Photo by Steve Govoni

We’d climbed nearby mountains, lit upstate cabin-fireplaces—we were ready for our next summer getaway from boom-boxes and sweaty subways. This time, we day-tripped it to Rowayton, Connecticut, a little town on the Long Island Sound, an easy hour from the city on MetroNorth. What is Rowayton? Freaking cute is what it is. Cute as in floppy spaniels and children pulled down the street in little red wagons. Cute… but with money too, like a Norman Rockwell painting where everyone’s won the lottery. In short: everything you expect Connecticut to be. (more…)

The Canal St. Martin. Trading up, you think?

Back last summer, we did a little story on home-swapping—that unreal deal where you trade your simple Brooklyn abode for a glitzy vacay in its international counterpart. (Who knew one Ditmas Park equals one French Alps?) Well, it’s summer again, and that means the Europeans are clamoring anew for the BK real-estate. Our friends at Jauntsetter found a Craigslist ad today from a couple of Parisians who want to trade their Canal St. Martin loft for a place in Brooklyn (or Manhattan) for 10 days at the end of July. Crepes, anyone? (more…)

If for some reason you find yourself needing a passport renewal in, say, a week’s time, do not turn to costly expediters for help–you can save the money and get your passport yourself in an equally short time. This I discovered recently when I found out I had to go to Toronto in about 9 days, with only a just-expired passport to get me there. A Google search of “rush passports” turned up a place called Rush Passport, which quoted $250 to get a Passport done in four to five business days, and an agency called It’s Easy, which asks $129 for a renewal in 5 to 7 days.   (more…)

So we’ll be speaking at a panel at SXSWi next month called “The Broke Diaries: Using Blogs and Twitter to Live Cheaply” but have been seriously lollygagging on booking a room. As a result, all the hotels within walking distance of the conference were sold out, and way too expensive anyway. The plan: something between couch-surfing and a house rental, but the ask-everyone-on-Facebook route didn’t work. But yesterday, our pals over at LearnVest ran a post about a site called Airbnb (sorry but who thought of that impossible-to-remember name?) where you can book a room in someone’s house for less than a hotel. There was a cute room in an artist’s home for $33 a night available during the conference, but we wound up splurging on a $55-a-night room in the home of a wholesome-looking couple named Courtney and Joep. It has a private bathroom, plus a deck overlooking an organic garden, plus wifi, plus coffee, plus personal-training sessions with Courtney if we want them (that’ll be extra), plus a new travel tip for our SXSW panel. We have to drive to the conference, but… score! Not everything on this site is budget-oriented though. They have housboats in India, igloos in Switzerland, castles in England. Check it, Brokesters.

[via LearnVest]

Sheepshead Bay pier, by Nimo Photography

Here we are, at the tail-end of summer, September drawing perilously near, and maybe that European jaunt you dreamed of just didn’t pan out this season. We expected as much, and we’ve been doing our best to provide substitutes: exotic home swaps, $500-a-week vacations, a special kind of working holiday and, well, Mexico. But if none of these was the thing for you, it’s not too late for this one last chance for a great almost-getaway: the South Brooklyn staycation. Here are 17 ways to have a (very full) weekend in our own down-under. (more…)

Important bulletin: Apparently, Brokelyn.com readers don’t care all that much about manners because we haven’t gotten any etiquette questions. But we’ve been overwhelmed with queries about whether making your own beer is cheaper than buying it, where to get the best hot dogs in Brooklyn, how to find a cheap, non-irritating dandruff shampoo (RiteAid?)  and now this one: about where to travel cheaply. So our nimble correspondent shall heretofore be dropping the Miss Manners racket and turning into the Brokelyn Answer Lady. We’re keeping the cute handle, though. Readers, fire away: DearPenny@Brokelyn.com.

If I were planning a trip this summer, I’d hightail it to Mexico. Specifically, Oaxaca. And I’m not just saying that because I grew up next to Mexico, or because I spent an excellent two weeks in Oaxaca a few summers ago. The dollar is doing well in Mexico. Post swine-flu flights will get you down to Mexico for less than $300, and you don’t have to worry about dying while you’re down there because the State Department has lifted its travel warning. (more…)