Nobody fancies the idea of losing money when traveling and it is the desire of the majority to save as much as the possibly can during their travels. If you have any thoughts of going for expedited passport renewal to travel the world, then you will be interested in knowing some of the tips you can use to save some money during the trip so that you not only travel comfortably, but also you don’t run out of money and become stranded in a foreign land. Here are a few tips that would be of interest to you:
Travel when no one is traveling
The most expensive time to travel is when everyone else is traveling and a trick you can use to get almost cheap everything is to time your travel during off seasons or low seasons. During such times, airlines are desperate for travelers and they will entice people with low rates and other goodies. Hotels are also recording low bed occupancy and will be glad to give you nice discounts so that their rooms cannot go without guests.
Use price comparison sites
There is a myriad of price comparison sites for almost all aspects of your vacation. Whether you are looking for hotels, cheap air tickets or deals you can take advantage of to allow you travel cheaply but conveniently, such information will always be available in the price comparison sites, and if you are already not using them, then you have been missing out on incredible opportunities that might have ended up saving you a lot of money.
Avoid extra baggage fees
It is imperative to ensure that your baggage is of the right weight if you to avoid paying unnecessary fees for extra luggage to your airline. If you are not certain about the weight limits, be sure to call the airline and confirm what they want and ensure that you don’t carry any extra weight on your trip as this will just make you pay more fees.
Book from the hotel’s websites
The deals website are ideal for having an overall picture of which hotels are offering the best options, but when it comes to booking, you should always book directly from the hotel’s website.
Most hotels will offer affordable rates for guests who book directly with them as opposed to those who through third parties who will also want to get their cut from the booking.
Don’t use the exchange bureaus at the airports
As usual, you will have to convert your money into the local currency for more convenience. But as opposed to what is preached by many, you should avoid exchanging your cash at the bureaus in the airport since they tend to have very low rates and you may lose a good percentage of your money if you exchange with them. Instead, you should change your money in the banks or the bureaus in the city center as they tend to have better rates than those at the airport. Alternatively, you can look at using a travel money card so you can exchange and move money instantly. Many platforms like Caxton global payment platform offer these services as well as 24/7 support and the ability to hold multiple currencies at once, making your backpacking trips easier and stress-free.
Hunt for free activities
Take time and do a little research so that you can discover where free activities are in the areas you will be visiting. A nice way to do this would be to get in touch with your embassy or travel agents so that they can show you the calendar for the various cultural activities in the area you will be visiting. Alternatively, most of those activities usually get advertised online and if you visit the social media pages for the region you are visiting, you are likely to find a couple you could attend for lots of fun and without paying a dime.
Consider your location before you book
In the pursuit of cheap deals, many people have ended up booking hotels far away from where they would be spending most of their time during the day and ended up spending all the money they had anticipated to save on transport. This is why it is imperative to consider keenly the proximity of the hotel with the nerve center for most of your activities.
Don’t fall for the best rooms
Hotels will always want you to book the best room and will make very enticing offers for you, but if you are thinking of going for expedited passport renewal and save money while you travel, then you must never fall for the trap of the best rooms. In most cases, the will sell you the views, amenities, a pool, fitness center, and others, but truth be told, if you are trying to save money, then you just need a decent place to lay your head at night. The presence of a great view will not help you fall asleep faster.
Avoid eating in areas close to tourist destinations
Trying out new foods is one of the experiences most people look forward to when they are traveling to new destinations, but if you are not careful with what you eat and where you eat it, you could end up spending a little fortune on the food. A great tip is to never eat in joints close to tourist attraction centers. Such places are in business mainly to target the tourists, and their rates will always very expensive. Besides, they will not treat you to the authentic varieties you may have desired to have.
Don’t party too much
Most backpackers will confirm that liquor is where a bulk of their travel budget usually end up in, and with this knowledge, it is important to control who much you spend on parties and drinks when traveling. In most places, if you find the cost of food to be cheap, then the cost of liquor will be annoyingly disproportional. Therefore, just be careful to watch out how much you will be spending on the drinks.
Don’t go for the guided tours
Guided tours are necessarily expensive. If you can read about where you will be visiting, then you can have enough background information and you will not really need to have a tour guide to take you around. This is unless the area is potentially dangerous and you need an experienced guide to show you around.
These are all good tips on saving money and time when traveling. I do enjoy planning a trip.
Great tips. I think the first one is a huge one. We dont travel often, but when we do we always go off season. We went to the S Padre in Texas twice. Once when we went we left to go in April, it was like we had the whole place nearly to ourselves the rooms were really reasonable. Another time we went in March completely spacing out it was spring break… not a good thing. The room was 4x the price (at the same hotel we went to in April a few years before) and everything else was high.
I always like to get travel books from the library before I consider taking a trip. I plan what I want to see and where to eat. For me, planning a trip is almost as fun as the trip itself.
Good tips here! With kids, I am always looking for good tips on saving money. There are so many “travel tip” websites to also help as well. Thanks for sharing!