In this world of ever rising costs, its hard to imagine that travelling could be a low cost endeavor. After all, if it take your 50 dollars worth of gas just to get around town, how could getting to Paris be possible with only a couple hundred?

Well first lets talk about the three biggest costs of any trip: transportation, accommodations and food. These costs will either be your budget busters or the savior of your vacation. My personal rule of thumb is that if you can keep two of the three costs down to the bear bones, then you can splurge on the last one, or if you're very poor, but have to satisfy your wanderlust than go frugal on all three.

Accommodations

Lets face it, hotels are not cheap. You can find some discounted hotel prices at places like priceline or orbitz, but in most places the best rates you'll get will still run between 50 and 90 dollars a night, depending on your locations.

Do you know someone who lives in the area? If you do there is always the option of crashing with them during your trip. Remember that if you do this, then you are a house guest, so act like it. Don't come in at three in the morning when you know your host has to get up for work at six. Try to be respectful of others space and things. Generally speaking ,act like the kind of guest you would want to have in your home.

So what are your alternatives? Well if your nature minded, you could just camp out. The rates for camp sites are often much cheaper than hotels, depending on your location and length of stay, camping could cost you as little as 10 or 20 dollars a night. To find listing of campgrounds you can visit the All Campgrounds.

Another great option is hosteling. Many Americans aren't familiar with hosteling, a longstanding tradition in Europe. A hostel is like a hotel in that they give you a place to stay, but often the rooms are not private and comfort services like turn down, laundry and free food generally don't exist. There usually small places where you can get to know people from a variety of places. To find information about or locations of hostels near your travel location you can visit Curious Cat hostel links (: London, NYC, Paris, Rome).

Transportation

Flights are obviously the most expensive methods of transportation out there. To get deals on these flights you can use the big sites like Travelocity or Orbitz but there are some smaller sites that specialize in air travel that may be of some help to you. Places like Cheap Seats or the site for your airline of choice may be helpful in finding a better deal. Farecast, a new service, can help you time your ticket purchase (blog post on farecast).

Well, now your there, and you need to get around. You could rent a car, but unless your visiting somewhere very isolated, you should take a look at the public transportation system. Buses, trains and other public transportation not only save you money, but are also environmentally friendly.

If you've chosen to drive to your vacation destination, you can get directions for free from many places. First and foremost, you can use the online direction sites like Mapquest.

If you don't trust the online sites and you know someone with AAA then ask them to get you a custom map called a trip tik. You can find out more information about these from the AAA.

Food

So, now you're wondering how you can save on food. You pretty much have to eat out while you're on vacation don't you? Not always.

If you've chosen the camping route then you can stop by a local grocery store and cook over the fire some nights. Just be sure to buy foods that wont spoil easily and if you have the extra money, invest in a cheap cooler with some ice.

If you aren't camping, try and eat one meal light or on the go. A bagel with cream cheese for breakfast costs a less than sitting down to a full plate of eggs, bacon and pancakes. Also, generally speaking a chicken sandwich from a fast food place, or local outdoor stand will cost less than in a restaurant.

When you must, or really want to go to a restaurant, try to stay out of the tourist areas, provided that this doesn't take you into an unsafe area. The food right on the beach is likely to be a lot more expensive than the food five blocks inland.

Other Expenses

Lets talk about the other expenses that are associated with travel. Many people buy travel insurance, but depending on your deal with your airline or credit card company you may already have some travel insurance.

Luggage, you don't need no stinking luggage. If you have a back pack or a duffel bag then you can substitute that for a more formal bag.

If you don't speak the language then you will most likely need to know at least a few key phrases to get by. There is no need to invest in a class, or even in those 30 dollar taped from Barnes and noble. BBC Languages offers some basic language training you can take, and many web sites offer a free set of useful phrases, just click print. If you really want to learn more in depth, then consider you local library.

The library is also an excellent place to visit if you are in search of a travel guide. If your local branch doesn't have one on your destination of choice ask for an inter library loan. Most of the time this request can be accommodated. If you want to buy a guide Curious Cat Travel Books offers a huge selection - many at discounts.

Finally, if you're staying somewhere for a long time then pack light and buy some laundry detergent. Your back will thank you and you'll save on the cost of buying a second bag.