Most people keep travel on their priority list as they want to get away from life’s routines. But it is also true that most people can’t afford to travel very often. Though travelling can be expensive, you can bring down the expenses with the right strategy. Try these tips to save some bucks on your next trip and thank us later.
Choose the right travel agency
Before anything else, you need to find a good company to book your air tickets and make hotel reservations. To begin with, you can ask your friends for some references. Or else, surf through the internet to know about others’ travel experiences. Once you find a good response to some OTA’s services, start making inquiries. Also, do check out the social media pages of these sites to learn more about their latest flight ticket offers.
Opt for collective services
While booking flights directly with an airline might help you save some bucks, opting for a travel agency will help you get cumulative benefits. Most OTAs provide online flight booking and hotel services at discounted prices. You might also find some travel agencies which include travel insurance, car rentals and activities in their tour packages. You need to spend some time online to compare the discounts and travel deals offered by different agencies to keep your travel pocket-friendly.
Use the free days
There are days when some tourist spots like museums, National Parks and historic sites do not charge any fee from tourists. You can visit these sites on such days if you want to bring down your travel cost. Before going anywhere, you can visit the official website of these tourist sites to find if they have free visiting hours or any discounts available.
Be flexible with flight dates
If possible, be flexible with travel dates as you can find the lowest airfare when the prices fluctuate over days or even weeks. You can compare flight prices from leading flight booking sites to decide your departure date accordingly.
Fly on a midweek day
In case you are not aware, booking air tickets on Tuesdays and Wednesdays will help you bring down your air travel cost. Also, flight booking charges during holidays will be higher than usual.
Book more than one night
Many hotels, resorts, and hostels offer cheaper facilities when you stay for more than one night.
Social media matters
“Like” and “follow” your favourite travel brands on Facebook and Twitter to get notified of some of their biggest discounts.
Ask for family offers
If you’re travelling with your family, don’t forget to ask your travel agency if it provides a family discount. You might be in for a surprise with discounted rates, free meals for children, and upgraded check-in experience.
Redeem coupons
Browse through some online coupon websites to see if you can find some useful travel coupons. Coupons available on 3rd party websites can sometimes add a good value to your trip.
Use credit card reward points
Check if you can use a particular credit card to avail benefits on your flight tickets. You might have some reward points saved in the credit card that you can use to cut the booking costs down.
Stay in hostels and guesthouses
Choosing hostels over hotels could be a good option when you want to cut the accommodation costs. Since everyone isn’t comfortable staying at hostels and guesthouses, you can choose cheap hotels or guesthouses too.
Talk to the locals
This point is important when you want to explore a place as a traveller, and not just as a tourist. You can get some insider travel tips from locals. After all, who knows you may become friends with someone or even get a discount on the foreign land? Asking for directions or a good restaurant nearby can be the best ice-breakers you can use in any city or country.
Go camping
Whether you choose the beach, park, or mountains, camping is one of the cheapest options. Camping can be the perfect get together activity when you are travelling in large groups.
Sleep while travelling
Sleeping while travelling by plane, train or even a bus at night will save you accommodation cost. This way, you can cover the travelling distance without having to pay for the night’s stay.
Walk as much as you can
Put your best shoes on and see things at a slower pace, because walking if free. Wander around the city, get lost in the streets, talk with locals, watch people and do everything you want to get more experience about the place. Explore local markets, take photos, go hiking to the top of a hill and see the excellent view.
Rent a bike
Renting a bike is a cheap and comfortable option when you want to roam around a city without spending much. You can promote responsible travel by choosing e-bikes.
Share transport costs
If comfortable, you can share a car with other travellers. In fact sharing taxi, mini-vans and other transport are some other cost-effective solutions you can try.
Eat out
Eating meals at the hotel you stay is likely to increase the overall cost of food. Therefore, instead of having breakfast and lunch, brunch at a good restaurant would be a better choice. Many restaurants serve the lunch specials food items for a fraction of the amount you would pay in the evening.
Eat street food
Choose street food because it’s cheap and cooked fresh in front of your eyes. However, make sure you don’t pick unhygienic food and go to a famous food corner.
Bargain
Bargaining is accepted in many countries. So, don’t forget to bargain wherever possible; however, don’t over bargain as it could impact the seller’s livelihood.
Do the free stuff
- Don’t forget to see and do all the free stuff available around.
- See a street fair, cultural event, or concert
- Play in the parks
- Go to free movie screenings in local cafes
- Swim at a beach
- Hike on a mountain
- Visit a local market
Follow these small but essential tips to save money while travelling. Make sure you book cheap flights and affordable hotel rooms in advance if you want to save some extra bucks. Flights, accommodation, food, or sightseeing, you can efficiently manage everything with the right planning and smart management.
happyeasygo.wordpress.com 