Budget hotels in Europe can provide clean, basic accommodation in the heart of the places you want to visit. They are not necessarily the cheapest hotels you will find, but they often provide a welcome alternative to huge, fairly bland chain hotels in some central cities. Take a look at basic information about budget hotels in Europe, and then browse five examples of budget hotels in four European countries. These are only examples of what your own research might reveal. The effort necessary to find these hotels often pays nice dividends.

Here's the latest list of 10 travel deals. Many of these links lead to offers with a very limited shelf life, so if you're interested, act quickly. But don't act so quickly that you miss the fine print. For deals that aren't quite so fleeting, check out Winter deals. This week's deals include discounts for Cancun, possible last minute Valentine's Day getaways and discounts for military personnel on R&R.

This is probably the best time of year to visit Costa Rica. The heavy rains that spoil outdoor plans later in the year are largely absent now. That's good news in a place where some of the main attractions are canopy tours, beach excursions and volcano hikes. Costa Rica is not the cheapest Central American country to visit, but with some planning you can have a budget travel adventure in this gorgeous and fascinating country. Take a look at 20 illustrated tips for saving money on Costa Rica vacations. Pay special attention to transportation options in Costa Rica, because getting around, even in this relatively small country, can be a budget and time challenge.

Few costs are more annoying to budget travelers than airline baggage fees. After all, the privilege of checking a bag (or several bags) was free just a few years ago. Airlines need the new revenue streams created from these fees, and in fact continue to increase them at frequent intervals. If you're fed up, you need to calm down, take a few minutes and read a step by step approach to avoid baggage fees.