This 23 Excellent Tips to Save Money for Travel offers helpful money-saving tips on flights, accommodations, and other travel necessities.
Introduction
Although traveling is expensive, you won’t break the bank if you carefully plan your trip. In 2018, I visited Bangkok and spent nearly PHP 9,000.00 or USD 172 for three days in the city.
To save money for travel, it is a must to plan. A planned trip saves a substantial amount than impulsive traveling. Travelling off-season and booking ahead are two potential ways to save money for travel as both offer cheaper travel costs.
The 23 Excellent Tips to Save Money For Travel provides ways to reduce travel costs on flights, accommodations, transport, tours, and food.
Table of Contents
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Tips to Save Money on Flights
Traveling via air is perhaps the most convenient and easiest way to reach your destination. Due to its unparalleled speed and convenience, air transportation collects higher fares than other transport.
Because of the demand and competition, airline brands offer various strategies and promotions to entice their market. Here are excellent tips to save money for travel on flights:
1. Book In Advance
Booking a flight in advance is a way of securing cheaper airfare, especially a reservation made at least three months before the flight. Before the scheduled trip, prepare a carefully-planned travel itinerary and consider factors that might affect your travel budget.
For instance, obtaining an inexpensive flight schedule in the destination’s peak seasons. In Singapore, expect to pay high accommodation rates during the colder months, from November to February.
2. Reserve Off-Season
Off-season or lean season is when activities are fewer due to some occurrences. Airfares and accommodation rates plummet during the wet months, which results in the reduction of travel costs. Traveling during the rainy season is still ideal, as downpours don’t occur at all times.
3. Book on Flight Search Engines
Flight search engines offer flight options and great deals on airfare. With their vast collection of airline brands competing for the best price, compare them, and you can easily spot cheaper fares.
4. Take Advantage of the Seat Sale
Several airlines promote seat sales to selected destinations. Usually starting at midnight, this seasonal promotion offers a massive discount on airfare costs.
5. Join Loyalty Programs
If you are a frequent flyer, enroll in the airline’s loyalty programs like availing of its loyalty card. This promotion benefits recurring travelers for patronizing a specific airline brand. The earned points for every flight are redeemable upon reaching maturity.
6. Fly to Multiple Destinations
Cities such as Singapore and Kuala Lumpur are nearby. Instead of visiting them separately, book your flight that arrives in Singapore and departs in Malaysia or vice versa. Thus, you can save money for travel on flights for the price of two.
7. Pack Light
Airlines charge fees for excess baggage, which adds up to travel costs. So, pack light to prevent this from happening.
You can create a minimalist packing checklist to identify your travel essentials that are very needed while on the trip. Pack your things in a lightweight backpack and bring your clothes enough to cover the length of the vacation.
Money-Saving Tips on Lodgings
Accommodation is essential for travelers who wish to spend a vacation for at least a day. It’s a bit challenging for someone to look for a low-price accommodation without compromising the quality of stay.
Similar to securing a cheaper airfare, booking in advance and the off-season is the best time to seal inexpensive rooms. Here are essential tips to save money for travel on accommodation:
8. Select a Good Location
Stay in accommodation inside the city center where everything is within reach like attractions, retail, and stations. Accessibility from various places refrains you from transport costs that may add to your travel expenses.
9. Reserve with Cancellation Policy
Hotel reservations made online now provide a cancellation policy. If an unexpected happens, the offer allows you to cancel your reservation without incurring any costs.
10. Stay in Hostels
A hostel is a low-price shared accommodation that offers essentials like sleep and a bath. It caters to solo backpackers who spend most of their time outdoors.
Compared to a single private room, staying in hostels is doubtlessly more economical and saves money on travel on accommodation.
11. Book a Room with Freebies
Several accommodations offer free-of-charge shuttle service and complimentary like bottled water and toiletries. Benefit from these gratis as they help save money for travel.
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Travel Tips to Reduce Fare
When transferring from one place to the other, consider using the more economical transport modes. Also, walking to stone’s throw locations can go a long way. Here are the all-important tips to save money for travel on transport fares:
12. Utilize the Mass Transport
Riding a mass public transport is probably the cheapest way to navigate places. Instead of hailing a taxicab, board the rail transits, buses, and ferries. Also, ridesharing services can be an alternative transfer mode that will cost you less than city cabs.
13. Avail Transit Pass
Cities like Osaka provide cashless payments for transport and retail. Aside from the potential savings, contactless smartcards offer ease for their tap-and-go functionality.
14. Make Use of Free Transports
Kuala Lumpur is among the cities that provide free bus service to its commuters. With its GO KL City Bus, passengers can freely navigate the city’s prime areas at no cost.
Moreover, you may also reserve inexpensive accommodation with a free shuttle service to save money for travel.
15. Pay the Exact Fare
In Singapore, pay for the exact fare on public buses. If you don’t, the driver won’t provide a change. In the end, a small amount can go a long way.
16. Walk
If you have the stamina to match, walk to short-distance locations as it helps minimize travel expenses on transport costs. So, wear proper and comfortable clothing, especially footwear, if you wish to walk to stone’s throw locations.
Ways to Save Money on Tours
Do-It-Yourself trips are probably more budget-friendly than trips bundled with two-way flights, all transfers, and accommodations. However, arranged tours are necessary, especially in places where their attractions are far-off, such as Siem Reap and Batanes.
Here are the three helpful tips to save money for travel on tours:
17. Book a Guided Tour
A trip to Ho Chi Minh City is incomplete without a side trip to the Mekong Delta. To reach this far and unfamiliar region from the city, you have to use various passenger transport.
However, booking a guided tour online is one way to cut back on travel costs. It offers more convenience, especially on transfers, for a hassle-free journey.
18. Avail Joiners Tour
One possible way to save money for travel is through joiners tour. Participants share and split the costs among themselves. Thus, reducing your travel expenses to more than half.
Chartering a private shuttle for an inland tour in Siargao costs PHP 2,500.00 or USD 44.66 per day. If eight passengers are on board, you will save at least PHP 2,000.00 or USD 35.70.
19. Reserve Tickets Online
For activities with admissions, booking online offers a cheaper cost than on-site purchases. It also provides ease since some attractions have designated fast lanes for online bookers.
Must-Do to Save Money on Food
Perhaps, you can’t survive a grueling tour with an empty stomach. To trim your travel expenses on food, especially in expensive cities, consider some tips to save money for travel.
20. Try Street Foods
You don’t have to spend too much on a plate of food from high-priced restaurants. Instead, eat at streetside eateries or foodcourts, offering an array of cheap ready-to-eat foods and drinks.
While food hygiene remains an issue for some street food vendors, observe their food handling practices and be selective. If you don’t, you will regret it later.
21. Benefit from Free Tasting
Have you ever experienced a promoter offering you finger foods and beverages for free? Benefit from these free tastes, as they help lessen your expenses on food.
22. Book a Lodging with Breakfast
Low-cost hotels usually don’t provide breakfast for their guests. However, you can still benefit from the hotel’s complimentary meals when you book in advance and during lean seasons. Thus, you can save money for travel on food for every free meal.
23. Carry a Water Bottle
To keep us hydrated, we need to drink at least 3 liters of water per day. In expensive cities such as Singapore, the average cost of 1.5 liters of bottled water is around PHP 56.00 or USD 1.
However, you can still save money for travel if you hand carry your water bottle. Benefit from the public drinking fountains in some cities so you can refill free water in empty bottles.
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Traveling is an expense for our well-being and also an investment for ourselves. You don’t have to spend a whopping amount to enjoy your trip. Thus, consider some excellent tips to save money for travel.
Do you have money-saving tips to share? Please remark in the comment section.
About the Author
J. Sac is the author of the ’23 Excellent Tips to Save Money for Travel.’ He is also the founder of Traveledictorian – a travel blog that publishes compelling travel-related content.
His passion for writing, photography, and travel fueled him to explore Asia and the rest of the world. He also plans to undertake humanitarian work in his travels. Read his inspiring story and follow him on social media!
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