Face it, the biggest cost of travel is usually just getting there. Airfare these days is driven by fuel costs, which are driven by whoever is about to sneeze in the Middle East. So what is a person looking for budget adventure travel to do?

I'm glad you asked.

Check out three sites that can help you find this information in this great article by Dennis Tanner in MLive.com. Notice particularly what he says about having airfare information and the latest price changes emailed to you.

--FareWatchers (www.farewatchers.com) offers two types of e-mail alerts: one when Travelocity's lowest fare between two targeted cities changes up or down by more than $25 and the other when the fare falls below a threshold set by the subscriber.

--The Orbitz Web site, www.orbitz.com, offers Deal Detector, which keeps searching for a price you set for particular cities and dates. A nice feature is being able to have the service check on other airports in an area and enter a span of dates for your travel rather than being limited to specific days.

--Another option is Austin, Texas-based TripStalker that checks out air fares, rental cars and hotel space for specific dates. One drawback might be that you must download TripStalker software to use the service. The service, available at www.tripstalker.com, will notify you through e-mail or by a text message to your cell phone.

I keep asking myself how we made it before the internet. But with Farewatchers, Deal Detector and TripStalker, you have even more tools in your budget adventure travel toolbox.

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