Travelling is such a wonderful opportunity, and being able to travel on a budget makes it more accessible to people. Who doesn’t want to save money? Traveling isn’t just for the rich anymore, with the right budget and the right mindset, you can make your travel dreams a reality. Even if you don’t earn a lot or you have debt, there are still plenty of ways to go overseas
There is no law at says you have to spend beyond your budget to enjoy your vacation. Also, if you spend less on one adventure, you have money to spend on another. Budget travel doesn’t have to be any less fun either. The truth is you can visit any place around the globe—from Kilimanjaro in Africa to see Kangaroos in Australia, to Santorini in Greece, to The Hague in the Netherlands, and back to your home, all on a budget that suits you.
In this article, you’ll discover 7 effective ways of how budget travel works, helping you have fun and save money.
Research Budget Travel Destinations
The first step in travelling on a budget is to plan your travel. This you do by researching places that are good for travelling on a budget. Many countries with lower costs of living can be great places to visit. This includes places with cheap traveling tickets and easy to get to, places where the currency gets you good value because of the exchange rate, or somewhere that has a lower cost of living. Beautiful countries like Colombia, Fiji Island, Portugal, Senegal, and many others are safe, unique, and affordable places to travel. Generally speaking, food, transportation, and accommodation are cheap, so you can save your money traveling here and spend it on pricier destinations later.
If you intend travelling to a popular destination like Dubai, London, Canada, etc., you can research places in those cities or country which will fit well with your budget. Most places abroad have local towns with developed communities and apartments. You can stay here while you travel to the city for a taste of urban life. This is a wise way of planning your budget.
Book Cheaply
Most times, flight tickets and accommodation are expensive, especially for popular destinations. One way to get cheap flights is to book in advance because the cost of flight tickets usually surges closer to the time of travel. Sometimes, last-minute deals can be a bonus, but it’s often cheaper to book transport, accommodation, and activities well in advance.
Another way to book cheaply is to travel on days with less traffic. Flights are usually more expensive at weekends because more people are free to travel. Try flying during mid-week between Tuesday-Thursday to save some funds on your trips. Additionally, to get the best deal, look for flights that depart in the afternoon.
Travel at Off-Peak Seasons
For most Nigerians, traveling during the summer break is always the dream. The challenge to this is the high cost involved in travelling since many people would be traveling. This will highly impact the prices of flight tickets, accommodation, and general travel experiences. However, for a budget trip, you may be better off going at off-peak seasons. Usually, that will mean winter or fall, depending on where you’re going. You only need to prepare for that unique experience. Finding the less popular times to visit your budget travel destination is one of the easiest ways to travel cheaply.
Pack Well & Light
Firstly, pack light. You will most likely not wear all the clothes you take on vacation. Moreover, how many days/weeks are you spending for you to take lots of clothes on your journey? It’ll even cost you more in baggage to bring more than you need, as you’ll have to pay an extra luggage fee at the airport.
Furthermore, don’t forget you might want to buy things to bring back home. In this case, where will you put those gifts if you’ve already packed too many loads?
However, you must have a list of everything you need before packing. This will prevent you from forgetting anything important. If you forget something, it could cost a lot of money to buy that essential missing item when you’re abroad.
Save on accommodation
If you’re staying for a while in a city, you should find long-term accommodation which comes with a cheaper cost or discount. You should really avoid staying in hotels, which can be pricey rather, opt for hostels or shared apartments.
You can choose Couchsurfing, meaning you’ll share apartments with hosts in the city you are on vacation. The rise of the sharing economy in the last few years has seen a rise in Couchsurfing in the western world. One advantage of this is you might not even pay to sleep in places; if you must pay, it would be very cheap. You also get to share rides, meals, train tickets, gear, and much more This is a great way to meet people without exceeding your budget. There are also local Couchsurfing group meet-ups that can help you make friends in your new city, while many act as your local tour guide. There are many Couchsurfing websites online & you must check them out to book in advance. BeWelcome (https://www.bewelcome.org), Couchsurfing (https://www.couchsurfing.com), and GlobalFreeloaders are good examples.
If Couchsurfing isn’t your thing, then hostel dorms are the next beway for you. Large hostel dorm rooms are the cheapest paid accommodation out there. The bigger the dorm, the cheaper it will be. This is also good for networking but you have to remember that you aren’t going to get your privacy. Then, the security of your loads isn’t usually guaranteed except the hostels have tight security measures to prevent theft.
However, If your personal space is so important to you or you are in a place where sharing an apartment isn’t allowed, probably because of Covid-19 rules, then you can book cheap apartments on an online accommodation service like Airbnb. Airbnb is so popular right now in most countries around the world. This offers you the best top-notch accommodation services cheaper than hotels.
Save on Food
Just because you are traveling doesn’t mean you need to eat out every meal – this can be very expensive especially if you are on a long vacation. One of the ways to save on food is to cook your food.
If you are staying in hostels or rental apartments, book accommodation that has a kitchen so you have space to cook. If you’re Couchsurfing or using Airbnb, your host will probably have a kitchen; you can request things needed to cook.
Since not every meal requires a stove, you should also explore the options of making light meals like the sandwich. This is ideal for breakfast.
Volunteer or Leverage on Your Skillset
This one of the effective ways of not just saving money but making money while you vacate. There are websites like Craiglist or Taskrabbit which enable you to find people who need a little help with house chores and get paid to help them. It’s a way to make money when you travel without committing to a long-term job. You also get to make new friends and network; that way, you have don’t have problems settling in that city or town when next you visit.
Furthermore, if you have a skillset, sell it. You can offer online services like editing, graphic design, or consulting. If you are a freelancer, you can use freelancing apps like Fiverr to get clients while you are on vacation. It’s never been easier to work online. As long as you have Wi-Fi you can make money.
You can also engage in volunteer jobs