Danny Kaye famously quoted, “To Travel is to take a journey into yourself.” Everyone loves travelling and exploring new destinations. Many individual harbour plans of taking some time off work and travel around the world. This can prove difficult as planning a holiday is not only a challenge but one also has to take into consideration the price of expensive air ticket booking. Furthermore, fear can also be a major concern as people are generally paranoid and skeptical of venturing out into the unknown.
In order to ensure your plans to travel across the world proceeds without a glitch, you’ll need to work out before hand how much a Schengen visa, Dubai visa, Singapore visa for Indiansor for that matter, any other Visa costs along with a host of other expenses as well. Travelling can indeed get expensive making your dreams inconceivable thus disrupting the best-laid plans. The good news is that with the aid of some diligent planning, you can now fulfill your dreams of travelling around the world on a budget. Here are the six golden rules you ought to follow to execute a budget travel holiday smoothly.
- Research
Simply put, the more time you spend on researching the trip before heading out, the more money you will end up saving. Don’t just grab the first option that pops up and zero-in on it. Instead, compare all your options, make a list of your choices and narrow down on the one’s which make the cut as far as the budget is concerned. Also, make sure that you properly compile a definite list of all the destinations you’re planning on visiting on your trip and make sure you keep the list handy. Properly account for estimated expenditure per destination so that you have an idea. Moreover, look for offers on cheap air fares and deals on cheap flight ticketson the internet that can help save you a lot of money as well.
Keep scouring through forums and interact with others on social media to know more about your destination and recommended places to stay and eat. Furthermore, if you really want to experience the essence of the destination while preparing for your holiday, always make sure to coincide your trip with festivals and other social events happening at the same time in that particular destination. This provides you with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience grand festivities and get a first-hand perspective like no other.
- Accommodation
Here’s a pretty known fact, the bulk portion of your expenses while on a trip is spent on accommodation and lodging. If you’re on a backpacking tour across different cities, ditch the deluxe and premium hotels and instead keep a lookout for AirBNB units, monasteries and home stays. If backpacking is not your cup of tea, then keep an eye out for nearby hotels which aren’t listed on websites but are sure to provide enough comfort and local delicacies for you to feast on.
Another trick is to travel overnight to save money on hostels. Instead of commuting by trains/cars during the day only to sleep at a hotel at night, you will be better served if you travel in the night by say a comfortable sleeper class train journey which entails that you get to explore the various locales during day time. If due to unexpected reasons you can’t always travel at night, it pays to select a hotel which is away from the main market as they’re usually expensive. Also look out for hostels and room sharing options. Furthermore, if you’re a student, always keep your student ID handy as it can help you score great discounts at several places.
- Food and Beverages
The world offers a great variety of food options for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians. While you’re out on a holiday, always make sure to try out the delectable and unique local cuisines. For an authentic feel of the local market and cuisine, try to ask few locals and get the required information. The important point to note is that the best food joints are tucked away in the nooks and corners of the city, so do explore unchartered territories to stumble uponthese best local restaurants.
Food can be a huge drain of money. You could look out for several coupons and offers on restaurants and fast food joints in the countries you plan on visiting. For example, a fast food joint like Burger King constantly gives out free coupons and with a bit of searching the internet, you could easily get hold of these coupons. Additionally, try and explore the street food markets, especially in Asian countries. Unlike most fancy restaurants and fast food joints, street food costs a fraction of the cost and is delicious as well leaving your money to be spent on other things.
In certain countries, if you play your cards right, the inn-owner will let you work in the kitchen or bar, and repay your your time with food, drinks or even lodging. You could also try to buy your food supplies from supermarkets rather than spending money in cafes and restaurants. This holds more ground when traversing through western countries as eating out could work out to be quite expensive. This also gives you an additional opportunity to explore the weird and wonderful tastes prevalent in other countries.
- Get on board
When in doubt or if you’re lost, you can always find local state tourism board counters at a nearby bus depot, airport or local tourism centres. Here you can avail of a printed map with listings and start exploring. While planning your holiday, it’s imperative to seek assistance from your tour packages provider as their itinerary covers the important attractions of the given place. It also pays to seek advice from locals as well when it comes to exploring the unseen.
Also, make sure to invest in travel insurance. This helps avoid scenarios where unpredictable circumstances like a robbery or medical emergencies can result in unexpected out-of-the-pocket expenses and play havoc with your budgeting. Another important but often overlooked point is that you should try and avoid purchasing overly expensive and over-priced souvenirs. You could instead take photos of the particular destination, create a scrapbook of all your clicks and preserve it as a memento.
- Holiday Packages
One of the simplest ways to plan your holiday is by availing budget holiday packages which can be found easily on the internet or by simply visiting the local mall which is replete with travel centres offering a variety of discounted holiday packages. Holiday packages offer excellent value-for-money deals and save you from the headache of inquiring and worrying about living arrangements and trip-planning. Moreover, these packages are always customised for groups and cover several places of interest as well thus saving you tremendous time and money.
- Deals, Offers and Discounts
Travel hack your way around the world. What does that mean you ask? It’s simple!While you’re busy chalking out your travel plans, look up for offers on credit cards which give massive amounts of air miles. If you already have a credit card or two, check for accumulated reward points that can be converted to, or, redeemed for air miles. Keep a look out for special promotions or contests which give out free miles or for that matter, any travel benefits.