Students take note. STA Travel’s Blowout Sale is offering low fares on roundtrip tickets, hostels and other adventures in Europe, Africa, Asia, South America and Asia. Basically everywhere but the U.S. and Canada. The sale runs through Thursday, March 22. Among the discounted deals:

- $913 rountrip airfare to South Africa

- $5 hostel overnight stays

- Round the world tickets from $1193

- Roundtrip tickets to Europe starting at $139

Ch-ch-check it out.
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And you thought your last hotel stay was a drag… Swedish authorities have cracked down on a hotel in Kiruna that was caught offering guests overnight lodging in wooden “sheds” (I’m thinking we’re talking closets) housed inside the hotel restaurant. The hotel’s uncommon practice came to light after an unsuspecting couple arrived expecting regular hotel accommodations and were show to their shed. Officials say the arrangement violated fire safety laws.

Shed in Restaurant Used as Hotel Room

When you’re considering where to spend your vacation dollars, it’s always a good idea to know which cities top the world’s most expensive list. Fresh from the Economist Intelligence Unit, here are the world’s most expensive cities:

1. Oslo, Norway

2. Paris

3. Copenhagen

4. London

5. Tokyo

6. Osaka Kobe (Japan)

7. Reykjavik

8. Zurich

9. Frankfurt

10. Helsinki

Wow. Not a U.S. city in the bunch. Seems living expenses could actually be a worse - something many of us in San Francisco and New York may have trouble believing….

Oslo’s the World’s Most Expensive City

I’ve noticed an interesting thing lately. More and more places are coming up with travel experiences that, well, don’t have anything to do with fun or relaxation. We’ve blogged about volunteer vacations, but what about vacations, tours and overnight experiences that allow you do something altogether unpalatable? Like scare yourself silly in a prison. Or attempt a border-crossing between the U.S. and Mexico. Or get up close and personal with toxic waste. I’ve decided to list some of the ones I’ve found:

1. Caminata Nocturna: This 4-hour nighttime hike takes interested travelers along the same route illegal immigrants might use to enter the U.S. from Mexico. You even get chased by fake border control police in the pitch black darkness.

2. Toxic Tour: California-based Communities for a Better Environment takes tour participants to refineries, chemical sites, “brownfields” and other areas to educate them about the environmental and social impacts of pollution.

3. Liepaja Prison: How about an overnight in a Latvian prison once run by the KGB? They even give you a faux medical exam when you arrive for your stay.

4. Street Retreats: A San Francisco organization offers day-long experiences living on the streets like the city’s many homeless. You can stand in soup kitchen lines, panhandle and try to get into drop-in centers.

5. Reality Tours: The tours offered by San Francisco’s Global Exchange can involve anything from visiting a landmine field in Afghanistan to meeting with coffee farmers in the Andes. The offerings are educationally-driven, but do include cultural excursions to prominent museums and historical sites.

6. Slum Tours: Tourists can visit the small alleys of Mumbai’s famous Dharavi slum. An extended tour option includes visits to the Red Light district, open air laundry and a home for boys.

An agreement between the U.S. and E.U. may soon allow airlines more flexibility in their trans-Atlantic flight operations. If approved by Congress and E.U. transport ministers later this year, the pact would allow European carriers to fly into U.S. airports from airports outside their own countries. As it now stands, for example, a British airline can only fly into a U.S. airport from a British airport. The change will allow much more competition among airlines, which could lead to increased options for travelers and - we hope - lower ticket fares. If approved, the pact would take effect in October 2007.

U.S. and E.U. Near Air Travel Pact

Spirit Airlines ins’t the only airline that’s going to start charging passengers who bring more than one checked bag (their new policy starts tomorrow). British Airways has announced that it will be limiting passengers flying economy to places other than North America, Brazil, Nigeria and the Caribbean. But passengers to destinations in Europe and Asia will have to pay between 30 and 60 pounds for a second bag, depending on the specific destination. The whole Nigeria thing kinda threw me. Um, what about, say, Chad? To get to the bottom of this important mystery, you’ll have to conduct further investigations on the British Airways web site. The new policy is schedule to go into effect before Valentine’s Day.

Got 2 Bags? It’ll Cost You at British Airways

Here’s a good reason to start planning your summer jaunt through Europe several months in advance. Eurail is offering a free bonus day for all tickets purchased in February and March 2007. Passes come in 6-, 8-, or 10-day denominations. Buy before March 31, 2007, and your pass will be issued as a 7-, 9- or 11-day pass. Travelers have up to six months from the purchase date to commence travel.

Early Birds get an Extra Travel day for Free on the Eurail Select Pass!

If you’ve ever thought about going the home rental route instead of shelling out for a hotel on a vacation to Europe, you’ve probably wondered how to find accommodations. It can be daunting to rent a home in another country, especially site unseen. Daily Candy has some suggestions for renting beach homes, as well as private dwellings in France, Italy, Greece and Morocco. Check check check it out.

Daily Candy’s In Your House

From the Business Week feature linked below, I learned about an interesting way to kill time at Germany’s Frankfurt, Berlin or Bremen airports. Lufthansa offers three-hour flight training sessions in their very own ProFlight simulators (pictured) through the Lufthansa Flight Training Center. The simulators mimic take-off, flight and landing for a variety of airplanes, including the Boeing 737 and 747 and Airbus 320 and 340. The cost depends on which plane you choose, but ranges from 249 euros to 325 euros (aprox. $429) per session. To purchase tickets in advance, you can do so online via this translated page (be prepared for muddled English), Proflight Ticket Sales.

Five Cures for Terminal Boredom

If you’re traveling into central London on an express train from Heathrow or Gatwick airports before June 30, 2007, you can upgrade to first class using the code BAUPGR. You’ll need to book your train tickets online by March 31, 2007 to score the deal.

The free upgrade translates into a savings of about 9GBP each way on express trains from Heathrow to Paddington or Gatwick to Victoria. Not bad. First class seats mean reclining chairs, free newspapers, work tables and refreshment service on trains from Gatwick and more legroom, free newspapers, continuous wireless service and disembarkation near the destination station’s exit on trains from Heathrow.

Here’s how to book, excerpted from the Business Traveller newsletter (linked below):

When taking the Heathrow Express you should collect your ticket(s) from one of the ticketing machines at the station, using either the eticket reference number or the credit card used to book the ticket.

The procedure for using Gatwick Express is easier. Passengers simply board the train and provide the reference number or show their credit card to the conductor.

Free First Class Upgrade for Airport Expresses