International travel is something everyone dreams of doing, especially for those who love the thrill of adventure and exploration. However, rising costs and inflation can put your dreams on hold while you try and save up enough to actually enjoy yourself. Don’t worry though as there are always silver linings and it’s up to us to make the best of every opportunity available.
This article helps you devise strategies to make your dream vacation a reality. You can make use of these simple tips to save quite a lot of money than you would ever have imagined. This will enable you to have a wonderful time without having to fret and fume over the pocket pinch. Contrary to popular perception, planning your trip can be an invigorating activity and you certainly don’t need the analytical abilities of a rocket scientist to put your plan in to action.
All you need to do is change some travel practices and you will certainly have the world at your feet. Read on to find out how you can start your conquest of the amazing world that we inhabit!
1. Use Travel Credit Cards
When you are on your foreign trip, it’s important to carry some local currency around for daily expenses such as transportation. However, it’s also important to keep this to a minimum amount to avoid worst case scenarios if your luggage gets lost or wallet stolen. Using travel credits cards are a good recommendation for the bulk of your purchases. They are an easy way to gain rewards for all your travel expenses and can be redeemed when you are are back home saving you money that you otherwise wouldn’t of gotten.
There are many travel credit cards available for use in the market but the best ones are Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, Bank of America Premium Rewards Credit Card, and Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. These travel credit cards will give you the best rewards for purchases and the most lucrative deals on travel.
These travel credit cards are free of foreign transaction charges making them truly worthwhile. This enables you to save on the 2 to 3 % surcharge that you need to pay for every purchase and the accumulated savings from rewards adds an extra cherry on top. Hence, make the smart choice and choose travel credit cards for reducing expenses of your exciting international trip.
2. Control Your Airfares
You may not be aware of this fact, but there is a certain amount of control that you have over your flight tickets. We recommend you book at least 2 to 3 months in advance of your intended departure in order to get the best price possible.
If you’re travelling without children, it makes sense to travel when it’s not vacation time as you bring down the costs by a great deal. Families with children typically travel during peak vacation times, inflating the demand and the prices so it makes sense to avoid these times if possible. Look for international travel dates on off season times to get the best discount possible. It’s all about supply and demand for airlines so finding dates with less travelers is a benefit to your wallet.
When you are searching for the lowest fares, you need to ensure that you use the Incognito mode so that your browser cannot keep track of your cookies that lead to inflated airfares. It’s also wise to compare several different websites for flight bookings as different sites can offer better deals during certain times of the year.
3. Reduce Dining Costs
Dining costs during your vacation is typically the biggest part of your expenses outside of the flight and hotel. Surprising as it may sound; even booking a car for sightseeing is cheaper than eating out abroad. Therefore it would be wise to introduce some element of thrift into your dining out practices. You could substitute dinner with local snacks available at reduced costs and eat a hearty local breakfast that are typically complimentary at hotels.
That way the only major expense that you may incur is on lunch, which you will be having while you’re busy touring. There will surely be some choices available for you when you are exploring the hot spots and you can economize by selecting the most optimal choice. Local street food is always a good choice, just make sure that the place is moderately hygienic and the snacks that you eat have less water content as most virulent diseases of the stomach are water borne. Just stick to fritters and oily fried snacks as they have hardly any water and are comparatively safer.
Never have dairy products as the milk may be contaminated but you could go for a light dinner of pastries and coffee that would cost much lesser than an elaborate dinner. You could also carry some bread and butter, fried snacks and even a cup of noodles to help you tide over the few days that you are on a foreign trip.
Everybody who goes on an international vacation may not love to try out local cuisine so carrying something to munch on from home makes a great deal of sense.
4. Save on Transport
You can save a lot of money by booking the same driver on the entire leg of your journey in a particular city. Just negotiate the deal in such a way as to create a win-win situation for both parties. You can do this by booking him for 3-4 days stretch at a lower price than the current every day price.
That way you economize by getting a discount and he is also benefited by getting work for 4 full days. You could also use local public transportation that will enable you to reduce costs even further. This can also be fun as you get to enjoy all the sights of the place like any other local and you can even interact with them, if you so desire.
5. Save on Hotels
This is another smart way to reduce costs. If you don’t want to live luxuriously when traveling internationally, you can economize by getting a decent hotel with basic amenities at a much lower cost. Anyways, you’ll be busy outdoors sightseeing and won’t spend that much time in the hotel, so why bother paying more. Just ensure that cleanliness and hygiene are adhered to so that you don’t fall sick and put your vacation on hold. Otherwise, there is no need for swanky lobbies and elaborate bedrooms when you’ll be there just to sleep for the night.
So just make use of the tips given above and enjoy your travel experience to the fullest!
