If I knew a way to change the topic of this post to “Ways To DEFINITELY Get You To Travel The World For FREE” I would but for now, we will have to do with ways to help you save money when travelling and implicitly, by saving you money – help you see more of the world! Let’s get started…
1.) Plan in advance: This is now always possible but whenever you can, try to book most things as far in advance as possible. Leaving even the smallest plans till the last minute can mean the prices do creep up on you and moreover, you may end up with even less choice that means that you end up having to compromise on standards and price due to lack of choice. For flights, Skyscanner.net is a good go to place and for hotels Booking.com covers a good range of hotels that you need.
2.) Vouchers: Look out for vouchers/coupons as these could seriously slash your costs by quite a lot. Free days out to National attractions? Special off-season discounts? Nice ways to still see and do the things you want to do at a fraction of the cost.
3.) Last minute deals: I know I said to plan in advance but it’s also worth looking out for last minute deals too. These can be great ways to grab some really great deals. Just be flexible and look out for these deals around times when you know you’ve got some holiday time coming up and you could potentially be flying out to Egypt for a 2 week 5 Star holiday for just £54 – all inclusive! I actually saw this deal on lastminute.com a few years ago – could’ve been typo on the website or a last minute deal but for whatever reason, this was an actual deal that you could buy on the website.
4.) Save with a group: Go travelling with as many friends as possible and you could save money on shared travel costs like booking an apartment/house instead of paying for hotel rooms. Taxi costs are so much cheaper the more of you there are… You get the picture. It’s not only fun to travel with friends but it can be a great way to save on your costs too.
5.) Travel out of season: Being flexible with the dates you travel helps you also save money. This is particularly important to remember when you’re travelling to places for the sights and not for the weather. For instance, London is as beautiful in spring, summer, autumn and winter and it wouldn’t make much difference (asides the clothes you wear) what time of the year you visit London. 🙂
6.) Be flexible with flight times: Some of the cheapest flights are at the most awkward times (6.30am flights are such a pain – especially considering the lead-in check in time and airport security checks) and as long as you’re flexible with the times, you can save quite a bit on the flights.
7.) Don’t dine out for every meal: Dining out costs quite a bit and if you’re looking to save money, perhaps look at making yourself a light lunch or perhaps even breakfast (pop into a supermarket and get yourself supplies – bread, meats, cheeses, fruits…etc) and that way, you spend just a fraction of the cost on your meals.
8.) For Europeans – Get an European Health Insurance Card (EHIC): This entitles you to treatment in the European Union like a local of the country. It’s also free so there that too… (It doesn’t replace travel insurance though – still get travel insurance).
9.) Annual Travel Insurance: Speaking of travel insurance, get annual travel insurance instead of buying it individually on each trip. It’s so much cheaper to buy annual travel insurance instead of buying it each time and if you travel even just a few times a year, you’ll find that you’ve actually yourself some dosh! 🙂
10.) You can take food past airport security: This can help save on buying meals at airports. This may not be so much in terms of costs when you’re travelling solo however if you’re in charge of nourish several hungry mouths, you might find that the costs do add up!
11.) Pack light: Hand luggage on most flights is usually free (at least for one bag) so try to see if you can fit as much as possible into your hand luggage instead of having to pay to check in a suitcase. If the suitcase is free and comes with your allowance though – definitely feel free to pack in a suitcase too. Effectively, use up your free allowance to the maximum and avoid having to pay for extra baggage.
12.) Look out for free WiFi: Quite a lot of countries have places with free WiFi – look out for these places and look to save money on your data costs by using the free WiFi here! Don’t be afraid to ask if they do have WiFi as it’s not always obvious in every single place but once you find one that is, you can proceed to recklessly iMessage everyone you’ve ignored for the last few days. 🙂
13.) Dine “Off The Beaten Track”: Eat your meals in restaurants not in the most obvious tourist hot spots. Typically, a lot of restaurants in these hot spots have perhaps ‘not the best’ meals (to put it lightly) and some of the best finds are just a few streets away from the places with all the ‘bright lights’.
14.) See more places in one go: Off to Hong Kong – see Macau (and vice versa, it’s just 1 hour away by ferry). Off to Singapore, pop over to Malaysia too. You get my point here – try to see as many places in the same trip as possible. While you may not be technically saving money, this is a great way to see more of the world on the same (or a similar) budget.
15.) Avoid staying smack in the city centre: The city/town/village centres are great and if you can, it can sometimes be nice to be based there (depending on where you go) but – and this is depending on the transport links – staying just a wee bit out of the city centre can be pretty good too! For instance, when you’re visiting London -I know I use London as an example a lot but it’s a place I know AND love…. now, where was I? Yeah, when you’re visiting London, there’s no need to stay smack in the middle of Leicester Square/Covent Garden/Charing Cross all the time – places like Euston, Paddington, Earl’s Court, Canary Wharf and Victoria have quite a few decent hotels and serviced apartments available and pretty good transport links across all of London so you’re literally just minutes away from anywhere you need to be. Plus, you get much bang for your buck at some of these places and have have a more pleasant holiday!
16.) Sign up for air miles or reward points: You’re going to travel anyway so you might as well get rewarded for your travels and use these to fund future travels!
17.) Consider alternative travel methods: Taking the train can sometimes be a lot than flying for example, as can driving and so it’s important to consider other travel options when looking to book your travels as you might find that not only do you get to save money, you also get to experience more of the country while travelling via alternative options.
18.) Use every discount possible: Got a student card? Got proof that you’re over 60? Are you a member of some sorta discount club? Use your discounts whenever possible. Even when it’s not advertised, ask people if they offer discounts applicable to you and you might be pleasantly surprised about how much money you could save!
19.) Use cheap international phone call apps instead of using your phone: Apps like Rebtel and Skype are great ways to save money on calling home or other international destinations and can really save you quite a lot of money compared to using your phone directly to call and hence incur unnecessarily huge roaming charges.
20.) Shop at Duty Free: Off for a party weekend in Ibiza? Stock up on the drinks at Duty Free. Perhaps you’ve been looking to get yourself a new camera for your holiday – check out the prices at Duty free. This can be a great way to save lots of money by grabbing some great bargains that you would otherwise have shelled out quite a bit on.
21.) Walk as much as possible: Save money by exploring travel destinations on foot. Not only do you get to save more (and exercise!) but you also get such a more immersive experience from your trip by exploring your surrounding on foot!
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