Today I will share with you know how to stay in cheap hotels in Singapore for less than $ 100 per night as well as a hotel search 1 “Cheaper than cheap hotels” but you have not never thought of no such cheap. Now you learn 7 tips that I mention below in.

1. Stay on a Weekday

Have you noticed that hotel room rates can vary like a roller coaster ride depending on which preferred check-in dates you select during the week?

The reason is simple.

Some hotels focus on serving the business travelers segment while others target the leisure segment. So you get cheap weekend rates in a business hotel while a leisure-class hotel will have much cheaper room rates during mid-week.

So be flexible with your travel dates and switch your period of stay when you do your hotel booking. It is also highly recommended to stay at business hotels if you are coming to Singapore just for the weekend.

If you are concerned about amenities and accessibility, you will be glad to know that many business hotels are located near MRT train stations, equipped with great amenities like free WiFi, fitness centers and swimming pools.

2. Book During Off-Peak

One of the easiest ways to save on your hotel accommodation in Singapore is to plan your visit to coincide with the off-peak seasons. Prior to these off-peak seasons, hotels will be offering a lot of promotions to fill up their rooms for the lull periods.

The best time to snag a heavily discounted hotel room on popular hotel booking sites, such as Agoda or Booking.com, is usually one month before the off-peak seasons listed below. Some hotels in Singapore are known to offer up to 60% discount during these periods.

The seasons to enjoy off-peak hotel deals in Singapore are:

1. August to October (BUT avoid the F1 Singapore GP period in September)
2. March to May

3. Look for Hotels Outside of City Center

In Singapore, there are certain districts heavily populated with budget hotels to cater for the cost-conscious travelers.

The hotels in these districts can offer low room rates because they are located further away from the city center, major business districts and shopping areas. However they still remain accessible as most of these hotels are located within walking distance to MRT train stations.

To locate the hotel, you just need to filter the results hotel (after you have selected on check-in) use the options are often called “Hotel Area” or “county” is looking found on the hotel booking engine.

Some of the districts in Singapore you can consider are:

1. Geylang / Joo Chiat
2. Changi
3. Lavender / Kallang
4. Little India
5. Chinatown

Alternatively, you can also filter your hotel results using “Star Rating” option to only display 2-star rating for hotelsbelow $100 per night or 1-star rating for hostels.

4. Search for Budget (below $100) Hotel Chains

If you want to be assured of clean rooms, good housekeeping and practical amenities such as free WiFi and laundry services, use this tip to filter your results to established budget hotel chains in Singapore.

There are three big economy-tier hotel chains in Singapore: Hotel 81, Fragrance Hotel and Santa Grand Hotels. Between them, they have more than 50 budget hotels located all over Singapore and most of the rooms are less than $100 per room per night.

You just need to apply the filter option “Hotel Brands” or “Chains” on your search results to display only properties from these hotel chains.

5. Take Advantage of “Cheaper than Cheap” Hotel Rooms

This method is used by smart travelers to find an alternative source of “cheaper than cheap” hotel rooms in Singapore.

This alternative source is – private rooms in hostels. These private rooms in hostels are often overlooked by normal travelers as hostels are usually perceived to be filthy, noisy, have a lack of privacy, and they are just for the “young and adventurous”.

Nothing is further from the truth!

Many hostels in Singapore are clean, modern, and well-managed. In fact, some hostels are equipped with amenities such as Nespresso machines and outdoor tanning decks.

These hostels have rooms that can accommodate everything from a single traveler to a group of four. Most of these rooms can be booked for less than $50 per night.

10 Ways to Survive a Long-Haul Flight

Hearing about a recent IndependentTraveler.com staff discussion concerning the world's longest flightsmade me remember my first true long-haul flight toSydney, Australia, for the 2000 Summer Olympics. About six hours into the 15-hour flight, I was feeling strong and confident. I clearly remember thinking, "Six hours down, nine to go. No sweat, I got this."

Four long, boring hours later, it was a different story; you could have poured me into a bucket. "Five hours to go? I don't got this."

But get there I did. Unfortunately, that meant I had to get back as well, a flight on which I made a serious tactical error, which led to misery for me and entertainment for my friends on the flight -- about which I will tell more in due course.

However, not all long-haul flights have to be miserable; on one direct flight from Tokyo to New York, I was nearing the end of a book I was enjoying immensely, and remember distinctly thinking, "No, no, just a little more time!" when the pilot told us over the in-flight PA that we had started our final descent. Here are 10 tips for preventing boredom, dehydration, deep-vein thrombosis, sleep deprivation and more so you can confidently say "I got this" the next time you are imprisoned in a metal tube for an entire waking day of your life.

1. Upgrade.

When traveling long-haul, you have no better friend on the planet than your frequent flier miles. On the Tokyo - Newark flight I was disappointed to see come to an end, I enlisted the help of my travel agent to find flights on which I could burn up all of my Continental miles to upgrade my entire trip. It meant catching puddle jumpers to my final destination in Japan (Gifu), but a couple of short extra flights were a small price to pay for 27 hours of first-class legroom, fully reclining chairs, edible meals, entertainment and breathing space.

If you stop reading at this point in the article, you almost need to know nothing more than this -- by hook or crook, try to get an upgrade. (Even Dr. Timothy Hosea, from whom you will hear below, offered this as his first and most important suggestion.)

 First Class for Free: How to Get an Airline Upgrade

2. Escape.

You will want to have a rock-solid plan for frittering away several hours of your flight, and I don't mean working; staring at spreadsheets and writing proposals may burn up hours, but it does not make them vanish. You want these hours to disappear almost without a trace. Think headphones and Hollywood blockbusters. Getting a lot of work done is fine -- rarely do you have 15 consecutive hours without a phone or email, so I encourage bringing some work -- but work will fail you when you get to the brutal middle hours of this ordeal. Headphones and Hollywood; don't stray from this.

Spring for the airline's headphones, pay for and watch every movie, swipe your card for the DIRECTV, bring your iPad crammed with your favorite flicks -- whatever it takes.

 Nine Must-Dos Before a Long-Haul Flight

3. Don't carry on too much stuff.

While checked baggage fees are inspiring travelers to carry on more and more stuff, on a long-haul flight this could burn you; anything that is under the seat in front of you just means less legroom and a more cramped living space for 15 or 16 hours. Don't bring so much on that you compete for your own sleeping space.

4. Bring your go-to gear.

When it comes to surviving flights, I am not a gear guy. I can't be bothered to lug around neck pillows, eye masks, earplugs, noise-canceling headphones, etc. -- except on a long-haul flight. As I note above, your total carry-on haul should be limited, but you may want to consider some of these relatively small survival tools. Your body and brain will thank you for every small comfort you can provide, and the inconvenience of packing and carrying these around is dwarfed by the misery of 15 hours in flight with crying children, pilot announcements, engine noise and a major crick in your neck. Gear up.

5. Board relatively rested.

Don't count on a long-haul flight as a good place to catch up on sleep -- it's not. As attractive and intuitive as it seems to get on a long-haul flight extremely tired, hoping to sleep the whole way, you are in for a world of hurt if you can't sleep for any reason. You will be on the plane long enough to catch a few winks even if you are somewhat rested, and my advice is to take it when it comes; if your eyes start to droop, get out the eye covers and earplugs, and go with it. If you throw away a solid two-hour nap on a few extra rounds of Angry Birds, you might well be angry at yourself later.

6. Secure your stuff.

A long-haul flight gives unscrupulous travelers all the more time to size up the location of your wallet, wait until you fall asleep and make a move on your luggage. Secure your valuables deep inside your bags where it would take a TSA X-ray machine to find them. Consider keeping items like your passport, credit cards and cash in a money belt under your clothes.

 Seven Ways to Keep Your Stuff Safe When You Fly

7. Consider a sleep aid.

If you are planning to use sleep aids (including "natural" methods such as melatonin, or drugs such as Ambien), try them before you fly with them. A few years ago a friend gave me an Ambien pill for a red-eye flight from Honolulu to New York City, and the drug acted more like a stimulant than a sleep aid. I was awake the entire flight and felt wretched to boot. These drugs can vary greatly in how they affect individuals, so you will want to try them at home before you rely on them on the plane.

Dr. Timothy Hosea, team physician and Chair of the Sports Medicine and Research Committee for the United States national rowing teams, sometimes prescribes sleep aids for his athletes, but notes, "If you feel you need a sleep aid but haven't used those drugs before, you should probably try taking Tylenol PM or Benadryl. A prescription is fine with your doctor's approval, but don't experiment on a long flight; [the plane won't] stop for you!"

Dr. Hosea also says that, as the team doctor, he does not take any medication while flying with the squad in case someone needs care. "I bring a book, watch the movies and try to let the flight pass," he says. His approach is appropriate for other travelers who need to have their wits about them, such as folks flying with children, for example. If someone could potentially need you to be 100 percent during the flight, you should forgo any sleep medication.

 Tips for Sleeping on Planes

8. Use SeatGuru.

On the flight back from Sydney mentioned above, I called ahead to get my seat reassigned to an exit row -- big mistake. Unbeknownst to me, the exit row seat I chose was a window seat at one of the big, thick exit doors, which encroached on my leg area such that I had to sit sideways in the seat for the entire flight. It was also more like an "exit aisle," located right at a restroom, so there was endless and noisy foot traffic the entire flight. I was lucky that the rest of the row was empty, but it wasn't much help; the armrests did not go up, so I couldn't lie across the three seats in the aisle.

Needless to say, mine would have been a "yellow" or even "red" seat on the SeatGuru seating chart if it had existed in 2000 (the site was launched the following year). Eventually I went around the aircraft collecting all the unused pillows and blankets I could find, piled them up in each of the three seats, and created a workable (but in truth not very comfortable) platform across all three seats -- and got a very few winks of sleep during the flight. I guess it was fairly comical, as friends all took pictures of me during the flight for their amusement. Glad you had a fun flight, guys.

Before you choose, also think hard about your usual preference of exit vs. aisle seat; it may be different on a long-haul flight than on a shorter flight. If you usually choose an aisle seat, consider whether you want your long, Ambien-enhanced sleep to be interrupted by an aisle mate; similarly, if you usually choose a window, you could get trapped in there by a snoring person in a prescription drug-induced stupor.

 Get Our Best Travel Deals and Tips!

9. Ask about seats at the gate.

Failing the ability to choose great seats before your flight, try again at the gate. If the flight is not full, the gate agent may be able to see an empty row, or put you and a traveling partner in a "window and aisle" configuration that reduces the likelihood of having someone sit in the middle seat, thereby getting you a seat and a half, at least.

10. Take care of your health.

Hydration: If you think hydration is a concern on a cross-country flight, try tripling or quadrupling your time in the air; you might as well spend 15 hours lying on the desert floor. Which is a good comparison, and you should stock up and behave accordingly. Imagine you are going to walk from Flagstaff to Winona, Arizona. How much water would you bring? Expect to drink about that much on a 16-hour flight.

Dr. Hosea recommends drinking "electrolyte solutions, Gatorade being the best known, instead of solely water." Hosea says that maintaining electrolyte balance is important, and that you don't want to become completely diluted with water, particularly for older folks or people with other medical problems. "The combination of dehydration and stasis is really the issue with blood clots," he explains.

 How to Fight Jet Lag

Deep vein thrombosis: DVT, the formation of blood clots in deep veins, is a known (if occasionally overstated) risk on longer flights. According to the National Institutes of Health, the risk of developing DVT increases when flights go longer than four hours. The NIH's tips include walking up and down the aisles of the plane; moving, flexing and stretching your legs to encourage blood flow, especially in your calves; wearing loose and comfortable clothing; drinking plenty of fluids; and avoiding alcohol. Also, if you're at increased risk for DVT, your doctor may recommend wearing compression stockings while traveling or taking a blood-thinning medicine before you fly.

Dr. Hosea notes that the combination of being immobile along with the effects of dehydration increases the risk of DVT on long flights. He strongly recommends the following to the teams during long trips:

- Hydrate well the night before the flight, preferably with electrolyte drinks.

- Don't drink alcohol the night before the flight.

- Avoid diuretics such as coffee, soft drinks and even chocolate (all of which contain caffeine).

- If you have no issue with ulcers, take a baby aspirin the night before and day of your flight.

- Get an aisle seat or exit row so you can get up and walk around whenever possible.

Susan Francia, an Olympic gold medalist in rowing, has taken to wearing compression socks on long flights to competitions, although she has stopped short of wearing a full body suit. (Hosea discounts the need for the body suit as well: "You are really worried only about your ankles and calves.") Francia has noticed a positive effect from the compression socks, which Hosea notes can be simple "support hose."

"I did notice that my ankles were smaller," Francia says, "probably because they were mashed into old lady socks!"

Colds, the flu, bacteria, etc.: As I wrote in Avoiding the Airplane Cold, it isn't "air quality" that is of concern when you are flying, or recycled air, or anything of the sort -- it is your body's compromised ability to deal with normal bacteria and viruses that puts you in danger of getting sick after a flight.

That is not to say that the general environment on a plane doesn't add to your risk of getting sick. Recent studies have found that the water coming out of aircraft sink faucets is often rife with bacteria from sitting in murky holding bins; that the seats, pillows and blankets on planes are more germ-ridden than your laundry basket; that your tray table is probably dirtier than your own bathroom floor; and that the seatback pockets -- well, you don't even want to know, apparently.

Francia recalls a flight on the way to the Rowing World Championships last year where she considered wearing a face mask; the entire U.S. rowing team had contracted the swine flu on a World Cup trip earlier that summer, and she was being cautious. Francia asked a flight attendant what she thought. "Good idea, but it won't help," was the verdict. There is just too much stuff all around you to win that war. In the end, your best strategy is to bring along some bacteria-killing wipes, clean up your seat area as best you can and relax; there's not much more you can do.

Let's face it: electrolytes, compression socks, movie after movie, and aspirin don't change the fact that you are stuck inside a metal can for a whole day. Just keep reminding yourself that this too shall pass -- although I recommend saving your "I got this" until the wheels touch the ground.

Get the Best Exchange Rate

Between commissions, credit card surcharges, ATM fees and other expenses, you'll almost always have to pay a little extra for the privilege of exchanging one currency for another. How can you minimize these expenses and get the best exchange rate when traveling in a foreign country? Read on to learn how to evaluate exchange rates, avoid pesky fees and stretch your money further on your next trip abroad.

Research Your Rate
The only way to know if you are getting the best exchange rate is to know what the current rate is! Before you leave for your trip, check out our handy currency converter below for an idea of what exchange rate to expect. If you're taking an extended trip, check the rate periodically to stay abreast of any major changes.

Use Credit and ATM Cards
You will almost always get the best interbank exchange rate when buying foreign currency with either ATM cards or credit cards, which will usually be 2 to 7 percent better than the rates you'll get when exchanging cash or traveler's checks. Try to use credit cards whenever possible for large purchases such as hotel bills, tickets and car rentals. However, keep in mind that many credit card companies add fees for transactions made in foreign currencies. (Capital One and select Citi and Chase cards are among the few credit cards that don't.) Local vendors such as restaurants and shops may also charge a fee for credit card transactions. Read more about avoiding fees and using credit cards wisely in The Best Way to Carry Money Overseas.

If ATM's are easily accessible in the country you're visiting, we recommend using your ATM card for day-to-day cash needs. But again, remember that your bank (and the local bank) may charge you an additional fee for each transaction -- making it generally a good idea to take out as much money at a time as you feel comfortable carrying, rather than making multiple stops at the ATM. For more information, see ATM's Abroad.

 Money Safety Tips for Travelers

Exchanging Cash and Traveler's Checks
When exchanging cash or traveler's checks, most of the time it is better to exchange your money in the country you're going to, not in the U.S. An exception to this might be if you are convinced the dollar is going to head sharply lower while you are gone and you want to exchange at the current rate. For tips on buying currency in advance, see Buying Foreign Currency: Get More Bang for Your Buck.

You will usually get the best exchange rates at banks, post offices and American Express offices. Hotels are also worth a try. Avoid the change bureaus you see everywhere in airports, train stations and touristy areas. They usually have the worst rates, though occasionally you'll get lucky.

Wherever you go, take the time to shop around. Read the posted exchange rates carefully, and ask for the net rate after commissions. Some commissions are charged on a per-item basis on each transaction, others on a percentage basis. To lure customers, some money changers will post the sell rate for U.S. dollars rather than the buy rate (which is what you will want if you are exchanging U.S. dollars into foreign currency). Another popular tactic is to list a great rate that is only available for traveler's checks or very large quantities of money (thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars). You usually will not run into this problem at reputable banks or government-run post offices.

Finally, be very wary of black market exchanges, which can be a source of scams or counterfeit currency.

When Not to Exchange
U.S. dollars may be accepted as readily as the local currency in certain countries. For instance, the currencies in Belize, Barbados, the Bahamas and other Caribbean nations are pegged to the U.S. dollar at fixed rates, making it easy to pay for your purchases in either American money or the local currency. If you're traveling to a place where the exchange rate is fixed, you may be better off paying in your own currency so that you don't lose money on commissions or credit card fees.

What Not to Do in a New City

Any visit to a new city is defined -- and driven -- by a long list of do's. Most likely, you will want to do the museums, do a few tours, do dinner and drinks, basically do everything you possibly can before the vacation clock runs out. To paraphrase a popular saying: You can do nothing when you're back home.

Sometimes, though, you need to slip a don't into your trip, just to keep you safe and savvy.

Despite the adverse ring to the word, our tips aren't limiting or nagging. Quite the contrary. Our five suggestions -- part insider information, part concerned parent -- will make you a smarter urbanite capable of navigating virgin territory like a seasoned pro. Most importantly, our guiding light of don'ts will expand your list of gotta-do's.

1. Don't Always Pay

Cities, especially the most expensive ones (think Oslo, Geneva, Zurich, Copenhagen, Stockholm...), inhale your money like a vacuum cleaner set on high. To protect your money purse, take advantage of a destination's more giving side. (Read: Free attractions.)

Gratis activities are ubiquitous if you know where to look. Flea, antique and farmers' markets are often free for idle wanderers, as are many art galleries, outdoor festivals and parks -- such as Tiergarten in Berlin and San Francisco's Golden Gate National Recreation Area, for instance. Most cities offer a handful of museums and monuments that don't charge admission. In Washington D.C., the Smithsonian museums and national memorials don't want your money. Ditto for the Getty Center in Los Angeles and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

 25 Ways to Save Money in Europe

Many institutions that do exact a fee will set aside complimentary days or hours. New York's Museum of Modern Art waives the charge Fridays from 4 to 8 p.m.; at the Louvre in Paris, visitors can hang onto their euros the first Sunday of each month from October through March. Guests under age 26 also enter for free on Fridays from 6 to 9:45 p.m.

If you are a student, teacher, senior or member of the military, always carry ID; freebies or discounts may drop into your lap.

To further treat your wallet to a break, snag free audience tickets to a TV show taping -- "The View," "The Daily Show," "The Price Is Right" -- in New York or Los Angeles. For the game show, you might even return home with a tidy profit. Or tag along on a free tour, such as Free Tours by Foot, which operates "pay what you wish" excursions in several cities including London, Paris and Washington D.C. (Keep in mind that tips are often appreciated even if the tour itself is free.)

For events and attractions of this ilk, check the websites of city tourism offices as well as such gadabout publications as Time Out. Alternative newsweeklies also list events that cater to penniless artists and students. For techie travelers, many smartphone apps highlight gratis diversions, such as the "Top 25 San Francisco Attractions Guide & Free Things To Do" (available for iPhones and iPads). If the app itself is free, all the better.

2. Don't Hail a Cab

It's so easy to snag a cab: Wag a hand, and seconds later a blur of yellow will screech to a stop. However, moving around a city in a taxi can be costly and, frankly, hair-raising. For a more local experience and a potentially quicker pony ride (especially at rush hour), take public transportation.

In New York or Beijing, hop on the subway; in Boston, the T; in Chicago, the L; in Washington, Los Angeles and Paris, the Metro; in London, the iconic Tube. If you plan to bounce all over the place, purchase an all-day or multi-day pass.

Another fanciful way to travel is to make like Cap'n Crunch and hit the water. In New York City, ferries ply the Hudson and East rivers. The boats pick up and drop off seaworthy passengers in Brooklyn, Queens, Wall Street, Midtown East and West, and New Jersey, depending on the body of water. You can also travel via liquid highway in Amsterdam and Boston. (Venice, of course, goes without saying.)

If you're looking for an adrenaline rush, strap yourself into a pedi-cab. The bike-drawn carriages, now available in many major urban centers around the world, have all the guts and gumption of bike couriers -- but with more comfortable seating. Warning: Keep your hands inside the vehicle or you could end up banging them on a stop sign or passing cow.

When traveling to/from the airport, just say no to the cabbie. There are quicker and cheaper alternatives that don't require the unnerving Meter Watch. Trains, buses and/or shared shuttles link most major airports with the nearest downtown area.

 Find Cheap Airfares to Cities Around the World

3. Don't Forget to Check -- and Book -- Events in Advance

Metropolitan centers are packed with millions of residents and many more millions of tourists, so it's no wonder that shows sell out and restaurants fill up. While some activities (stand-by theater tickets, for one) thrive in the last-minute rush, many events require a touch of pre-planning.

Numerous publications and official organizations promote activities far in advance, so that you can arrange accordingly. Check the calendars posted by tourism offices, cultural organizations, and in-the-know media outlets such as LA Weekly, the Village Voice, Time Out London, the Japan Times, etc. If you have specific interests in mind, go directly to that source, such as individual theaters for performing arts, Open Table for dining reservations or stadiums for sporting events.

4. Don't Forget Your Map

Mothers and cops know best: For safety's sake, familiarize yourself with your surroundings. You can avoid unsavory situations by returning to the timeless tradition of carrying a map.

The navigational tool will help you understand how the neighborhoods line up and prevent you from straying into shadowy areas. Pick up a map (standalone or in a guidebook) or a smartphone app that covers the entire metro area, plus outtakes of specific neighborhoods. The built-in iPhone map is handy when traveling within your own country, though to avoid roaming charges in international destinations, you may need to spring for an app.

Additionally, tourism offices typically provide printable maps on their websites. Most tourist centers and hotels also stock free maps for the taking.

 How to Create the Perfect Itinerary

5. Don't Overlook the Outlier Areas

Don't just spin circles inside the city center; break out and dance along the edges. In a city's suburbs and outer boroughs, you will stumble upon scenes that are often a dab more authentic, experimental or exotic.

For example, Dearborn, in the Detroit metro area, contains the Henry Ford Museum and factory tour as well as a sizable Arab-American community that is well represented by the Arab American National Museum and a slew of Middle Eastern eateries. Neuilly, which borders Paris, is a wealthy enclave of boutiques, cafes, street markets and the 18th-century Chateau de Neuilly, now a lush park. Tokyo's suburbs are sprinkled with shrines and temples, beaches and hiking trails.

You'd be remiss, and kicking yourself, for skipping the other boroughs of New York City outside of Manhattan. Brooklyn, for instance, is the dark prince of avant-garde arts and eats, particularly in the neighborhoods of DUMBO, Williamsburg and Bushwick. Queens is a world map of cultures, with nearly half the population foreign-born. (For example, one of the largest Greek populations outside of Greece lives in Astoria, which means lots of moussaka and tzatziki.) The Bronx has the famous zoo (one that features animals, another populated by wild Yankees fans), plus loads of green space (manicured and untamed) and blue expanses (the waterfront City Island).

For more inspirations, peruse the "Not For Tourists" guidebook series, which covers the trodden and less-trodden parts of select cities, including Amsterdam, New Orleans and Paris. Or ask the first hip locals you see where they live and then secretly tail them.

Keep Your Home Safe on Vacation: 9 Essential Tips

Murphy's Law for travelers: If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong while you're on vacation -- which is arguably the worst time a household calamity can strike. Coming home from your honeymoon, African safari or Mediterranean cruise can be gloomy. But returning from a memorable journey and learning something has gone seriously wrong at home can be downright devastating.

To make matters worse, a house or apartment left empty while its owners are traveling is a tempting target for criminals. We don't want to scare you -- or leave you fearing for your treasured belongings while basking on a Caribbean beach. But it's imperative that every traveler take certain key steps to keep his or her home safe and sound while seeing the world. Basic preventative measures (which take only minutes to complete) can work wonders to help you avoid power surges, broken pipes, home invasions and more.

1. Ask a Friend to Help

A simple, albeit crucial, way to gain peace of mind while traveling is to ask a friend or neighbor to keep an eye on your house while you're away. First, bribe your friend with some freshly baked cookies or cupcakes. Next, ask him or her to drive by your home once every day or so and check on the place. Give this person a key so that he or she can bring your mail in, feed your cat, water your plants, rake your leaves, etc. If you don't use a garage, you may also want to give this person a key to your car -- you never know when your vehicle may need to be moved. He or she should also have your contact information and a copy of your itinerary in case of emergencies.

Do you have more than one person visiting your house while you're away? If so, tell them about each other! If the neighbor you asked to keep an eye on your abode calls the police on your elderly cat sitter, don't say we didn't warn you.

You may want to consider using AWatchfulNeighbor.com, a subscription service that allows anyone who notices anything amiss about your home to notify you, even if you haven't asked them to keep an eye on things. The neighbor contacts the service, which then reaches out to you via phone, text or email. A subscription costs $50 a year.

2. Don't Tip Off Criminals on the Web

In a world where it seems everyone is blabbing about their business on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, it's important to stop and think: Who exactly is reading this stuff? The anonymity of the Internet can encourage us to share personal information without fully realizing that there may be hundreds of complete strangers receiving our daily musings. Would you announce to a crowd that you will be leaving your house unattended for two weeks this December? If not, then you should think twice about posting your detailed vacation plans on Twitter or Facebook -- especially if that information is visible to Internet users other than your friends and family (and it probably is).

Be careful what you say on your answering machine or voice mail too. Callers don't need to know that you're not home -- they just need to know that you can't come to the phone right now.

 Four Common Travel Disasters and How to Prevent Them

3. Do Tip Off the Police

Consider notifying the police if you're going on vacation. No need to let the cops know about a weekend getaway, but do call them if you're leaving town for longer than a week. It's possible the police may go out of their way to drive by your house while on patrol, especially if you live in a small town. If you have a security alarm, leave a house key and the code with someone you trust, and provide the police and alarm company with their name and phone number. You may also want to contact your local neighborhood watch program if there's one in your area.

4. Curtains Closed -- or Open?

Before you leave for vacation, you may decide to close your curtains to prevent people from peering inside your home to see whether you're there. However, closed curtains also stop those who aim to help -- the police, your neighbors or friends -- from seeing inside your house. So what's your best bet? Leave your curtains exactly as you usually keep them when you're home, since noticeable changes could hint that you're not around anymore -- especially if your curtains are uncharacteristically left closed for two weeks. Move expensive items, like jewelry or computers, out of plain sight if they're visible from the window.

 Seven Ways to Keep Your Stuff Safe When You Fly

5. The Lights Are on But No One's Home

Don't leave your lights on at home throughout your entire vacation in an effort to make it look like someone is in the house. Your electric bill will end up more costly than your mortgage, and, of course, leaving the lights on is not exactly "green" behavior. Plus, house lights blazing throughout the night might look a bit odd.

Instead, purchase a light switch timer that can turn your lights on and off automatically according to a programmed schedule. Criminals keeping an eye on your house will notice lights flipping on and off, and will probably assume someone is doing the flipping. Nextag.com offers a comprehensive list of light switch timers available online at a variety of price points.

6. Stop Your Mail

Either place a "stop" order on mail and newspapers (we also recommend this in 10 Things to Do Before You Travel), or arrange to have a friend or neighbor pick up your mail while you're away. Otherwise, a week's worth of papers piled on your front step could signal to criminals that this particular homeowner is out of town. It's easy to put your mail on hold at USPS.com.

7. Put That in Your Pipe

If you live in a cold region of the world and your pipes are in danger of freezing during winter, you have another compelling reason to leave a house key with a friend while you're traveling. Ask your friend to stop by and check your faucets. If he or she turns on a faucet and only a few drops of water come out, your pipes may be frozen.

Take other precautions like making sure your pipes are properly insulated or keeping your heat on while you're away. Show your key-bearing companion the location of the water main shut-off in case a pipe breaks.

 How Do You Keep Your Home Safe?

8. Pull the Plug

Unplug your television, computer, toaster oven and other appliances to protect them from power surges. Do this to save power as well. According to the Consumer Energy Center, many appliances use power even when they're turned off.

9. Remove Your Spare Key

That plastic rock isn't fooling anyone. If a criminal figures out you're away on vacation, it's likely that he or she will check your porch for a spare key. So reach under the mat, into the mailbox, above the door frame or into the flower pot and remove your spare key before you leave on your vacation.

Passport and Visa Expeditors

If you need a passport or visa in a hurry, you may want to consider consulting a passport or visa expeditor. These agencies will help you gather the required materials for your application, submit them to the embassy or passport office on your behalf, and ensure that your travel documents are processed as quickly as possible -- sometimes in as little as 24 hours. There is, of course, a fee for these services.

 Visit the Passport Center

When Should I Use an Expeditor?

The U.S. State Department offers expedited services for passports, though processing times vary depending on how busy the agency is; it can take anywhere from two to four weeks. If you are traveling within 14 days, you may make an appointment to submit your application in person at one of the regional passport agencies across the U.S. Appointments can be made by calling 877-487-2778.

If you don't live near one of the passport agencies, can't get time off work for an appointment or simply would rather have someone else deal with the hassle of submitting your paperwork, a passport expeditor may be your best bet.

Expeditors are also a good choice for last-minute visas; they can help you choose the right visa and navigate the sometimes complicated application process.

What Are the Fees?

Passports: A reasonable expeditor will charge a fee of roughly $80 - $100 for passports processed within 10 business days, with higher fees for faster service. To have a passport expedited within 24 hours, you should expect to pay between $200 and $300 to the expeditor. These rates are in addition to government fees and shipping costs.

Visas: Most visa expeditors will charge a service fee of $70 - $100 to process a tourist visa, and slightly more to process a business visa, for normal processing. The fee rises if you need expedited service. These charges come in addition to shipping fees and consulate fees, which vary greatly depending on your destination.

The U.S. State Department charges an expedite fee of $60 on top of its standard application fees ($135 for new passports and $110 for renewals), but expedited passports may take three to four weeks to process. You can check the current processing times online.

Caveats and Precautions: Be sure to compare fees to make sure you are getting the best deal. Some companies specialize in providing visas to certain countries, and will give you the best deal to those places in particular, but will have higher fees to other areas of the world.

Also, be careful to fill out all forms correctly! If you fail to provide the necessary information (for example, travel to some countries requires an invitation), your visa or passport will be denied and you will still have to pay the expeditor.

 In a Rush? This Passport Mistake Could Cost You

Passport and Visa Expeditors

Here are a few popular passport and visa expeditors:

A Briggs Passport & Visa Expeditors
(800) 806-0581

CIBT Visas
(800) 929-2428

G3 Visas & Passports
(888) 883-8472

PassportsandVisas.com
(800) 860-8610

PassportVisasExpress.com
(888) 596-6028

Travel Visa Pro
(866) 378-1722

Travisa
(800) 421-5468

Visa HQ
(800) 345-6541

How to Find the Perfect Hotel Online

Before a recent stay in a hotel near Boston, William Campbell wanted to map out some alternate local driving routes to and from the hotel so he would not be late for events during his stay. What he found in his search prompted a call to the hotel that greatly improved his stay there.

Specifically, Campbell was staying at the Crowne Plaza Newton, which, as he discovered when he looked closely, just happens to straddle the Massachusetts Pike. That is, the road goes directly under the hotel -- and under most of the hotel windows. Campbell called the hotel to ask if they could guarantee a room on one of the upper floors (it's a 12-story building) to minimize noise from cars and trucks barreling down the road below.

When booking travel, you more or less know what you are going to get when you book a flight or a car --the legacy airlines aren't really so different from one another, and an economy car is an economy car whether the rental car sign is yellow, white or green. But a bad or poorly located hotel can ruin a trip. It's the one booking item about which you will want to sleep well -- literally.

Campbell's research saved him a few noisy nights, but there are other critical pieces of the hotel puzzle you can find out with 15 to 20 minutes of research before booking. For instance, are there any restaurants within a very short walking distance? Is the neighborhood walkable and are the streets near the hotel safe and accessible? Do rooms on one side of the hotel have a better view? Is the hotel clean, up to date and in working order? Do you need a car or is the hotel close to useful public transportation? You get the idea.

The big problem with Web research is that the sheer abundance of stuff out there can make the research more daunting than the travel. After a few hours of reading mixed reviews, no one could blame you for simply giving in and taking your chances on the easiest/cheapest/closest hotel. To reduce the time, effort and enthusiasm you spend on hotel research, I'll share my relatively straightforward method for looking beyond price and availability, finding the right property, and getting the best room in the place.

Location, Location, Location
The old realtor's mantra applies directly to hotels; if you have to "live" there, you want to be in a safe, attractive location with easy access to restaurants, coffee shops, attractions, maybe a small park.

I suggest using Google Earth for this one -- among all the competing mapping applications, it seems to have the most complete quick snapshot of an immediate area available. The checkbox "Layers" option allows you to toggle various amenities on and off: coffee shops, restaurants by type of food, banks/ATM's, gas stations, grocery stores, pharmacies, parks, malls, churches and many more.

Where available, the Street View option offers 360-degree snapshots of the neighborhood, which can tell you a lot: whether it's clean or grubby, busy or quiet, populated or more like a strip mall zone. These are things that just a couple of years ago you had to take on faith, and didn't really know until you arrived.

Room Choice
Even in the best hotels, all rooms are not created equal, and traditionally it has been very hard to tell the best rooms from the worst before you have already checked in. Changing rooms is a stressful hassle -- by the time you arrive at a hotel, mostly you just want to put down your bags and decompress from all your travels, not tromp back down to the front desk for a run-in with hotel staff.

To figure out your room choice at the time of booking, I suggest using Bing's bird's eye mapping utility. This app features what are perhaps better called "helicopter views" of an area, as if a 360-degree camera were mounted on the bottom of a helicopter. Viewing a hotel while using this application, you will see very quickly if some rooms face a rock quarry, while others face a park; if there are "courtyard" rooms that may be quieter, but could also be much darker; or if there are street-level rooms, rooms that face alleys, or others that might leave you feeling less safe and less sane than you might hope.

Also, I suggest checking some of the hotel review sites below; many posters take the time to warn fellow travelers off of specific rooms, such as rooms next to a restaurant, next to vending machines, on an airshaft or the like. You can often find information on specific room numbers to request or avoid, which can be very helpful information to know before you book yourself into a nearly full hotel and set yourself up to stay in the worst room in the house. (For more tips on avoiding such a fate, check out Get the Best Hotel Room.)

Hotel Quality
The abundance of review sites on the Web gives consumers an unprecedented voice, and although I am wary of relying too much on specific reviews, in the end the sum total of comments does add up to a formidable assemblage of collective wisdom.

I take the reviews seriously, but usually with a grain of salt, simply because folks who have a good stay at a hotel rarely rush to a computer when they get home to rave about it -- but folks who have a rotten stay can be very motivated to do so. As a result, reviews tend to over-sample disgruntled (or merely grumpy) travelers. Alternately, folks with a stake in a property's success, such as hotel managers or marketing executives, have been found to post glowing reviews on many sites (most sites have adopted measures of decreasing or at least flagging these).

That said, anything you see mentioned two or three times in different ways by different authors can probably be taken as gospel truth. For example, Campbell confirms that the Crowne Plaza's hallway rugs were indeed shabby, and the location not entirely hospitable to walking around -- both cited in multiple reviews of the property.

The most popular review sites are:

• Yelp
• TripAdvisor
• Citysearch
• Yahoo
• Kudzu

With regard to the two most popular on the list, Yelp and TripAdvisor, my experience is that Yelp tends to lean toward locals posting reviews of their regular haunts, while TripAdvisor includes mostly posts from travelers/visitors. As a result, Yelp is a bit lean on extensive hotel reviews, but can tell you a lot about the nearby attractions.

And although it is considerably more of a free-for-all and thus more daunting, Twitter has become a useful and popular travel planning resource, although I would say less for full-bodied reviews than for good deals, resource listings and breaking news. (Check out How Social Media Is Changing Travel for more on the direction social apps are taking travelers.)

Using Twitter for hotel research may not be quite up to snuff at the moment; a recent survey of industry experts found that most hotels are not using the service very effectively at present. That does not mean it is not worth a look; if you have had success using Twitter to research and book hotels, let us know about it here.