Save lot of money by Travelling

Traveling

Book flights early and save a lot of money. While many of the budget airlines will fly to a regional airport, it may actually cost less to fly into an airport closer to a city center (If you are going on a city break) as you won’t have to pay for a taxi to your accommodation.

When booking a flight online, and assuming you can be flexible, look out for the ‘calendar view’. This gives you an overview of the month, with the lowest price per day.

Some airlines are now charging a fuel surcharge because of the high price of oil. Check that your airline isn’t going to surprise you with another bill on checkin before you book a ticket.

Pack light. If you are going on a short haul trip, especially if your wife is making the journey with you, avoid packing the entire wardrobe for the trip. If you go over your baggage allowance you’ll be charged a hefty fee for every kilogram over.

Budget airlines such as Ryanair are now charging per bag checked into the hold in an effort to speed up their turnaround times. If you can, pack what you need (minus scissors, liquids) into your hold baggage. This also means you don’t have to wait round to pick up your baggage at arrivals.

Book hotels online rather than walking in unannounced and being hit with the typically higher ‘walk-in’ rate.

Try and get a room rate with breakfast included. On a recent trip to Bali I saved $50 per day just because breakfast was included in the rate.

Book your vacation online instead of through travel agent, you’ll save money and I find that you can be more flexible in terms of where and when you are going.

If possible, book directly with the hotel. This way you only need to provide a credit card as a guarantee, so you won’t actually have to pay until you checkout. If you were to buy through a third party you’ll probably have to pay up long before your trip.

When you are going away, think about how you can get to the airport and back for cheap. Car parking at an airport is criminally expensive, I’ve often had to pay out $100 or more just for a few days. If you must leave your car at the airport, shop around for the cheapest deals. Often the best value airport parking can be a short free bus trip away. So why not take advantage of it? If you can get away with a lift to the airport, then arrange for someone to drop you off and pick you up.

Buy your car rental online rather than arranging for it when you arrive. Car rental is a competitive market and there are plenty of money-saving offers available.

Gas is expensive stuff these days. Save money by using one of the many sites that allow you to find the cheapest gas in your area.

Buying a new car? Get yourself a hybrid, they are far more efficient than a typical combustion engine and you get far more miles per gallon out of them. Hybrids are expensive to buy new right now, but as the technology becomes more accessible their price will fall.

Don’t use your car for small trips around town, they have a terrible MPG rating on short journeys. I know this sounds a lot easier than it really is, but you will make considerable savings if you stopped driving round town and used either your legs or a bike. Either or. Both will work out better for you financially.

When your car breaks down, do not take it to your car dealer. These guys are typically very expensive when it comes to servicing cars in my experience and those of others. So go out and find an independent car engineer who won’t be hard to pay. You’ll get the same service and it won’t cost anywhere near as much.

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