I’ve been told that travel tips are often rigid and impersonal.
I give tips all the time and I don’t think I’m rigid or impersonal, so I’ll give this a shot. Here are four fluid and personal travel tips for your enjoyment:
Roommates Aren’t So Bad
Remember when you were younger (maybe high school or college) and you used to sleep anywhere from 2-45 people in one bedroom just to save some cash. You might also remember that living in very close proximity to your travel partners is actually somewhat of a bonding experience.
My favorite vacation ever was spending 5 weeks in Europe sleeping in hostel beds right beside two of my friends and next to around 3-16 other complete strangers. Sure it was cheaper than hotels, but it also really helped me bond with those two guys. Bunk up and you’ll save a few bucks as well as get a little closer to your friends.
Trade Living Spaces
You probably have friends that live somewhere you want to visit. You probably also don’t want to stay with those friends because they have a small apartment or you aren’t really close to them or you are really embarrassed about your horrible body odor.
Don’t visit those friends; trade homes with them! Switch places with them for a week. You pay $0 in lodging for your trip and have a built-in housesitter to feed your dog. For the most advanced travelers, you can even set up a three or four way swap.
Don’t Travel For Stuff You Have at Home
I’ve never understood people who spend tons of money on flights and hotel rooms to go to a different city and do the exact same thing they would do in their hometown.
There’s no reason to fly to Vegas to go to bars when you probably have 100’s of places in your hometown you’ve yet to party in. Go to Vegas for the shows that you can’t see anywhere else. Similarly, don’t pay a bunch of money to go to Florida in June to sit around at a pool when you have a pool down the street. Go to Florida to surf or scuba dive. On the other end of the weather, don’t go somewhere cold like Canada just to hole up inside and sit in the heat. Get out, embrace the cold if it’s something you don’t have at home. Build a snowman. You can find plenty of cheap vacation packages that would involve or at least suggest some fun winter activities.
Getting away is great, but you’re only getting half the benefit if you’re only changing location. Change what you’re doing too.
Use Current Events to Your Advantage
I went to Mexico a few weeks ago for super cheap. I’m sure everything was cheap because of all the bad publicity Mexico is getting about violence and gangs, even though none of that affects the area I was in.
I’m sure there are some great travel deals in places like Greece, Italy and Spain right now, considering the fact that those economies are in the pooper and they desperately need customers.
Pay attention to the news and don’t do anything stupid like scheduling a trip to a border town of Mexico, but use the news to your advantage and get a great deal from people who are dying for your business.
Readers: How do you save money on traveling?
Kevin McKee is an entrepreneur, IT guru, and personal finance leader. In addition to his writing, Kevin is the head of IT at Buildingstars, Co-Founder of Padmission, and organizer of Laravel STL. He is also the creator of www.contributetoopensource.com. When he’s not working, Kevin enjoys podcasting about movies and spending time with his wife and four children.
Those tips don’t suck! 🙂 Would you stay in hostels now that you’re no longer a single dude?
Definitely. I would love to travel through Europe in hostels with my girlfriend. I don’t think being in a relationship has anything to do with it. Sure it’s nice to have some private time with my gf, but I can have that in my apartment.
It can depend on the girlfriend, sometimes — some aren’t so into stinky European strangers. 🙂
There are plenty of hostels that have private rooms for a little more (still a shared shower / toilet sometimes) but still cheaper than a hotel. The old lady and I stayed in one in Innsbruck that was like this.
Good ideas! Two ways that I save on vacation are to use biddingfortravel.com as a guide for hotel and car bidding on Priceline in order to get them at the lowest possible bid and by eating out using restaurant.com certificates (get on the email list for frequent deeper discount codes).
Thomas Nitzsche
ClearPoint Credit Counseling Solutions
I sign up for all loyalty programs that are offered. This has earned me many a free room or flight!
I also keep an eye out for insane promos. Club Carlson (the Radisson people) just ran a promotion for 50000 after you stay one night. I booked a room for $60 and those 50000 points will come in handy next summer when the old lady and I go to Europe (I can redeem them for a top tier hotel in places like Paris where the rooms typically cost north of 375 Euro)
I love number 3! Traveling, to me, is about new experiences, so why just hang around and to the same thing you do every weekend at home? We’re heading to Florida and going on a cruise in November, so I’ll try to plan to do something new everyday! Thanks for the tips!
“Remember when you were younger (maybe high school or college) and you used to sleep anywhere from 2-45 people in one bedroom just to save some cash.”
Personally, I think 45 people in one bedroom is a bit much. But I’ll go with 35. Good tip: don’t eat out at expensive places each night. Find a supermarket or deli and make up your own lunch/dinner. I have a personal tradition each trip to Europe of visiting a McDonald’s just once. (They’re always crowded in France, and always with French people.)
Look also for tourist travel passages for subway/bus rides. And you can sometimes find combo passes for reduced-price admissions to museums and other major sights.
I do something similar here too. When traveling in a foreign country, we love to stop at a market or local bakery.grocery store and pick up food for breakfasts and lunches – it’s a much cheaper way to try local flavor! One of the best meals ever was simply some of these savory pastries of baked bread with olives, feta, and other goodies we got at a tiny family-run bakery in Greece. Super cheap, definitely local, and incredibly delicious!
I guess I shouldn’t plan any trips to the beach since I live a few blocks from one :). I do think that different beaches have different atmospheres and non beach things to do. I wouldn’t spend a ton of money going to another beach but I think I would still consider it.
I love the advice “Don’t Travel For Stuff You Have at Home”. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard from friends that they “partied” all the time in Vegas or had fun at the slot machines. We have bars in Houston and slots close in Louisiana. My husband and I love Vegas for shows, cheap Pai Gow, and better odds on video poker. Those are things you can’t get here…
I actually love traveling for stuff I have at home! I find that checking out grocery stores in another city or country gives me interesting insight. Going to restaurants, bookstores, etc. is interesting too.
Don’t get me wrong – I check out the unique things about the city too, but I really enjoy spending some time in a city and trying to blend in with the locals rather than just check out the tourist attractions.
There is also something psychological about flying somewhere to reset your mind about work and your other obligations at home that allows you to relax better.
So yes, sometimes I will fly somewhere and pay for a hotel to do similar things to what I do at home, but that really helps me psychologically and that’s a cost I am willing and can afford to pay.