How to travel on a budget: our 10 helpful tips
I hate the daily routine. Who does not go? Wake up early in the morning, sloging your way to work with zombies by public transport or in a traffic jam. And then you arrive at your work and there is a huge amount of work for you ...
I hate the daily routine. Who does not go? Wake up early in the morning, sloging your way to work with zombies by public transport or in a traffic jam. And then you get to your work and there is a huge amount of work so you do not have time to live, cook or clean every day, pay bills or solve problems and problems and problems and problems and problems and problems Problems ... and there is the time you're tired of all of that and you decide to take a vacation.
So what to do on vacation? The answer is obvious - Travel! Only trip clears your mind, changes your philosophy and helps you "restart".
You have a million places where you want to go, but browse the regular flight costs or the price of the travel packages you will become horrified and amused, thinking what the designer this daughter of Instagram, who teases with his photos all the time , works to do a lot of money on travel around the world?!? Relax. There is a truth I want to share with you - you do not need to be rich to travel. Just accept and repeat again - you do not need to be rich to travel! But you must have guts, be enthusiastic, outgoing and open to new experiences. Always do not believe me? Here are some tips that will turn your world upside down and make you jump from your sofa and ask your boss for a vacation.
Before discussing essential advice, remember the rule that works the best - browse and search
The key of a good trip is in preparation. Spend time to know everything about your destination. Read the blogs, forums, travel guides, ask your friends, parents, this instagram daughter.
TIP N ° 1 FLY SMART
As soon as you have decided to fly to your destination, pay attention to these fast mandates of advice:
- Plan everything in advance will save you a lot of money. Earlier, you book your more expensive ticket that will cost.
- Flights with starting dates in the middle of the week are always cheaper. Friday is the most expensive day to fly. Tuesday and Thursday are the cheapest
- The strange banknotes are cheaper than direct flight tickets
- Use low cost airlines such as Easyjet, Wizzair, SAS, AIRBALTIC, Ryanair, etc. If you are traveling in Europe Europe, choose the cheapest flight to any country and make a change in flight on low cost airlines. You will be pleasantly surprised by the offers they offer; for example. It is possible to travel from Spain to Germany for $ 32 via Ryanair. And it's not the cheapest price!
- Sign up for travel cards, pay attention to offers and collect kilometers. Also look at the list of their membership stores - the purchases of these stores will give you 2 to 4 miles for every dollar spent.
Save up to 10% on the cost of paid flight in unusual currency. Check the latest rates for different currencies. This may seem strange but you can win on exotic rates paid for example in Czech crowns using your $ credit card.
Tip # 2 Hitchhike and Carpooling
Choosing a car because the means of transport to travel have many positive sides. This is convenient, you can transport a lot of luggage and discover beautiful local landscapes. For this to be cheaper, find people traveling to the same destination as you. The self-stop is totally free to explore the world, but it may seem dangerous, because you are never sure of what is in the spirit of the driver. If you are afraid of Hitchhike, the best solution to hit the road is to share your journey with people traveling in the same way. It's easy to find many sites on the net with profiles and pilot offers.
TOP # 3 Accommodation
- Hotels. The sooner you book a cheaper hotel it will be; The hotel can be even cheaper if you book at the last moment (today for today); The hotel can make a free room update (standard for comfort), if you arrive closer to the night
- If you are going to stay for a long time in the same place - Book private apartments, rooms or houses - Airbnb.com is a perfect service to find owners that allow you to trust.
- If you are traveling by car - consider motels on the outskirts of the city as an option or camping sites (they have all the facilities of the hotels, but they seem to be much more expensive)
- If you are open to new knowledge and that you are not afraid to live with strangers, check hostels. Originally designed to accommodate hostels to students gaining popularity through prices and designs. One might think that the hostel will finish like a regretted experience, but after a good search, you will be quite shocked with the variety of hostels and sometimes exceptional designs they have. So, if you have already dreamed of spending a night in a haunted house (in Bangkok) or Jumbo Jet (in Stockholm), on a tree house (Turkey) or in a castle (Scotland) go and book a room in a youth hostel!
Council n ° 4 volunteer
Have you ever considered helping people free? Great! You can combine volunteering and travel as many volunteer organizations can provide you with free accommodation or even flights. If you have some skills, you can even be paid for as; For example, to teach children English or child care. If you are ready to do gardening or agriculture in the fresh air, you can consider taking care of you. Farmers provide free rooms, table and sometimes food in exchange for help.
Tip # 5 Sofa Surf
If you do not yet know this service, you should definitely be! It's a global community where people offer free travelers. You will not believe the number of users in this service. The only thing you have to do is register and tell others of yourself. In addition to the free room, the host can tell you more about their cities and give you advice on transportation and restoration.
Consulting # 6 Check Last Minute Offers and Deals
There are many websites that work on an auction structure like Skyauction.com or Priceline.com. They work as a typical bid. You simply choose the location (if it is the hotel) or the destination (if it is a flight) and name your price. The system then chooses the transaction for you. You can actually save more than 60% on hotels and 40% on flights and rental cars, but there is always a risk of overpayment. Well, no guts, no glory, right? Sign up for last minute offers as well. You can save an entire batch because hotels and airlines are desperately willing to be fully filled. However, last-minute offers only work for people with flexible vacation schedules because you will sometimes have to hang the same day as you catch the case.
TIP N ° 7 Sign up for Groupon / Scoopon offers
Groupon, scoopon or any other local equivalent works well for budget travelers. Companies pay with the discounts to promote. With the exception of discounts for vacation packages, you can also consult the restaurant and attraction offers in the city that you come back. Simply register for their promotions and receive daily emails with offer. But be picky, pay a little time to carefully read the description of the agreement and check the critics and assessments of resorts on other sites such as TripAdvisor.com or Booking.com.
Tip # 8 Cook your meals and injury
You will not spoil your holiday by cooking, especially light breakfasts and make sandwiches for lunches, but you can certainly spoil your budget to eat several times a day. If the kitchen on vacation is not to follow the following tips:
- Avoid tourist places. Even though the restaurant is great and famous, you'd better find the place in the shadows. As soon as the places become attractive to tourists, they usually gripped their prices and start browsing fast food and give up the food that made them famous to start. If you see the green travel advisor sticker from there immediately. This does not mean that Trip Advisor advises you incorrectly. The problem is rather that these restaurants become extremely popular among tourists get excessive recognition for a deterioration of a product.
- Eat local food. You can always eat hamburgers and fries in your country. So be open to trying local food in small local places, but also far from the center of the city
- prejudice. If you want to socialize but you have a tight budget, buy something starting in the grocery store and simply get a drink in a bar or restaurant. It will not change the effect, but you will save a lot of money.
Tip n ° 9 Entertainment
You do not have to see the city from the top of a double imperial bus. Walking exercise All day, just look at regular people working or restaurants or buying food. Enjoy free foot tours. Volunteers of almost all major cities around the world will show you the city for free to practice their English and make friends. Browse the internet also for free festivals, museums and other attractions of your destination city. Sometimes free attractions seem even more intriguing and entertaining than those you have to pay; for example. Stroll alongside art streets in Buenos Aires, are part of an audience of your favorite TV show at La Visit a group of free museums in Washington DC, enter French history with free tours in Our English of Our Lady of Paris or Haggle at Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, who is one of the largest markets in the world.
TOP # 10 Look at your money
Be careful at exchange rates, check all rates and get ready in advance. Remember that the highest rates are still at airports and hotels. You can first check the forums and blogs in order to find the best places to exchange money, because sometimes such places seem to be in very unusual places, for example, Sri Lanka's best exchange rate is located. In jeweler's shops.
Minimize your expenses when booking hotels and car rental. You can always refuse to pay for certain insurance, credit card fees, additional services such as hotel breakfast or authorization for additional drivers in car rental companies.
Do not forget to joke! Haggle always and everywhere! Haggle as soon as you leave your plane. You can actually cut the price twice if you are a good actor, but do not overlay, the sellers will notice that at the same time and you will lose your good deal.