It's good when you manage to buy air tickets on sale or stay at a hotel for free for a promotion. But luck cannot be predicted, and you never want to overpay. We have collected travel life hacks that help you to save money on travel guaranteed.
How to reduce costs on a vacation flight | housing | food | entertainment | rest in general
1. Travel off-season
Find out when the high season is for your destination and plan your trip before or after the peak. For example, it is not necessary to go to the beaches of Spain in August, when the local holiday season and the beaches are packed in three layers, and the prices for tickets and hotels are sky-high. In September, the weather on the Costa del Sol and, for example, on the Balearic Islands is still a resort, but there are much fewer tourists, and the cost of rest is lower.
So as not to push your elbows: 10 best countries for a holiday in the off-season
2. Don't focus into tourist spots
Alanya instead of Fethiye in Turkey, Lyon instead of Paris in France, Sozopol instead of Albena in Bulgaria, Brooklyn instead of Manhattan in New York, Sanur instead of Nusa Dua in Bali - choose less promoted vacation spots. A city, resort, beach or area with a well-known name will not necessarily be better than the neighboring one, but it will certainly be more expensive.
3. Avoid holiday dates
Flights on holidays are always more expensive. If you want to have an inexpensive rest and calmly see the city at your own pace, make sure that you are flying to Venice or Rio de Janeiro not in the midst of carnival, and in China, your dates do not have a "golden week" of holidays when the country celebrates the Day of the People's Republic of China and locals do not work, but walk in parks and attractions. During major festivals, you cannot find places in hotels, and those that are available jump a lot in price.
Walk so walk! The best festivals and interesting events in popular countries
4. Look for information at home
To reduce unexpected expenses, carefully prepare for your trip before departure. Find out how much a taxi costs from the airport to your hotel, if there is a free shuttle, and how to get there by bus or metro. Check free days at the museums you want to go and look for tourist cards with discounts on attractions. For example, on the first Sunday of every month, you can get to the Louvre for free, and the Jerusalem City Pass discount card allows you to save a lot on access to Israel's attractions.
How to prepare for an independent travel
5. Find out how to pay more profitably
Read in advance on the Internet or ask your bank how best to pay where you are going, and how much will be charged for withdrawing cash in another country. For example, in Argentina and Uzbekistan, where the "black rate" operates, it is unprofitable to pay by card.
If on vacation you will shop in euros, take your MasterCard with you to avoid double conversion fees: banks always charge money in dollars from Visa cards.
Three currencies are involved in the payment for goods and services by credit card:
1) the currency of the card account in which you keep the money;
2) the currency of the transaction in which the purchase or withdrawal of funds from the ATM is made;
3) billing currency - the settlement currency between the bank and the payment system.
The currency in which the card transaction is performed is matched with the billing currency, which is matched with the card account currency. If they do not match, a conversion occurs, which can be carried out by the payment system or the bank that issued the card.
The most disadvantageous option is to pay with a Visa ruble card for an item whose price is indicated in euros.
6. Do not buy tourist souvenirs or bargain as if your life depends on it.
In order not to overpay for magnets, bring more soulful souvenirs from your vacation!
How much do tickets cost?
On vacation, try not to buy souvenirs near attractions and on the main tourist streets. Better to go to a local bazaar or flea market and especially not show that you are a tourist. If this is not possible, check with the local about the approximate prices for your own in advance and bargain zealously so as not to overpay several times just for being a foreigner.
If the level of savings is tight or you are traveling light, give up souvenirs altogether. The most valuable thing that you can bring from any trip is memories. And for family and friends, you can always print and sign postcards from your own photographs - for them it will definitely be more expensive than another magnet.
7. Disconnect from your phone on vacation
Before traveling, do not be lazy to find out the detailed roaming conditions on your tariff. Activate the option that will not allow money for mobile communications to go down the drain during your vacation, or just buy a local SIM card upon arrival.
It's great to combine a vacation with a digital detox - this is when you turn off all gadgets for at least a day, or even for a couple of weeks, forget about social networks, reset your head and re-learn to perceive the world without the prism of the phone. It is also a good way to save money on mobile communications.
If this approach is too radical for you or you still do not feel smartphone addiction, replace calls and texts on vacation with messages in instant messengers. To chat for free, go online only at the hotel, cafe, airport and other places with public Wi-Fi.
8. Chat with the locals
Feel free to ask the natives for advice. Vendors in the market, refuellers at gas stations and baristas in a coffee shop will be happy to tell you where to try the local cuisine inexpensively, where to go to greet the sunrise in solitude, and how to save money on travel to attractions. On a group excursion you will hardly learn more about the culture of the people than is written in Wikipedia, but the locals carry this culture in themselves, so you cannot find the best guides around the new country.
9. Install the Skyscanner app
With the handy Skyscanner app, you can plan your trip anywhere: in bed, in a coffee shop, or even in the restroom at work after a nervous meeting with your boss. The app helps you find the cheapest flights, hotels and offers from car rental companies - plan your trip completely in one app!
10. Book your flight at the right time
Everyone has heard that it is better to take air tickets in advance: they rise in price before departure. But for different routes "in advance" comes at different times, because there is no ideal moment to book from all cities of Russia at once to Turkey, Italy or Thailand. To find out when is the best time to buy tickets from your city to a specific destination, open the Skyscanner tool "When are air tickets cheaper and when is it more profitable to fly . "
