‘But Laura, how DO you travel so much?’ I’m always asked how I manage to do so many trips. People expect that I’m spending a fortune, that I have no annual leave left and that I’m probably in debt. Well-they couldn’t be more wrong. I manage to do the trips I do without spending lots, and without using tons of holiday so I thought I’d share my tips with you guys.
At the beginning of the year I wrote a list of about 20 places I’d like to go to. Some are close by (like Palma to see Cristina, and Dublin) and some further away (South Korea, China, Japan) but they’re all countries or cities I want to see in the next couple of years. So I set about trying to get to as many as possible.
Check which month is cheapest to fly
End of March/Beginning of April wasn’t my first choice of dates for Palma, but the flights were really cheap. So I booked them! I did the same for Berlin, which is why I’m going on 18th October.
Look at alternatives to hotels
When I went to Dublin for the #cheapflightschallenge I realised that if I joined Air B n B via my friends referral link (you can join via mine if you like!) I got £30 off my first booking. So I spent a total of £50 for two nights for two of us, which was about £100 less than the cheapest hostel I could find for my dates. Hotels can be pricy in a lot of cities so always look at other options too.
Eat street food
Street food (basically food from street vendors, little kiosks and delis, rather than fancy restaurants) is always a lot cheaper than going for a big meal elsewhere. I often find you get to try more local dishes this way too. Amsterdam is the best for street food and I can’t wait to go back later this month and eat all of the food.
Cut down on the drinking
I’m not a big drinker anyway, and I’d rather not drink on a trip (or have a couple, rather than get drunk) so that I can afford more trips. Drinking, especially abroad, can REALLY eat into your budget, so I just don’t.
Use public transport
I used to be a taxi to and from the airport person, and then I realised that in most places you can buy a three day travel pass for the price of those two taxi fares. Now I do that, and use public transport everywhere.
Plan!
Before I go somewhere, I buy a guidebook (if one exists from my preferred brand-I like them to be all the same because I’m a bit weird like that) and I make a note of things I want to see. I plan lots of free things and only a couple of things that need to be paid for, if I REALLY want to do it. It saves a lot of wasted money on things that aren’t that good.
Do you have any cheaper travel tips I’m missing?
I love this. I think travel is one of those experiences that make us richer. I wouldn’t have thought to look at the cheapest months in advance and book them early on. I think planning makes all the difference too.
GReat Tips! I often think about packing us all up and traveling the world but realistically it’s just not possible.
How did you get around the holiday time from work before freelancing? (I’m just curious to see if it’s something my hubby could do!)
Before freelancing I was really really careful when I took holidays, and booked say Thursday and Friday off work, flew after work Wednesday and came back Sunday evening, things like that-plenty of trips where I swapped to an early shift, then flew on a Thursday and back on the Monday or something.