, which helps create a stimulating conversational environment for the friendly international traveler.

— Marco, Redmond

Living in the U.K., and just to the west of London, I am able to take advantage of the 2-for-1 London attraction offers when I travel via rail into the city. This offer includes attractions such as the Tower of London, Kew Gardens, Madame Tussauds, St Paul's and many more attractions, including shows and restaurants. With my partner in tow, I simply present the coupon printed from the Web site and two valid train tickets, and we do a 2-for-1 entry, saving us lots of money.

Now, as a tourist, one is usually unable to take advantage of such offers, as tube tickets are not accepted. However, Tube Travelcards are. Buy a one, three or weekly travelcard for the tube (get the off-peak and travel after 9.30, saving £1.50), and simply present those along with the coupon.

— Seattle Girl Abroad, London