Rising petrol prices and inflation squeezes on salaries means we have had to rethink how we travel. Here is our list of tips and tricks to keep the travel cheap, wheels rolling, the wallet fuller, and the adventures new.
Plan ahead
Don’t let December creep up on you and your budget. Book ahead and save money.
My father-in-law books his December holiday in January already. That means he has 12 months to pay for accommodation, intentionally save money, and wrangle up family and friends to come along or visit him wherever he will be.
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Most places will say yes if you tell them you’ll book now and pay in instalments. A year’s worth of focussed saving also means you won’t be caught red-handed by extra bills come December.
Some bank apps have functions where you can save for a specific item. Open a holiday savings section and put money away each month.
Plan for luxury
We all have our own definition of luxury. Decide what you can’t do without and go and find it.
We book a hostel the night before a hike, but we make sure the day we finish we sleep in a place with all the luxury bells and whistles.
We often choose a large Airbnb where a few hiking buddies stay together and rest their legs. For us a place with a great kitchen and a large outside dining area is a luxury, so we can cook up a storm and sit down to good food and wine before we head back home the next day.
Rough it, a bit
For us, getting away is about stripping off the things society expects of us. So we don’t mind roughing it a bit on holiday. We split accommodation between campsites, Airbnbs and hostels.
We sleep in a tent for a night or two on most holidays. It saves a few bucks, forces us out of our comfort zones, and every so often you hit a gem of a campsite. If campsites feel a bit dirty to you, download apps that show you which ones have flush toilets and warm showers.
On a Great Barrier Island trip we spent the minimum on an old motel room that we shared with a friend, but we splashed out on hiring electric Ubco bikes to explore the island. The accommodation was purely to sleep in and we used what we saved to have fun. We also saved by taking the ferry to the island but managed to stay half a day longer by flying out.
Hostels
I used to hate hostels and saw no reason why I should share a space with people I don’t know on my holiday. But besides shared accommodation, hostels also offer rooms with only a double bed, or rooms for 4 to 8 people.
If it’s just you and a partner, that double bed gives you privacy, and only costs a tad more. If you cough up an extra few bucks, you get an ensuite bathroom.
If you get enough friends together you can book an entire room for the group. I often see an entire family staying in a hostel.
Most hostels have great kitchen facilities, and you can save money by cooking in. When you and your mates take over a kitchen and dining area, it feels like a real celebration.
Airbnb’s are becoming too expensive and have hidden costs that grind me. Motels are often the cheapest place to stay in most towns, and most of them are clean, tidy and close to food joints. But hostels are the cheapest.
Hostels are also chocker full of people with travel tips and best kept secrets on the area.
Adapt
Be adaptable and don’t sweat the small things.
A while back we wanted to camp at Mavora Lakes. It’s a great place because you can swim in an alpine lake, fish and hike in the same area.
When I took out the tent I realised I had packed the car in the dark and left the tent poles at…
Read More: Cheap holiday hacks to save you money when travelling