Sandy and Michael Fisher with private guide Hissan, at the Karnak temple in Luxor, Egypt. The author paid 475 Egyptian pounds (currently worth $26) for a guide and driver to visit the Karnak temple, mummification museum and Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut. Private guides are well worth the money and a better choice than a package tour. The following day, Hissan took the family to the Valley of the Kings. (PMarla Jo Fisher, Orange County Register/TNS)

I’ve found over the years that I can have just as much fun traveling cheaply as if I were staying in a ritzy hotel. Tiny guesthouses have amusing owners and funny pets. Cab drivers show me hidden places I’d never find if I rented a car. Local restaurants are full of locals, not other tourists.

But there are certain things I’m willing to spend money on when I travel, and here they are.

1. An airport pickup: When I arrive in a foreign city, jet-lagged and exhausted, I do not want to negotiate the inevitable chaos of would-be porters, shouting taxi drivers and touts to figure out how to get to my destination. I want a nice, clean, smiling cab driver standing there with a placard with my name on it. He’ll take me to where I need to go. After a shower and some rest, I can worry about saving money on the rest of the trip.

2. A good suitcase: My battered old wheelie suitcase has taken me around the world now for 22 years. I replaced one zipper pull, but other than that, it’s been an amazing companion. I spent over $100 on it – a lot of money back then, after the salesman in the luggage store convinced me it was worth it to spend more on quality. He showed me the smooth, recessed wheels, the zippered compartment to cover up the folding handle, and all the other attributes that kept it going long after a cheaper bag would died and gone to travelers’ heaven. I know that, inevitably, I’m going to have to say goodbye to my friend, and I fully intend to replace him with another quality bag for the next two decades.

3. A private day guide: I don’t take package tours because I don’t want to be bused around with a bunch of other people like me. And I definitely don’t want to put my suitcase outside the door at 6 a.m., nor eat breakfast with 25 other people. However, I’ve learned that it can actually be cheaper to hire a private guide for the day than if I’d shelled out for the package tour. Yes, you can wander around by yourself with a guidebook in your hand, but there’s nothing like having a local expert to help you explore the sights. We loved our Navajo guide in Arizona’s Canyon de Chelly, and our guide, Nibal, who showed us around Cairo and the Pyramids of Giza. I overheard a guide finishing up a tour of Bangkok when we went to ride on the Chao Praya River, and decided to snag her for the day for ourselves. She showed us temples, the royal palace and a floating marketplace and was loads of fun. We’ll soon be meeting our Havana guide, Geikis, who I found on the Internet and who’s going to meet us at our guesthouse and take us around Old Havana all day for $12 per person.

4. Local site guides: Next time you’re walking into a cathedral, a nature park, archaeological site or other attraction, look around the exterior for guides offering their services. You usually won’t have to pay more than a few dollars, and it will add immeasurably to the experience. Sometimes, the guides are students; sometimes they are required to be licensed by the government, in which case they’ll have an official badge. Make sure they speak enough English to be understood. Negotiate with them over their fee in advance. Sometimes, they work for tips only. If it seems a little pricey, you could wait and find someone else who also wants a guide, and share the service. I’ve had three different guides take me through the Monte Alban archaeological site in Mexico, and heard three different stories about its creation, so accept you’re hearing a specific version of the events.

5. Having my clothes washed: I’d rather find someone to do my laundry in the middle of the trip than haul a big suitcase along, or try to wash out undies in the sink and hope they dry before I need them. Trust me, you can have laundry done anywhere in the world, even on the banks of a remote river in Africa. It’s usually ridiculously cheap, too. I wouldn’t count on dry cleaning, but then I don’t own anything that needs to be dry cleaned.

6. A sunny, airy room: I enjoy staying in private guesthouses, where I not only save money but meet other travelers. However, these types of establishments typically have some dark little rooms where daylight hasn’t penetrated since 1999. They’re nearly always on the ground floor, or in the back. I’m having a flashback right now to a room that my friend and I shared once in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, that had been recommended by the woman at the airport tourist bureau. We were overjoyed to spend only $13 per night, until we looked around and realized we were in a dank concrete bunker that made a prison cell look luxurious. Seriously, spend the extra few bucks to get the nice upstairs room with plenty of light. A rooftop room is even better, unless you have a hard time huffing and puffing up the stairs. And, whether it’s a hotel or other lodging, if you don’t like your room, politely ask for another. You probably don’t have to stare at the parking lot all day long, if you ask to be moved. Just ask nicely and don’t be rude.

7. A hot meal: Even on the most penny-pinching trips, I want to sit down and eat a hot meal every day. Yes, I know I can get a cheap loaf of bread from the bakery and some cheese from the market, but it’s not the same thing. If you eat your hot meal at breakfast or lunch, you’ll save quite a bit over the price of dinner. Lunch is a good chance to experience that posh restaurant everyone told you about that’s too expensive for you. Look to see if they have a fixed-price meal on the menu (it’s always going to be the cheapest), or try to hit a happy hour. Step outside the tourist district to where real people live and eat to find the prices drop by half.

8. Local artwork: I’ve been collecting folk art for many years, and I always try to seek out the local artists anywhere I go. Buying art in galleries can be really expensive because the pieces are going to be marked up at least double, often more. But if you find an artist you like, use the internet before you go, or ask locals how to find the artist’s house or studio. I’ve had so much fun going to artists’ studios, and bought their work for a fraction of the gallery prices. I recently bought two paintings by Fran Vasquez, a Costa Rican folk artist, for $40 total, even though his works can sell in the hundreds each in galleries. I saw a listing in the Lonely Planet guidebook for his home studio and found a taxi driver willing to take me there. In Oaxaca, Mexico, all I had was a book with color photos of ceramic artists and their works in nearby villages, but I was able to take that to a taxi stand and find a driver who knew how to find them. I brought back not only ceramics but the memory of meeting the artists and seeing their houses.

9. Decent shoes: Form does not triumph over function when it comes to walking on cobblestone lanes all day. If you don’t wear sturdy, comfortable footwear when you’re on vacation, you will deeply regret it. It’s hard to appreciate the wonders of the Chartres cathedral when your dogs have been barking for hours. Invest in comfortable footwear and save the rest for dancing later on that night.

10. Tamper-proof tote bags: Please don’t board the subway wearing a backpack that someone’s going to slit open to remove the contents. That’s happened now to two of my friends on different continents. I recently invested in a new travel purse that goes across my body, has a slash-proof strap and pockets that block identity thieves with scanners, and it’s super comfy to wear, too. A laptop tether that attaches to something sturdy in your hotel room will also keep your computer or netbook from being stolen while you’re out of the room.

— Got a travel tip on how to save money? Send it to me. If I use it, I’ll give you credit. Contact Marla Jo Fisher: mfisherocregister.com