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How to save money when you travel?
The above question is one of the most common questions asked by all travellers. And there are many ways in which you can save money while travelling which will allow individuals to travel for long time.
We live in a society where pay more and get a better product or service is quite common.
The main motto behind saving money while travelling is that they can afford to travel many more destinations
3 Myths every traveller should know
- Travelling is very expensive.
- You need to be very rich to travel.
- Normal people or middle class can never afford to travel for the long term
But that isn’t true anyone can travel as long as they want to.
Every traveller should make smart choices, prioritize his needs based on what is absolutely required and what is not and strategize to spend in the right way to cut costs.
It is not easy to save money while on travel as we have led a comfortable life all this while and it is always tempting to buy things on travel.
Everyone who is passionate about travel needs to work really hard and do some sacrifices to save money.
I have seen a lot of rich travellers travel on budgets as they feel less isolated, they can explore life more like a local, meet a lot of people, develop great friendships, know more about culture and tradition etc. There are a lot of good things that come along with saving money when you travel.
These travel tips given below are for everyone, it doesn’t matter if you travel once in a while or regularly.
22 best ways to save money while travelling
Consider Budget Travel
Make realistic budgets before you visit a place.
Everything should be preplanned based on research or asking people who have been to those destinations.
Make a note of what activities you want to participate, what you are planning to buy, where to stay, what places to visit, what you want to eat etc
Research properly on budget accommodations, eateries, shopping etc
Choose a destination based on the budget you want to spend.
Always use public transport
As travelling from one place to another place is always considered to be a costly affair if you use cabs, private vehicles etc. And there are more chances that you can be scammed.
One of the best ways to see or experience a place is by behaving and doing things like how a local would do.
Public transports like train, bus etc will always cost very less as it is launched for the benefit of people by the government and used basically to transports a mass crowd.
Public transports never miss to giving a truly local experience.it gives great knowledge and insights of hanging out with a local.
Remember: No epic cultural interactions ever happened getting chaperoned in a private taxi — Jarryd Salem
Book hostels or homestays instead of fancy hotels
You won’t be spending much of a time staying in the hotel so no need to book a luxury hotel.
Instead, go for a homestay provided by local and these days you can find a lot of hostels which will provide a nice bed and place to halt by.
These hostels and homestays will cost you very less and it will be very well maintained so you need not worry about hygiene just because they are providing it for less price.
Homestays provide good authentic food prepared at home which is very healthy.
You can interact with localities easily and get to know about their culture, tradition, way they lead their life and these kinds of things provide a piece of great knowledge and local like experience
Book a place with a kitchen, refrigerator. Washing machine etc
Always choose a place with these kinds of facilities as it will help you save a lot of money.
If there is a kitchen you can cook your own meal, which will always cost less than what you have outside,
To reuse clothes you need to wash, but giving it to laundry is an expensive affair. Instead, you can wash your clothes by yourself if washing machine and dryer are present.
Eat at local eateries or street shops
Choose places which are a little away from tourist attractions where localities have their food if will cost less. These restaurants will mostly contain local foods, it is believed food is the best way to know about the place.
There will a variety of street food restaurants, eating here will be a good way to save money.
Protips: Always inquire locals about the famous dishes and popular restaurants which are
Don’t shop in tourist destinations
Never shop near tourist attractions, it will be very costly.
My advice is never to shop when you travelling always pack whatever you want. If in case you want to shop then choose places that are away from tourist attraction this will reduce the price drastically and save a huge amount of money.
Travel during offseason
Travelling to places during peak season is a big no.
Each and everything would be costly during peak season.
Accommodations cost would be skyrocketing and many a time you may not find a place to stay unless you book 2 to 3 months early.
Food, activities, transport, tour guides etc will cost you more as there is high demand and someone else will be ready to pay more than you for the same activity.
Travel to offbeat places
Offbeat places in the sense, travel to places which are very amazing but still not popular among the mass crowd.
Accommodations, food, transport, activities etc would cost very less and you will be given more importance, it will add a personal and emotional touch to your travel.
Travel overnight from one destination to other
Instead of staying and halting in a hotel at night, you can choose to travel to another destination as it will be cost-efficient than a hotel stay and save time.
Usually, the day journey would make us feel like we have missed out on an important thing and night journey, on the other hand, we would only be sleeping as we won’t feel as if we have missed out on anything.
Go to temples for free food and stay
Get in touch with a local who knows in and out of the place. They would suggest places where we can get free food and stay.
A lot of temples and religious mutts in India offer food at least one meal per day to all the devotees. I guess this will be on top of the list to save money while travelling for most of them.
Some temples even provide stays for free or very less amount for their devotees.
Always inquire if for these details if you are going to any temples or religious mutts.
Book Air tickets many months before you travel
As air tickets are very costly when you book them in short notice.Plan in advance, book tickets at least 3 to 6 months before the date of departure.
Couch sharing or surfing
Couchsurfing Is hospitality and stays based social networking site.
Which connect travellers all around the world to find a stay or share your home to another fellow traveller to stay when he/she is your hometown.
And when you want to travel to other places around the world you can ask another fellow traveller who stays in that surroundings to share their home. sometimes you get it for free and other times you need to spend a small amount. Any individual can save a lot of money sharing a couch when they are travelling.
Carry snacks and water during outings
Wherever you go always carry snacks and a refillable bottle because most of the places near tourist attractions food will be very costly.
Be flexible with your dates and travel destinations
Travel slowly, don’t hesitate to tweak a plan if you get some nice offers in stays, dates, locations or any other experiences.
Flight charges keep on changing so as much as possible to get cheap flights even if that means a lot of stops. Fly during unpopular hours.
Camping at night
When you are travelling you would come across many places where you can’t find stays, no vacancy in stays or if you feel nature around you is very beautiful and you want to be amidst nature you can camp.
Make sure you purchase a tent which is weatherproof. Invest money to purchase tents and you can use a tent where ever you travelling and save a huge amount of money because the stay is usually the one which burns a hole in your pocket.
Book through travel agents
These days most people book through online thinking it would cost less but still expertize what an agent hold is equal to none.
He will know in and out in his industry and can do bookings and provide good quality for a lesser price than what it is shown online.
Work and earn while travelling
There are a lot of travel job opportunities.
Just saving won’t work, you even need to earn money to support your travel.
Travel jobs like a travel writer, travel blogger, photographer, English teacher etc can be done.
To know more about travel jobs click on how to make money while travelling.
Use credit card reward points
Most of the time if you purchase or buy something you will get rewards points, you can use these points, to get offers or cashback when you are buying something.
Befriend locals
You can befriend a local whichever destination you go, chances are sometimes you will be offered free stay and food when you think of extending your stay and you don’t have much of money.
You can lead life more like a local.
Don’t hire a guide
Never hire a guide because it is a very costly process and moreover these days everything you want to know can be searched in Google. You get maps, you get reviews, you can know about any place etc. you can travel by yourself without a guide.
Win a free contest
Many travel companies use free giveaways and contests to market their product, this is one of the best ways, where you can perform well and win in the contest to get free trips to various destinations.
WWOOF(World Wide Opportunities On Organic Farms)
It Is hospitality come farming social networking site.
Which connect travellers all around the world who want to work on farms with farm owners. Where travellers work on farms and in turn they are provided with food and shelter.
sometimes travellers are even provided with some money if they work very hard.
Conclusion
These are some of the best ways to save money while travelling around the world.
You need to choose the best strategy that would suit your way of travel to save money. There are many more ways to save money when you travel.
Also read: ways to make money while travelling
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