As a wise saying goes, travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer. Still, flights, hotels, and other things cost enough to discourage many from frequent trips. Bright Side gathered several tried-and-tested ways to save money on travels used by experienced globetrotters.
1. Use local search engines
Large services like Booking.com or Skyscanner frequently overlook local airlines and hotel networks that may have interesting offers. Spend some time looking at local search engines too. In Asian countries, hotels can be found on Ctrip or Agoda and in New Zealand and Australia on Wotif.
2. Don’t stick to particular dates
It’s quite often the case that a flight that’s a couple of days earlier or later than your chosen one is a lot cheaper. To check for such chances, use a low-cost calendar: many online aggregators have this function.
3. Pay in local currency with your card
Some countries invite you to choose which currency to use when paying with your card at stores. Always choose the local one because when you use the card’s currency, the money is converted twice or even three times. Thus, the extra charges may add up to 10%.
4. Go to museums for free
Lots of museums have free hours or even days. The Colosseum, for example, admits visitors for free on every first Sunday of the month, while the Prado museum in Madrid does so from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. There are also museums that don’t have a fixed entrance fee, like many UK and US ones.
5. Opt for apartments
Apartments have one indisputable advantage: a kitchen where you can cook your own food. It lets you save money and yet doesn’t preclude you from going out for lunch if you like.
6. Travel lightly
Traveling without luggage is a great way to save money because many airlines have reduced prices for light travelers. For instance, to fly from Billund in Denmark to Berlin by Ryanair may cost you just 1 euro, while taking luggage with you will cost at least 15 times as much.
7. Find special offers
Many transport agencies offer good prices for tourists. For example, two of you can use all the public transport in Bavaria for a day for just €31. This is the price for one from Munich to Neuschwanstein Castle if you buy single-use tickets. In the UK, when you buy any train ticket, you can get a second one for free to get to various popular sights.
8. Don’t rent cars in big cities
A rental car is a good means of traveling between towns. But inside a city, it can become more of a burden due to parking and traffic issues. To save time and money, better use public transport or, better still, rent a bike.
9. A “hidden” city
A direct flight from point A to point B is often more expensive than a flight from A to C with a stopover at B, which means you can buy a ticket to a connecting flight and simply not go on the second part of the journey. You can make your own route with a “hidden” city with such online tools as Skiplagged or Flyshortcut.
10. Use assembled routes
Assembled routes mean that you choose and combine different airlines and means of transport to get to your destination, which often lets you save quite a lot. The main rule here is that you should search for tickets to big transport hubs. For example, a flight to Rome with a following train ride to Venice is generally cheaper than a direct flight to Venice; a local flight to Phuket from Bangkok will cost less than a direct Phuket flight, and so on.
