Want to save money while traveling: avoid the tourists. It’s axiomatic, but its surprising how often travelers forget this simple little truth. And though Ireland’s been hit with some hard times recently — after years of staggering growth — Dublin still manages to be an all-to-easy destination to blow your travel budget, unless you know what you’re doing.

This article has a few tips for making the most with the least in Ireland’s capital, like taking the bus over a taxi (yeah — no-brainer), hanging out in pubs around lunch for the most authentic and cheapest food (ok, now we’re talking), and pick up a Dublin Pass to gain free entry to over 27 attractions like the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin Castle, James Joyce Museum, and the Old Jameson Distillery where you can, I’m not making this up, “earn a much coveted personalized Whiskey Taster Certificate.” A must for every well-rounded resume.

One of the world’s most spectacular sights, Machu Picchu may be a victim of its own success, so says David Rich in this article over at GoNomad. Now, roughly 100 years from the day it was discovered, over 400,00 visitors a year make the 28-mile trek along the Inca Trail to set eyes upon this . . . remote village, presidential retreat, prison, virgin lair — no one really knows, but what everyone is keenly aware of is the fact that current conditions won’t allow the site to stay preserved for much longer.

My suggestion: severely cap the number of visitors allowed each year and charge a high entrance fee that would go towards preservation and to the people of Cuzco. That or one huge dodgeball game every April. The last 100 standing: welcome to Machu Picchu.

Now it looks like Virgin’s getting into the act as well, dropping fares from NYC to London down to basically $0 (too bad you still have to pay those pesky fuel surcharges and taxes). This cut also marks a forgettable milestone: British travel decreased in 2008 for only the second time ever. You know it’s bad when the Brits are sticking around home. I challenge you to name any trip in your life where you didn’t run into at least one Englishman. Try it. Yup, impossible. Just like time travel and learning Finnish. Never going to happen.

The Kimberley Region in Western Australia may or may not offer more grandiose views than the Grand Canyon (it was a local Australian that says so in the above video) but I must say, that helicopter ride along at 1:47 pretty much has me sold. Good job Kimberley propaganda video!

Carnival may be coming to a close all around the world, but that only means it’s time now to start booking that trip for next year. But don’t think you’re forced to head to Rio or New Orleans (is anyone really forced to go either of these two places). As this article points out, raucous celebrations are held in Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland and Russia, just to name a few of the larger ones.

Of course, that old standby in New Orleans still delivers “X-rated flesh-fests on Bourbon Street” and the arrival of “the king and queen of Zulu . . .and Rex, the king of Carnival . . .to officially kick off Mardi Gras” in Woldenberg Park. And only one shooting this year, not bad.

The web’s been abuzz this week with news that flights to Europe have been cropping up for under $300 as a result of — as Mr. Frommer postulates — the huge decline in trans-Atlantic flyers. Which, if true, means it’s only a matter of time before the airlines stop slashing fares and start slashing flights, driving prices back up (i.e. act now!).

Travelzoo’s all over Ireland for $290 (from NYC — with taxes) and pretty much the rest of Europe for $8 more (whoo-hoo dollar appreciation).

Frommer’s got the scoop for the rest of the country, with flights to Europe under $500 from the West Coast and only $310 from Houston.

TheExpeditioner’s dug up this non-Europe related gem via Air Canada: NYC — Beijing for $888 (book by March 2nd).

I’m so thinking of St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland this year . . .

Amanda, over at Jaunted, is blogging her trip down south to Colombia (sound familiar?). I’m looking forward to following this trip. I don’t know why it is, but don’t you always like to hear about someone else’s trip to somewhere you’ve recently been?

I’ve heard a lot of other travelers say this too, and I’m not sure why this is. Either you’re curious to see how different a place can be when seen through someone else’s eyes, or you’re curious to see if they ended up having a better (or worse) time than you — in which case you can either be jealous (or happy). She seems to be seeing things similarly as I did so far, so no difference there, and she seems to be having a good time, and I’m extremely happy for this, so maybe it’s more of the former than the latter. Of course, it’s late February and she’s going to be down there during Carnival; when I was there a giant cold front was dumping a torrential amount of rain — let’s see how long I last following her trip.

The Waldorf-Astoria’s under $300 on Mondays. What a deal!

Kayak’s gone ahead and added a handy new feature called a “rate calendar,” a calendar (appropriately with rates) that breaks down the average price of a room by day for you right-brain visual people. I have to credit Budget Travel with scooping this story, but of course they were granted an interview with Kayak himself, probably a thrilling meeting for all those involved and what I would guess included complimentary Diet Cokes and liberal use of Kayak’s conference room during the allotted hour. Come on Kayak, hook TheExpeditioner.com up once in a while, okay?

With the dollar bringing in over 10 Rand and South African Airways’ fondness for 2 for 1 flight deals, it’s no surprise that South Africa’s been garnering a lot of attention lately, especially for those who, back in the weak-dollar days, saw it as more of a dream destination than a possibility.

But those dream days are gone and now, more than ever, is the time to visit, especially before the rest of the world descends on the country for the World Cup next year. Starting off in the southeastern corner, Cape town is, as this NYT piece describes: “Part Alaska, part Big Sur, but always African, Cape Town can overwhelm a visitor with its grand-scale landscapes and its feeling of remoteness.”

There’s also some of the country’s best restaraunts, world-class wines, and hiking opportunities that offer spectacular views of the city that may, just for a few moments, make you forget about how you just lost your job back home. Cape Town also offers you the opportunity to see Africa’s only native species of penguin — the Jackass. So you can say you went to Africa and saw penguins. That should make you want to go right there.

Forget the big names and put away the guidebook, for a taste of some of the best eats Paris has to offer, be ready to head underground.

By Dana McMahan

With Michelin-starred restaurants and legendary food purveyors competing for the gourmand’s attention on seemingly every corner, Paris offers some of the world’s most famous and best-known opportunities for Foodies. But for those searching for something a little more under the radar, it should come as no surprise then that the nascent “underground restaurant” scene that has been cropping up everywhere from Sydney to Vienna is alive and well in the capital of gourmet, offering those who are in the know an unforgettable dining experience unlike any they’ve had before.

On a trip to Paris last March, I dined on ten sumptuous courses at Hidden Kitchen, one such underground restaurant. Several months before my trip, I e-mailed Braden Perkins and Laura Adrian, the American couple who run Hidden Kitchen, hoping to obtain an elusive reservation. Luckily there was room for two available the week I was going to be in town, so they took down my e-mail address and told me they’d “be in touch.” I waited patiently for months but heard nothing until about a week before the big day when an e-mail arrived in my inbox containing directions to the restaurant along with a cryptic final set of instructions: “If anyone asks who you are, just say you’re friends of Laura’s coming over for a dinner party.” (more…)

Mendoza offers all the quality wines, scenic vistas and epicurean escapism as its sister wine-growing regions — Bordeaux and Napa — but good luck getting an up-close, intimate experience while in either of those two places. As Laura learns while exploring the region in this BT piece, ” . . . it’s a more intimate experience here . . . [m]ost often, the guy who opens the door will be the vintner himself.”

She begins in Luján de Cuyo in western Mendoza, the birthplace of grape growing in Argentina and considered to be home of some of the world’s best Melbec. Next, Laura (I feel like we’re friends already) heads into Valle de Uco to taste the valley’s specialty: Tempranillio (a grape with “elements of berryish fruit, herbaceousness, and an earthy-leathery minerality” (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve used this same description to describe the Tempranillio myself while at cocktail parties).

She finishes up in Chacras de Coria to learn about the fair-trade winery movement — a movement intended to, as one grower says, “make sure the children of these farmers have a future on this land.” Assumedly in an effort to help preserve the region’s culture and maintain the uniqueness that makes Mendoza, well, not Bordeaux or Napa.

I don’t know what it it, but there’s something about the Putumayo CDs that remind me of coffee shops and craft stores. This may have something to do with the fact that half the coffee shops and craft stores in the world are playing Putumayo when you walk in, which is not really a bad thing if you think about it. In fact, if I owned a coffee shop, I would probably end up playing Putumayo all day long too, that way if someone complained about the music, I could just shrug and say, “Don’t blame me, blame the people of Cape Verde.”

Putumayo tackles the rich musical heritage of the Indian subcontinent with the February 24th release of the appropriately titled “India.” Great timing too, given the recent worldwide success of “Slumdog Millionaire” (in fact Golden Globe winner A.R. Rahman is featured on track six). I would buy this CD, but I fear that everytime I put it on, I would have an uncontrollable urge for a latte.

“In desert we have time but no watch. In America you have watch but no time.” The enlightened words of my Berber guide reverberated in the silence of the Sahara. Just a speck on one of the many majestic dunes, I sat there — phone in one pocket, iPod in the other — gazing up at the star-studded sky, contrasting my own fast-paced, self-isolating culture with that of his people’s; one strongly tied to tradition, community and an appreciation for the present moment in time.

The Berber’s words came back to me as I listened to Richard Bangs explain his own exploration of those very same differences while traveling throughout Morocco. Speaking from The Explorer’s Club in New York, Bangs was in town promoting his upcoming PBS documentary, “Morocco: Quest for the Kasbah,” his fourth in a series of eco-friendly jaunts around the world.

Instead of the desert, Bangs’ focus is on the Kasbah — a fortressed community that has remained the epicenter of Moroccan life and culture since before Islam violently swept across Africa. As a safe haven, it has been a place for people to exchange goods as well as ideas, providing the breeding grounds for multiculturalism and tolerance.

Like my own unforgettable excursion in Morocco, the first half of Bangs’ quest begins in Marrakech where he explores the massive square, Djemaa el Fna, and the city’s eclectic souks. From here he moves west to the coastal city of Essaouira, then crosses the snow-capped High Atlas (or Grand Atlas) mountains to the Sahara where he spends a night beneath the stars in a nomad tent. The second half of his exploration takes him north to the cities of Fès, Tangier, Rabat, and finally to infamous Casablanca where his epic journey comes to an end.

“Morocco has a world view developed through centuries of nomadic movement,” Bangs says wistfully. “It is a berth for people of all backgrounds and faiths to gather and share, a country that celebrates and respects the interconnectedness of the family man. Morocco today, and always, is a Kasbah with an open door.”