Seeing the world can be costly and we often associate luxury with travel. You can effectively cuts costs without reducing the quality of your next vacation. Every cent saved on holiday is another in the bank for your next trip.
- If you must travel on specific dates, buy as early as possible – If you know that you have to see you parents on Christmas, get your tickets as far in advance as you can. For vacation plans that are still a dream, start doing a FareCast 3 months in advance (on a Wednesday night). The more flexible your days, the more room to save.
- Bring a small water filter with you – Bottled water is a huge waste of money, but hard to find from the tap, even in western Europe. Fill up the empty pitcher with socks to save space in your suitcase. If you can’t really trust the water, bring water purification tablets or an iStraw.
- Go grocery shopping and cook in most days – Contrary to what you may hear, this is one of the best ways to experience a new culture. Do you think your local grocery store is identical to one in Brussels? Check for low cost recipes and snacks.
- Combine your trips – While you’re searching for tickets, make sure to look at nearby cities and countries you’d like to visit. Niche Web sites, like Flycheapo can be used to get discount fares within Europe. Accumulate your vacation time wisely and see more places for less.
- Think outside of the box – Visit places where the dollar is strong, you might be afraid to go to (but shouldn’t), and don’t always count on round-trip tickets being the cheapest. Look for one-way fares to complete legs of your trip if the round-trip doesn’t meet your fancy. Finally, it might be worth a gander to look at foreign versions of popular travel search engines.
Last, don’t forget that airplane is not the only way to get around. Train, motorcycle, and bus might take longer – but if you’re creative you can see things you’d fly right over in a plane. Taking the car? Sleep at airports along the way to cut hotel costs.
This is the quick list, but I’d like to know – how do you cut corners to save cash fast?
