The big dream for many is to travel the world, or to travel to one of the big cities. Experiencing a new place, or many new places on a road trip or vacation is a beautiful experience that everyone deserves to have.
Planning and budgeting for a dream vacation, though, can feel hopeless because of how much it costs to travel through and stay in many of these big cities.
But following a few simple tips when it comes to traveling, lodging, food, flights, and other trip details can make the elusive dream vacation more within reach that it seems.
1. Choose Travel Time Wisely
An element that many new travelers fail to consider is that time of year, and even time of day, drastically impacts the price of flights, lodging, and other transportation in a city.
Tourism is a huge industry, and for this reason, tourism trends depending on season or month seriously impact pricing. For example, traveling to and staying in New Orleans, Louisiana will be much more expensive in the weeks surrounding Mardi Gras than throughout the rest of the year.
When planning a vacation, the most important thing is to first do some research into when the big tourist season is for chosen destination. Once that information is found, it is best to travel during the slow season. This will save money on flights, hotels or lodging, transportation throughout the city or area, souvenirs, entertainment, and even food and drinks.
It will also mean that there will be less crowds and commotion due to it being a low season for tourism.
Beyond simply traveling during slow season, time of day in which a flight is booked can impact the price of flights. Tracking the prices of flights over a period of days at various times can give some indicator of when the lowest prices are made available.
The third and final tip about travel time is to remember to book early. The same flight booked a month and a year before departure will be of drastically different prices. This is the same with hotels and lodging, as well as other pre-booked things like tours.
2. Cheap Housing
Many individuals turn first to hotels when they decide to travel to a new area, but there are many much cheaper options on the market that are both safe, and beautiful.
The best way to travel Europe, by far, is through hostels. Most hostels have an option to book a private room that is slightly more expensive, but it is still a much cheaper option for anyone traveling on a budget. Hostels allow for travelers to meet other travelers, usually young students or adventurers attempting to learn everything they can as they travel the world.
Rooms in the center of Paris can go for as little as twenty dollars for a shared room with strangers, and private rooms can still be under one hundred dollars a night within walking distance to the Eiffel Tower. There are also hostels available in the United States. They are much less common, but when possible, they are a wonderful way to save money and meet new people.
Another option besides staying in a hostel is utilizing Airbnb or subleasing, if the trip is intended to last a few weeks or months. It is easy to find a cheap sublease in a good area even in cities like Chicago, New York, or Los Angeles.
3. Flight Tips
Flying can often be cheaper than one might think if the flight is booked relatively early.
Utilizing sites like Skyscanner for European travel allow for individuals to find incredibly affordable flights with discount airlines. Scoping out the difference between airlines is incredibly important in finding the best deals.
One way to save a lot of money for an individual planning on flying frequently is to limit luggage to a carry on and personal item. A suitcase or other checked bag costs money, and that money quickly adds up. By simply only bringing a carry on and personal item, individuals can save hundreds of dollars that can be better spent enjoying the food and entertainment of the destination city.
One last flight tip is that sometimes flights are not the most affordable option. Trains and busses have a considerably longer travel time, but they are also more affordable. Booking a bus ticket may lose a little bit of time for travel, but it can save a lot of money in the long run.
For those interested in keeping their travel time low, though, and who maybe have less flexibility in choosing when they go on vacation (perhaps they have children in school and can only go during the summer at peek season), then taking advantage of a personal loan is an acceptable way to help achieve the dream vacation. Check out something like a Peerform personal loan review to see how personal loans can help individuals find the right loan necessary to book the vacation of their dreams.
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