There is nothing worse than spending too much money too early on during your travels. You have allocated a certain amount of money for the month, and you have blown it by week 3. ATM charges, tourist traps, and smooth-talking taxi drivers can all put a serious dent in your travel fund. Luckily enough for you, you aren’t the first one, and you certainly won’t be the last. In this article, we are going to impart some knowledge that we have learned over the years of traveling. From changing your money through a good currency transfer comparison site like www.exiap.com, to packing light to avoid airport fees, here are our top tips for saving money during traveling.
Always walk away from the airport to get a taxi
Taxi drivers have been robbing travelers of their hard-earned money since day one. Often, they will charge you prices that seem cheap, but that is just because you are from a country where taxi fares are much higher. Often, we are happy enough to part with ten dollars for a taxi trip because it seems cheap, but the same taxi driver might normally only charge 2 dollars, usually for a local.
Our first tip to avoid this is to walk away from the airport when you land. The taxi ranks that line up to pick up tourists arriving play upon the fact that you have never been in a taxi in that country before. You have no idea if what they are charging you is reasonable or not, so they often put up their prices massively. If you are determined to get the taxi from the airport, speak to a local airport worker and ask what the journey should cost to avoid being stung.
Cook your own food and wash your own clothes
Often while traveling, we eat out and pay for our clothes to be washed – sometimes that is just the easiest way. If you want to save a good chunk of money though, look for a hostel or hotel that has its own kitchen and washing machine. Doing your own washing can help you save money for the bigger, more important things, like day trips and beer.
Learn the lingo
Whenever we travel to a new country, we always try and learn some basic phrases in the local language. We have lost track of all the times we have been helped out by a local just for using their language to say thank you or please. Besides the money, this is something we think is important culturally too. When you are traveling in someone else’s country, it is only right that you try and learn some of their languages. It is easy to forget that most countries know some of our own languages, don’t become that ignorant traveler.
There are lots of other tips and tricks, but these three are, in our opinion, the most important. Utilizing these tips should allow you to save some pennies where it counts, which means you can make the most out of what you have. Stay safe, everyone!
