Do you want to travel cheaper but don’t know how?
This factsheet will help you reduce your travel expenses.
BEING FLEXIBLE, THE BASIS FOR SAVING
If I had just one piece of advice on how to travel cheaper, I would say you have to bet on flexibility!
If you are open-minded and don’t have big constraints, you will be able to travel much cheaper than if you are “stuck” in a specific pattern, where improvisation has no place.
This flexibility can apply in many areas, and impact your trip to varying degrees. You can indeed be flexible at a relatively basic level (such as the schedules of your trip or the standard of the restaurants that you will favor), or more complex (such as the season of your trip or even the destination)!
CHOOSE CHEAPER DESTINATIONS
Some destinations are much cheaper than others because the cost of living differs and is extremely low … You should therefore consider favoring them if you have a small budget and want to travel longer and more often.
In many countries, it is indeed possible to live easily for less than 20 $ per day. They are well known to travelers on a budget. Here is the list of the 10 cheapest countries in the world to travel to:
INDIA - LAOS - NEPAL - PHILIPPINES - NICARAGUA - VIETNAM - CAMBODIA - MONGOLIA - MYANMAR - INDONESIA
But other destinations are also very interesting for travelers who want to travel cheaply, including Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Poland, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.
TRAVEL OUT OF SEASON
If you don’t have big constraints on your travel dates, I strongly recommend that you travel out of season. It is indeed very interesting to travel cheaper!
Favor the quieter seasons and avoid “tourist peaks” will be very interesting for your wallet. Since the demand will be less important during the off-peak periods, the prices will automatically fall, and you will be able to profit from it. You will also have a lot more choices, as the competition will be lower. This is valid for plane tickets, accommodation, or activities.
Of course, I know it’s not always easy to travel out of season or outside of school holidays, but sometimes it only takes a few days apart to make the price difference. So think about it!
Pay Less For Airline Tickets!
By reducing the cost of your plane tickets, you will be able to travel for less. And to do this, you must try to be flexible on your travel dates, on schedules, on the company or even on the stopovers … You will thus have a much wider choice, and therefore much more likely to find very good prices.
I know that it is not always easy to leave in the middle of the week or to have a very early departure in the morning, but these are the kinds of situations that will tend to lower the prices … not hesitate to leave your comfort zone and bet on plane tickets that will not suit other travelers, more demanding.
You should also not hesitate to choose a low-cost company or to make one or two stopovers. Remember that you are not going to spend your stay on the plane. So you can very well choose a low-cost company and leave your requirements aside for a few hours.
Personally, I am not against a “lighter” service (less space in the plane, poorer food), as long as I find my way around the price! I would have plenty of time to enjoy my trip once there, the plane only allowing me to start from point A and arrive at point B
- For more tips on how to reduce the cost of your plane tickets, I suggest you read the article “How to find a cheap flight? “.
Pay Less For lodging
You can travel cheaper by saving on the price of your accommodation. For that, you will have to step out of your comfort zone a little and bet on inexpensive accommodation, which does not necessarily have all the comforts of a classic hotel room.
But when we often travel around the world, a bit ‘roots’, we don’t necessarily need to be carried our suitcases Or to have a square bed. As long as it’s pretty much clean, quiet, and inexpensive, it’s already okay.
NEGOTIATE DIRECTLY ON THE SITE
The best way to find cheap accommodation is not to book it in advance and negotiate it directly on site. It may seem a bit scary at first, but in all the countries I mentioned to you previously, there are a lot of small “guesthouses” that offer rooms to travelers at ridiculous rates (a few dollars a night). And some of these establishments are not even on the Internet!
Just go to a neighborhood where you know you’ll find low-cost accommodation and compare before making your choice.
Do not hesitate to do several establishments, compare prices, negotiate, and ask to see the rooms to judge for yourself the cleanliness of the place. I assure you that by adopting this method you will find cheap accommodation in less than an hour!
BOOK ONLINE
To book online at the best price, I advise you to look on Booking.com or Agoda.com (which works well in Asia). The offer is wide and varied on these sites.
FIND ALTERNATIVE HOUSING
You can also turn to other alternatives and try Couchsurfing (which allows you to stay for free at a local) or Woofing (which allows you to have room and board in exchange for a few hours of work per day).
BETWEEN INDIVIDUALS
Housing rentals between individuals also work very well! Personally, I often stay with locals using Airbnb. The prices are often attractive and the presence of kitchens allows you to save money on the meal budget by cooking yourself.
Save Once On The Spot
Once there, you will also have to pay attention to your daily expenses, whether for food, transport, or even activities … Because it is over time and with consistency that the real savings are made. and that you can truly travel cheaper than most travelers!
Transport
I strongly recommend that you use local public transport (such as the bus or train) which will obviously be very economical. It can be tiring to be on the bus for several hours, it’s true … But you will be more in contact with the locals and will be able to travel for much less than if you take many small planes.
Food
Do not hesitate to eat in the small local run-down. We usually eat very well, surrounded by locals, and for very little money … I often hear from certain holidaymakers who are not used to traveling (or who are afraid of just about everything), that the risks of falling ill are great in these places. However, if you take a closer look, you will see that it is often the small street run-down that are the most frequented, with local and fresh products! The same can’t always be said for western food (especially in Southeast Asia).
Experiences
Again, do not hesitate to book directly on the website and compare prices, From one agency to another the prices displayed can go from one to double, and you can always negotiate the rates by talking directly with the locals. You can of course check out platforms like TripAdvisor for the opinions of other travelers, but that doesn’t have to dictate all of your choices. You have to follow your instinct and your own budget sometimes.
Communicate Cheaper From Abroad
Keeping in touch with loved ones is important when traveling for a long period abroad. It may also be necessary to make phone calls within the same country where you are (call a hotel or an Airbnb host or a bus company). All these communications have a cost, but which you can greatly reduce. easily using the right tools.
APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE IN WIFI
You can first use a Wi-Fi connection exclusively and communicate through free applications such as WhatsApp, Skype, or WeChat. They are very practical and allow you to make a large number of calls at no cost. The only concern is that you must have a WiFi connection, which you cannot find everywhere at all times, and the person you are talking to must also have this same application.
THE LOCAL SIM CARD
In the event that you do not have WiFi available, it is necessary to have a working SIM card in the country where you are located. The easiest way to do this is to buy a prepaid local SIM card. You will be able to use your credit to make calls or send texts, without spending too much money. But you will have to buy a new SIM card in each country you cross and you will never be able to keep the same number. This is the most advantageous solution currently in terms of prices, but it is not always very practical.
THE INTERNATIONAL SIM CARD
A third solution, which few people know but which is nevertheless super interesting, is the purchase of an international SIM card. With this type of card, you can be reached regardless of the country you are traveling through, with the same phone number. This is extremely reassuring for your loved ones and allows you to make calls as soon as you arrive in a country, without having to wait to buy a local SIM card.