When you are on the road, you don’t ever want the journey to come to an end. The reality is that at some point it will unfortunately however that doesn’t mean you can’t put in place ingenious ways to prolong traveling altogether.
It doesn’t matter if you are a first-time backpacker who wears an unfashionable fanny-pack everywhere or an experienced itinerant globetrotter who hasn’t showered in days, everyone can benefit from these useful tips.
Tip #1 Become Accustomed to How Airlines Work
You can get incredible deals if you look for flights from as far back as 6 months and tickets are usually cheaper on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Knowing when it’s offseason will also reduce costs and know the cut-off dates for this too. For example most Scandinavian countries are cheaper from May 15th up until June.
And remember to check the actual airline websites because it’s more often than not cheaper than the standard flight search engines like lookupfare.com, cheapair.com or skyscanner.com. Oh, and delete your internet cookies or go incognito when you do search for flights (so the website can’t see your search history and spending pattern).
It’s also beneficial to know which hub destinations have the cheapest trips such as Hong Kong, Milan, Singapore and even London (sometimes). You may not even leave the airport but save a fortune on flights.
Tip #2 Learn the Many Different Ways to Sleep
Let’s face it, hotels are too expensive, boring and feel like a prison. The last thing you want to do while you are traveling is sit in front of a TV, you really want to be talking to people and exchanging stories.
If you want to save money, www.couchsurfing.com is highly recommended. The whole experience of staying at a local’s house can also open the door to other opportunities such as home cooked meals, a free tour and making great friends.
For the hard-core traveler, wait to book a hostel the day before for last minute deals. Also get friends discount codes for www.booking.com, www.hotels.com and other similar sites though double check the T&Cs before using it.
Sometimes it’s better to actually use www.airbnb.com instead of hostels or if you can’t find someone on www.couchsurfing.com depending on where in the world you are.
A few very frugal globetrotters sleep at the airport before an early morning flight (these flights are almost always the cheapest).
Tip #3 Be as Frugal as Possible
Becoming frugal takes practice, especially when you encounter so many cool activities and events during your travels. When in life we are faced with making tough decisions, this is when your creativity can play an important role.
For example, always carry an empty bottle that you can fill with water from restaurants, hotels or anywhere safe instead of constantly having to buy water.
Try to avoid restaurants and try street food instead, a good sign is if the vendor has lots of local customers.
Learn to haggle and when to haggle, if it’s almost closing time for the vendor, they may consider giving you a cheaper price or if you buy a few things in bulk.
My personal favourite is packing lunches from free breakfasts though some places will stipulate that you are not allowed. Other hostels may state that you need to purchase a token for breakfast however if you start piling food on the plate before getting asked for a token, just explain you weren’t aware.
Some travelers even make jewellery from things they find on the beach and sell it to others. Basically always look out for opportunities to save a penny or cent whenever you can.
Related articles: