Travel hacks to spend little and enjoy lot when visiting other places

Money and travel seem to be two sides of the same coin. It’s the norm to spend more than the usual when you’re outside your home. And there are tons of scamsters ready to get the better of you at every nook and corner. But this isn’t going to dissuade the hard-core travellers. Once you’ve the travel bug inside it’s hard not to visit places. Here’s how you can make the best of your travels spending as little money as possible.

Don’t plan flight dates

If you’re flexible with your flight dates a lot can happen. I know this first hand because for some time I used to partner on a cheap flight finding service. Airlines often drop prices for dates far beyond say 2 or 3 months from now and they jack up prices for those in a hurry to 2x or 4x the normal. At other times they might offer seasonal discounts and coupons.

I find Skyscanner to be particularly useful especially with its large repository of flight prices collated from 6,00,000 routes.

Visit during off seasons

Off-seasons are obviously not the best time to visit a place and there’s a reason why people tend to avoid those months. For instance when I visited Vietnam in the off-season I knew that I wouldn’t be able to see and walk through the famed Vietnam markets that function only during summer.

Those markets sport the widest collection of all sorts of niceties and food that’s unique and ethnic to the region. But the rainy months do have their own sets of benefits First, the area isn’t crowded. Not even the popular spots.  The low airfares are another benefit. Together with off-season discounts. Rice grows on the terrained hills in Northern Vietnam and it’s a sight to see.And you can always go to the bay to watch the sunset, sunbath, swim, catch fish and interact with fisherman from local villages and ko kayaking.

Partake in free events

When visiting another nation there are hundreds of things you could do for free or at very discounted rates.Attending street fairs and performances doesn’t cost you a dime.If you’re in Brazil there’s no cost to attend the Brazil annual carnival. You can catch the sunset. Biking is generally free as is going to a swim in the nearby lake or sea.You can visit the park. Climb mountains or hills and enjoy markets. All of these are free to do.

Call hotels directly for discounts

Hotels often have empty cheap rooms that they want to sell out. If it’s not a particularly heavy season calling the hotel directly can land you some heavy discounts. An empty room is a loss-making room for them and they’d appreciate getting something over nothing.

Stay on Sundays

Make use of the empty room Sundays. Hotels are booked between Fri to Saturday with leisure travellers and Monday to Friday between business travellers. On Sundays the pickings are slim. By opting to stay on a Sunday you can get a heavy discount at least on Sunday if not anything.

Accrue reward points

There are several different credit cards available that allow you to accrue points for purchase. Some of these banks are pretty generous with their offer. As you start accumulating points you will gain a better understanding sooner or later and that’s enough to make the most of this.

Cut costs on Laundry

Wash your laundry yourself instead of handing it over to hotel staff or using laundry machines. In fact I suggest heading right over to Indiegogo or Kickstarter and get one of those ultrasonic washing machines that do the job for you. Dolfi is one example They’re so efficient that you won’t get a speck of dirt. That was one of the first things I purchased for my travels abroad.

What do you think of our cost-cutting tips when travelling. You can save a lot more if you’re shrewd.