Travel is considered one of the best gifts of human life. When you are tired of the cars and noisy city life, your body and mind start to protest and ask you to get away from it all for a while to recover your lost peace. In the current economic situation, traveling seems to be too expensive, and unfortunately. But travelling can heal many mental and physical pressures, bring you closer to your family and loved ones, and expand your world and the scope of your vision, and avoiding traveling would mean closing your eyes from watching beauty. This is why in this post we have decided to focus on budget travel hacks to help you travel on the cheap.
1) Travel in Quiet Times
Who says you have to travel on holidays? It is understandable that you are working and cannot easily take time off, but you can sometimes give yourself and those around you a little bit of rest.
Usually, during the high season, the price of everything from food to souvenirs and even accommodation goes up. Therefore, you can take a few days off and hit the road during the quiet days of the year and have a budget travel. On such days, accommodation prices are much lower than on busy days, and due to low demand, almost all businesses, whether service or entertainment, offer lower prices. Therefore, sometimes it is not bad to think outside the box.
2) Avoid Buying Extra Stuff
Buying souvenirs is one of our habits when traveling, and it is a beautiful thing too. But buying a gift is enjoyable when you are not under pressure to pay for it and are not trying to have a budget travel. Know that you don’t have to buy expensive souvenirs, you can save money and make your loved ones happy by buying a small handicraft from a local person, in addition to helping the local economy. In addition, try not to spend time unnecessarily in arcades and shopping centers, the temptation to buy will not leave you!
3) Travel Like a Tortoise!
It means spending a lot of time in one area. Being in a car, train, and plane all the time and visiting 10 different cities in a week will only leave you tired of the road without enjoying your trip. Try to travel slowly and explore the area well on a budget travel. Your journey starts from the moment you start the car, don’t rush to reach your destination and enjoy the journey. After reaching your destination, communicate with locals, visit tourist attractions, eat local food, and enjoy every moment.
4) Don’t Book a Hotel
Statistics show that the highest travel expenses are related to accommodation and food! Hotels, especially if they have more stars, are usually expensive. Especially if you are traveling in a group, you should book more rooms, because the hotel rooms support a small number of people. To reduce costs and travel on a budget, try to book a suite or house. Houses usually have more area and offer good facilities.
5) Prepare Several Meals
Before you leave, prepare the meals for the day at home. As we mentioned above, food comprises a large part of your travel expenses and cannot be excluded in any way. You need the energy to move around and be active on the trip, and you should not skip any meals.
In hotels, you have to order food. But in daily residences, you can cook in the kitchen, it is enough to prepare some basic ingredients and cook healthy, home-made and cheap food. It may not be an exaggeration to say that you can reduce your expenses by up to 40% on a budget trip by saving on food.
6) Have a Checklist of Everything You Need
As much as possible, bring all the essentials so that you don’t have to buy them during the trip. In order not to miss anything, write down all the things you need, then put them step by step inside the suitcase as you pack. Check the weather news and take the right clothes. Don’t forget toiletries, a comb, a shaver, comfortable clothes, a toothbrush, and toothpaste!
7) Don’t Forget Free Entertainment
Many entertainments and pleasures in the world are cheap. These blessings are so easily attainable that they are lost in our daily lives, and sometimes we don’t see them and we easily pass by them.
Watching sunset and sunrise in the sea, conquering a peak, bathing in the sea, listening to the roaring sound of a river, walking or riding a bicycle, using the facilities of the parks, or making fragrant tea in nature can all give you deep peace.
8) Use technology
Make phone calls using free apps like WhatsApp and Imo. Instead of booking your accommodation after arriving at your destination and paying the entire cost of traveling and searching for a suitable unit, book your accommodation online before your budget travel at home. If you don’t want to pay for the internet, book a tour. Most ecotours offer free internet to travelers.
9) Don’t Miss the Last Minutes
Don’t miss services such as last-minute tours or last-minute tickets to have a low-cost and budget trip. The Internet has also made this even easier. You can find out about the latest news and information about flights and hotels using applications or tourism service sites.
10) Compare Prices
If you plan to travel by plane, train, or even bus, be sure to visit different sites and compare prices before buying a ticket. To have a budget travel, you can find suitable options by comparing prices and ignoring some additional services.
11) Choose Short Distances
Traveling doesn’t have to be to the farthest places in the world. Sometimes traveling to places close to where you live can also be attractive. Many of us don’t know the sights and places near our cities and villages. You can plan a trip to these places in your plan to travel on the cheap
12) Use Special Offers
While traveling, pay attention to the free services offers on certain days of the month or year. Going to places such as museums or zoos is sometimes free for various reasons on certain days. Take advantage of these opportunities.
13) Budget Travel by Your Car
One of the low-cost travel options is to travel by your own car. If you plan to do this, be sure to take safety measures before the trip Including the technical examination of the car, checking the tires, changing the engine oil and brake oil, and checking the car lighting, along with having safety equipment such as wheel chains, as well.
14) Search Tickets for Individual People
You may sometimes prefer group travel to traveling solo. If you want to travel by plane in a group, it is better to search for the price of plane tickets both as a group and individually. This way, you may have to start your journey with different airlines and connect to the destination for a lower price of the plane ticket.
15) Do Not be Afraid of Connecting Flights
Needless to say, connecting flights are cheaper than non-stop flights. If you want to buy a cheap plane ticket, be sure to pay attention to stopover flights. It is even better to choose flights that have a long stop! Because in this case, you can have a mini tour in the city as well.
16) Do Not Forget about Charter Tickets
Whenever you want to travel, be sure to check the price of both charter and scheduled tickets. It is a misconception that charter tickets are always cheaper than scheduled flight tickets. Sometimes, when the demand is high, the price of charter tickets may rise quickly and become more expensive.
17) Check Tour Prices
If you need to book a hotel in addition to booking and buying a plane ticket during your trip, it is better to choose package tours or visit websites that provide you with the possibility of booking a hotel as well. There are various sites that have included the possibility of booking a hotel and buying a tour. This way, you can prepare a comfortable and worry-free budget travel for yourself.
18) Buy Online
When you go to an agency in person to buy a plane ticket, you have fewer options to choose from and there is less possibility of comparison. If you want to save both time and money, the best way is to buy plane tickets online. Another reason for this is that in the virtual world, there is fierce competition between ticket sellers and agencies try to attract more customers by lowering their prices and eliminating competition.
19) Do as the Locals Do
Doing what locals do is the best way to control your travel expenses and have a budget travel. instead of going to expensive international and chain stores, go to local markets like the locals, shop, and get closer to their culture.
Final Word
We all love to travel. Traveling is the best opportunity for many of us to get away from the worries and preoccupations of work, and for children, it is the best opportunity to learn and get to know the world around them.
Traveling is one of the main and basic pastimes of all of us and budget travel or low-cost trips may be attractive to you too. Many families give up traveling due to heavy expenses and high costs and reduce leisure trips to once a year or every few years, while using some budget travel hacks, you can travel and with a minimal budget.