It is possible to travel the world on a budget. There are many hacks that you need to know to travel the world in style on a budget. Here are the best shoestring travel tips. 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. 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 but choosing to travel on shoulder season instead is a much better budgeting.
Not only will you avoid peak airfare costs, but hotel prices will be more competitive, and places will be less crowded. Spring is usually a good time to travel in most of the places. 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. Book everything in advance or at the last moment (last-minute and first-minute), as the prices then are the lowest.
Some tours from big travel agencies have great discounts if you book at the last day. Watch out for ‘error fares’, 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. Otherwise, you could also subscribe to websites that regularly post error fares and crazy flight deals for any given time period, for example SecretFlying.com.
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. Flight search results can be different on different computers, different locations, browsers and so on.
Travel companies extensively use cookies to give you the highest flight fare that is still ok for you. So, rather use the incognito tab in your browser when searching for flights. Once at your destination, spending just a few minutes familiarizing yourself with public transportation options can save a lot of money over taking taxis.
If you want to spend less money on public transportation, you can find good accommodation in the city centre to be able to go to the main attractions by foot. 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.
Never forget to ask the locals . . .
Airbnb is also a great and inexpensive option to stay in a new place living like a local. If you are staying in one place for a long time, you should consider renting an apartment for a month.
It can be cheaper than 2 weeks in a hotel. 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. Contact the local Tourism Bureau and ask for some information about places that are off-the-beaten-path.
This will help to visit new interesting locations not known by many people and usually the accommodation will be cheaper. 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.
Rather than going to tourist-filled restaurants that serve up mediocre Western food, go to the local spots that serve up authentic meals. The restaurants will be busier and therefore the food will be fresher. But also, typically local cuisine is much cheaper.
Cook your own meals — you don’t have to cook every meal because it is good to enjoy local delicacies, but cooking even one meal a day and save you a lot of expenditure. Don’t eat food near famous tourist attractions because everything will be expensive there. Find a few locals and tell them to suggest you where to eat. Eating where the locals eat is always cheaper.
