Travel Manual To see the Most ... Quick, and Cheap.  

In simple terms, my strategy is to take out a map, and see how much I can humanly see in one day. Yes, some things will be rushed ... and no, you won't be lounging out on a beach, or eating a three hour meal. Like I said, if that's your vacation strategy, then don't read anything I have to say ... it will only anger you.

Start with an objective. Let's say you have 5 days ... and you really want to see the Grand Canyon. Start there. Now, look at whatever there is in a 1000 mile radius. You might find Vegas, the Arches, Santa Fe, Yosemite ... whatever your objectives are. Star them. Next, map the driving directions ... you can use www.mapquest.com, or any other similar program. This works in Europe too ... I mean, if you are in Paris, might as well take the four hour train to Amsterdam, right?

Once you find your 1,000 mile radius, now it's time to see which airports are close by. However, you need to price things out depending on the airport. I recommend, www.kayak.com for that. For instance, flying into Santa Fe is way more expensive than flying into Albuquerque. Also, returning your rental car to San Francisco, may be way more expensive than returning it to Oakland, before taking the subway to the airport. It's all a system of trial and error. However, I promise you ... you will see the most and pay the least if you:

1. Fly into the cheapest airport within 100 miles of where you want to start.

2. Get the cheapest one-way (or roundtrip) rental ... usually outside of an airport.

3. Stretch your map ... anything is possible.

4. Travel off peak where applicable ... I'd rather be cold or get wet than be near crowds or pay more for hotels.

Everything will be explained ... first, we must start with the most important component ... the rental car.

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