Are you ready for the hectic holiday travel season? AAA estimates 38.4 million will be traveling in the U.S. during the Thanksgiving holiday, which is up slightly from last year. Air travel will be down a bit, but seats are likely to be filled because airlines have cut flights. Whether it's crowded trains or missed connections, traveling at this time of year can be exhausting and bewildering. Here are eight tips for holiday budget travel that should help you survive the crunch with dignity and bank account intact.

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 a 20 percent discount on rail passes for Italy, up to 100,000 bonus miles when signing up for an airline credit card and a sale on airfares to The Bahamas.

Some say the age of travel books is coming to an end. After all, you can get the same (and probably more current) information online, print out what you need and stash it in your luggage. But I'm not sure that procedure is always the most effective way to go. On many trips, you encounter opportunities for which you did not plan. It can be helpful to have a travel book at your fingertips. In the same way, authors raise issues in book chapters that might not pop up during online searches. Travel books can also jump-start your planning and enthusiasm for that next adventure. So consider 10 books that make great gifts for budget travelers. There are links to reviews of each title, and all of them can be purchased online.

This Friday, the U.S. premiere of the long-awaited second Twilight movie hits theaters. "New Moon" will bring renewed interest to the book series set in Washington's scenic Olympic Peninsula and the real-life town of Forks (pop. 3,175). The first highly successful Twilight movie last year brought thousands of visitors, who sought out movie landmarks such as Forks High School. But you don't have to be a big fan of the book series or the movies to enjoy the rugged and unforgettable landscape of the Olympic region. Read more about visiting the Olympic Peninsula on a budget.