With the holiday season fast approaching, now is the time to start thinking about where we want to go and what we will do when we arrive. As we all know, travelling abroad is great fun, but it can also be costly and in this age of austerity we need to make sure our budgets can stretch.
Here are some fantastic tips that can help you to save some pounds and have fun at the same time.
1. Before you travel do your homework.
There are many small things that can be done before you set off for the airport that can start your savings off with a bang. Firstly when booking your flights make sure that you don’t take the first price you see as the full price. Many airlines will add on tax and other administration charges at the end, so doing your homework is key.
When you have booked your flights, make sure you know the luggage capacities for your journey, many people get caught out at the airport with too much or too heavy luggage. Be wary of falling into this trap as you will end up paying fees on top of your flight!
2. Sort out your mobile phone plan for whilst your there
Using your mobile abroad can be an added extra that can cost a lot of money, but it really doesn’t have to! You have two choices for using your phone abroad; firstly you could get a pay monthly sim card before you leave, or secondly you can get a simcard once you are there.
Virgin mobile offer a wide range of roaming data packages that will mean you could use your current simcard whilst you are on holiday or organise a new one before you leave. Sometimes you can get local simcards with your preferred provider once you arrive and these can be much cheaper for calls to other mobiles within the same country. Whichever plan you choose, do your research before you leave and for more information on Virgin Mobile services visit their website.
3. Don’t be stung by overseas credit or debit card fees
We have all been in a situation where we have needed access to cash whilst travelling, but many cash machines abroad will charge you a percentage for using their service. By cutting this percentage out you can save extra money for the fun parts of your adventure. My advice would be to take a mixture of cash, travellers cheques and a pre paid credit card; each of these will cut out large amounts of fees and mean that you have lots of options for how you spend your money!
4. Avoid getting your travel money at the airport
If you leave it to the last minute to get your travel money you could end up paying 10% more at the airport. Getting our travel money can be a problem when our busy lives mean that we often don’t have the time to get everything sorted out before we leave. But can we really afford to pay extra money on top of what we are already spending?
There are a number of providers that now offer last minute currency online that can be delivered directly to your house. So there you have it, problem solved.
5. Shop around for your travel insurance
Many travel providers will offer you deals for your travel insurance that will go hand in hand with your holiday, but how do you know that you are getting the most for your money? Well this is really where you need to do your research. If you go away more than once a year, or you are planning on travelling to multiple locations, then consider annual multi trip insurance which is available from lots of providers. If you are making a single trip then don’t sign up for insurance when you book your holiday; shop around and you could save yourself a pretty penny!
