Planning for travel is not only costly but also tedious. You need tons of research especially if you are trying to save money and choose the best options. Here are 5 tricks and tips on creating the best budget travel ever!
1. Get The Cheapest Plane Tickets
Two things to consider in selecting the best value flight: Destination and Date. I have tried all the airline booking travel apps and websites. The best is just use the google flight finder.
- Destination – On your laptop or PC, type the locations of the search tab. For example Dubai to Manila Flights. It will give you many search engine results but skip all of that and just click the airplane icon “flights” below the search tab. Note than in every country there are many airports which might be cheaper. The Philippines alone has 5 international airports so be sure to select the right airport. Always choose direct flights because it is cheaper unless there is no direct flight at all.
- Date – Knowing when to travel is crucial. Flights on weekends and holidays in both your country or in the destination country are generally expensive. Therefore, choose departure and arrival dates on weekdays or late-night weekends, or the earliest morning flights. Google will show you filtered list airfares and flight hours depending on your date. Most definitely you will see budget airlines on top of the list.
2. Make A List Of All The Places You Want To Visit
Once you have selected the flight, use google search again to make a list of all the places in that area you want to visit. Make a list of festivals as well because who knows, maybe there’s a festival near your destinations.
3. Create A Google Map of the List using Drop-Pin
Mapping is very important in making the best budget travel for your group. Google Drop Pin and Map Creator has been a very useful tool for all my previous travels.
On your Laptop or PC, sign-in to your gmail or google account then select “maps”
On the topmost left corner, click the 3 lines called the “menu” then select “your places”
The same image below should appear on your screen. You will see the options “labelled”, “saved” “visited” and “maps”. Selects “maps” and down at the very bottom, select “create”
It will create a new tab where you can create your own map like what is shown below. On the left side, put a title on the map, for example, “Philippines Tour”. On the search tab, input one by one all the locations you want to visit then click “add to map”. A red or green drop pin will appear on the map. You can change the color or the icon of the drop pin as well. You can make title layers too like “Day 1 Manila Tour” ” Day 2 Beach Tours” etc. Furthermore, you can also share this map with your travel group. Just click the “share” option below the title. Judging from your map, you already know which places are near or far from hotels, from the airport, and from your other destinations. This will make it easier for you to plan and organize your daily travel.
4. Get The Best and Practical Hotel
Since you already know the exact location, the distances, and travel time between destinations, it will be easier to pick a hotel. Besides the price, location is the most important factor in choosing the most practical hotel for your budget travel. Choose the location near to all the places you wish to travel to. On your last day, always choose a location near the airport because you don’t want to miss your flight in case of traffic or other delays. Again, use google map. Sign in to your Google account and select “maps” . This screen below should be shown.
Click “hotels” and it will show you all the prices and hotels on the map you are browsing or you can just encode on the search tab all the hotel locations you are looking for. These prices you see on screen, once you click it, it will direct you to websites such as booking.com, TripAdvisor, and other hotel search sites. But it does not show available stays for Airbnb and Couchsurfing which are both great budget options as well. Therefore, you will need to use Airbnb and couch surfing search maps separately. I usually compare prices and locations between google search and Airbnb.
5. Find The Cheapest Tours and Transportations
Travelling around and visiting your favorite tourist spots requires 2 things: Transportation and Admission tickets.
- Transportation – If you are short of time or you want to maximize many destinations in one day, public transportation is not always the best option. There are some countries with efficient and advance transportation systems like Japan but most countries are not. The best way is to google again.
- First, search if there are transportation discounts cards or tickets for trains, buses, and other transportation. For example, in Japan, they have JR Pass, KTP, and Metro Pass.
- Second, search for taxi or transport hailing apps available in the country. The most popular are Uber and Grab.
- Thirdly, check your hotel if they provide transportation and check the prices as well. If your location is not reachable by trains, buses, or even hailing apps, then your hotel might help.
- If your hotel has no transportation to provide you, then you may consider searching for car rentals or private car/van rentals. These transportations can also be provided by travel agencies or even travel apps like Klook.
- Lastly, if you have exhausted all your options, then use public transportation just like how locals do. Wait or queue on the streets for the next bus or trains. Use your map and ask the locals how you can reach your destinations.
- Tickets – It is always best to buy tickets online. There is a chance that every website or app may vary a little bit in prices. Just compare these prices and pick the best once. Take notice also on ticket expiration, restrictions, and inclusions. Every time I travel, I research the cheapest tickets and I always end up choosing Klook. The are many other travel and ticketing apps that may be specified in each country. For example, If you search for travel apps in Vietnam, you will see so many options that only cater to selected destinations.
In all of my travels, I have made a reliable system for travel planning and I have collected all the best apps that will surely help you: Best Travel Websites and Apps You Should Know
Let me know your questions and suggestions in the comment section below.
