How to save Money on Vacation and Travel?
Most people are convinced that travel is necessarily associated with large financial expenses. And this opinion, of course, is not groundless. Agree, it is difficult to imagine that any airline will dare to take you to a place of rest for free, and the hotel administration suddenly wants to disinterment rent out the rooms to everyone. But it should be noted that there are a number of seemingly not very significant but in fact very valuable recommendations, which together will allow you to save on vacation up to 30-40% of all your travel expenses. And to find out more about this, read the text below.
How to save money on travel?
First of all, take at least 1-2 hours to carefully choose airline tickets. There are a lot of services for buying air tickets over the Internet, through which you can compare different offers and choose the most advantageous option. If you give this issue due attention, it is quite possible to find a really profitable proposal. It is worth noting that buying tickets round-trip from one company will cost less than if you buy them separately.
It is advisable to purchase air tickets several months before the planned trip. Also flights on weekdays, early morning and night are cheaper.
Another thing to save on vacation is the following – watch out for promotions and hot offers from airlines. They can also be found on the services of buying tickets for an airplane online. Also, for greater convenience, you can subscribe to the mailing of such sites or you can download the mobile application to your smartphone.
If you often fly in one direction or constantly use the services of a certain airline, then join all sorts of accumulative and discount programs for regular customers and save incentive points. Over time, this will save a lot of money for buying air tickets. It is also worth noting that many companies offer tangible discounts on flights for students.
How to save on vacation in terms of accommodation?
As a rule, a long stay at the hotel (from 2-3 days) in aggregate is cheaper than if you pay for each night.
If you are already at the place of your arrival, the most favorable prices for local hotel rooms are more likely to be found in the evening – usually, the cost of vacant rooms is significantly reduced after 21-22 hours of the day.
Also, a tangible discount can be obtained on Sunday after 18 pm. The fact is that it is during this period that most tourists leave the hotels to start their working week at home. And at the same time, it’s really not a bad idea to save on booking a room.
To save on vacation, it is much more profitable, and sometimes it is more convenient to rent accommodation from private individuals. It should be noted that to book apartments in this manner among private traders through various Internet portals has become an especially fashionable trend. Also, if you leave your apartment for more than 7 days, then you can rent it out by negotiating with one of the neighbors or friends for the care of housing. How to rent an apartment, and find a tenant on your house can be using the services of travelrent.com, airbnb.com, etc.
If you still like to stay in comfortable hotels, then do not forget, as in the case with airlines, to use the bonus and various cumulative programs of the hotel chain. So, many branded establishments often offer very tempting benefits for regular customers, like 1 free night for 10 paid days and so on.
It is also worth noting that most hotels offer weighty discounts in case of settlement by the whole family or if there are underage children. Be sure to ask this information before booking the room, otherwise ,at the registration ,you risk missing out on tangible benefits.
Speaking about how to save on vacation, it is important to mention the hostels and guesthouses. So, if your goal is not just to spend a lot of time in the room, but to see a lot of attractions, get acquainted with the streets and outskirts of the city, and get more pleasant emotions, then you can do without the hotel. In terms of accommodation, hostels and guesthouses are not too different from two or three star hotels. Of course, in this case ,everything also depends on the price, but it is usually much lower than the cost of renting apartments in the hotel.
If your main goal is to visit new countries, then an excellent opportunity to see the world will be participating in various volunteer programs. So, in exchange for rendering the feasible physical help ,you can count on habitation and quite good food. As for the work itself , it can be very diverse – from simple assistance in farming to participating in research expeditions. However, in addition to the desire here ,you will need a good level of English. You can find such work on the sites of Help Exchange, Peace Corps and unv.org .
A no less popular way of traveling around the world is a couch-surfing, when people from all over the world are ready to shelter you at home for a certain period of time completely free of charge. And you can also join this movement if you have accommodation located in a popular tourist place. The site is couchsurfing.com .
Also, a budget and very popular option for overnight stay and accommodation are all kinds of campgrounds, that is tent camps. All you need is to have a tent and a sleeping bag. Renting a seat is free and costs a symbolic price. But this is not all that is worth knowing about how to save on vacation.
How to save money on transport?
It’s a good idea to share your expenses with other fellow travelers. So, when renting a taxi, a boat or any other transport, divide the fare with other travelers.
Be sure to use several services for renting cars or other means of transportation. At the same time, compare prices and choose the most favorable offers. So, one of the most popular sites of this subject is sars-scanner.com.
When car rental it is important to adhere to the following recommendations:
* check the tire pressure;
- try to drive more slowly;
- use only high-quality fuel;
- use less luggage, otherwise, the fuel costs will be greater.
How to save on nutrition?
If you live in a hotel and breakfast is included in the price of the reservation, then be sure to have a dense breakfast – it will permanently drive away the feeling of hunger and give you energy.
Try not to eat in a popular cafe for tourists. It is better to go through a couple of streets and find some institution for local residents. As a rule, in the latter variant, the food costs will be much less.
If you have a rest in warm countries or just somewhere in the south, then often buy on the market and eat local fruits. Prices for them are much lower than in supermarkets in your city. In addition, it is not only delicious, but also very useful.
If there is a stove in the rented accommodation, then, of course, it will be much cheaper to cook independently than to eat in any cafes and restaurants.
General recommendations on how to save on vacation
If you can pay by credit card, then use it. It will be more profitable than if you change money for local currency.
If possible, try not to buy a SIM card from a local operator for telephone conversations. It is much easier to find any places with free access to the network via Wi-Fi and contact relatives or friends via Viber or Skype.
In many markets, and especially in Asian countries, local traders passionately like to argue about the price of the goods and, if you properly bargain, the cost can be knocked down at least twice.
Consider the weight of your luggage and try not to over-exaggerate it with various purchases. Sometimes purchased as a souvenir or gift, a gallon (4.5 liters) of wine during transportation can cost considerably more than its face value.
Now you really know a lot about how to save on vacation and what kind of recommendations you should follow. Good luck!