Tours can be rejuvenating. According to a report published in Wisconsin Medical Journal, the risk of depression significantly drops in women who travel at least twice a year. Travel is known to be good for your physical and mental health and it comes at a huge cost. Travel, whether local or international can be expensive but you can make it inexpensive if you plan it well. Yes, it is possible to explore new places without exhausting your bank balance.
Now that you have got enough motivation to plan your next trip, here are a few budgeting tips.
Where can you travel on a budget?
For a memorable overseas trip Europe, Canada, and Japan are some of the most recommended spots. Here are the most popular places in each of these countries for budget travelers:
- Europe – Lisbon, Moldova, Tenerife
- Canada – Montreal, Saskatoon
- Japan – Osaka, Okinawa, Fukuoka
With your next budget holiday location finalized here are a few things you can do to ensure that you save money along the way. Before you start figuring out ways to save money, work on your budget. There might be different types of expenses that you would have to bear with each of these destinations. First comes the arrangement of your passport and other travel-related paperwork. This gives a good start to your budget planning. Apart from this, you have other important ones like flights, local transport expenses, food, and accommodation as well.
Book tickets in advance
This is one of the most popular and most effective recommendations given by most travelers. Booking flights several months in advance can give you a huge saving on the travel expenses. Compare the airlines that serve the chosen destination and pick budget-friendly airlines. You can also make use of airline sales, often popular airlines do deals earlier in the year to locations like Japan and Europe.
Consider Buy Now Pay Later Options
With the increasing popularity in buy now pay later services, it was only a matter of time before airlines jumped on board. Currently, there are a few international airlines that offer these services to buy flights. This means that you can buy it at a cheaper price in advance and pay for it over time. This could be the perfect option for travelers and there are also these options for accommodation solutions like Airbnb. If this sounds like a good solution then you can check out Clever Shop List to find out full lists of what sort of expenses you can use buy now pay later services for. We’d only recommend this option if you are good with budgeting, you don’t want to dig yourself into a hole that you can’t get out of by impulse buying a holiday.
Consider the location and the type of accommodation
The purpose of your travel determines the type of accommodation you might need. The size of the travel group also has a role to play. For solo travelers, there are many dormitories and other shared accommodation options which are cheap. For those traveling with a family choosing a location that is slightly far from the city center can save money. Look for cost-effective deals like those that come with meal inclusions in the accommodation charges. Besides this, check out the food joints located close to your stay so as to understand the budget-friendly dining alternatives in the vicinity.
Other expenses
The money spent on the activities, entrance tickets, local transportation can be the trickiest part of travel budgeting. Most of these are expenses that you cannot plan in advance. Reading reviews from the other travelers can help understand the size of the budget to assign. Check if there is a travel company that can help you with combo or package deals.
As you can see above, careful planning helps to save you heaps of money which could help you travel more. Happy traveling!