How To Travel for Cheap

Hello my wonderful readers, if you are indeed reading this you are probably planning to travel, and if you are smart, doing it as inexpensively as you possibly can. I have been travelling from when I was little, no, not like a travelling guru on Instagram, but every year or so I'd visit different overnight places, many times overseas. Whilst travelling I've learned different ways to cut the costs and spend as little as I can while getting the most out of my travelling experience. After finding myself using these ways in friend groups and family vacations, I have found that what I have learned has not even been on a person's mind before, which I found surprising because to me it was obvious. So, instead of having to explain this to everyone around me, I'd much rather create this blog so it could help everyone else around the world. Here are the TOP 5 ways to travel for cheap AND have your trip be fulfilled to the fullest.

1. Do not stay at an expensive close to the "downtown" hotel.

This is one of the most important advices pretty much ever, once picking a place of travel make sure not to stay at that hotel that it all over the travelling agencies, yes it might have amazing reviews and best location but as it goes for the price? Not the best. There are many other places you can stay at, for instance try something called an "Airbnb" which describes itself as a company "which hosts an online marketplace for people to lease or rent short-term lodging including vacation rentals, apartment rentals, homestays, hostel beds, or hotel rooms." Airbnbs are located all over the world as a cheaper way of staying overnight. I found this to be the best method of cutting my costs. For example, my planning of a trip to NYC I knew what I wanted, to stay in Manhattan for a weekend. However, everyone knows that it would cost at least $100 cad to reside in a 3-star hotel, but it would only take $50 to stay at Airbnb located in a rich neighbourhood where you feel like an upper east sider yourself for a couple of days.

2. Do take tourist vacation packages.

What I found is if you want to visit Italy, it is much cheaper to actually take a tourist vacation package for seven nights than to go by yourself to Rome. It was so much less expensive to go on a tourist trip visiting many cities with a group of people than to plan a whole trip by myself to only one city which ended up being a lot more expensive. Yes, you will have to stick to your group with barely any free time but you need to decide what your reason for travel is; travelling for self exploration, free schedule, and more money wasted, or, you want to go just to see the place any way you can with a tight budget and limited free time? Your choice.

3. Research

Probably one of the most important advices to take from this whole article, do not forget to research your destination. Nothing can be worse than travelling somewhere without even looking up the language. Once you know exactly where you are going, you would want to be one hundred precent prepared. Look up your overnight stay's surroundings and other close places to visit that you might have overlooked that could potentially "make" your trip. Search up the language if it is a complete different culture so you could familiarize yourself a little bit. You should be so prepared for your trip that you will feel comfortable coming up to a food counter and saying "hello" in their language. By researching, you are guaranteed to get the best out of your vacation.

4. If you do decide on a free schedule trip, then plan your meals accordingly.

This goes with the research, make sure to plan your meals before you get there. For example, while planning a trip to Korea I familiarized myself with the food before hand and found out that apparently "foreigner stomachs cannot handle Korean eel." Now, I do not know if that is in fact true but it did make me self aware of what food to order there so my stomach can digest it with no issues. Therefore, make sure to know at least some food before going to a place so you are familiarized. By looking up restaurants in your vacation place, you can also find out their pricing and maybe even avoid an expensive restaurant and go to the nearby less famous one but with great reviews.

5. Know exactly how much you will spend.

While planning your trip, you should count your money and know exactly what you will spend it on while still leaving some money for emergencies. After you do your research, you should have an approximate idea for your spending cash. Include food, shopping, excursions, and any emergencies you might have in the way.

If you will use every tip I have laid out for you, I can guarantee you will have an amazing trip wherever you go.