Disclosure - this is a collaborative post
We have come out of the turbulence created by COVID-19 and started to travel actively - this is the best thing that has happened in the last few years. But the issue of tightening monetary policy is still making itself felt and the labor market is gradually declining. Against this background, it is logical to reconsider your costs.
If you are not ready to give up traveling, but still want to save money, I hasten to please you - it is possible. It is impossible to tell in a nutshell how to save money for travel. We have prepared for you 7 ways that work today and help you reduce your expenses, sometimes even by 30%.
7 Budget Ways to Travel
Collect and Use Points and Miles
Many people know about this, but I have no right to skip this point - miles and points are friends of travellers. This is an absolutely legal, working and proven way to save money. Simply, when purchasing airline tickets, use your miles to pay for part of the ticket. They are awarded to you for using credit cards. If you're a true enthusiast, you might even be able to cover your entire flight costs, but you need to prepare in advance.
Be Anonymous When Booking Hotels and Buying Air Tickets
Nowadays absolutely everyone is watching us on the Internet: companies, websites, bots, ISPs and even hackers. The concept of anonymity and privacy is always considered from the point of view of moral peace, but it can also help save money.
Try installing a VPN and changing your IP address. Then go to a hotel booking or airline ticket booking site and check the prices. A dynamic pricing strategy can help you save money. For residents of certain regions there are often promotions or simply different prices. By posing as a resident of that region, you can save money.
For example, when booking a hotel, you can try to connect to a VPN server in the country where you are going to travel. For locals, prices are often lower, and local hotels are also available in the search, which may be hidden from an international user by Google or a similar system.
Advice! It happens to me that I can't connect to VPN. No matter how many times I press, VPN won't connect, it tries, and then the connection is lost. My solution is to change the VPN server or even the VPN provider. Although you can also try other solutions to the problem of
VPN not working in your browser, smartphone or PC. For example, you can change the communication protocol, reinstall the VPN, switch to a paid tariff, etc.
Choose the Right Time
If your main goal is to save money, then you should be more flexible in
planning your trip. Try to visit the country during off-peak season. Another way is to analyse airfare prices by day. Often, prices are highest at the beginning of the week and at the end. On weekdays in the middle of the week you can buy a ticket 5% cheaper. Please note that traveling in the off-season is not always possible due to the climate or cultural characteristics of the region.
Let's illustrate this tip. If you're planning a flight from New York to Paris over Christmas, you'll be spending $870-$910. If you go on December 24-25, the price will be $480-560. Not a bad saving, isn't it?
You Can Take Snacks With You
Any purchases at the airport or from street vendors in tourist areas are financially unprofitable. You can just take some snacks with you on the road and ignore the food courts. Moreover, now there are protein bars. They are much more organic and better for a healthy diet than any fast food.
Try Contacting the Hotel Directly
Hotels can often offer a better price if you book directly rather than through aggregator sites, such as Hostelworld or Booking.com. You can call them by phone and find out all the details. Perhaps there are some bonuses, loyalty programs or more affordable rooms in the old building. Also, many of them have the ability to make online calls.
Use a Travel Agent
Travel agents can often offer a better price for an all-inclusive holiday than booking everything manually. Often hotels offer them special terms of cooperation, inexpensive transfers and excursions for their groups of tourists. Everything in a group is usually cheaper per tourist. I'm not saying you'll save money, but it's worth a try. My trips to Mexico and Crete cost me $370 and $280 less, respectively, compared to my personal miscalculation.
Use Free Travel Insurance
None of us can guarantee that everything will go smoothly during the trip. But buying insurance is also quite expensive. How about using free insurance? To do this, you need to find out about the conditions for using credit cards in banks in your region. Some may offer free travel insurance if you book your trip using their credit products. This way you will be safe and will not spend a cent extra.
There are many more ways to save money, but most are tied to a specific location. So I forbid you to buy carpets in Turkey or touch people in Asia. This has financial consequences. But these are local features that you should become familiar with before visiting each country. Moreover, we already have a lot of valuable tips and reviews of great places in most countries of the world. Just use other materials on our blog.
