Want a break from your monotonous life? Try Travelling, it is the most relaxing means of recreation. What could be more exciting than exploring the world around created by God, meeting with diverse people, interacting with diverse cultures, experimenting with different cuisines, picking up on bizarre fashion, and experiencing the weather, priceless sights, beaches, mountains, and nature by your side? Traveling is just a way of seeing the world through your eyes, which keeps the excitement on. The big question is can you travel the world for free? Traveling involves cost and you need to save big to travel hard.
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How to save to travel for free?
Traveling incurs costs. You do not need to be born with a silver spoon to take up traveling, what you need to do is to start saving money. It is not as hard as you think. It is just a matter of adapting to disciplined money-saving behavior. The secret of savings lies in your mindset. If you know where and how to cut on, you have mastered the art of saving. Click below to learn how to save more to multiply your money:
Dos and Don’ts of save to travel free mission:
Dos
- Travel insurance is a must
When you create a travel checklist, make sure to add insurance to the top of your list. Many people believe travel insurance just adds to the cost of travel but they forget that accidents happen suddenly without invitation. Things are unpredictable especially when you are traveling.
Example – If you lost your luggage on a flight, with travel insurance you are reimbursed the lost value. Even if you fall sick during travel, health expenses are paid for.
Thus, make sure to pick up the best travel insurance to minimize unavoidable mishappenings and enjoy the trip stress-free.
- Book the cheapest mode of transport
If it is an international tour then you are not left with any other mode of transport except flights. Before booking tickets, research all the sites offering affordable flight tickets. Search in Skyscanner, kayak, and FareCompare to get the best low-cost travel deals. These sights help to compare the flight tickets across all the websites to update you with the lowest cost flight available on your travel date. Also, ensure you get the best deals in terms of luggage, and meals included for longer journeys.
- Use travel credit card
A credit card is a key to boosting the travel budget. Credit cards offer good rewards and that will help you to save a lot of money to travel. A lot of airlines offer good services like upgrades, free meals, free flights, and huge discounts. The reward adds up quickly and ends up giving a free trip. A lot of credit card companies give huge bonuses and offers while signing up. Remember to pay off your credit card monthly and never carry a large amount.
- Travel using public transport
Thinking of using cabs, use public transport it will save you huge. If cabs cost you a $25 one-way trip, then a one-way metro ride may cost you only $2. See a huge difference? It is true everywhere across the globe. Traveling in busses, and metros is always affordable as compared to private cabs.
- Stay in budget hotels or apartments
Lodging and staying are way costlier, so save on them to travel more. If you are traveling with family, or you are traveling in a group then rather than booking a hotel always go for the rented apartment with a kitchen in it. It is always good to have your kitchen, so you can save money on food. If you are single or traveling alone, then go to the hostel. It is a great way to save money and meet new people. Hotels are best for a temporary stay. TripAdvisor and booking.com are now offering apartment rental services.
- Try local food
Trying local food is the greatest experience you can get while you are in a new country. Let your tastebuds savor new flavors. Experiment with new cuisines and develop the taste for something new. This will save you on food costs as eating what you are used to may make you pay through your nose but on the other hand experimentation with your tastebuds will help you save a lot to travel more. Trying roadside local dishes is the best thing a country can offer to you, getting used to their taste and species it’s difficult, but it’s worth trying. Don’t always look for a nice restaurant. Sometimes eating roadside food is as good as 5-star hotel food.
- Opt for free tours
These tours are led by the locals and all you have to pay is what you are comfortable with at the end of the tour. The locals show you around the place, make you acquainted with the surroundings, and they ensure you see get to know the stories and see local places around which are worth taking a shot at. These tours are worth way more than paid ones at times. Go for the free tours and do pay them some amount after it ends to appreciate their time.
- Shop local
Shopping local is a great way to get to know a city, save money to travel more, and find souvenirs that are truly unique. Remember shopping from branded high-fi stores will only cost you more. Local shopping can be made more interesting if you have the bargaining traits and yes it applies everywhere across the globe. Try buying stuff from the craftsmen there instead of buying the imported stuff. Shop more travel more, it’s a lot more fun than you think it is.
- Travel in offseason
Off-season travel will save you more to travel. From flight tickets to stays to entry fees for various places, everything costs extremely low. But be mindful of why the high season is high season, if the weather is extreme or sometimes even dangerous, be sure you’re keeping that in mind before you go. The off-season is a blessing in disguise, which gives you a chance to travel while helping you save on the go.
Don’ts
- Avoid travel debt
You cannot take travel debt to travel around. It is a big No, No! Traveling is a way to relax, and you surely do not want to burden yourself with taking a loan to travel. You need to stick to the plan of saving to travel and not pay to travel. If you don’t have a lot of money to take an international trip, then just start by exploring your backyard. Do not push your limits too high. The international tour has become a status quo in recent times, but remember social media likes are not going to pay your monthly EMIs. Work smart and save more to travel the old-fashioned way.
- Avoid 6-course meals
Carry some airtight longer shelf-life food when you travel. Also, to save you huge on food, try having brunch instead of breakfast and lunch. Shift to healthy fruits and juices if you are unable to adapt to the local cuisine. Snacking helps reduce full-fledged meals. If you are living in a rented house why not cook your meals yourself? Also, ensure you download the food apps which deliver you the food in no time and are low on your pockets as well.
- Say no to grand accommodations
Accommodation may topple your travel budget upside down. It is the lodging, staying, or housing that is the most expensive part of your travel. The lavish stays may cost you as much as $100 to $500 per night. Stay in hostels or dorms if traveling alone or there are several hostels that are actually more like boutique hotels that have single rooms, sometimes ensuite as well for families depending on what location you choose. Most of them have female-only dorms for solo wone travelers and the hostel bar/café is a great place to make friends with other women travelers. They may cost you as low as $11 per night. Isn’t it an amazing way to save more to travel?
- Limit your hot tourist spot list
It is not mandated to visit all the hot tourist spots. Sometimes part of the adventure is going somewhere a little less trodden by other travelers. Such places are often not only much more affordable but unique, authentic ways to experience a country. Even if you want to pay a mandated visit to the famous tourist spots do it, but make the list short and keep a tab on your expenses. Prioritize what’s more worthy for you as the entry tickets are really costly. Limit these spots and save more to keep the travel on.
Follow the Dos and Donts to save more on travel without any financial burden.
How to travel free?
Want to travel the world for free? Oh, it is so much possible. No, you do not have to rob a bank or beg your rich friend for money. Traveling free is possible only with some saving hacks and tips to keep your traveler spirit alive.
- Travel as helper
Travel with someone as their helper. Maybe as a caretaker of children or as someone to do the technical work. Be of some use to others and you create a unique value, they will keep you with them for sure. There are many websites where you may offer your skills and people are willing to bear your cost while traveling.
- Take free tours
As already mentioned above, your wish to travel free goes hand in hand with the locals who want to give you free tours of their city. Go with them, explore the places and enjoy your free travel.
- Search for free food
There are ample places to find free food, especially religious places like Gurudwaras which mandatorily organize langar to provide free meals to people to ensure no one sleeps empty stomach. The other ways are to download food apps and get free food delivered through offers or codes. If still hungry then ask for food, people are generous enough to buy you meals.
- Interesting free stays
Worried about accommodations? Try camping in an open place or sleeping in a sleeping bag. Rest in parks, sleep under the sky to get the real adventure feel. Make your stay interesting and flexible.
- Earn while you travel
This applies when you are ready to work on per hour basis. Doing odd jobs helps you earn $10 – $30 per hour. Then why not use this to save more to travel.
FunFact:
The travel vaccines market is projected to reach US$ 5,914.22 million by 2028 from US$ 3,078.94 million in 2021 owning to an increase in the number of travelers.
How about your plans to save more to travel?