One of the biggest hurdles you may be facing with travelling is budget. It is something that has inhibited many dreams of touring various places in their countries and beyond.
While a budget is an important factor when travelling, it should not be the reason why you grow old without visiting all the places you wished you visited before old age kicked in.
Africa Travel. [Photo: Goway Travel]
Also read: 10 Places Solo Travellers Should Explore In Tunisia
Budget hotels and hostels
The biggest budget when it comes to a safari is always the cost of accommodation. It is a major factor that plays out. The beauty of accommodation is that you still can get the very best for a relative price that suits your pocket. This is the time you ditch luxury hotels and make do with budget hotels and hotels – depending on your needs. Though you may not get the five-star treatment, budget hotels and hostels are comfortable too.
Night travel
The greatness of travelling at night is that it saves you from accommodation costs. Through the night, you are accommodated by your flight or bus if travelling on road. You get a good nap and by morning when you arrive at your destination, you are as fresh as a daisy. You save the cost of accommodation for, at least, one night.
Use a cheaper means of transport
Once in a new town or a new place, there is always the temptation to rely so much on cabs/taxi. This takes a toll on your budget because taxi fares do not come cheap at all. Nonetheless, there is a hack around it. Using public means of transport is the best option. You only spend about 10% of what you would have spent on a taxi.
Cheap flights
I bet many do not know that they can get cheap flight tickets by simply using a virtual private network (VPN). How does this happen? VPN gets you almost automatic discounts when shopping online and it also applies to some flights. The tickets are relatively cheaper depending on your destination. Keep looking for the best ticket prices.
Stay light
Travelling translates to luggage but it doesn’t always have to be a suitcase with clothes, footwear and other things. Think like a backpacker and all your problems are solved. Pack what you need, the important things and get going.
Learn buying techniques
On most trips, people will likely buy a few things. With a tight budget in play learning how to bargain coupled with courtesy and friendliness goes a long way. There is a perception that visitors are “loaded” and the commodity prices are likely to be high. With bargaining skills, you get everything within your budget.
Get offers from fancy restaurants
There is nothing about travel without a nice meal. Many times, fancy restaurants give a lot of experience on different things and they always offer discounts. Some may have a special dish for a discounted price during lunchtime or dinner. Grab the chance and dine to your fill.
Weekday flights
The cost of flights on weekdays are far much lower than those for the weekend. Weekends have higher traffic of passengers moving around – beginning Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Weekdays come with discounted air ticket prices as the travel demand is lower.
Also read: Fred Finn, World’s Most Travelled Person With 600 Trips To Kenya
In the same breath, while browsing for cheap flights, you should use the “incognito mode”. Usually, on a normal browser, cookies track your search and give you higher prices for plane tickets. With incognito mode, this does not happen. You choose from the cheapest options available.
Explore your home country
Before heading out to a different country to explore, make a point of travelling the width and breadth of your home country. Practice travelling on a tight budget at home before moving out. There is always something to learn and use in another trip elsewhere.
