Budget traveling is getting hotter and hotter these days and it opens you a door for a whole new world!
Transportation
If you are planning to book a flight to your favorite or newly discovered vacation destination, don’t plan your trip and buy flight tickets in the last minute. It has been found that best flight ticket prices you can get by buying them 6-7 weeks in advance. Also, don’t settle with the first good deal you think you might get. Check flight prices often, on different websites and even try to change the airport you are flying to. It might be that traveling to the nearby airport is a lot cheaper. But again – don’t go buying the first great deal you can get. It might just be that ticket to other airport is less expensive, but the transportation all together might prove to be even more costly. So, the key to finding the best flight deals is searching, checking and comparing different prices, airports and local transportation.
If you are planning to rent a car, you must know few tips about car hire. You can read them here – http://rentmama.com/car-rental/blog/5-tips-on-renting-a-car/ and here – http://rentmama.com/car-rental/blog/how-to-avoid-hidden-costs-when-renting-a-car/.
In UK, France, Germany and other Western European countries train tickets mostly are really expensive, but in Eastern European countries you will find going by train to your destination is not only cheaper than going by bus, but faster, as well! If you will be traveling a lot, consider buying rail or metro pass, which might cut you great deal of transportation expenses. If you have very long road ahead of you, try to travel at night, if you are going by train or plane. You won’t need to worry about accommodation and you will save a lot of time this way!
Alternative ways of traveling
Over the past few years budget traveling has become a hot topic even for those, who can afford standard traveling. Some of budget traveling methods have proven to be even better for several various reasons. I am not talking only about saving some cash, but other things, too, for example, getting “more local” experience of your trip. Remember – you are traveling to get new impressions, not to continue your routine life with your everyday food and activities. I am quite sure you’ll find that embracing the lifestyle of the locals, is far more interesting and full of surprises than you would ever expect.
If you have seen The holiday, you probably have some idea about what “the home exchange” is. If not, let me explain it very briefly for you – home exchange/swapping provides you and other party free accommodation in certain period of time. You exchange your houses or apartments and maybe other things like cars, too. It comes down to what you want and what you choose. There are lots of great websites, which will provide you information about the house you are interested in, as well owners’ contact information. One of the most popular website is https://www.homeexchange.com/en/. However, most of these sites ask you to buy membership for some time, but try to see it like this – you will not only get trustworthy information and experienced house swappers, but if you are traveling quite often you’ll probably save hundreds and thousands on accommodation, especially if you are planning your trip to country like Switzerland, where accommodation are really expensive.With home exchange you can find some true gems!
Something similar to home exchange is “house sitting”. Difference is that to participate in house sitting, you don’t have to swap your house. Mostly you just need to take care of owners’ house or apartment, sometimes do some cleaning or look after their beloved pets, which they can’t take to their vacation. There also are many websites which provide mostly the same information as home exchange websites and these websites also aren’t entirely free, but again – trustworthy homeowners and hundred in savings! This is a great choice if you like the idea of home exchange, but you don’t want stranger staying at your place. If you are interested in becoming house sitter, definitely check out this website – http://www.trustedhousesitters.com/.
There are many other great alternative ways of traveling – Work Exchange, Couch-surfing, Volunteering abroad and even teaching English in South East Asia or other countries. World is full of surprises and opportunities, you just have to open your eyes and see them!
Food
Avoid restaurants which are screaming “for tourists!” Those almost every single time are much more expensive than some local restaurants, where you will probably get the best local cuisines for less expenses. Daily specials will fill your tummy for great prices! Be really careful in typical tourist cities, because sometimes there are some very dishonest restaurant owners, who have “special” Menus for tourists, in which dishes are a lot more expensive than in those for local people. Don’t forget that you are looking for new experiences in your trip, so rather than ordering French fries, hamburgers or pizzas, try and adapt to local foods. You can eat your everyday food at home! Trust me, you will be surprised!
Plan your meals! Use TripAdvisor and Foursquare to get to know best restaurants and cafes for the best prices. Not only local food, but also local drinks like coffee, wine or beer is far cheaper and maybe even better than the ones you are used to!
Also, consider eating what is “in the season,” that way you will get the best prices for great and even more – fresh – food! Most tourists forget about cooking on their own while they are on vacation. Of course, it is great to experience exquisite tastes of local food, but there are many local dishes you can make by your own – this way you certainly will save lots of cash. Become a true local and cook away! Many bakeries or grocery stores in the evening sell some goods for half a price – that will save you double of what you would pay!
Getting around
Save money on tourist guides and get yourself a good guidebook. Of course, you can buy it in your destination, but it probably will be a lot more expensive than buying it at home or even – downloading it on internet. In city shops maps might be very expensive, as well, as locals know their own town, and maps are usually bought by tourists. Many cities offers free maps and guides in their websites! If you enjoy planning things, why not plan your own vacation from A to Z? You won’t need a city guide, nor a tourism agent. I bet, you’ll have more fun and learn a lot more this way than listening it from your tourist guide. Also, try just wandering around, meeting local people and asking them for some great activities, must-sees and directions of how to find them. This way you will get the chance to meet locals and see what their everyday life is like! Nevertheless, don’t forget about safety and don’t go too far from the places you already know.
There are people, who hate traveling alone, and those who are bored to death when left alone. If you are the second one, there are many benefits for you. Traveling with your loved one or friend will definitely save you some money. Single hotel room mostly costs almost the same as a double room. And that’s not all – if you will split all of your expenses with your partner, you will have the same experience, only much cheaper!
Other tips to consider
If accommodation in your destination is practically unaffordable, take some time and search for nearby cities, which might prove to be much cheaper. If it is tourist city, prices might make you shudder, however smaller towns or even villages offer much friendlier accommodation deals!
Travel off-season. In Europe mostly that is in early spring and in autumn. At this time you can find some really great and budget friendly deals. Remember – London Bridge will be the same in every season!