Ways to Save Money on Travel when on Vacation
When you're on vacation or traveling, the last thing you have to worry about is your budget, but traveling can be expensive if you don't have a plan. If you don't think about it in advance you can easily overspend when that money could have been put to good use.
To travel as cheap as you can, you need to be flexible and not afraid of negotiation for prices. You also need to be aware of the online and offline hacks that can save you lots of money.
Here are some of the lesser-known tips for traveling on the cheap.
Travel Off-Season
Accommodations, tours, and even food cost more when you are traveling during the holidays or high season.
When traveling off-season, there are no tourists, and you'll get accommodations, tours, and foods at discounted rates.
Stash some snacks
Eating out is the quickest way to blow out your travel funds, especially when you have kids with you. Having lunch or dinner at a restaurant to experience local cuisine is part of the travel experience, but if you do it more than you have to it can easily take out a huge portion of your travel funds. If you or your kids are hungry, your stash of snacks can do a lot in saving you money.
Also, skipping drinks or desserts, if possible, can keep your bills low. These little things can add up and make a huge difference in your budget.
Use Travel Credit Card
Check the benefits of your credit card, particularly your travel credit card. You might be able to use your reward points to pay for accommodation costs and even your plane ticket.
Travel credit cards can return 2% or more on your spending. Other rewards cards can earn you valuable freebies such as free flights and hotel stays.
Keep Children Happy
Keeping your kids happy while you are traveling may be impossible, but it can save you a lot of money
Pack Light
Regardless of how long you plan to be away, packing no more than a week's worth of matching clothing may be enough. Bring weather-appropriate clothes like when you visit Chicago during winter, you'll need plenty of warm clothing.
Know the Local Holiday Calendar
You are probably familiar with the holiday calendar in your country, but what about in the place that you want to visit?
Traveling during holidays may be expensive so it is better to travel on periods where few locals take vacations.
Bring a reusable water bottle
One of the most annoying things to spend money on when traveling is bottles of water. Packing a reusable water bottle not only saves you travel money, but you also do a great part in saving the environment.
If you are going to a country where water is questionable, bring a travel water filtration filter system or better if your water bottle has a built-in filter.
Use Public Transit Transit As Much as Possible
Unless your journey is in a place with a limited number of mass transit, using public transportation is the best way to get the most out of your travel money.