Travelling the world can broaden your horizons and leave you with wonderful memories. However, it can also be very expensive. By planning ahead and carefully budgeting your time and money, you can travel the world at a very low cost. Read on for the best tips that will allow you to travel in style on a shoestring budget.
Be flexible
When it comes to saving money on airfares, there two strategies you need to use – flexibility with travel dates and on your routings. You’ll need to plan well ahead, watching the specials for your destination.
Major savings can be had by travelling off-peak. And, even if you don’t have kids, make sure you know when peak school season travel is and public holidays at your destination. Seriously consider travelling off-peak – the risk is worth it to avoid crowds and lines.
Travelling outside popular times can also save you significant money. Did you know booking a cruise off-peak could also save you thousands? A week on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean can be had for only several hundreds of dollars off-peak. Yes, please!
Set a budget challenge
Set yourself a daily budget and have fun trying to stay within it. Takes turns to shop for food and prepare meals. You can even make it into a race! Packing lunch on big sightseeing days will save you a lot of money and time.
Relocation Rentals
Want a free vehicle and fuel thrown in? Using a relocation vehicle might just be the way to go! Consider this – most travellers typically travel in one direction out from a hub or capital city but don’t necessarily return to their starting point. In the case of Australia, a rental vehicle can end up thousands of kilometres from its origin and it costs rental companies hundreds to relocate their vehicles.
What if we told you that you could hire a vehicle for $1/day and have petrol thrown in. The only catch is that you’ll have a set amount of time to reach the destination, but why not make a road trip of it? Relocation deals are often advertised only several months ahead so you’ll need to be flexible.
Pay local
If you’re using a credit card to pay, make sure you pay in the local currency when presented with payment options on the terminal. Avoid costly currency conversion fees!
Travel with frequent flyer points
Start earning frequent flyer points or miles. The right strategy could see you earn a stack of frequent flyer points which you could put towards your next holiday. Those hard-earned points and miles could allow you to redeem business class or even first class flights for a very low-cost outlay. Travelling in style doesn’t have to cost a fortune!
Carry a travel card
Pre-loading a travel card with up to a dozen currencies makes perfect sense. Even better, you can select when to load the cash, to take maximum advantage of currency fluctuations.
Overseas, you can withdraw cash at an ATM, use it as a credit card or pay in store. More currency can be loaded online or over the phone with your bank.
Any cash left over when you get home can be transferred back to your native currency, avoiding all the hassle of trying to convert small notes and coins back to your own currency.
Flying isn’t the only way to get there
If you’re travelling through Europe and parts of Asia, Japan or the continental USA, consider using the train or bus systems instead of flying. Trains deliver you to the heart of the cities. This could allow you to see more of the countryside while relaxing in comfort. More often than not, sometimes reaching your destination in the same time as a plane, especially in winter!
Consider the Eurostar for England – France travel and acquiring a Eurail Pass for intra-European travel. An Amtrak Rail Pass is great for the USA.
Use a number of different online booking tools
Despite what they say, not all online comparison sites display all the cheapest pricing options. Chances are there are perfectly good airlines you’ve never heard of that can get you to your destination. On the hotel end of things, there are wild variances at the quoted rates and vast variations in the products compared.
