Collect Experiences, Not Bills! 10 Budget-Friendly Travel Hacks
Summer is the perfect time for exploring, discovering, and building memories: we have the most hours of daylight, the weather is warm, and if you’re a student, it’s also your longest holiday of the year. Obviously, the best way to open yourself up to new experiences is traveling – both locally and internationally!
As the COVID-19 situation keeps improving, chances are, you might be able to travel a lot more this summer than you did in 2020. However, if you don’t dedicate some time to careful planning first, you might soon notice an unwelcome emptiness in your wallet! As the best passive income app available online, Honeygain wants to help you both earn free money effortlessly by sharing your Internet and get better with personal budgeting. Save money while making the most out of your summer vacation as you follow these 10 travel hacks!
1. Be smart as you choose your destination
Noticed an ad for plane tickets to a foreign country that cost less than a single Honeygain payout of $20? Don’t get swayed before you check the local prices! It’s not much of a save if you have to splurge on everything once you arrive, right? For example, getting to Switzerland might be budget-friendly, but even a single bus ride there is close to $5. Flying to, let’s say, Malaysia might cost more – but the same $5 there will get you a bus ride, a dozen eggs, and 2 pounds of oranges.
2. Look for cheap flights on special websites
There are tons of websites (SkyScanner, AirTreks, Momonndo, etc.) that help you find the best flight deals available online by gathering public web data from the sites of hundreds of airlines at once and choosing the best available offers. Use them instead of heading straight to the websites of famous airlines – you might get surprised by just how much you can save!
By the way, did you know some of these websites actually use the Honeygain network for quick, secure, and ethical data access and collection? It's one of the many ways Honeygain helps businesses!
3. Be careful about location when picking a place to stay
Saving money on accommodation is probably the mother of all travel hacks – however, this doesn’t always mean picking the cheapest hostel you can find. However tempting a deal you find, always check the location. While keeping closer to the city center might cost a little more, it often means all the attractions you want to visit are within walking distance or a short ride away. If the place you’re staying at is somewhere on the outskirts, however, you’ll ultimately spend all your savings on public transport!
4. Prepare your own meals instead of going out
It doesn’t matter where you are in the world – restaurants can get pricey. Furthermore, you might end up in so-called tourist traps – places that offer mediocre quality for a high price. We know it’s vacation time, and you don’t really want to waste time standing in the kitchen... And we’re not saying you should be making complex stuff like stews! Simply preparing a few sandwiches for the road in the morning takes minutes and can save you a few banknotes. Similarly, opt for grocery stores and not cafes while on your way: the money you’d spend on a single meal can often buy you a bag full of produce that lasts for days!
5. Carry a water bottle
It’s important to stay hydrated when you’re on the go! Free drinking water fountains or faucets can be found in virtually any location, but you need to have your own bottle. Carrying one doesn’t take up any space in your backpack, as there’s usually a dedicated pocket for it on the side, and you save a ton of money (and reduce the amount of plastic waste!) by not buying drinks constantly.
Don’t forget you can get a top-quality water bottle for the free money you earn effortlessly with Honeygain as you prepare for your trip!
6. Research your discounts
If you’re a student, you’re in luck! A lot of museums, historic sites, venues, carriers, and even hostels offer student discounts (or even free entry!), so make sure you have an international student identity card (ISIC) to prove your status and claim those deals. It’s also important to know that dozens of places offer discounts for people who are 26 or younger (e.g., admission to the Louvre is usually almost $20, but it’s free for those under 26!) or better deals for groups, so it might be worth making some friends in that queue!
7. Make the most of what’s available for free
When it comes to tourist attractions, the spectrum of prices is typically pretty wide, and there’s often a selection of those available free of charge. And it’s not just small niche ones, either – e.g., at London’s National Gallery, you can see Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers, Leonardo da Vinci’s The Virgin of the Rocks, and other masterpieces without spending a dime! Before your trip, make sure to check what you can experience for free and when: some places offer free admission at all times, while others only do on certain days of the week or month. Look for free walking tours, too – they’re often led by locals!
8. Don’t overpack
If your trip doesn’t involve fancy balls or using special equipment like skis (and budget-friendly travels usually don’t!), you should be able to fit your stuff in a backpack. This is one of those travel hacks that get repeated over and over – and for a good reason. Not only is flying with massive suitcases pretty expensive, but it also affects your accommodation choice: you can’t really carry them all around, so you can’t save by opting for a dorm bed in a hostel, as there’s simply no private space to leave your belongings.
9. Buy a local SIM card
If you’re a European Union citizen and travel inside its borders, you’re in luck: thanks to the Roam Like at Home regulation, you can use your phone as usual without paying any extra charges. In other cases, however, calling, texting, and especially using mobile data can empty your pockets very quickly! Getting a prepaid local SIM card is one of the more popular travel hacks, as it allows you to pick a good deal and not overspend.
Here's a handy tip: if the plan is generous in terms of data allowance, and you don’t need it all since you’re only in the country for a short time, you can also use it to make money by sharing it with Honeygain!
10. Always check for extra expenses
Depending on your country of residence and destination, you might need a tourist visa – which can cost you $90 or more (e.g., the US tourist visa is currently $160!). In addition to that, you must remember the situation with COVID-19 is not the same in every country: some places might ask you to get an expensive mandatory test or even self-isolate in a designated hotel for some time – which means you pay for accommodation while actually seeing none of the country!
Some of these travel hacks might seem simple, but it never hurts to remember the ways to save while making the most of your holiday. Memories are the ultimate souvenir! 🤩
When you’re planning a trip, every penny counts. Why not start generating passive income effortlessly now so you have more in the bank once you’re ready for your holiday? Start earning free money by simply sharing your Internet connection now – join Honeygain by clicking the button below and enjoy a starting gift 🎁 of $2!👇