Life is made of choices, so when you travel it's no different. Either you choose to save on the road or not! The trick is spare, without giving up of what really matters for your trip!
So what should I do to save on travel?
There are no miracles. That is, if you really want to save on travel, you will have to plan ahead.
By the way, planning is undoubtedly the most important part so you can save on the road.
However, planning should not be exhaustive. That is, there is no need to plan all the days of your trip with activities. And to be honest, I don't do it and therefore do not recommend it.
What should I include in my trip planning?
Travel planning should not only include airline tickets and accommodation, but also activities, food, transport, currency exchange, mobile communications, souvenirs, etc.
In short, the more elaborate your planning is, the less chance you have of miss the budget you set for your trip!
Following, you can find all the topics that should be included in your planning.
1 - Plane Tickets
First of all you should take care of your plane tickets, since they are the most volatile travel costs.
There is a kind of “theory” among travelers, which states that plane tickets are cheaper on Tuesday's night, approximately 3 months before departure date. As for the day of the week, I confess that I do not follow to the letter, but I usually book flights in advance and almost always at night. Another important tip, especially if you are going to search for flilghts during several days ou even several times per day, is to do so in the anonymous mode. Regarding the best search engines for flights, we recomend Skyscanner or Momondo. These two websites are, as the name implies, search engines and therefore no flights are sold on these platforms.
2 - Luggage
Secondly, we have the baggage
Since most companies already have a economic rate if you only carry a hand bag, you should seriously consider choosing to carry only that carry-on bag, to save some money.
This backpack passes has carry-on
In the same way that your air fare will be cheaper if you just carry a carry-on bag, therefore your travel will automatically become cheaper. By virtue of having a small bag, you can easily transport it on public transports instead of private transport, and you will also have limited space to make unnecessary purchases.
Eventually, traveling only with a carry-on bag can also save you from some inconvenience, such as loss or damage to the checked bag.
Know more about how to pack a handbag here
3 - Accommodation
Thirdly, you should look for the accommodation that best suits the type of trip you are going to make.
Hostel with pool in Byron Bay
The type of accommodation from a trip to a paradise island, should not be the same as if you are going to travel to a cosmopolitan city.
Therefore, you should analyse what you really need in your accommodation while you are travelling. That is, if you want to explore the destination, what really matters in your accommodation is:
- be clean,
- confortable,
- well located,
- close to transport/activities
- included breakfast or self catered kitchen
4 - Food
As previously mentioned it is important that your accommodation has, included on the rate, breakfast or at least a self-catered kitchen, so that you can prepare your meals.
This way you will save a lot of money especially on snacks to eat throughout the day or even your lunch. You can go to a supermarket or market and buy some basic things to make a sandwich, for example.
When going to a supermarket, you should always look for the end-of-life shelf . Fortunately, there are more and more supermarkets adhering to this concept and so it gets even easier to save on travel. On these shelves you will find perfectly edible products that are close to the end of validity or that are "ugly" (this is valid for fresh products mainly). I made many meals on my travels for 2 and 3 euros.
Supermarket meal - 3 Euros
Equally important is to take with you a reusable water bottle. In most countries, the water of the public network is drinkable. However, it may have some kind of flavor and so it is recommended that you take a bottle with charcoal filter.
However, you should not miss, at least once, the local gastronomy. In fact, there are few things that define the culture of a country as well as its gastronomy. Here, my tip is that you do not fall into the temptation to go, in the first days. As you explore the place, you will realize where you eat well and cheaply.
Icelandic tradicional meal
5 - Transports
Sem dúvida que se pretendes explorar um destino o custo das tuas deslocações deve ser bem calculado. Na maior parte das vezes existem imensas opções que sempre se resumem a 4:
- walk
- use public transports
- use private transports
- rent a car
Lift in Wellington, New Zealand
In public transport you should first of all refer to the respective websites so that you are familiar with the type of travel pass that you should purchase. Here you should keep in mind the number of days that you will stay in the destination and what type of pass best suits your needs.
Similarly, regarding private transports, this homework should also be done. There are road and railway companies that have 50% or more ticket discounts if you buy them in advance. I am talking about, for example, airport transfers for 3 euros. Likewise, you should check if TVDE exist in that destination, as well as Taxis Companies. For TVDE platforms, the tip I have to give you is (if you are not in a hurry): Never use a TVDE in rush hours and whenever possible do Rideshare.
There are several platforms now, for TVDE. The most famous are BOLT and Uber. Although, many countries have their owns. here e receber um desconto.
Finally the car rental, should only be taken into account if there is no other option. If you rent a car you will have expenses not only with gasoline, tolls and parking meters but also in the insurance and bond of the rent-a-car.
6 – Currency exchange/Cash/Cards
This is always one of the subjects that more “haunts” travelers, much because of the hidden ” commissions" of banks.
However, we have the perfect solution to end all your problems in this matter.
There are now numerous prepaid debit cards on the market, and that not only support multiple currencies but also have unbeatable exchanging rates and without the famous "hidden comissions".
Our recommendation goes to the Revolut. card At this time, in our opinion it has the most advantages, and they go far beyond those previously stated.
You can ask your Revolut card, from this link.
Still, the most common methods of making payments abroad remain active and have not disappeared. In other words, in addition to the Revolut you should also travel with your debit and credit cards, as well as with some money in the destination currency.
If, for any reason, you are forced to use your debit or credit cards, always remember the following:
- Withdraw the maximum amount allowed in the ATM’s with your debit card. Please note that there are ATM’s that charge an extra fee, which has nothing to do with your bank's commissions.
- Pay your things with your Credit Card
In case you have any money in the currency of your destination, and you do not have the possibility to exchange in the bank on your return, think about giving that little money to a homeless person. For you it's coins that will be unused at the bottom of the drawer, while for this person it can be the difference between eating and not eating something that day.
7 – Travel Insurance and Cancellation
It's most likely that everything will go well on your trip and that you will return from it, only with the revitalized spirit and many stories to tell.
However, we know, today more than ever, that everything can change overnight!
Traveling without travel insurance is, nowadays, something practically impossible to do, not only for the pandemic situation that we experienced, but mainly because the cost of a travel insurance in the final budget is practically, the price of a dinner in a restaurant.
If you are still not convinced that travel insurance is really cheap, then we have something new for you.
We are official partners of IATI, one of the largest travel insurers and with unbeatable prices. As if this was not enough, if you buy your insurance with us, you have a 5% discount. Click in the image
IATI has several types of insurance, tailored to many types of travels.
All our Tours require travel insurance with cancellation, so you are always protected, even if you are prevented from starting your trip.
8 - Communications & Data
Surely you have already said to yourself numerous times “in the next vacation I will turn off the mobile phone”.
However, we all know that it's not going to happen.
If you are going to travel, you should pay attention to two things:
- Unlocked Phoned
- Roaming
First of all, you should talk to your carrier about the price of roaming at the destination, as well as the price for its use.
Pocket Wi-Fi
If you do not want to be dependent on WiFi networks (which are increasing as we speak), you should be prepared to pay for roaming, or buy a SIM card ( or E.sim) or a WiFi Pocket at the destination. In order to avoid surprises, and in the same way as transport, you should research first, which one is the best operator.
9 - Activities
It is likely that when you want to visit a destination you know, before hand, some of the things you want to visit/do/buy over there.
It is these activities that should already be included in your planning. You should do research and even talk to those who have been there. Here you can also get good discounts, by buying in advance and thus saving on travel.
As mentioned earlier, we do not recommend, at all, planning all your days. Always leave free time to do something that was not planned, as this is usually where the best stories happen.
Once in the destination look for and talk to the locals. They, more than anyone else, will know how to indicate you good business , places and activities, many times, unknown to the general public.
10 – Souvenirs
After all, how many of us get to resist the temptation of buying a souvenir?
Probably very few.
However, here, you can also save a lot and as stated earlier, the free space in your suitcase will dictate the money you will spend.
There is nothing wrong with bringing a souvenir of your trip, unless it is something illegal, of course.
Souvenirs
When looking for souvenirs, you should try to choose to buy something handmade, local and preferably with some utility, or it will end up forgotten at the bottom of a drawer. In the markets, there is always a chance to negotiate the price.
One of the most brutal ideas I saw was postcards. The girl was traveling with me on the bus and whenever we arrived at a new destination, she was going to buy a postcard. At the end of the day she would write on the postcard and put it in the mail. I asked if it was for her family. She said it was for her. "When I got home, I have a travel diary on postcards". I was amazed at the simplicity of this “Souvenir scheme” and almost cried for not doing the same.
And no, you don't need to bring 30 souvenirs to give to all your friends and family unless they ask you to. The souvenir is yours. You're the one who was there.
11- Build a cash-flow
At the forefront of the act of “save” and not only of “save on travel” is our Cash-Flow.
This saving method was presented to me by Gonçalo Cruz, also he, an expert in saving on the go.
A Cash-flow is basically a document where you write your money in's and money out's.
Keeping an updated cash-flow from the beginning and during your trip, will allow you to know what you have already spent and most importantly where you are spending the money
You can make a Cash-Flow on paper, or use an app, like Money Wallet.
In conclusion, the best way to save on travel is to plan well and in advance. The more advance, the more you will save as you will get lower prices and promotions.
