Traveling within the country and even abroad is a dream for most people.
Everyone loves Travelling. People Travel for various reasons some Travel for work, some travel for fun to explore new places.
But the most important thing which you have to do to keep your vacation memorable and, most importantly stress-free is to make Traveling Plan.
However, Planning a Trip can be stressful intrinsically. So in such situations, popular Travel companies in India can be used to ease your task.
Some fulfill it while others are impeded by what they falsely believe is high travel related expenses.
Understandably, travel costs money
You have to pay for return tickets to the destination by bus, rail or air, spend on food and accommodation. Sightseeing and shopping at the place you visit also cost money.
Travel need not be expensive. Instead, you can have an excellent holiday within or outside your country without spending too much money.
Traveling cheap is possible provided you invest some time in research and use ingenuity rather than depending upon traditional travelogues, reviews and guide books.
Here we look at some great ways to travel without spending too much money.
Traveling on Budget
Considering you are willing to spend some time on research and put your ingenuity to work, there are simple steps you can follow to travel without spending too much money.
1. Plan in Advance
Plan your travel at least 90 days prior to the intended date of departure. This is prerequisite to saving money on your travel.
Draw a proper itinerary of the places you intend to visit, a number of days you wish to stay at any particular destination and an estimated budget.
Generally, transportation providers like bus services and airlines offer excellent ‘early bird’ discounts to people who book tickets about 90 days before departure.
In some countries, railway networks also provide discounts on advance bookings. You can save as much as 50 percent of the fare by booking tickets well in advance.
Sometimes, airlines offer as much as 70 percent savings on regular fare as ‘early bird’ discounts.
2. Save on Accommodation
Hotel and accommodation providers also offer great discounts on advance bookings. Thanks to the Internet and apps available for smart-phones, you can browse through several websites to find hotel deals that best suit your budget.
To get best deals, however, you may have to spend some time comparing prices of the same hotel offered by different websites.
Also look for websites of hotels since they carry special offers that are not available if you book from another source.
Look for hotels that include free breakfast for guests. This helps save some money on food. You can also send emails to various hotels, inform them of your itinerary and request discounts. Generally, most hotels will respond with some offer that may include a discounted rate or complimentary stay for an extra night.
3. Indirect and Offline Flights
While planning to travel to a foreign country, you can save a lot of money by opting for indirect or off-line carriers. Indirect carriers are those airlines that operate flights between your country and their hub.
You have to change flights to fly onwards to the destination. Since indirect flights involve transits, airlines charge at least 10 percent lower fares than direct carriers.
Further, if the transit time exceeds eight hours, you get free hotel accommodation and meals for the duration of your transit, under a system called ‘Stopover Paid by Carrier.’
If lucky, you can utilize the time for a small sight-seeing tour of the city where you are transiting.
Offline flights are offered by airlines that do not have a direct service to your country. Instead, you have to fly to a particular city to board their flight to your destination.
Offline carriers generally give as high as 30 percent discount on airfares. Additionally, as a transit passenger, you are entitled to STPC benefits, depending upon the airline.
4. Local Dining
Most travelers are unable to cut costs while traveling because they are wary of dining at local restaurants.
Instead, they prefer to have meals at the restaurant that offers food from their home cuisine- that are invariably expensive.
Dining at local restaurants is an excellent way to avoid spending too much money on travel.
Eating at local restaurants also has its benefits.
Firstly, they are fairly inexpensive since their clients are natives of the place you are visiting.
Secondly, dining at local restaurants enables you to taste flavors and cuisines of the destination.
5. Take Mass Transit
Another heavy expense that people incur while traveling is by taking cabs. Using taxis to travel to your destination can play havoc with your budget.
Instead, travel on mass transit systems such as local buses, trains, and shuttles. You need not fear losing yourself in a strange place by taking some simple steps.
Always carry business cards of the hotel you are staying. Additionally, carry the address written in the local language with mention of nearest landmarks.
Using mass transit adds to thrill of exploring a new destination. You get a glimpse of the life of natives of the place you are visiting.
Further, mass transit systems like bus operators, rail, and shuttle networks have passes that offer great savings. Utilize these passes to save money on local travel.
6. Sightseeing Tours
Taking a sightseeing tour or not is highly debatable because many travelers aver they charge a lot of money.
On the contrary, sightseeing tours help you to save money while traveling. The fare they charge for a sightseeing tour is generally inclusive of entrance fees to most tourist attractions.
Sightseeing tour operators get discounts since they book these tickets to tourist attractions in bulk. They pass on this discount to travelers.
Sightseeing tour operators will also cover most tourist attractions during the day. If you attempt covering these attractions, chances are you would end up spending a lot of time and money on travel and entry tickets.
The Do-It-Yourself (DIY) technique for sightseeing often proves expensive as most travelers will testify.
In Conclusion
There are several more ways to travel without spending too much money. While traveling to a foreign country, ensure you carry adequate currency notes that can be easily exchanged at the destination.
Using your credit card and debit card abroad attracts sacrilegious fees and other charges.
A lot of travelers falsely believe they can save money by visiting a place during the off-peak season. This can prove disastrous for your holiday and finances. Peak and off-peak seasons are dependent upon climatic conditions.
Traveling during off-peak season to avoid spending too much money can find you holed up in a hotel room due to heavy rains or unable to move and enjoy the destination due to scorching summer.
A lot of tourist attractions also close during off-peak season and you will be deprived of enjoying the visit to a distant place. You can travel without spending too much money during peak season too by following these simple steps.
