5 Ways to Cut the Costs While Travelling

We’ve all been there: you’ve taken a well-deserved vacation and loved every second of it… that is, until you realized just how quickly it’s emptying your wallet.  When on holiday, you’re meant to treat yourself to good food, activities, parties, and live the high life; however, with the growing costs of living and travelling, it can be all too easy to run into money troubles while you are away. No need to despair: there are many changes you can make that will cut the costs of your travel and even save you some dollars in the long run.

1. Take advantage of travel cards

There are now more travel card options than ever before, including frequent flyer cards, cruise reward points and public transport cards. Each has their own benefits and is a great option to help cut down the cost of your travelling.

• Cruise reward cards are excellent for saving you money on board the ship; they work much like cash back cards, giving you a certain amount of money or points back that you can spend on board.
• Frequent flyer cards are by far the most popular choice of travel card and if you fly often, then they are the perfect option. Working in a similar way, you will collect air miles from all your flights; each mile works as a monetary amount which you can then put towards buying holiday flights and even paying for items in certain stores.

2. Budget your holiday BEFORE you leave.

It may sound obvious but creating a budget for your holiday before you leave is often a great way to make sure you don’t over spend, while also helping you schedule out activities for your vacation. I prefer to work on my plans a month in advance, so I can take time to research costs and get an idea on how much I will be spending. I also found coupons and discounts this way by pre-buying tickets to museums or activities online.

Do your research about the areas you are visiting and then write it all out and see how much the activities, travel and living expenses will be.

3. Chose the local eateries

When you arrive at your destination, you probably have a good idea of what you’re interested in eating during your trip. However, a sure-fire way to save money on food while tasting local cuisine is to stay away from tourist-aimed restaurants and find local restaurants instead.

More often than not, you will find that these eateries are well priced and packed full of local delicacies that you may not find in larger chain restaurants.

On my recent trip to the Amazon, we found a huge disparity in prices between a full meal in a tourist-based restaurant and a local restaurant. A meal in the touristy area cost about $15, while local restaurants were offering the same amount of food for $1-2!

4. There are always small hidden gems

Much like the above tip – wherever you are jetting off to, there will be places that tourists don’t generally visit due to lack of marketing or knowledge about these hidden gems.

Australia is a great example of this, a country that is packed full of small, interesting places that you can visit quite often for FREE!

Finding these ‘hot’ spots away from the typical tourist activities requires prior research. However, it will be worth every minute spent at your computer for the money you save (and the unique spots you could visit!).

5. Use deal sites

Deal sites are popping up all over the internet at the moment offering everything you may need, for travelling, from discounts at restaurants through to extra nights in your chosen hotel.

Sign up to a couple of these sites and search for the specific are you are travelling to. You will soon be sent emails offering money off and discount deals.

This is especially handy if you are travelling with children that may want to visit attractions such as water parks and theme parks that can be very expensive, save some money through deal sites.

Are the deals in another language? Use Google translate… I did for my trip to Paris and we had the most amazing local cuisine for half the price of a regular meal in a dull touristy restaurant.

Need more money-saving tips?  Here are a few more of our travel articles:

• 5 Clever Ways to Save Money on Flights
• Money Saving Tips When Travelling Abroad
• Dealing With Financial Emergencies on Holiday
• Spring Break Without Breaking the Bank
• Why a Cruise is an Amazing, Budget Friendly Vacation

Looking to vacation to any of these spots? Take a look at our budget-friendly tips:

• Israel on a Budget
• Australia On A Budget
• Las Vegas on a Budget
• Thailand on a Budget
• Seattle on a Budget
• Orlando on a Budget
• Greece on a Budget
• Malta on a Budget