Foreign Shoestring U.S. On The Cheap Attractive To Overseas Sightseers

Founded in 1882 as a depot on the country’s first transcontinental railway, this town has long been a way station of the American West. Flagstaff has lost its rough, frontier character, but one thing hasn’t changed: Every day, travelers arrive with more wanderlust in their hearts than dollars in their pockets.

Once, such visitors were pioneers and prospectors. Now, many are foreign sightseers, lured by nearby Grand Canyon National Park, Lake Powell and Sedona. Enough travelers come to Flagstaff to support three international hostels offering dorm-style accommodations to foreigners and Americans.

One of these, the DuBeau International Hostel (520) 774-6731), is a favorite of mine. Not only is the DuBeau historic - it occupies Arizona’s first motel, built in 1929 - it’s also a bargain. Only $13 buys a bed for a night and breakfast. The free coffee and bagels are integral to the DuBeau’s laid-back, amiable atmosphere because they bring guests together every morning to engage in rambling conversations about their own countries and this one.

While in Flagstaff recently, I thought breakfast at the DuBeau might be the ideal time and place to interrogate my budget-traveling brethren from overseas. I wondered how hard it is to be a foreign shoestring traveler in the United States. And what might foreigners know about traveling in this country that Americans do not?

The answer is that foreigners find it quite easy to explore this country on a tight budget. And it’s this very ease of travel that eludes most Americans.

“A lot of Americans haven’t been half the places I’ve been,” observed Rosie Polglase of Golden Bay, New Zealand.

When I met Rosie, 21, at the DuBeau, she was traveling with Claire Armstrong, an 18-year-old Londoner. They’d met while working at a summer camp in Mississippi, and when summer ended, they hit the road together. In two months, Rosie and Claire had taken in such places as New York City, Chicago, Glacier National Park, Seattle, Yosemite National Park and San Francisco, doing it all within the astonishing budget of $100 per week each.

“We didn’t sleep anywhere that cost more than $15 per night,” Claire explained. “If there was no other choice, we stayed one night then moved on.”

To maintain their budget, Rosie and Claire depended on hostels, where they could cook their own meals. For transportation, they used Amtrak (800) 872-7245) and Greyhound (800) 231-2222). The women gave both transport systems good reviews, though they were often frustrated by inconsistencies when “ringing up” for schedules and ticket prices.

“You have to call three times to make sure you get the right information,” Claire said.

Many guests at the DuBeau had arrived by Amtrak or Greyhound, both of which offer package rates, some specifically for foreigners. For instance, between January and September, Amtrak offers passengers with foreign passports 15 days of travel for $285, a price well appreciated by an Australian guest who didn’t give her name.

“It has worked out quite cheap,” she said. “I don’t have to pay for accommodations many nights - I can sleep on the train. And there’s heaps of room.”

Another female traveler, a 42-year-old Israeli named Rachele, came to Flagstaff via an alternative bus system called the Adventure Network for Travelers (800) 336-6049; www.TheANT.com). Her $89 ticket from Los Angeles allowed her stopovers in San Diego, Phoenix and Sedona for as long as she wanted. Americans are welcome to use the ANT, but it seemed to Rachele that few Americans know of the bus system’s existence.

“I think there were only foreigners on the ANT,” Rachele said. “All the Americans I’ve met travel only by car.”

Most foreign shoestring travelers rely on public transport, but I found a DuBeau guest traveling cross-country by car. Before leaving his home in Elgg, Switzerland, Ralf Kretzschmar, 26, used the Internet to find an American agency charging only $850 for a five-week rental of a Dodge Neon with unlimited mileage. When I met him, Ralf had just come through the Colorado Rockies and the redrock deserts of Utah.

“Next time, I hope to have enough money to hire a four-wheel-drive so I can do more dirt roads,” he said.

He said he did have enough money to afford motels, but Ralf preferred hostels.

“I just like to meet people,” he said. “If you go to a hotel or motel, you cannot do that. And the great thing about hostels is that each has its own peculiarities.”

When I asked Ralf for advice for American travelers, his eyebrows rose. “Do Americans travel a lot in the states?” he asked. “I haven’t met many.”

I explained that many Americans aren’t familiar with hostels. And when traveling cross-country, we’re less likely to diverge from interstate highways, as he had. Ralf nodded.

“My advice - take more time,” he said. “Americans who come to Europe stay for a week, go everywhere, and see nothing. They should slow down in their own country, too.”