Travel doesn’t have to be expensive. While we all love a bit of luxury travel, it is a very expensive way to travel. Personally, I’d rather tighten the budget a little and be able to go on a few trips than splash out and only be able to afford one trip every few years. This all comes down to personal preference and, as always, there’s simply no right or wrong way. Almost everyone could benefit from cheaper travel, so I thought I’d make a list of my top 3 tips for cheaper travel.
Credit: “Aeroplane” by Vox Efx on Flickr
1) Buy Mid-Week Flights
Did you know that flight prices vary by the day of the week? There are some days that are much more popular to fly on, generally Monday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Choosing tickets on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday can save you hundreds of dollars off your flight cost. When you’re searching for flights, if you can be flexible with flight days and times, why not browse a few days either side of your ideal travel date? This might only take a few minutes but could save you a considerable about of money off your flight.
2) Book Hotels Last Minute
This is not a good idea if you’re going somewhere during a peak time of year, such as New Years, Christmas, or any specific local holidays. However, for any run-of-the-mill date it can be a good idea to book hotels last minute. There are numerous of last minute sites, such as WotIf that allow you to get discounted rates in rooms of varying prices by filling up rooms that are not yet taken. There’s generally rooms in a number of budgets so you can choose something that suits your traveling style.
3) Couchsurf
Couchsurfing is a great way to meet new people, get an insider’s view of a city and it is very kind on your budget. The premise is, you stay with someone for a few days for free and they’ll often show you around. As a thank you, you might like to cook them a meal, take them out to dinner, or bring them a small gift from wherever you’ve just been. You don’t have to, of course, and the whole idea behind Couchsurfing is that it is free. It’s a fantastic way to quickly inject yourself into the community. You can Couchsurf as a single, couple, group of friends or even a family.
These three simple tips will really help you skim costs off your next trip. You might have no interest in Couchsurfing (you’re missing out), but using deal websites and carefully booking flights can save you thousands of dollars. There are many sites like Latin America For Less that cater to specific areas and they can sometimes have amazing local deals. Travel doesn’t have to be hugely expensive, especially not if you’re smart about it.
Do you have any tips for cutting down the cost of travel?
