These days, travelling is considered to be a luxurious act but it doesn’t always have to be so! Travelling to any place doesn’t mean spending money especially and exorbitantly. After all, travelling is an act for gaining knowledge and not meant for showing-off. In recent times, when everything seems to be so expensive there is not a chance for EVERYONE to be enjoying what has been served to us, right?
For that section of the society which might include families or students/backpackers, there is an entire ocean bed full of opportunities which does not require us to spend more than we want to. There are many budget friendly options to opt for which wouldn’t compromise on your travelling experience either. So if you think you can’t afford to travel, think again! As they say- “ When there is a will, there is a way”!
Here are a few tips to minimize your cost on budget travelling:
1. Research well for good air, ferry, rail tickets
Even though air tickets are usually not very cheap, but there are times when they do go down to dirt cheap prices (especially by using makemytrip coupons). That’s why you should keep checking the prices every day and pay for what you seem is payable by you. After all, the only thing worse than finding out the prices for your tickets have gone up is to find out that they went down after you have already bought yours.
Even for rail tickets, there is the mess regarding the Waiting List. So it’s better to book your tickets and cancelling it later if you find better deals than waiting for the deal to happen to you.
Of course, you need to keep the travel time in your mind and then make your decision. This equation between travel time and ticket price is very subjective.
2. Research good accommodation details – Hostels instead of Hotels !
While most of us think of directly check –in to our hotel on our arrival, we barely give any other option a thought. There are many budget friendly options available for accommodation when it comes to travelling. For example, booking a hostel instead of a hotel makes much more sense.
You can find bed in a hostel for as cheap as Rs.300 and we can guarantee you a better experience than a hotel anytime! Imagine, staying with fellow travellers from all around the world and sharing stories as you meet each other- isn’t it an experience unlike anything else?
Hostels usually have a kitchen which is open to its guests and that will help you in further saving up your money on food. You can buy the raw materials and make your own meal in the kitchen and stack the rest up in the fridge for later use. Now you know the crucial tip for travelling smarter!
3. Look up for your friends in the city you’re going to
If you still do not want to stay in a hotel/hostel, you can save more money by looking up for friends or relatives living in the city where you’re going to. If you’re lucky, you can save up on accommodation and food along with getting a personalized take on the city! However, one drawback with this option is that since you will be living at some else’s ‘home’, you might have to compromise on your space for a while. Besides, staying at some’s place for more than a week is a pain in the behind anyway!
4. Overestimate costs and control spending
While travelling, you never know what might pop up on the way so it’s always better to overestimate everything. When budget travelling, this is something that you should definitely do. Be it spending on food or souvenirs or transport; always be prepared for the worst. You sure don’t want to be stranded in an alien city with not enough money in your pockets.
Besides, if you overestimate your costs, you would also be able to control your spending and know how much to spend where. That way, at the end of the day you will have the ‘extra’ money in your hands which you might or might not spend in something as a treat to yourself!
5. Travel off-season – All good things to those who wait !
This is perhaps the most ingenious way to travel. We all know how much the prices go up during season time and when we do know that the place actually doesn’t cost that much we cringe from spending. Travelling off-season saves up so many hassles all at once. You get to experience your destination in peace since it isn’t going to be flocked by every tourist imaginable. The hotels/hostels are cheaper (especially with goibibo coupons), the flight tickets are cheaper and you don’t have to slog it through the train journey if the distance is long.
6. Travel with a partner : The more, the merrier !
Travelling with a partner saves up so much money than you can imagine! You will be practically sharing almost everything with your travel buddy- room, food, transport. The only thing that you will have to spend on is your individual expenditure. But travelling with a friend eases up a lot of load off of your shoulders. It is also fun to share all the new experiences and epiphanies with someone while you’re experience it.
A special bond of sorts forms between you two and you know that you can always fall back upon that person in times of need. As they say, if you have to judge someone, travel with them!
7. Talk to locals
It is always the best way to get to know a place- to do what locals do. I’m sure if you’re going to an entirely new place, you wouldn’t like to stick to your boring routines. So suppose, you need to eat, try going to a local place and trying a dish that you otherwise wouldn’t have. In the meantime you can also strike up a conversation with someone who seems helpful and jot down a few tips from them as to how to go about the city. Travelling, according to a local, is always the best plan!
So, remember these tips the next time you want to travel and you are on a cost crunch. Low budget travelling doesn’t make you a miser; it just makes you a smart traveler because you are experiencing everything that the rest are and then some more too…and all of these at a much lower cost!