Viral Now - 4 Incredibly Effective Ways You Can Save More for Your Next Trip

Not having enough money is one of the most common excuses people give for not going on a tour, vacation or just travelling the world. Is travelling expensive? Yes. Do creative travelers find inexpensive ways to travel and see the world? Yes as well. All you need to do is rethink your style of travelling whilst sticking to your budget and satisfying your wanderlust at the same time.

Bear in mind, your travel experience doesn’t totally depend on how much you have spent. See this as a way of getting a different experience while saving more money at the same time. Who knows, you might just discover a new favorite way of seeing the world.

You can save more for your next trip by doing the following:

Ditch the hotel

Why spend tons of money on expensive brand hotels when you can get decent comfort elsewhere? It is foolhardy to spend $150 per night when just $50 or less would have gotten you an equal value. You might want to consider the following means of lodging for you coming trip:

Momandpop hotels

These are guest houses and inns run by small families. Not only are they cheaper, they also have more than enough personality to them than the big expensive brand hotels. Some of them are listed on websites like hotels.com as well as tripadvisor.com.

House-sit

This is another great way to save money. This is even better when you are part of a big group. House-sitting involves helping someone take care of their home while they are away. In exchange, you get to lodge for free. The length of your stay will depend on the home owners. This service can be explored on platforms like Mind My House, Luxury House Sitting and House Carers.

Apartment rentals

When travelling with family or friends and in no need for a maid service, concierge or other provisions that come with lodging in a hotel, an apartment rental could be ideal. You get to cook your own meals and save some money instead of eating out. For resources for this, you can check out vrbo.com, Airbnb.com, and Wimdu.com.

Bid for hotel deals

You might still want a hotel despite the other options you are now aware of. You can get to lodge in a standard hotel without paying big bucks. Research what other travelers pay for rooms in other major cities. You can do this on the internet by checking out BetterBidding.com. You can make use of name-your-price services or opaque from hotwire or Priceline. You can then bid for a similar prices and hope that they accept your bid.

Strategically pay for train travel

Books your tickets in advance, about 2 weeks before the day. This way, you can get yours 50% cheaper. You can purchase them through the national rail website of the country. In case you are not going for a point-to-point trip but for a tour instead, consider a rail pass. Using this properly will save you hundreds of dollars. This is even better when you taking a long distance, high speed or overnight train.

Also, a pass allows you to pre-book your train travel. You can do this by making use of pre-set amounts or a certain number of rides. If you use this optimally, you will be able to save well, especially when compared to buying individual tickets. A rail pass can help you cut cost by 70% in Australia.^[1]

Is your trip a tour?

When going on tours and cruises, it is best to book at the last minute. Tour companies want to fill the seats. The cost of the tour is still the same whether the seats are filled or not. Companies, like Intrepid Travel, offers up to 15–30% discounts when you book last-minute tours.

Grab a cheap flight

These days, cheap flights abound. All you must do is visit sites like Google Flights and Momondo and search for the closest airport to where you are staying. A search through the departure and destinations will show you the list of cheapest flights available. There is also private jet sharing apps that now makes luxurious trips cheaper than ever before.

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