Travel Hacks for Budget Travelers: Get Cheap Airline Tickets, Low Cost Accommodation and other travel services

 

It is possible to travel and have fun at the same time when you make some adjustments on the cost of things such as airfare, lodging, and meals. 

Here are some travel hacks to make your trips affordable and enjoyable:

#1 Book Flights Smartly:

Use Flight Comparison Tools: Some of the most used website for this purpose are Skyscanner, Google Flights, and Kayak since they enable you to compare the prices of various airlines.

Flexible Dates: Availabilities can also be cheaper in the middle of the week so choosing your dates wisely can go a long way. 

In the search engine, look for the option called “flexible dates” and check which day is cheaper to fly.

Set Fare Alerts: To help you with this, there are applications such as Hopper and Google Flights in which you can set up an alert for any fare drop on certain routes and then book when the prices are low.

Budget Airlines: For short flight, go for the low cost airlines such as Ryan air, Easy Jet or Southwest airlines. 

They have cheaper prices but remember that fees for carrying bags and choosing seats are additional.

#2 Search Cheap Hotels:

Use Booking Platforms: Many hotel and lodging sites such as Booking.com, Agoda, and Airbnb also have offers for budget traveling such as early bird booking or staying at non-luxury accommodations.

Hostels and Guesthouses: Hostels and guest houses are also cheaper than hotels, especially in the most visited cities in the world. 

Some of the websites we have are like Hostelworld, where one can book for shared and private rooms.

House-Sitting or Home Exchanges: Other platforms like TrustedHousesitters or HomeExchange will enable you to live in a house for free in exchange for taking care of a homeowner’s property or swapping your home with another homeowner.

#3 Travel Off-Season:

Shoulder Season: It is also important to note that getting to the destination a little early before the high season or a little late after the high season will prove to be cheaper in terms of airfare and lodging. 

You'll also avoid the crowds. For example, Europe is less populated and cheaper during late May or early September.

Look for Local Holidays: It is also important to know that by going to certain destinations during off peak seasons of that place, you will end up getting discounts on the destinations and hotels.

#4 Save on Meals:

Self-Catering: If you are in a hostel, Airbnb or guest house for instance, you can cut on costs by preparing your own meals. 

So shopping at local markets generates a true experience and reduces the costs of food.

Eat Where Locals Eat: Local cafes and food stands are always more affordable than restaurants that are targeted at tourists. 

Avoid tourist traps and you are likely to get both afforable and good food with locals.

Bring Snacks: Bring your own snacks or prepare a fast breakfast so you do not have to spend a lot of cash money on meals in airport or potential traveler zones.

#5 Use Public Transportation:

Local Transport Passes: Most cities have day or week transport tickets that offer lower prices more than single fares riding in buses, trams, and trains.

Use Ride-Sharing: If you need to travel, it might be helpful to use certain applications as BlaBlaCar for a ride-sharing or Uber Pool for a cheap price.

Walk or Bike: Walking costs nothing and biking can also be relatively cheap when accessing new places. 

Today, every city is endowed with bike-sharing services or free walking tours at discounted prices.

#6 They should also consider visits to free attractions:

Free Walking Tours: A lot of destinations provide free walking tours with a guide, for that you don’t need to pay for a personal tourist assistant.

Museums and Attractions: A few metal and historical structures can be toured at no charge on a particular day of the week or the month. 

Look for the internet for any freeware going on in the area of visit.

Nature and Parks: Nairobi National Park or Hell’s gate, the coast or the Kakamega forest, are cheap or even, sometimes, completely free, and give some of the best experiences.

#7 Use Reward Programs:

Frequent Flyer Miles: Join airlines’ frequent-flyer programs and subscribe to credit cards that ‘give’ you traveling miles. 

These can be later exchanged for free or substantially discounted flights as well as other services and products.

Hotel Loyalty Programs: Many hotel franchises for example Marriott, Hilton and IHG have rewards where you can get free vacations once you have reached certain points.

#8 Pack Light:

Avoid Baggage Fees: It should also be noted that many companies of this type intentionally offer little or no free checked baggage allowance. 

You should not carry heavy luggage to avoid these charges, therefore do not check-in your luggage but take along your carry ons only. 

Roll your clothing do not fold it so that they can occupy lesser space on the suitcase and use packing cubes.

Essential Travel Gear: Wear lightweight and multipurpose clothing and do not carry large sizes of wash-bags with toiletries.

#9 Use Travel Insurance Wisely:

Buy Insurance: Travel insurance is coverage you against cancellations for a trip due to a medical situation, or against a medical or baggage emergency that might happen to you. 

It is not cheap but I believe it is wiser to invest something once, in this case, to avoid spending so much in the course of your tour if something goes wrong.

Check Your Credit Card Benefits: Some cards provide travel insurance or rental car insurance. 

Especially before making any additional insurance purchase you should always look at the list of benefits of your card.

#10 Stay Connected on a Budget:

Local SIM Cards: Making a purchase of a SIM card that is local for use when in that country will help cut down on the charges that may be incurred particularly if the trip is for an extended period. 

The other option you might want to try is asking your carrier to provide you with an international plan.

Free Wi-Fi: But, this has open door for people to look for free Wi-Fi from cafes, airports and hotels not to be charged on data. 

Best known apps include WiFi Map that can be used to locate areas with free Wi-Fi connection.

Final Tips:

Popular aspects of this kind of travel include flexibility, significant research, and utilization of effective resources in reducing the cost of travel. 

It’s easy to travel within an affordable budget take for instance if you need to book a flight ticket to a certain destination, it is cheaper than during other times, or accommodational bookings, public transport among other things.

When you integrate all of these hacks, it can be possible to reduce your traveling Cost and get to do more things during travel!!