Eras as Willy Fog! You spend all day traveling! I do not know how you do it! These are some of the pearls that our friends often give us when we tell them we are going on a trip. Today you will find answers to all those questions that do not let you sleep about how we do it to travel as much as possible on a tight budget. Because traveling twice a year is better than traveling just one, right? And if what you save from one trip gives you another, better than better. These are some of the tricks and tips for traveling cheap that we usually use on our trips.
The Best Advice and Tips for Traveling Cheap
Tips to find cheap flights
The experts’ traveler said that 21 days before flying is the best date to book a flight. It’s not for nothing but you just have to listen to them, right? For international flights with 11 or 12 weeks in advance, you will find the best deals.
If you are idle, take advantage and travel during the week. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the days when flying is cheaper. And of course try to fly in low season, avoiding July and August.
It entangles in the network to compare cheap flights in different search engines. Our favorites are lastminute, Skyscanner, Kayak, and Liligo.
If you make a weekend getaway, evaluate if it makes up for returning early Monday and going to work something bleak. Your boss does not like it much, but maybe your pocket will thank you.
Rate make several connections to fly to your final destination even if you have to go around the world. Also, do not discard flying to other airports near your destination.
One way to travel that we like a lot is to choose a destination based on the offers of cheap flights you see on the internet. One day you get bored, you start to look at flights on the internet and you find a super bargain, are you really going to let it go? Then you call all your friends to trick them into going with you with the excuse that you cannot pass up that opportunity. Trust me it works.
If you are going to make long trips by plane (crossing the pond, flying to Asia) it will compensate you to get the affiliate card from that airline. On long trips, you get a lot of points depending on the number of miles flown. If you accumulate them you can get a flight through the nose or for much less money. If you travel a lot for work is essential that you take it out, it’s free!
Do not be afraid to take airplanes that leave at odd hours and, above all, do not be afraid to spend the night at the airport.
Save money on means of transport
If you are going to visit a city for several days, you may be able to buy a card to save on transportation. As for example the City Pass in Venice, the Lisbon Card in Lisbon, or the Metro Card in New York. Find out if there are any discounts buying these cards in advance online.
To move from one city to another is also great the option to share a car with Blablacar. Easy to use, convenient and cheaper than using your own car or public transport. Highly recommended.
Do not buy the typical bus ticket offered on the plane (for example, those offered by the Ryanair Company to go from the airport to the center). They are always much more expensive than using public transport.
Do not you miss “Blue Summer”? Well, rent a municipal bicycle and go back to the city with a pedal stroke.
If you are going to travel by car abroad, and you are going to cross several countries, check before the price of gasoline in each country. This way you can fill the gas station before (or after) crossing the border.
If you decide to rent a car, compare the rental price with search engines. There are several intermediary rental companies that usually reduce the price quite a bit.
If you prefer to travel by bus or train, check the transport website of that country. Sometimes there are discounts if you book in advance.
If you think that the transport cards do not compensate you, value the possibility of getting a discount voucher for several journeys. For example, share a bonus of 10 trips on the subway.
Save on food on trips
Did someone say Iberian ham sandwich? Yum yum! We recommend at least the first day take your mother’s omelet sandwich and a good portion of vacuum packed sausage. Also, remember that airport food is bad and expensive, so everything you can save by taking it from home will be perfect.
Try to pull street stalls or eat in the places recommended by the locals, they are the ones who know best where to go. Also do not rule out the option to buy food in supermarkets.
Avoid as much as possible take something between hours (this is something that one I know long ago and I detest). I’m going to grab something from this street stall there that looks really good, oh! Look at that queue to eat an ice cream sure they are delicious, do we take one? These little things are what make the food budget in some way.
How to find cheap hotels on the internet
The answer is simple: with patience. Arm yourself with the courage to be willing to go crazy looking for hotels and comparing ones with others. If you do not want to end up in an asylum you can consult pages that will help you in this hard work. For example, we use a lot of booking.
We recommend you take the previously booked accommodation. It is a way to be able to compare all prices with peace of mind.
If on the contrary, you like strong emotions you can wait for the days before the trip. Sometimes there are bargain lodgings at the last moment.
Find out if there is an important event in your destination city during the dates you go. If so, reserve it well in advance. In case of the misfortune of not finding accommodation, look for peripheral towns that are well connected to the city center.
Stay in hostels, they are cheaper than a hotel and it is a good place to meet travelers.
Other tips for beginners
Never change the money at the airport, the rates are much higher. Take the money changed from Spain or change it in some exchange store in the country. If you travel a lot you might be interested in getting some credit card without commissions abroad.
Tips just, and only in countries that require it. You can take a look at this very interesting post about the tips that must be given (oo) in each country.
In many countries, the art of bargaining is common, so throw it out and show your skills for it.
Never call by phone with roaming. If you want your mother to know about you, use Skype over Wi-Fi. And of course, do not be a bitch and deactivate the data abroad.
Can you think of another trick to travel cheap that we have forgotten? Let us know, we will love reading it!