For most of us our travels are limited by two main factors, time and money. However if your thirst for travel doesn’t need five star luxury, you can make your money go a lot further with just a little careful planning.
One of the biggest ways to save money on your trip is to be flexible. You can save a fortune on flights if you shop around, watch out for flight bargains online, travel agents and even at the airport. Flights that arrive at incovenient times can be much cheaper and you can always have a quick nap in an empty airport if you arrive at a funny time. When you do arrive don’t go rushing out looking for a taxi – most airports have bus or trains set up which will take you into the main city. Often these are just as quick and much cheaper than using cabs.
Do your homework, you can use the internet to prepare a great list of value for money restaurants and hotels for every place you wish to visit. If you have a set itinary then book busy places before you travel. If you’re travelling low season or are in now hurry you can get some great discounts just by turning up and haggling until you get a good price.
Having some sort of internet enabled device is a real boon for the budget traveller. You can do you research whenever coming across a free wifi spot such as in hotels and airports. Be careful using laptops to do any secure banking over these hotspots though. I personally invest in some software which links me up via a secure proxy server. This keeps my details safe when travelling and it also allows me to use a UK proxy server to get access to the BBC Iplayer when I’m travelling. This site has lots of examples and useful information – http://www.theninjaproxy.org/
Planning your meals can also save you lots too, for instance eating decent lunches and breakfasts usually work out much cheaper than big evening meals. However it’s rarely wise to pay for a seperate breakfast in a hotel – go outside and find a local cafe will normally be much cheaper.
Always work out where and how to change money. Finding the best exchange rates can make a huge difference to your budgets, this may be in local banks or the airports. It varies from country to country, so do you research before hand and only change money in those places.
Hamilton Hayes
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