How can you make travelling cheaper?
We all love to travel but there is always that one recurring issue, money!
Travelling is, or can be quite expensive. Flights, hotels, activities, food and especially drinks can add up faster than you might think. But you knew that already, otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this right now. In this blog we would love to share some of our tips & tricks to travel cheap(er).
Transport
When travelling far away you often take a flight. Booking cheap flights is a task in itself. We have written an extensive blog on how to find the cheapest flights to help you and fellow travellers here. Another thing you can do to reduce the overall cost of your flight is skip the hold luggage and fly with just hand baggage. You make think this impossible but honestly we found it easier to do everything with lighter baggage. We managed to pack everything we needed for two weeks in Malta with just our hand baggage. If you really need your 5 pairs of shoes you can always share your hold luggage with your travel companions.
Travelling by train or bus is not necessarily cheaper than flights but it does provide ways to cut down on your total costs. By taking a night bus or train to travel to your (next) destination you won’t have to book accommodation for the night which will leave you with some extra to spend on something else. One thing we will say is that it is not the most comfortable option! Don’t believe the smile!
Taxi’s are stress free transportation during your travels but these small expenses can add up very quickly. Try to find out if there is a good and reliable public transport system in your area or rent your own (motor)bike or car. If you really need to use a taxi, download an app for the cheapest taxi company in the area. This is not only financially beneficial but it can feel and be safer.
Accommodation
Accommodation is one of the big spending’s when travelling. Prices of accommodation will vary hugely depending on your preferences and how luxury you want to spend your nights. There are many different accommodation types available such as resorts/hotels, apartments, hostels, (air)B&B’s and other types such as couch-surfing or house-sitting/swapping.
When solo travelling, we both tended to stay in hostels. Hostels may scare some first time solo travellers but honestly they can be more fun and luxurious than some hotels. Hostels are mostly cheap and a great place to meet other travellers. But when travelling together, dorm rooms in hostels are not always the cheapest option. Sometimes private rooms in hostels or even hotel rooms can be cheaper than two single beds in a dorm. Most of the time you can opt for a two-single-bed room when travelling with a friend.
Booking on the spot can be beneficial for your wallet but adds to the stress of not knowing if you have a place to stay that night. Hostels and hotels are often fully booked in the high seasons and wandering the streets to look for a place to stay is not fun, believe us… It’s not. Searching for a bed and ending up in a hammock on the roof in Kampot, Cambodia in the pouring rain was not fun. Booking online gives you the access to look for reviews and best prices in the area. Search engines we love to use are Booking.com, Agoda.com, AirBnB.com and Hostelworld.com.
Whilst in Bali, we met a group of travellers in a hostel and decided to spend Christmas together in a more luxurious villa. It had an indoor swimming pool, individual rooms and a butler making us breakfast. Not as expensive as you would think! Put it this way, budget hotels in the UK are more expensive.
Activities
Whether you love to relax on the beach or you want to see and do everything you possibly can, there are always ways to cut down on your expenses. Try to find fun free activities to do in the area, many cities offer free walking tours where your tour guide is a local, full of knowledge of the area. Take this as an opportunity to ask these locals if there are any other fun and cheap things to do in the area, you’ll be surprised, you might even get invited for a free dinner! Good old Facebook can also help you when looking for cheaper activities where you will meet fellow (solo) travellers in the process. Search for a travellers/backpackers page of your desired location. We guarantee there will be other travellers doing the exact same thing as you. Others may even be searching for one or two extra people to join them on a day-tour. Ultimately booking with bigger groups will almost always be cheaper than booking alone. Just like when we went rafting in Bali with a bigger group! If you prefer booking in advance, check out Tripadvisor for the best activities, prices and reviews!
Food & Drinks
One of the things we love about travelling is experiencing the true culture through food and drinks. The majority of the time local food will be a lot cheaper than the food you are used to at home. By trying these local foods you will not only be immersing yourself into foreign culture and tasting amazing new foods. You will ultimately be saving money but for us we tend to just buy more and more food…
As every traveller might know, drinks, and especially alcoholic drinks, are small costs that creep up and actually make a huge difference. You don’t always need that extra pint. That being said if you do, go for the local stuff!
Travel cards and money exchange
When travelling, managing your money is hugely important. It is recommended to understand your money flow and have an overall budget you would prefer to stick to. We have travelled with both ideas, budget and no budget. Both travels were amazing but one trip was dramatically shortened by a lack of organising budget-wise and running out of money. We would advise sticking to a weekly budget if travelling for a longer period of time in order to organise tours, dinner out and nights out etc. It might sound boring but you will definitely get more out of your trip if you plan your budget. Keeping a book with you to write stuff in is always handy!
Travel cards are one of the better ways to save money that you would have undoubtedly spent at cash machines and bank charges. Let us explain:
If you take 200GBP worth of money out at a cashpoint with a debit card in Vietnam, your bank could charge you 3% on top of the 200GBP withdrawal which would be an additional 6GBP, for nothing!
Most standard credit or debit cards charge a fee for using the card abroad, typically around 3%. Some cards charge a flat cash withdrawal fee instead of a percentage fee. Check the cost of using your credit or debit card overseas. Some cards are designed for travellers – others could give you a nasty surprise.
What is a prepaid travel card?
A prepaid travel card, often known as a travel money card is a card that you pre-load with money via an app or through your bank online. It is a great way to avoid carrying a lot of cash. These travel cards can be used at cash machines and at many restaurants, tours, bars etc. You just need to ensure you pick a travel card that deals with the currency of the country you are planning to visit.
It doesn’t cost to transfer funds onto the card and the exchange rate is usually pretty good. Some apps will show you how much you have on the card equivocating to the different currencies it can be used for.
For us, we have used Monzo and Caxton cards which were both very good. The apps are very easy to use and they target unnecessary spending such as fees and charges for using the card.
You can find the best travel money card for your situation by using this comparison table. This is not an ad, it’s just very helpful – Everything you need to know about using prepaid cards abroad.
You will need to tally which card is best for your situation. The caxton-fx card we used was completely free and free to use but not widely accepted in restaurants and bars. It was a multi-currency card which made dealing with withdrawals a lot easier. We also enjoyed the app!
Top Tips
- Tell your card provider or bank where you’re going and give them your contact details. If you don’t, they might think you have been a victim of fraud and cancel your card. Yes, you guessed it, this has happened to one of us. You don’t want you card blocked in the middle of a pub crawl!
- Only take cards you plan to use. Leave the others in a safe place at home.
- Only use your credit or debit card if it has low international usage fees. If your card charges a fee each time you use it abroad, use cash or a travel card instead.
- If you have to use your card, withdraw lots of cash at once. You will minimise the fees charged to your card. Take out enough for several days, carry what you need and leave the rest securely where you’re staying.
Travelling Translated
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