Travelling can be a very expensive hobby for most people – couple that with work requirements, family life and the fear of exploring the unknown, most people only allow travelling to remain as a yearning in their hearts. If someone is truly passionate about travelling, nothing should stop them from doing so –whether it be their entry level position, or a mounting of bills they need to pay every month. The underlying misconception that you need a lot of money if you want to travel, stops people from following their dreams and doing what they love the most. The misconception that travelling is expensive is a dated concept and needs to be changed.
Given the high demand of inexpensive travel components, in recent years we have witnessed the rise of an entire ecosystem that is budget friendly for travelers – Hotel rooms are expensive? The solution is Airbnb; Direct flights are expensive? The solution is connecting flights on budget airlines, etc. There are a number of travel hacks that people can adopt and travel on frugal budgets across the world. The most important thing one needs to keep in mind is that if they are looking to travel on a budget, they might have to acknowledge and prepare themselves for the fact that not everything is going to be the way they want it to be – they should be open to changes and alterations in their initial plan.
Listed below are a few tips, tricks and ways that would allow individuals to travel on a budget across the world:
1. Try to travel during off peak times
The ground rule to travelling on a budget is travelling when no one else does it. Airlines, hotels and tour companies increase their rates substantially during peak times and seasonal influxes. The underlying factor behind the entire travel ecosystem increasing its prices is demand and supply – on an annual basis, most travel destinations experience an influx of visitors from all over the world and their infrastructure fails to accommodate such big numbers. As a result, as demand is high, the price hike is justified. If you wish to be smart about your travel, and are low on budget, make sure to travel during off-peak times and off-peak seasons of your chosen destination. Not only would you get access to all services at a cheaper rate, you would also get a lot of attention from your tour guides and be able to explore cities and places in much more detail.
2. If the destination is close, drive!
If you are travelling to a destination that you can reach by road, drive instead of flying. If you are travelling to a foreign nation, flying is your only option. However, it is advised that if you are travelling for the sake of adventure, you need to focus on experiences instead of focusing on the destination. Hence, a road trip is a great idea if you are limited in terms of budget. The only things you need to have for a road trip is a car or van, a few friends and gas and food money. The amount of fun you would have on a road trip with your friends is unmatchable if you compare it with a vacation in a foreign destination.
3. Find cheap alternatives to accommodation
If you are going to a destination where you have a friend, family member or a distance relative residing in, crash at their places instead of booking an expensive hotel room or an Airbnb. While you may feel awkward in asking them for permission to stay over, you should remember that you wouldn’t spend much time of the day in the apartment or home anyway – you would most probably be out the entire day and only come home to sleep or shower during your travel diaries. If living at an acquaintance’s is an issue, it is recommended that you book an Airbnb or a hostel for temporary basis.
4. Make sure you don’t overspend on food
Most people report wasting a lot of money on food during their travel expeditions – make sure not to repeat such a mistake. Instead, you should make an effort to spend cautiously on food and look for free alternatives wherever possible. If you are booking a motel room or an Airbnb, look for one that has at least one meal of the day on the house. If you are looking to explore the food and the delicacies of a certain place, look to visit the popular street food destinations instead of eating out in cafes or restaurants.
5. Don’t visit a place with expensive visa requirements
Spending too much money on simply applying for a visa – an application that also has no guarantee that you would be granted a visa – is sheer madness and waste of money. Instead. You should look to visit places that have a visa-free entry or cheaper visa allocating facilities. It is most likely that a country with an expensive visa process also has an expensive lifestyle – if you are travelling on a budget, neither of those are recommended.
6. Plan your visit
Planning a visit saves you a lot of money and time during your actual travel – this is because if you plan a visit in advance, you most likely have all cheap accommodation possibilities, travel routes and flights and what you would do in a day planned out. When travelling, people who do not plan in advance often report that they end up spending much more that they thought they would. People who don’t plan also run out of money during their travels.
If you are planning your travels, you would also be able to allocate a budget for every activity, and be able to stick to it religiously. Additionally, if you are planning your travel you should look for sales, offers and compare prices in every activity that you plan to carry out. Travelling sites, airlines and motel rooms offer a lot of discounts during off-season time and it would be very smart of you to avail such discounts to make your travel budget friendly.
