Saving Money When You Travel

Many times, our travel expenses overshoot our initial budgets and we have absolutely no idea how. One learns new tricks with every trip and learning from fellow travellers’ experiences helps immensely as well.

Learning to be efficient with your money and knowing exactly where all your money is going, is a skill few have naturally, and others develop over time. A few tips to look into when you are trying to travel on a tight budget:

Travel during off-season. Peak season rates are much higher. This applies to hotel rates, tourist spot tickets, even flight charges. Be smart, travel when all others are still making plans. Check the internet for information on rates before hand and pick the right time to visit.

Hotels rooms vary in prices depending on the location, the facilities, and the brand or stars. Pick a hotel which fits your budget, or is a little lower than you are willing to spend. But check that it has all the facilities that you absolutely cannot live without.

Do your research before hand and look for times when discounts are given on tourist packages. These could be during festival times or during special local occasions. Take full advantage of this. Become members of online travel websites and forums and keep yourself up to date.

Remember, many places will try to cheat tourists and get as much money out of you as they can. Find out about transport, bargaining etc. Tons of advice is available online by experienced travellers. Sometimes the governments and tourist departments post valuable information on their websites, in the interest of tourists. Go through all this before your trip.

When it comes to food, avoid going to restaurants that are suggested for tourists which are often overpriced and lack the authentic taste demanded by the locals. Talk to local people and find where they all go for a meal out – you are guaranteed to get better food than in a touristy restaurant and probably at a fraction of the price.

Saving on food would essentially mean saving a lot. Check for student concession rates, or if you are eligible for any other discounts.

Lastly, taking tourist buses or cabs will definitely cost you more than taking the public transport – trains, buses, metros etc. It might be a bit of a culture shock to take the local bus if you are travelling to India or Mexico, but you have the travel spirit and are willing to try it all, take the bus with the locals.

Apart from saving you a lot of money, it will teach you much more about the place than a tourist guide ever could.