To travel as much as possible and especially with as little money as possible, would be a dream come true for travel lovers. And since traveling shouldn't be a luxury, but a normality, I thought I'd put together some tricks I use that help me save money on my travels and I hope will help you too.
You probably already know some of these tricks, and others you are just learning about. So, without further ado, let's go directly to the topic:
1. Buy the plane tickets directly from the website of the companies you plan to fly with. I know that there are situations where there are better offers on third-party websites than on the airline website, but even so, I don't recommend it. In case of flight cancellation, there are very few chances to get your money on the ticket back.
2. Information means power... and in some cases more money in your own pocket. Before visiting a new destination, especially from outside Europe (and not only), inform yourself very well about the most common methods of scamming tourists, or certain very expensive places that do not offer good services or or good products.
3. If you choose hotels outside the tourist areas, research the location and the distance to the tourist attractions you want to visit. Most of the time it is recommended to choose accommodation in more distant areas because they are much cheaper, but there are also situations where the price of transport exceeds the price difference. So, before booking, do a calculation to see if it's worth it, both in terms of the time spent on the road and the price for transportation.
4. Research the activities, entrances to tourist attractions and, last but not least, the tours offered free of charge. All this will help you see as much as possible, without having to take money out of your pocket.
5. If you want to be up to date with social networks and not only that, buy a local simcard that offers internet, the costs can be lower. If you can give up the internet during the vacation, it would reduce these costs to zero. Usually, the application you cannot do without is the sat nav, but you can use one that works offline, just make sure you download the map before you arrive in the country you are going to visit. An example of such an application is Here We Go.
6.For cheap currency exchange, use the Revolut card and application, which allow you to exchange money in any currency, at no cost, or very cheaply.
7. Replace restaurant meals with supermarket meals, especially in expensive destinations. Some supermarkets have menus with cooked food, and instead of a meal of 40 euros or even more for two people at a restaurant, you pay a maximum of 10-15 euros at the supermarket. Look for large chain stores, for example in Spain it is Mercadona.
8.Travel insurance is one of the aspects that you should not skimp on, because in the end it can cost you much more, especially outside of Europe (but not only), where there are much more dangers than here. I recommend it all the more if you know that you are going to do some activities with a higher degree of risk, such as hiking or climbing.
9. Give up hold luggage or the smallest compartment and travel only with hand luggage. More precisely, it is about the backpack included in the price of the plane ticket. Look online for ways to pack efficiently and make up your outfits only with clothes that can be combined with each other. In this way, you avoid paying tens of euros for a few extra clothes.
10. Download applications to your phone that help you find good prices and offers at restaurants, hotels, plane tickets.
11. Choose to travel to destinations to which you have cheap flights. Do not choose the destination and then the tickets.
12. When you search for flights, for example on Skyscanner, set the destination "everywhere" and thus you can see the cheapest tickets and the destinations you can choose from. Example in the image below:
13. The easiest and safest way to catch the offers on plane tickets is if you subscribe to the newsletter of the airlines.
14. Be flexible with the departure date, usually the flights during the week have lower prices than the ones on the weekend. Also, in the periods of June-August, but also in December, prices tend to explode both for accommodation and for plane tickets.
15. If you know that you will travel a lot with a certain airline, consider a subscription. For example, Wizzair has a Discount Club type offer, which offers you cheaper tickets.
16. Try the experience of staying in campsites when you have this option. Some of them even have cabins and it is not necessary to have your own tent. If you like to do wild camping, make sure that the country where you are camping allows this.
17. Travel in the off-season. Thus you will pay less money for the same services and it is less crowded. Personally, I decided not to travel in the summer, especially in very hot destinations. Besides the fact that you can't visit too many places because of the heat, everything is overpriced.
18. When looking for plane tickets and accommodation, use the browser's incognito function. In this way you will find the real price of the plane ticket, not increased because of cookies.
19. Before purchasing a flight, accommodation or anything else related to travel, check the price on several websites and choose the cheapest option.
20. Avoid eating at the airport. The prices are quite high for everything. It is best to take snacks or sandwiches from home, they are allowed in hand luggage.
21. Do not book your accommodation and car during the summer, if you plan to travel in September or October. Wait for August to pass and start making reservations at the beginning of September. You will see price differences of several hundred euros.
22. Do not rent a car if you plan to visit only one city or several cities. Usually, public transport is well developed both in cities and between them. It is recommended to rent a car only if you plan to visit locations that are more difficult to access, where there is no public transport option.
23. Most of the time, buses are cheaper than trains. It is good to know this information especially when you do not have access to see the prices online before choosing the mode of transport.
24. In the cities where it is possible, buy a city pass or a museum pass, it is a more economical option to see more places in a city.
25. If you decide that you need to rent a car on vacation, I leave a small guide to help you make the best decisions when you sign the rental contract.
Conclusion:
I hope that I have come with news and things that will help you in planning your future trips. Every trip is different, but I tried to find the most general solutions that would apply in most cases.
I'm curious if you have other ways to save or spend less money on vacations. If so, leave them in the comments, I'm sure that both me and the readers will be delighted to find them out.
Read other article that will help you in your future travels: long fights tips and tricks.
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