Everybody loves to travel. In fact, as humans it’s one of our favourite pastimes. They say travel broadens the mind and enriches the soul. It’s a great way to open yourself up to new experiences. You can get a taste of new cultures, distant lands and incredible histories.
If you’re a frequent traveller, you’ll already be familiar with this feeling. If you’re not, you need to think about expanding your travel experiences.
Now, a lot of people are put off by going on holiday often because it can prove very expensive. And this is true, in general. But a lot of the time it depends on where you go. And it also depends a lot on whether you can come up with ways to save money when you’re there. There are many ways you can do this, and a lot of them might not have occurred to you.
These five ways will help you budget for your trip abroad. You’ll be able to use them to save money and make your budget stretch further.
Enjoy free things
One of the things many people overlook when they’re on holiday is the amount of free things they can do. You don’t always have to be spending money just because you’re on holiday. Consider doing some free things instead. And wherever you are there’s bound to be something free that will interest you. You might think about going for a walk around areas of local beauty or visiting museums that have no cover charge. You could also lounge around on the beach for a day.
Be sure to haggle
In many countries, the tourist trade is based around the concept of haggling. This is where you negotiate the price of a purchase with the seller. Many people feel bad about doing this as they feel like they’re ripping off the sellers. But this really isn’t the case. It’s a cultural practice. Besides, many sellers put their prices higher than they’re prepared to accept to account for haggling. If you’re unsure about how to haggle you need to find other people who are doing it and observe what they’re doing.
Get an RV
The most important part of any holiday is having freedom and being able to get around. Now, in a lot of places you might be able to use rental cars to do this. But this is an expensive way to do it. Instead, you should hire or buy an RV and use this to get around. An RV is spacious, reliable and gives you the freedom to travel to multiple locations. It’ll provide great fuel-efficiency, and the ability to negotiate any type of terrain.
Avoid reps
A trap that many people fall into when they’re on holiday is getting accosted by holiday reps. They might come to you with offers and activities that they feel you should sign up for. Ignore them. Holiday reps will almost always be giving you a bum deal. Their main concern is to make money, not make sure you have a good time. Instead, find the equivalent (and there always will be one) from locals. This will work out considerably cheaper, and you’ll get better service.
Shy away from tourist hotspots
Something else to bear in mind is the fact that you should shy away from tourist hotspots. These are almost always more expensive. The cost of everything is put up to take advantage of the tourist influx. If you steer clear of these areas you’ll be able to spend less, and you’ll have a more personal and intimate experience.
Remember, travelling should be fun, exciting and worthwhile. It should be something you look forward to and learn from. And the best way to enjoy your time is to make your budget stretch further. If you’re a student or travelling with the weak South African rand, you won’t have a lot of money to play with. So if you follow these five points, you should have no problems travelling further for less.