How can I travel cheap? Wrong question. The question is do you want to travel? We often blame money and probably time for our boredom of staying in one city for months. Most people will include traveling in their hobby list but may not remember the last time they were on a trip. It doesn’t have to be out of the country or during summer to amount to traveling. So long as you are away from your home, in a new place, it is a trip.
The fun and benefits of traveling are endless. If you are not traveling, you are missing a lot in the world. There is a lot about the culture and nature that you don’t know.
You don’t need a year’s savings to go on a trip. While this is one way to plan for traveling, it doesn’t have to be this complicated. It starts with your willingness and interest.
The craze with bucket list has clouded most of our minds. It’s not the way for travelers. You don’t select a destination and things you want to do then save for that. The people you see every day on social media on a hike or on a beach across the continent are not spending as much as you think.
Go with what you have to where you can afford.
Here are some tips to keep you on the road;
- Free accommodation
Accommodation comes second and first in some cases with regards to costs when traveling. To cut on your expenses, you should strive to find a free place to stay. How?
Find out of friends or relatives living in interesting places you are thinking of visiting. Ask them if you can get a spare bed or even sleep on the couch. You can compromise on comfort and save a lot while gaining from a free tour guide. You benefit a lot from living with locals. They will suggest places you have to visit and how you should get there. The fastest means, the adventurous route, and safety boundaries.
If you don’t know anyone in your intended destination, make use of the internet. There are numerous travelers’ sites where you can get a free couch or bed in exchange for your skills or just free. Most of these sites are social platforms primarily for interaction; no one is there to make money. It is for mutual benefit and creating a fun society for people with same interests, traveling and adventure. You might have to build a reputation and prove yourself a good guest. Most of hosts in these platforms offer more than accommodation; they will show you around.
House swapping is also a trend in the traveling industry. If you own a home, you list it online and interested members will contact you for an exchange for an agreed period.
- Check on last-minute deals
You can save a lot with spontaneous decisions. Don’t be too rigid with your destination and means of travel, you never know; most good deals come as you are almost purchasing an air ticket. It is not only on bus/plane, you can save on whole vacation packages or hotel rooms.
Hotels in your destination might be offering a discount for two or three days. You should be flexible to change your travel date or destination and go for the cheap option. When you get to the airport, an airline might be displaying offers for the coming weekend; you can wait and travel cheap. Also, you might notice a better deal for hotel rooms in the next town, why not change the accommodation plans?
Be flexible on your travel and save money.
- Research on low airfares
Don’t stick to popular airlines, check on the other hundred options and you might land the best deal of your life. Of course, you have to comprise on factors like time and probably reliability. This should not be an issue if you are traveling for fun. Be easy and do your research. Be willing to risk and try out a new company, a new airline in the launching stage.
Just like any new product in the business filed, a launch comes with offers for customers. Take advantage of the offers and save on your airticket.
Depending on where you are or your destination, there are multiple online sites that list hundreds of airlines with their prices to different destinations. Some sites are kind enough to suggest alternative routes on basis of costs. You can opt to connect cities and save money. If anything, it is part of the adventure. Instead of one long trip of 9 hours, take 3 flights of 3 hours each and enjoy the diversity.
You will not only save on traveling costs but will experience different airlines and their services; you will come across different cultures because you will be in different flights with different passengers thrice. The airport services and language of the attendants. There is so much to learn from airlines and multiple travels. If you a traveler, you will love this. Actually, there are better experiences in cheap traveling than costly express flights.
Sometimes the fun is in the inconvenience.
