10 great ideas to economise when travelling

It’s said that “ Travel is the only thing you buy, that makes you richer”. That’s absolutely true, but what if you don’t have enough money for this enjoyable investment ? Well, it’s often not as expensive as you think it is! Good budget management is the secret. Here are ten tips to save money when travelling.

 

1- Book your flight and hotel smartly:

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Search  among thousands of Hotels and airlines on the internet to find interesting deals. You may be really surprised of what you can find, just take your time to compare. Besides, by booking on the internet, you will avoid travel agencies extra fees. You can start by checking our Hotel and Flight search service. But you don’t have to limit yourself just to that. Look online for other offers. If you’re a little adventurous, you may even look at being a guest in one of the thousands of hosts at AirBnB, a site where locals offer their entire house/apartment, or part of it for guests, at usually much lower prices than regular apartments. It can also be a good chance to meet locals and know them better.

 

2- Be flexible in your choices:

Don’t limit yourself. If you find an interesting deal, change the time and the date of your flight. Try to avoid School holidays and weekends. It’s also usually cheaper if you book early. If you are travelling with a group, it may be cheaper to rent an apartment and share costs. The further you move away from the city centre, the cheaper prices usually get. It’s all about your strategies and priorities, think of it well.

 

3- Be organized

Before travelling, everyone will look for “things to do” and put them on his list. And because you are a super organized traveler you will make a special list. Since it may take too long to go from a street to another, in the same city, look for every place on the map and organize them by distance. Google Maps is your friend. By doing so, you will avoid taking unnecessary mean of transportation and you will better manage your money and your time.

 

4-  Avoid taxis:

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Taxis are generally costly. Take the bus or metro. If you are staying for too long, buy a weekly or monthly travel card according to your special needs. If you are travelling with family and friends or planning to visit far regions, then perhaps renting a car can be cheaper. Check oil prices before you do so however.

 

5- Use your Mastercard:

Some shopping websites and tourist attractions websites, do discounts for online payment or early payment. Get advantage of that ! Also, look for credit cards that offers rewards. Many credit cards, like American Express, accumulate points the more you use them. And you can later exchange these points for free miles with your favorite airline. Ask your local bank for available options.

 

6-  Money exchange:

Exchanging money may be costly unless you pay attention. Avoid hotels, airports and no fees exchange kiosks, they usually charge you a higher commision. Take the right type of payment card and preferably the no foreign transaction fee credit card. Here is an useful article about exchanging money abroad.

 

7- Student card:

if you are a student, lucky you! make an international student card and get advantage of student discounts around the world.

 

8- Say No To Roaming

Roaming can quickly accumulate huge bill, for sometimes you pay even for the missed calls, and any call you make will cost an international rate. The better option is to buy a local topup prepaid card at your destination. Usually you can find good package deals, for example 500 minutes, 500 text messages, and 2 GB of data for £20 in London. Buying it at stores outside the airport usually comes cheaper as well.

 

Use call forwarding if you need to catch all calls on your home number. You can just re-insert home sim at end of day to check your text messages.

 

9- Use the internet:

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In addition to looking for free attractions and free museum days, use internet to call your family via skype, Viber, Google+ or other applications for free, or at very low cost. There is usually free WIFI at the hotel and some public spaces. If not, buy an internet package, it’s always much cheaper than using the phone.

 

10- What about shopping?

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Don’t forget to take necessary things with you from your home country. They may be more expensive in other countries. Be aware of high taxes. Avoid the Hotel and airport shops to buy souvenirs, ask about cheap local markets. Check whether prices in these markets are fixed, or open for bargaining as well. Don’t forget to consider weight when shopping to avoid extra kilos fees.

 

Finally, be up to date. Follow travel accounts on social media, sign up for newsletters, do researches, don’t miss any deal or useful information.

Ask, ask and ask ! The more you know, the better you act.

 

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