If
I had to boil down my budget tipps to an essence, it would be:
preparation is key!
So
much money can be saved, if you start planning your trip in advance.
Unfortunately, this is nothing for the spontaneous city hoppers and
globe trotters, but it will definitely mean more bang for the buck.
Try
to find an off – season date
Traveling
at popular holiday times usually means paying the highest prices. School kids and their teachers and parents
depend on the set times of official summer / winter breaks. If you are not bound to official breaks, you can enjoy your holiday a bit earlier or later and profit from the off season prices. Another advantage: chances are, also the airports, train stations, hotels and sights (sqaures, museums, palaces, parks) won't be as crowded either.
Compare
websites
The
same flight might cost you differently on different pages.
Of
course, pages that look for a desired flight and take into account
all airlines are very handy as they show you several options. You
don't like the flight with airline A with a 3h lay over? Take the
other option they show you with airline B and only a 1h30 layover,
etc...Sometimes the flight even seems some €/GBP/$ cheaper than the
flight the airline offers you on their own page. But you also have to
consider all kinds of fees some pages charge, either for choosing a
specific payment method or just their regular fee. It might end up
being more expensive than just booking the flight on the airline's
website.
It
also goes the other way round: some websites offer you a discount
over a certain amount of money for your next booking. So if you have
that discount mail somewhere in your spam folder, you might use it on
a flight that seems more expensive on the holiday website than on the
airline's website. It's all about comparing.
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| picture from pixabay, no attribution required |
Check
out crazy deals
The
internet makes it possible. There are websites dedicated to show you
crazily cheap flights or hotel deals and error fares (= prices that
the provider probably did not mean to offer that low, but they ended
up on their website, so they are bound to them). Most of those
incredibly good offers might actually also be for the off – season
period (watch above) but nevertheless, you might find an offer that
you wouldn't have if you just tried to look for flights on the
regular pages.
Links:
Book
your hotel in advance
As
a rule of thumb, the earlier you look, the more you can compare (as
the majority of places will still have enough rooms / beds left) and
the earlier you book the cheaper it will be. Hotels and hostels
obviously try to cover as much of their capacity as possible and
knowing as early as possible that their rooms are booked. They also
know the struggle of travelers who try to find a place last minute
and in their desperation are willing to pay more as long as all other
requirements are more or less met. So the earlier you book the more
you'll save as the prices only go up...
Don't
overlook B&Bs
People
tend to use websites like booking.com or other hotel search engines,
which usually only include hotels, apartments, sometimes hostels in
their search. I noticed that most of those pages ignored Bed &
Breakfast offers. I really don't understand why, given that they are
usually just as good as a cozy (not super luxuriously fancy) hotel
room, offering more privacy and probably more comfort than a shared
hostel room. If you find no hostel of your liking and no hotel room
that matches your budget, look for B&Bs. I don't know of a good
international search engine for B&Bs, but there are usually
websites that list all B&Bs for a specific region / city.
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| picture from pixabay, no attribution required |
Couchsurfing
If
you really can't afford to stay somewhere you'd have to pay for, or if
you are looking for the ultimate local experience: try couchsurfing!
It is a great
way to get to know locals and they always know where to get the best
food, too ;) It is perfect, especially if you dont know anybody in
that area. Couchsurfing is a whole community thing, some people just
meet up for coffee or a drink and some people may not be able to
offer you a place to stay but are willing to show you around the
city. I usually randomly ask for tipps especially on nightlife that
locals know better than some tourist website, even if i stay in a
hotel. After all, most travelers want the local experience rather
than seeing what every tourist sees at places that are just overrun
by tourists.
However,
keep in mind that especially girls that travel by themselves have to
be extra careful, as there have been some cases where male hosts
apparently expected sexual favors in return for letting them stay at
their place...
In
general though, the Couchsurfing people are very open minded, relaxed
and open to other people and cultures in general.
You have to consider that people who let random strangers in their
apartment are usually more open minded than average and have an
overall positive view on people from the start.
If
you don't stay at a Couchsurfing host, still check out their events.
Some have a weekly meet up in a bar or other fun activities planned
and they always welcome new faces with open arms!
That's
it for part 1 of my general budget tipps for travelers. I hope you enjoyed them
and they help you save some money. Part 2 coming soon...
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