“Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.” – Seneca. Everyone you know is traveling here and there looking at their travel goal photos in social media. You have seen their adventures high up the mountains and down to the waters. You enjoy following their experiences with the locals and the city or countryside sceneries. And you thought to yourself, “Hey! I also want to travel!” Now, you are up to a budget travel!
When planning a trip, the main concern always is your budget. How much money would you spend? How much do you have? How and to what would you spend it? These are just some of the common questions when planning a budget travel.
“Create a cost-effective budget plan.”
One of the basics in budget traveling is having a cost-effective budget. Learning its importance will expand the reach of your travel experience without robbing your financial status. You have to be assertive with your money and how you will spend it. As much as possible, you must have wonderful travel experience without costing a lot of money. Get the best value for the money you would lavishly spend in your budget travel.
Budget travel must be planned wisely and here are my express tips for you!
Budget Travel Tip #1: Pick Your Target Destination
Long before you start allotting budget on your trip expenditures, choose first your target destination. This will help you realistically plot your budget. Will it be a backyard travel or a local adventure? Or would you have an out-of-the-country experience? Once you have it, you are on for budget allotment.
Budget Travel Tip #2: Do Your Homework
Now you have your destination. It’s time to know the how-tos and whereabouts of the place. Go online and observe the in and out routes for familiarization – where to ride what and where to be dropped off. This will help you itemize your fare expenses for your budget travel.
Another thing you can do in here is to search for travel blogs that discusses about the target destination. Find out the real stories from blogs and articles online. This will give you a realistic view of the place from the experiences of a traveler or visiting tourist. It will get rid of the illusions made by good marketers.
Budget Travel Tip #3: Look For Online Packages With Discounts
As result of your homework, you know now what to do and where to go. My next tip is for you to find packages that will cost you less. There are packages offered online from fare to accommodation. All you need to do is to get in touch with these offers.
Just to give you some ideas, here are some the offers known over the web and social media. I found this interesting. If you are traveling locally in the Philippines months from now, you can book a flight during the Piso Fare Promo from local airlines like Cebu Pacific. This will cut the cost of your travel if you avail their offer.
As for backyard travel near your area, look for offers dropping the cost. In my case, if I want to travel somewhere around my place, perhaps a resort, I can search the web for resorts in Iloilo. Then I will look for some offers. What caught me were the offers of Unlideals.com. They will give you some discount deals for resorts. This will also save you money and time.
Budget Travel Tip #4: Ask Locals
This is my most used tip so far in my budget travel. I always look for people to ask about my target destination. They may be residing in the area or some friends who have visited the place. I get their opinion and some first-hand information from their experience. I also ask for their suggested budget plan or their expenses from fare to accommodation and amenities.
As for you, start looking for some friends to seek some travel tips from their personal story. Perhaps you know someone who lives in the area of your target destination. Reach out to them and open up your travel plan. They can even suggest things to help you out. Their experience will guide you in this process.
Budget Travel Tip #5: Prepare Contingency Budget
My last tip would be a must-have during your actual travel – contingency budget. As taught in economics, prices will never stay the same. There will always be ups and down – fluctuating every minute if possible. Having your budget plan already, prepare extra budget whenever your anticipated budget comes short. Also, you can be very flexible during the travel for some unexpected activities.
Parting words…
If you plan to travel somewhere, make sure to plan it ahead of time. It will give you enough preparation both financially and for familiarity. There are a lot of ways to travel without spending so much. But what I gave you in this article is just the whole process with tips to make your preparation more stress-free. From here, you can start listing the specific itemization of your budget plan. If you plan to go for a budget travel, you can have it in the days to come! Start planning today and enjoy the rest of the world tomorrow!