If you want to travel cheaply, you’ll have to work on planning and organizing your upcoming vacation. But it’s worth it: you’ll get lower prices and control at all stages of the trip. Here are some tips for those who want to save money and make travel as affordable as possible.
Choose the right time to travel.
- If you are on a tight budget, it is important to consider which month a trip to a particular country will be cheaper. For example, booking a hotel in Italy in mid-August is not the same as in April.
- No need to waste time planning trips in July, August, and special dates, such as Christmas. At this time, absolutely everything: airfare, hotels, hostels, restaurants, museums, etc., are guaranteed to be more expensive.
- And May is the cheapest month for travel, with a trip in the low season can cost half the “normal” price. And without queues and crowds of tourists.
- Avoid traveling during important events and activities such as a local festival, fair or international congress. And if you’re going specifically for the event, book in advance – it’s cheaper.
Find the “right flight.”
- There are airline tickets at the best price at any time and in any season. But it’s best to look for them on a specific day and time.
- Don’t buy a ticket for holidays or weekends; the cost for these dates is always artificially high.
- They say that the best day to find a cheap flight is Tuesday, and the best time of day is 3 pm.
- In general, the easiest way to find cheap travel is to be flexible. The stricter you stick to specific dates and locations, the harder it will be to get a cheaper trip.
- You can use other ways: delete your browser cookies before searching, try combining airlines – the cheapest for departure and the cheapest for return.
- Some people sign up for news and specials, but in practice, it’s almost impossible to get anything really good in a general newsletter.
Don’t wait for the “hot ones,” book services in advance
Promotions and special offers on early reservations occur in almost all airlines and hotels. There is, of course, a small risk that some unforeseen events may occur in the period before the trip, but there is every chance to get great discounts and a cheaper trip.
Determine your total and daily budget
Once you have an understanding of “where and when,” start budgeting for your trip.
You can go from each day or, conversely, divide the entire planned amount by the number of days. This way, you will always know how much you’ve already spent and how much you have leftover when you travel.
Find out about exchange rates in advance.
Learn about the fees and commissions in the countries you are going to visit. The more money you exchange or, the longer the trip, the more you will have to spend on commissions. As a rule, the airport is the most unprofitable place to exchange foreign currency. It is most reliable to change money in banks, but the cheapest operations are at CHANGE points on the street.
In addition, you should find out in advance whether it is possible to pay for certain services with plastic cards. There are countries, such as Argentina, where many tourist services cannot be paid by card, so you should have enough cash not to use “foreign” ATMs.
We know that not everyone pays attention to this point, but it is actually worth it because it will help you save money and buy a term paper, for example.
Choose “affordable” lodging.”
We all deserve to rest in comfort, but since the task is to save money, let’s stick to it.
There are online platforms that offer absolutely free to book a room or even just a bed in houses, apartments, flats around the world. Well, if you are lucky with the host, you will get not only a room but also breakfast.
Another quite “student” option for a cheap overnight stay on a trip is to travel in a tent, especially in the warm season and in nature. You can camp literally anywhere – on the beach, in a meadow, or on the road – and it’s also completely free. Just make sure first whether camping is allowed in the place.
Choose a hostel, not a hotel. Hostels usually offer a bed in a shared room at a very affordable price. Many have a kitchen where you can prepare your own meals from food bought at the supermarket. Well, if you are traveling alone, it will allow you to make new acquaintances.
Eat properly
Food is the third most important expense of a trip after the flight and accommodation. Of course, if every day to visit restaurants and stores in the city center, you cannot save money. The best option – street food. A bonus is that it’s also a great way to learn about the local food culture.
Every country has booths or markets that serve cheap, freshly prepared street food. Tired of eating out? Look for the sign of a local fast-food restaurant chain.
Alternate between different opportunities
Go to a traditional restaurant today, go to the market tomorrow, or cook something unusual in your apartment kitchen. As you can see, besides traditional travel by plane or car with hotel stays, there are other ways to travel – cheap and fun. You just need to spend a little more time when planning and organizing your vacation.
