Given a week of hiatus for writing articles, I'd like to write based on my own experience after having a holiday with five tips for a holiday with a low budget.

1. Spend your holiday with your friend at that person's home town - If I had only one tip to give, this will be the tip that will give you great discounts. Chances will be good that you will get free accomodation. If not, you will be informed of the inexpensive lodging. Since it is your friend's home town, your friend will be familiar with all of the tourist attractions and the price of goods and services in the area. It's an added bonus if your friend has a lot of free time. You essentially have a tour guide who will not rip you off and someone who can take pictures of you in the attractions.

I applied this tip in my trip to Zamboanga of June 2007. It was really a pleasurable experience to have your friend with you in your holiday.

Unless you have friends overseas, this tip is much more applicable for domestic trips. If you want to be adventurous, you can befriend foreigners online.

2. Take advantage of discounted trips - This is an obvious discount since transportation to your destination is generally expensive. The things to watch out for are the following:

• Off peak or off season - The discounts may be only applicable during the off peak season so the destinations are not clogged with people. If you have a lot of free time, going off peak would be beneficial. The major downside is that the tourist attractions in the destination are only available for a specific season. Who would want to go to a ski resort during summer?
• Must be booked in advance - This is another condition for discounts. If it is the first time to go to a destination, the condition is negligible, because you will be forced to plan. Besides, if you want to have a long holiday, you need to file for vacation leave in advance.
• Premium Class / Volume Purchase - Occassionaly, they offer discounts for the higher classes like business class and first class. It will be beneficial if you can get the volume purchase which translates to more value for money. Holidays are expensive anyway, so it would be better if you have more people with you to savor the experience.

I have taken advantage of this tip everytime. The Coron trip was a 2 for 1 offer for a premium class. I could not imagine travelling on a ferry in the economy class, where the sleeping area is like a barracks. The Zamboanga trip was inexpensive because I used my dad's frequent flyer miles. I booked it in advance, and the challenge of going there in June is because of the rainy seasons. I was fortunate that there was no rain.

3. Research on the tourist attractions - If you do not have a friend or you are going on an unfamiliar area, nothing beats preparation and research. Good sources of information are the following:

• Internet - This should be your first source of quick information.
• Friends or relatives who have been to the destination - This would be one reason why you would want to travel to a place in the first place. Their experience may biased towards their preferences but ultimately, they have already been to the place so they are an authority to give their opinions.

I have not been aggressively researching since I have had the benefit of having my friends or my mom join me in the trips.

4. Join other tourists like you - Many backpackers have been doing this for years. The backpackers have been a travelling community across the world. They instinctively unite when they go to particular places. This is similar to tip #1 to some extent. This is another way in cutting costs when sharing resources.

My mom and I were fortunate to join a couple of tourists to Coron. We got to share costs on the boat rentals. Most importantly, if not for them we wouldn't have digital pictures from their cameras.

5. Talk to locals for information - This is similar to tip #1. The best people to talk to are from the local tourism department because they will be aware that the locals might not understand your language. Other people you can talk to are employees where you are staying. Just make sure you tip them well for serving you well.

My mom and I got the best deals in the boat rentals if not for the person we got to talk to in a lodging house. Even though we didn't get to stay in their lodging, she was willing to share the information so we got to experience more of Coron. She was very accomodating and was eager to promote Coron to us.

I hope these simple tips would help you cut down on costs on your next trip.