Apr

23

21 resources for budget travel

Filed Under frugal | 29 Comments

I love to travel. Really love it. This year my plans include the Oktoberfest in Munich (confusingly, it’s in September) and later in the autumn I’m heading out to Egypt for a week, where I’ll spend part of the time floating along the Nile in a felucca.

Anyway, I thought maybe you’re planning your holidays and vacations right now and you might like this collection of budget travel resources.

before you go

27 personal finance tips for overseas travel - because you won’t be in Kansas any more. Great list of things to think about before you go, it’s stuff that should be obvious to an experienced overseas traveller, but that a first-timer may not have thought of.

10 money saving tips for travel - more basic tips, but this time from someone after they returned from their first adventure. It’s things they did well, and things that they didn’t

pack light - the less that you take, the easier it will be to stay on a budget. Honestly, it’s true. Everyone who travels wishes they’d taken less stuff

accommodation

the joys of hostelling - it’s not all about bunkbeds, curfews, and young people any more. Hostelling is my accommodation of choice when I’m travelling on my own, I prefer to spend my money on food and other experiences

learn Esperanto and get free places to stay - ok, so it’s a little off the beaten track as an idea, but if you have more time than money, why not give it a go

you’ve got to love couchsurfing - surf couches around the world, free accommodation at its most basic

getting there and around

7 reasons to take the bus - I’ve travelled on the bus (or coach, as we Brits prefer to call long distance services) in the United States, Canada, Australia, and in Europe. Most of those were overnight trips to save on the cost of accommodation. Do you know what, it’s pretty good fun.

take the train, not the plane - possibly the most civilised form of transport available. I love taking the train when I’m on holiday. My current favourite trip was from Budapest to Vienna, so cheap and so easy. One of these days I want to travel on the Trans-Siberian express from Moscow to Beijing.

13 ways to save money on airline travel - some destinations are only reachable by plane, so you may as well save some money on your flights if you have to take them

getting cheap flights - this is a UK based information, but a lot of it will be relevant to everyone. And, if you are planning a trip to Europe, definitely check out the information on budget airlines, proof positive that someone loves Europeans

plan a cheap road trip - just because you’re in a car, doesn’t mean that there aren’t great ways to save money.

12 keys to a good deal on a rental car - you’re not always going to want to take your own car with you, and there are lots of destinations that work best with a rental car

on the road

5 steps to staying in touch on the road - because you’re going to want to phone home. And even if you don’t, you might find that you’ve forgotten to tell your bank that you’re abroad and they’ve stopped your card. Not that I’ve ever done anything like that of course ;) .

5 tips for saving money at the airport - ugh, I’m not a fan of airports, and always seem to spend more there than I intended. Maybe I should check out these tips next time.

7 tips for managing your cash when travelling - because you’re going to be spending some money whilst you’re abroad. But, you may as well do it sensibly

10 tips for cutting RV travel expenses - RV stands for recreation vehicle, right? Glorified caravans with every home comfort, they aren’t intrinsically budget choices, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t make them so

8 ideas for saving money on food - eating is an important and necessary part of life. It’s even more important when travelling, all that hiking round museums/national parks/the beach works up an appetite. It can be expensive though, so you might want to make some clever choices

how much should you tip on a cruise? - you do know that you have to right? It’s as well to do it properly, without either coming across as a miser, or being more generous than you need to be

other trips

10 frugal tips for visiting family - because not all travel is to exciting new destinations. Unless you’re one of the lucky people whose extended family live in Hawaii or something

stay at home vacation - not everyone likes, or can afford to, travel to exotic destinations. That’s no reason to take a break though. Why not have a stay at home vacation?

money saving tips at Disney - if you’re a fan of the mouse, or you have children who are you should probably know that without planning, it’s expensive. So here are some ideas to help you.

More ideas? Let me know in the comments.

Apr

2

frugal travel accomodation: the joys of hostelling

Filed Under frugal | 11 Comments

hostel signWhen I travel abroad, I nearly always stay in a Youth Hostel. The first reason that I stay there is because they are inexpensive, ranging in price from say $5 to $50 a night, depending on your location,  anywhere  in the world.

the benefits

For that money you’ll get a bed in a dorm, and a shared bathroom. You’ll also get to meet other like-minded budget travellers. They are generally an entertaining bunch of people who have just come from where you are going next, and can be keen to enjoy a chat.

Hostels are great places to find all the information you need to enjoy a budget trip. There are details on cheaper excursions, and day trips. Staff are used to travellers without a lot of cash and can get them in on the best deals. On my trips, my friends and I have saved money on Maori cultural trips in New Zealand, buses to Niagara Falls in Canada, surfing lessons in Australia, and boat trips in Slovakia.

Other advantages often include a place to do laundry (helpful if you are packing light), a kitchen so that you could save money on food, and free or inexpensive internet access. Some places have had bars, comfortable shared living rooms with TVs, bikes to borrow and free food. I’ve stayed at a hostel with a hot tub, one with a goth club downstairs, and even one with a pet 2m long crocodile.

you may not know

These days, not all hostels have bunk beds, chores and curfews. In fact, hardly any have chores, although you’re likely to be expected to make your own bed, and clean up after yourself in the kitchen. Some hostels still have curfews - you may be locked out during the day and shut in at night - but these are less frequent, especially with an independent hotel. Although many hostels do have bunk beds, I spent 3 weeks in New Zealand only using hostels with proper beds, and they’re becoming more common elsewhere.

If you don’t want to share a room with strangers, many hostels have smaller rooms that can be booked out for small groups of friends, family rooms, and also regular doubles and singles. These may or may not be en suite, but they are generally inexpensive, and you have the same access to the great facilities and easy to make friends as people in dorms.

what do you think?

As you can tell, I’m a hostel fan. The first one I ever stayed in was in New York in 2000, and the last one was in Washington DC when I was over there last November/December.

Whether you’ve stayed in hostels, or you haven’t considered it before, let me know what you think in the comments. 

Apr

1

tell me about your favourite frugal habit

Filed Under frugal | 12 Comments

So, I’m not very frugal about clothes, or in fact many other things. I’m a lot more middle of the road - not too wasteful but not saving a great deal either.

paint canAt the moment, the frugal thing that I’m most proud of is that I walk everywhere I possibly can rather than taking the bus. Sometimes this strays into the cheap, like the time that I walked 2 miles home with 5 litres of paint. But most of the time it’s in the frugal tradition - it doesn’t harm me to do so and I can actually derive pleasure from it.

What frugal habit do you have that you are most proud of, or is your favourite? Let me know in the comments. 

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