a very popular question is how to travel cheaply? as money is the main reason, why many people don’t travel.
- Best time to travel on a budget
It is important to choose the right time to travel. Traveling off-season can be 3-4 times cheaper than in the time when everybody has holidays. Here are the budget travel tips concerning travel timing:
. “Being flexible with your destination or the timing of your vacation is the biggest money saver of all. Many people only want to travel to a destination during high season.
. «Travel out-of-season. Not only will you avoid peak airfare costs but hotel prices will be more competitive and places will be less crowded.»
. Be ready to change your plans once you get to your destinations. Most of the time the best way to find new places (that are also quite cheap) is to ask local people. So you need some flexibility.
. “Travel off season — not only will you stay away from the crowds but you will also minimize your travel expenses.”
. Plan your travel in such a way that you visit places during the off season. This way you can save a lot on flights and hotels as you are sure to get off season discounts.
- Booking cheap flights
The largest travel expenses are usually transportation and accommodation. Here are the travel tips on finding cheap flights:
. Watch out for flight deals and vacation package deals: you could sign-up to e-mail alerts on flight search websites such as Skyscanner so you’ll be notified when the price becomes cheaper for your particular trip. Try to also research for the local budget airlines that are well-known in your destination since they often have added promos on top of their cheap fares.
. “Also know that studies have shown that on average 6 weeks ahead is the time you will get the best deals on flights. But, book much earlier if you plan to pay with frequent flyer miles as flights fill up.”
. “When booking flights, I suggest using a meta search engine (a site that searches multiple sites) like Kayak or TripAdvisor or Booking.com, Flights to find the best flight deals.
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- Ways to save money on transportation
Transportation is also a big travel expense. If you’re not planning to stay in one place for a long time, or even if you want to visit another part of the city, these tips will help you to travel cheap:
. If you want to travel to a different city for free, go hitch-hiking. In many countries, it is allowed and is not dangerous. But, don’t hitch-hike alone, better go with your friend.
. If you are afraid of hitch-hiking, you can use carsharing services ZipCar, Car2Go and many others working internationally or just within 1 country. Special about carsharing is that it is safer than hitch-hiking, as you see reviews and other information about the driver, and easier to plan.
. In EU and the US, there are big budget bus chains that sometimes have rides for $1-2. They are Megabus, Flixbus, Easybus and many other international and local companies.
. Trains are usually more expensive than the above-listed options, but there are opportunities to spend less on them.
- Also check the guide to Backpacking in Europe.
Spending just a few minutes familiarizing yourself with public transportation options can save a lot of money over taking taxis, but we also recommend researching the best location to stay so you can walk more. It’s free - How to spend less money on accommodation
Staying in hotels can be very expensive. Still, there are many other options to stay while you travel. Here are the budget accommodation options:
. “Instead of staying in hotels, try Couchsurfing & enjoy the hospitality of local people and live their culture first hand. I have personally hosted people from around the world and stayed a few times with hosts.
. When booking your accommodation, make sure to check carefully as different web browsers and different computers will yield very different results if you are booking accommodation online or even
Hostels are a great option for traveling the world cheap. You can stay in the biggest Western cities sharing a room with other people or private ; Hostels are also a great option for solo travelers, as you can easily meet new people and continue traveling together.
. Airbnb is also a great and inexpensive option to stay in a new place living like a local.
- When you visit a new place, you don’t want to stay in your hotel room, you want to visit the main attractions. In popular touristic cities, most famous attractions are often very crowded and very expensive. Here is how you can save money on visiting attractions:
- Spending less on visiting attractions
My top tip for traveling on a budget is to ask locals for advice. They should be able to direct you to moderately priced authentic restaurants. They can also send you to destinations that are not as well known.
. Research for the FREE stuff that you can do: city passes are often a great bundled deal that not only gives you free and discounted access to various activities but it could also give you free rides for your destination’s public transportation. But other than city passes, make sure that you research online the FREE things that you can do for your trip or you could also simply talk to the locals to ask for tips.
. Most of the museums and some other attractions either have days with free entry or are free for with free entry or are free for students.
. My favourite budget tip is not to take organised tours to attractions you can otherwise visit independently. Working out how to get to a location on public transport can be an awesome adventure and once you get there trying to navigate a place or source a guide yourself can be a lot of fun and a big money saver! #GoAloneNotOnTour
. Being Volunteer while you travel to save money on your living costs. This is only possible if you’re traveling long term.
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