Wednesday Freebie: RyanAir Tickets and Cold Stone Ice Cream

Concerned reader Jennifer writes, Right now Ryanair APPEARS to have some fares that are literally FREE (no taxes, fees special till 11/15 on some flights; free flight, free if you choose on-line check-in, no bags, no priority). Is that for real??? Yes, Jennifer, it’s for real — as “free” as you can get any “free” […]

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More Trickery: RyanAir Travel Insurance

A question on the WARNING: RyanAir Online Check-in thread had me scoping out the insurance policy on offer from the airline when you purchase your ticket. It was there I made the following discoveries: + Despite the fact that travel insurance is offered with every RyanAir ticket, only UK and IE residents are actually eligible […]

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Why I Love/Hate RyanAir

If you’ve been wondering where I’ve been, I’ll let you in on today’s activity: RyanAir is advertising another of their “no taxes, no fees, no charges” sales. Included are flights for the month of April only. Tickets must be purchased by midnight tonight. The good news: despite the booking engine being overloaded and causing me […]

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United and RyanAir: How Expensive Your Luggage?

You’ve probably already heard the news that United plans to start charging the majority of its customers $25 for the second piece of checked luggage on domestic U.S. and Canadian flights. You can check out their new policy here. This comes as no surprise to airline insiders and follows the “successfully introduced” industry-wide reduction of […]

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WARNING: RyanAir Online Check-in

Further passing on the costs of service directly to the consumer, RyanAir recently altered their check-in model. Whereas online check-in was formerly linked to priority boarding and was a privilege to be purchased for 6 euros, they have turned the tables and made online check-in the free standard, with anyone needing counter service (namely to […]

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More RyanAir FREE Flights

Keeping with the flighty theme this week (unintentional, I swear), RyanAir is offering a limited selection of totally free flights until midnight Friday for travel in December and January.  Check out the list of routes and further details here.

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RyanAir Sale — Fly For €/£10

Lately RyanAir has been having some amazing sales. If you’re an European traveler and you’re not familiar with RyanAir (and its ilk), you should be. RyanAir is the granddaddy of low-cost airlines which today seem to be springing up everywhere in its wake (to the joy of budget travelers across the continent). This concept of […]

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No-Budget Travel Failures

December or no, things aren’t always roses and sunshine in the world of a no-budget traveler. Being human (and not just a blogging robot), even an “expert” is also bound to make mistakes. After the jump, I share three recent travel planning misadventures and the lessons learned from each. Share your own budget travel blunders […]

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Reader Tips Contest: Edinburgh, Scotland

For the price of a €10 RyanAir airfare (round-trip), I’m headed to Edinburgh in mid-November (because who doesn’t like traveling when it’s dark and cold?!). I turn to you again, my wise and fearless readers, for your no-budget travel advice. I’ve got 4.5 days and 5 nights in Scotland, flying in and out of EDI. […]

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Greetings Budget Travel Readers!

If you’re new to Less Than a Shoestring, please take some time and have a poke around! I welcome your questions and comments on the site. This blog shows that travel can indeed be both pleasurable and frugal. Because I live in Europe, you’ll find loads of information on European no-budget travel — but in […]

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