In an ideal world, we’d have enough money to travel to all those exotic destinations. Staying in those 5* resort hotels with a personal chauffeur and a private infinity pool.
But until that day comes (we can pray and hope) I’ve thought about my top tips if you’re thinking about travelling and trying to stay on a budget.
Whether it’s Europe, Asia, America or Australia these tips could be helpful wherever you may go.
Firstly booking accommodation
So accommodation depends on what you’d prefer, you can go super cheaper with a basic hostel and shared dorms with others. This is a good way to meet new people and to make friends along your journey. Like Andy and myself, we prefer to have a private room in a hostel as it gives us a bit of privacy and sometimes it’s nice to just relax in the evenings in your own space, so I would recommend this if you’re a couple. If you are looking for cheap private rooms, go for one with shared bathrooms. It brings the cost down and you still get that private bedroom. The shared bathrooms aren’t as bad as you may think but the best advice to give would be to make sure you wear your flip flops in the showers and don’t forget to take your towel in with you!
There are so many great hostels around that are easy to find on Hostel world. They give reviews and all the details you need to find the right hostel for you. I’ve also found that sometimes Expedia can promote some pretty good deals on hotels, especially if you’ve booked with them before, you start earning points (like a Tesco club card!) Expedia can also give you rewards, such as discounts on your booking which is always a bonus. But again make sure you check out the reviews for these places you may book to make sure it is right for you.
With accommodation, my thoughts are, as long as it feels safe, clean and you have somewhere secure to keep your belongings you’re good to stay!
Plan your day
It’s always good to think about what you want to do and see in your day. I’m not saying you need a definite plan but just an idea of where you want to go and what you want to see or do. This way you won’t end up spending money on things you weren’t particularly interested in doing because you didn’t know what else to do. Also by sussing out what you really want to do you know roughly how much you’ll end up spending for that day. Which takes me to my next tip…
Sydney
Your budget
Budget yourself for the day. Setting out a budget you want to stick by for the day can help you to not overspend. If you’ve got a safe in your room aim to only take a certain amount out for the day and store the rest away. This way you physically can’t overspend even if you wanted to. Leave your travel card/debit card etc as well if you think you’ll get tempted to use your card when you’re out. You may be surprised how little you actually end up spending in your day due to the budget.
Find free stuff to do
You can always find lots to do for free if you do some research, especially in cities. This can include parks to stop by to have lunch in or to just have a nice walk around. Most Museums are free to enter and if you’re in a hot country sometimes it’s nice to pop in for an hour to grab some free air con! You can sometimes find free exhibitions around too, a good way to see some art or to learn about the different culture about the place you’re currently exploring.
Sometimes cities offer free transport too, we found this in Melbourne. They offered a free tram running down the main centre which was super handy. We also discovered free transport in Brisbane, offering free boat transport to different points on the south bank. This was great as you could sit back on a boat and take in the scenery whilst enjoying the boat journey. We found out about these free transport options from the reception team at either our hotel, hostel or campsite. It’s always good to ask the locals what the best options are. And of course, you’ve got the freedom of just walking around, exploring the place you’re in, seeing the sites, taking those all-important photos, and simply taking it all in.
Free Brisbane boat ride
Do I really need this?
The amounts of times I’ve gone into a clothing shop browsing picked up multiple items because after all ‘I’m on holiday’, to then look at the price tags that make you question do I actually need this. The way I think about it is if I hesitate about buying it, don’t buy it. I also like to think that $30 on that top could be my money to put towards an activity I really want to do. When travelling I’d much rather wear the same clothes for the next four months (as boring as that is to repeat the same outfits over and over again) but then being able to do all the activities I’d planned and hoped to do. I mean I’m not saying don’t buy any clothes, but just think do I really need this and do you really like it. It might save you some important dollars/pounds/Euro's!
Share the cost
So you may be travelling solo but if you’re not and you’re travelling with family or a friend it’s always good to share the cost for things as much as possible. This being by halving the food shop, taking it in turns to buy the cold drinks out or splitting the cost for accommodation. When you’re travelling with someone else it’s always good to know with the majority of things you’ll be doing you’ll always be cutting the cost in half. So share as much as you can, even if that’s through suncream, toothpaste or travel detergent!
Cheers.. (They may look intoxicating but they tasted great.. an Australian version of Fanta ice blast)!
When I’m travelling I try and follow all these above tips and advice. It’s hard to stick by it all the time of course, but it’s reassuring to know there are ways to help cut the cost that little bit more.
I almost forgot.. one of the most important tips I could offer.. BARTER! If it’s booking accommodation, buying a souvenir from a market or booking an excursion try and barter your way to a better price. Asking the question for a lower price or saying you don’t have that much money (when actually you do) can tempt a lot of sellers to drop their price. At the end of the day they’d prefer a sale rather than not, so try your luck and hopefully, it’ll pay off.. literally!
That's all the tips I can think of for now and I hope one day they may come in handy for any of you fellow travellers or holidaymakers.
Now it's time for me to drink my cheap ($6.50) bottle of wine and to enjoy the rest of the evening sun.
Amy x