How to plan a trip and save on your trip. How to save money on travel: practical tips. Free excursions are real

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Experienced travelers are convinced that traveling does not require a lot of money. The desire to travel and the ability to search for information are enough.

website summarized tips from travel bloggers that will allow you to see the world at minimal cost. At the end of the article you will find a bonus in the form useful information for every tourist. And may you have more travels in the near future!

11. Travel on your own

Traveling on your own, rather than through travel agencies, is both more profitable and interesting. Yes, you will be solely responsible for any problems. But travel agencies decide little in such cases, preferring to blame the airline, force majeure, the host party, and the like.

You can independently create “that” dream route, choose cheap option flight, book the best-priced hotel with a location convenient for you, select a transfer.

4. Rent out your own home while you travel or go on an “exchange vacation”

An exchange holiday is an opportunity for free accommodation while traveling, and maybe even a chance, like the characters in the film, to meet your love.

2. Don't buy what you can get for free.

WiFi. When booking your accommodation, immediately choose an apartment or hotel with free Wi-Fi. During the day, use free Wi-Fi in restaurants and cafes, gas stations and shopping centers.
Area maps. Free cards available on counters in many hotels, apartments and hostels. The map can also be obtained from the tourist information office. As a rule, they are located in the city center or near the main attractions. Download electronic city maps and a guidebook to your phone in advance.

Water. In Europe you can drink tap water everywhere. Drinking fountains are installed in many cities, and you can safely drink from them. To check, you can look at

Sometimes buying a tour turns out to be cheaper than purchasing flights, hotels and insurance separately. Do you know why tours are so profitable? Tour operators buy the services included in the package - hotel rooms, transfers and flight tickets (often charter) - in advance and at reduced prices. It turns out to be really profitable, however, tour destinations are often limited. Usually this beach holiday, not four days in Stockholm or a week in Northern Italy.

If you often travel or hang out on travel forums, you have probably heard about special closed and cheap rates from airlines, hotels and car rental services.

These are not fairy tales, they really exist, and it is them that tour operators include in travel packages. Moreover, the tour operator cannot sell a ticket from such a package separately: this is prohibited by the tariff rules.

There is another reason for hotels to lower their prices. Imagine: you are the owner of a large five-star hotel. You look at the program with a check-in plan and see that in the coming months your hotel will be half empty: it’s not the season, prices are high, you haven’t signed contracts with tour operators - there can be many reasons. There is only one fact: there are no guests in sight, something needs to be done about it. At the same time, set the price on the Internet as in neighboring three star hotels You can’t: it will have a bad impact on your business and reputation.

What to do? The same as the owners of similar hotels in similar situations: send a “dynamic” price to hotel booking services with one condition - sell only as a package. So that no one asks why this room is worth five stars as if it were three.

In general, secret rates or big discounts exist, but neither airlines nor hoteliers like to publicize them. Sometimes you can find something in promotions, but more often than not these super deals go into travel packages - if, of course, they sell tours to the desired city. But what should those who don’t want to buy a tour or plan to fly to places where tours are not sold do?

Technologies that help you save

It's simple. Since service providers do not want to publicly display prices with discounts, it means that they need to be “glued together”, combining a promotional ticket and a hotel discount in one package. Then we won’t see the separate cost of a flight or hotel room, but we will still get our super price. This technology is called “dynamic packaging”.

Dynamic packages can hardly be called a new product on the market: some popular services in Europe and the USA have them, and experienced Western travelers have long been using this method of saving. This service can be called differently: Bundle deal or Vacation Packages, but the essence is the same. A "deal" or "package" includes an air ticket and a hotel, a ticket, a hotel and a car rental, a ticket and a car, or a hotel and a car. The basic option is “Flight + hotel”.

A logical question: why don’t all Russian services that sell tickets and hotels offer a similar option? The fact is that such “gluing” is a rather complex technology that not every company can create. When you click the “Find a flight” or “Find a hotel” button, you launch tens of thousands of searches in the system across databases on servers in different countries. You need to get an answer as quickly as possible; few people are ready to wait longer than 10 seconds. This already requires quite serious development.

Now imagine that disparate searches need to be combined in order to eventually give you both an air ticket and a hotel room in one package, and at a low price, with all the discounts and hidden tariffs. Oh yes, and you need to do it very quickly. To create a system that is capable of this, you need not only serious financial investments and large staff developers, but also experience, competencies and special conditions from partners, which only large market players can achieve.

How does Flight + Hotel work?

One of these players is the OneTwoTrip travel service, which has a “Flight + Hotel” service. You will certainly be able to find a suitable travel option: the system searches for rooms in 300,000 hotels and tickets from 700 airlines, so there are results for almost any destination. Let's check whether you can really travel cheaper using this service.

The process is similar to a regular search for a hotel or plane ticket: you choose where and where you are going to fly, indicate the dates of travel and the number of people. Additionally, you can choose a class of service on the plane: economy, business or premium.

The service offers you a list of hotels and one of the available low-cost flights. If for one reason or another the flight does not suit you, at the next stage you can choose another flight option.

Sorting by price, discount or user rating will help you choose the right hotel. Sorted by price you have a chance to catch good propositions for very little money. You can choose to sort by discount, then the system will show how much you win compared to purchasing tickets separately and booking a hotel.

Here we are promised 24% savings. Just keep in mind that the price is shown per traveler.

Let's check if everything is really so good. We are looking for air tickets from Moscow to Milan for the same dates, from September 4 to 10.

The issue of saving money when traveling has always been very pressing. The trip itself and the choice of destination very often depend on how to plan your budget in advance and reduce travel expenses.

How to save on transport costs

1. Carpooling (ride sharing) – sharing a private car with the help of online services search for travel companions.
Which services should you pay attention to first?

The largest online platform that brings together fellow travelers and drivers throughout Europe, Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus.
Using the service is very simple. Enter your departure and arrival cities and date to see a list of drivers offering rides along your route. All you have to do is choose the right one. You choose a driver (you can see reviews about him from other users), contact him to discuss the details of the trip and book a seat. All. You just need to meet at the appointed place.
For example, we need to get from Berlin to Prague. The cost of the trip is just under 10 euros!

Also worth remembering and using - Liftshare.com for trips in the UK, Kangaride.com for trips between cities in the US and Canada, Uber for intracity trips in the USA, CoSeats.com for Australia.

2. Use public transport. Find out in advance whether there are passes for public transport and how they work. For example, in Chicago the cost of 1 trip by subway or bus is $2.25, and travel from the airport to the center is $5. At the same time, a travel pass using a Ventra card, which can be purchased at the station, costs $10 for 1 day, and $20 for 3 days.

3. Get from the airport to the hotel also by public transport.
Buses and trains run from every airport around the world. For example, in Prague the cost of a pre-booked transfer to a hotel is about 25 euros. And if you use the bus + metro – 1.5 euros.

4. If you want to go from the airport to the hotel exclusively by taxi, . While in the baggage claim line or at the taxi counter, don't hesitate to ask other travelers if they would like to share the cost of your trip. This is becoming normal practice all over the world. Money saved = money earned.

5. Travel between cities by bus or night train.
You can buy your bus ticket online in advance. Many companies organize promotions when selling tickets, for example, you can often find tickets for 1 dollar/euro. You can buy tickets for European trains, for example, on GoEuro; you can also buy bus tickets on the same resource.

By traveling on overnight trains you can save on hotel costs.

How to save on hotels and accommodation

6. Booking hotels using only booking.com does not mean choosing the cheapest offer. Booking.com is just one of hundreds of hotel booking services. It’s the same as if you were looking for tickets not using aviasales, skyscanner, but only from one agent or buying them at Aeroflot. Use the hotellook meta search engine. He compares offers from many services, including booking.com.

7. Are you sure that, for example, in Prague you definitely want to live on Old Town or Wenceslas Square? A room in the city center will cost much more than a hotel located 10 minutes away from tourist attractions by public transport. Cafes and restaurants in the center are also more expensive.

The same applies to beach hotels. Do you have to live on the first line? Maybe it’s better to save money and walk 15 minutes?

8. Hotels are much more expensive during the season. On Christmas and New Year, the holiday period, during various holidays, hotels always raise prices. If you want to see how beautiful Europe is at Christmas, walk around the city, visit museums and see the sights, the first two weeks of December are a great time. From mid-January until spring, hotel prices will also be much lower. And the Louvre and Prado can be visited in any month, regardless of the weather.

May-June on the coast in Spain is already warm, and prices for everything will be lower than July-August.

9. Stay not only in hotels, but also look at rental offers from local residents. Use Airbnb. If you register using this link, you will receive about $25 for your first stay.

10. You can try using the couchsurfing service. The service allows you to stay with one of the local residents for free. Let's be honest - couchsurfing is not an acquired taste. The advantages, of course, are free and complete immersion in the local environment. The downside is that they may simply not open the door for you and they may forget about you. You may not like each other and say goodbye. Your sleeping place may be a mattress in the closet. Therefore, if you decide to use couchsurfing, it is better to have a couple of backup options.

11. If you plan to travel for a long time and speak more or less English, try the HelpX or Workaway service. The Workaway service allows you to stay with local residents in exchange for doing certain work for several hours a day, volunteer work in various social institutions, and a lot of offers to work in hostels (you don’t confuse hostels with hospices, right?) . In addition to the fact that you receive free food and accommodation, you also practice your knowledge of a foreign language by communicating with local residents

For example, for 25 hours of work per week, from Monday to Friday, you receive full meals (with wine, beer, tea, coffee) and accommodation. In return, you must provide work assistance on a rural estate in France. Help of the following nature - repair work in the house, garden, vegetable garden, etc.

Or maybe you want to grow raspberries in Argentina?

12. Buy ready-made tours Sometimes it’s much more profitable than separating air tickets and booking hotels. You just have to do it yourself.

For beach destinations and trips of 1-2 weeks, it is worth looking towards tour operators. As a rule, a block of seats on a regular flight is purchased for a tour or a separate charter is launched, so the cost of air tickets may be lower. Also, hotel accommodations - tour operators negotiate discounts (for themselves) as they accommodate a large number of tourists. This discount is then shared with you.

But you have to buy tours yourself! At the travel agency office in your home or near the metro, they will not show you all the tours, but only those that are profitable to sell to the agent, for which he will receive a higher reward from the tour operator. Searching for and buying tours on your own is as simple and easy as buying air tickets.

How to save on food while traveling

13. Many universities in Europe have their own canteens. Entrance to university campuses is free. The cost of food is much lower than in regular cafes. There are canteens where they ask for “student”, then the cost for non-students will be a little higher, but still cheaper than in a regular cafe.

25. In New York, many museums cost $20 to enter, but this is the recommended price (Suggested Admission). In fact, you can pay as much as you don't mind. I'm not greedy, I'm frugal, I have $1, but I've always dreamed of visiting the Met.

26. If you use the Free Tours Network service, you can find free (how nice it sounds) excursions in 75 countries around the world.

27. In hotels, at the reception there are always piles of all sorts of booklets with offers of excursions. Ask if any of them are free? And be sure to take a card from the reception. Why buy it? Ask to note the location of the hotel.

28. If you definitely want to find a guide around the city and think that you can’t do without it, look in advance at what they offer you.

How to save money when renting a car

29. If you are leasing a car, check prices with major brokers first. Some brokers, after preparing an offer, immediately indicate which company will be the rental company. Check the price on the company's website. Try looking for a promo code for a discount. Check what exactly the broker is offering you; often the price from the broker includes some kind of bonus - a free second driver, CASCO without a franchise, mileage without a kilometer limit, etc.

Be sure to read:

Check the cost of renting a car at different pickup points - office at the airport and in the city. You may not need a car in the first days, but you can save money if you go to the airport to pick up the car and return it there - often the cost of rental in the city is higher.

30. When renting a car, insurance with a deductible is usually included. The cost of insurance without a deductible will be very expensive. Use the service of third-party insurance companies.

31. If you buy drinks in cans and bottles, don’t rush to throw them away - you still have an almost empty trunk. Every major supermarket has packaging machines. You will be pleasantly surprised at the amount when you return all the empty bottles at the end of the trip.

32. If, when renting a car, you are asked whether you will return it with a full tank or an empty one, choose the full one. When you refuel the car before returning it to the rental company, do not turn off the engine, monitor the fuel level, as soon as the arrow (stripe, dash...) shows the maximum, stop refueling. You can drive about 20-30 km with a full tank. The savings will be several liters of fuel, which is about 3-5 euros.

Save on various travel expenses

33. The cost of packing luggage at the airport is expensive. Buy a roll of packaging film at any hardware store. If the roll is long, cut it in half, put one part in a suitcase to pack for the return trip, and pack the second at home and go to the airport.

34. Free toilets are available in all major shopping centers.

35. Hotels near the airport are always expensive. If you have a long overnight layover to avoid spending money on a hotel, you can find recommendations on where to sleep and what to do at the airport on the website http://www.sleepinginairports.net. If there are no seats in the waiting room (flight delays, weather etc.), you can rent a car for 1 day, drive close so as not to spend money on gasoline, buy food, which will obviously be cheaper than at the airport, and sleep in silence in the car. Or even sleep in your car in an airport parking lot. The cost of renting a car for 1 day will be about 10-20 euros.

36. Take 100 euros/dollars with you in small bills and hide them further and deeper, as an emergency. Put everything else on bank card and use it. Open yourself a Tinkoff debit card () - withdraw cash in amounts equivalent to 100 dollars (and if the card is in rubles, from 3,000 rubles) at any ATM without commission.

37. If you still use the services of your home cellular operator (Beeline, Megafon, MTS, Tele2) when traveling, stop doing so immediately. It's high time to switch to instant messengers - Viber, WhatsApp, Telegram. Skype can be used not only for video calls, but also just for calls; for this you need to top up your Skype account. The cost of a minute of conversation will be cheaper than when calling in roaming.

Inquire in advance about the cost of tariffs for calls to Russia from local operators.

38. To use instant messengers and Skype, you need free internet. You have Internet in the hotel. If you need the Internet while walking around the city - zones with free WiFi can be found in all major shopping centers and stores, check in the food court area, in hotels with big amount stars - go to the hotel and in the reception area there may be an open network, McDonald's - not only free toilets, but also the Internet, in the cafe - ask the waiter in advance if there is WiFi, check the connection and order tea or a glass of water.

Download and install the WiFi Map application on your smartphone - Wi-Fi passwords.

WiFi Map is a kind of community of people who share passwords for WiFi networks that they have learned. The principle of operation is very simple - look on your smartphone what wireless networks are available in the area, and then launch the application. WiFi Map determines your location and displays a list of points with their passwords. You select the one you need, copy the password from the application and paste it in the connection settings. A couple of seconds and you are online.

And we also have . Use it!

39. Water at the airport is expensive. In Helsinki, the cost of a half-liter bottle of water is 3.5 euros. Entering the clean area with liquid is prohibited. Take an empty plastic bottle. Many airports around the world have cranes with drinking water. And this... just shhh... In Europe, some vending machines (which sell food and water) accept a 2 ruble coin for 1 euro. Just be quiet, we didn’t tell you about this.

40. If you are flying with low-cost airlines, take sandwiches, chocolate bars, and waffles with you in advance. A sandwich that you buy at the airport or on the plane will cost 7-10 euros. The same sandwich, but in the supermarket 3 euros. And if you take it and make it yourself, you will spend the same 3 euros, but for a larger quantity.

41. Apply for visas yourself. When planning a trip, your first search on the Internet should not be “how to apply for a US visa,” but “US consulate visas.”

42. Has your refrigerator fallen from magnets yet? Maybe one from the country as a souvenir will be enough? Buy souvenirs away from tourist places. It's time to sharply reduce the number of souvenirs that you bring to all your relatives and colleagues. Or better yet, bring them your photos ;). If you absolutely cannot do without gifts, send cards. One postcard - to the work address for colleagues, one postcard - to relatives.

43. Some more useful apps that will help you save money

maps.me - excellent free offline navigator with free maps

Google Translator is a great helper in a country with an unfamiliar language. Launch the application, point your smartphone camera at the sign, and get an instant translation. You can also translate the menu in a cafe. If people at the reception desk don’t speak English and you don’t know another language, Google translator is the right solution. Download the languages you need in advance to be able to translate off-line.

What life hacks do you use?

The summer holiday season has ended, and prices have become more pleasant for travel. What can you save on when planning a trip in the off-season? Or maybe book in advance summer rest at attractive prices? We reveal the secrets of thrifty travelers.

There are many ways to travel around the world, if not for free, then at least with great savings. We are talking about those that are suitable not only for students and adventurers, but also for ordinary tourists, for whom the opportunity to see the world as it is is more important than the number of stars next to the hotel name.

Flights

Airlines that offer regular flights at low prices are called low-cost airlines. The secret of their cheapness is brand new aircraft that do not require expensive repairs, minimum costs for service, sometimes at “second-level” airports offering more low price“parking lots” than large hubs, and so on.

But at the same time, the comfort on their boards is no worse, and sometimes even better, than that of other official air carriers, and the only difference is that you have to additionally pay for some services - baggage, meals, check-in at the airport counter.

But prices often differ in the most pleasant way: how do you like, for example, the opportunity to fly from Moscow to London and back for €80?

Aggregator sites help you find such flight options, as well as lucrative special offers from regular airlines. You simply enter the dates and destinations you need, and the system itself “digs” the Internet and gives you flight options with prices and routes. The most popular aggregators are kayak, skyscanner, momondo, aviasales and anydayanyway.

A good search engine for low-cost airlines in Europe is www.airixo.com. Many airline ticket aggregators offer additional services: for example, a price chart by time and date of departure, forecasts for changes in ticket prices for the next couple of weeks, alerts about great offers and a map of the most inexpensive destinations for a specific day.

If your budget is limited, and it doesn’t matter where you fly, go to the portal www.geniusflight.com, it will automatically select tickets that suit your budget.

The most popular low-cost airlines in Europe and beyond

www.airbaltic.com— flights to Asia, Europe, Africa with a transfer in Riga.
www.airberlin.com- German airline, the route list includes 163 destinations (39 countries), if you buy tickets in advance it will be cheaper.
www.easyjet.com- the main British low-cost carrier, suitable for those who are willing to travel light - you will have to pay an extra $50 for luggage.
www.ryanair.com is one of the cheapest airlines in the world, offering flights from Dublin, Kaunas, London, Manchester, prices start from €15-20.
www.wizzair.com— additional legroom, skip-the-line boarding, or the ability to change the date and flight three hours before departure are available for a fee.
www.vueling.com— especially favorable rates for flights to Barcelona, domestic flights in Spain - from €30.
www.flypgs.com- Turkish low-cost airline, Additional services You can buy it in bulk at a discount.
www.airasia.com- budget flights to South-East Asia, booking five months in advance reduces the ticket price by up to 45%.
www.airarabia.com is the first low-cost carrier in the Middle East, headquartered in the UAE, also offering flights to Europe, India, Central Asia and North Africa.

Free guide

We usually go to the ends of the world to learn something new. And good new for us is good old for local residents or tourists who have already visited this very end of the world more than once before us. And instead of buying guidebooks, you can simply read the stories, reviews and tips that experienced people generously leave on the Internet. Thanks to them, you can create a route that is much more interesting and suitable for you than if you simply follow standard recommendations.

Moving

Service for finding travel companions: drivers who are going somewhere and are willing to take passengers with them for a small fee register there. The most popular site is www.blablacar.com (Russian equivalent is www.blablacar.ru), a review system helps you make the right choice.

Intercity and international buses . The carrier network www.eurolines.com, for example, offers the Unlimited travel option: unlimited ticket for 15 days on all routes (49 destinations) for €185-215.

Railways. Single ticket the InterRail Global Pass (www.interrail.eu) covers 30 countries and costs from €184, and at the same time gives additional bonuses: discounts on domestic trains, public transport, ferry travel. You can plan your route on the website. There is a One Country Pass option - from €39 (Macedonia) to €147 (Germany and the UK). You can buy a ticket online (paying for delivery) or upon arrival in one of the countries.

For single trips, you should take a closer look at TGV - this is a French network high speed trains. Belgium, Italy and Switzerland have built their own TGV-adjacent lines, and Germany, the Netherlands and the UK have TGV-compatible Thalys and Eurostar networks. Buying tickets 90 days in advance will cost significantly less (www.sncf.com/fr/trains/tgv). And the service www.loco2.com will help you lay out a railway route between European cities.

Accommodation

Apartment instead of hotel. Renting an apartment in Europe is much more profitable, pleasant and convenient than staying in a hotel. The most popular, proven and convenient resource is www.airbnb.ru. There you can find absolutely amazing options: say, a floating house, designer apartments or a room in a former lighthouse.

House exchange. You can try to get someone else's house for free by offering your own for a temporary exchange. Here are the services that have been operating for more than one year: www.homelink.org (more than 13 thousand participants in 69 countries), www.homeexchange.com and its Russian analogue - www.obmendomami.ru.

Work for housing. You can look after the owner's children or teach them a language in Paris, mix cocktails in the evenings in a bar in Amsterdam, or landscape the grounds of a hotel in Alaska, while watching the seals. For this there are services www.workaway.info, www.helpx.net and www.au-pair.ru. For ecotourism lovers, the option of working on a farm is suitable: www.wwoof.net - World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms.

Excursions

Tickets to museums in one city are often sold in “packages” - they work out cheaper. In New York, it is profitable to buy a CityPass card. In Paris there is a Paris Museum Pass - €46 for two days, for Rome - Roma Pass for €28. Amsterdam has the Amsterdam City Card which includes museums and free trips by canals and public transport: €57 for 2 days.

In almost all European cities you can find enthusiastic guides who are ready to take you for a walk for a thank you and a post on Facebook, and sign up for a tour with them in advance. Look for options at www.tripster.ru (all are exclusively from the aborigines, there are very unusual themed walks, including for parents with children).

Sandeman's New Europe Tours has been organizing free tours to many cities around the world since 2004 (www.neweuropetours.eu). Groups of volunteer guides offer a look at the city “through the eyes of a local”: in Brussels it’s