Travel Bits: October 2016
Optimising the costs of travelling.......
Travelling can be an expensive experience. For most of us, the main bulk of the cost of travelling is usually transport, accommodation and dining.
Transport expense includes air tickets, train tickets and also money needed for those trips around a city. Out of these transport expenses, air tickets are more often than not the main big ticket item in our travel transport expense. I usually save on air tickets by subscribing to email newsletters from the major airlines I travel with. This way, I keep myself updated on any promotions these airlines may run from time to time. Keeping my eyes peeled for promotions and purchasing air tickets at the discounted rates have help me save much cash for my trips. And in this age and day, there are a whole lot of promotions with air ticket prices going at prices for as low as half of their standard prices. The best part is, these promotions usually include all classes of air tickers; from Economy and Premium Economy classes tickets to Business Class. Occasionally, even First Class tickets may also be on promotions.
Accommodation is the next big ticket item on any travel expense list. To save on accommodation, we do not really need to stay at budget hotels, backpackers motels and the like. For me, I usually stay at a particular hotel chain with many similar branded hotels across all major cities around the globe. My membership in the hotel chain allows me to earn points which I will use to redeem free stays on my next trip.
Apart from transport and accommodation, dining probably ranks as the next big ticket expense for any trips. While dining out at a Michelin-starred restaurant will provide both a nice dining experience as well as the bragging rights on social media, I usually do not dine in expensive and chic restaurants when I travel unless there is a special occasion that warrants plonking down those cash for that meal of fine dining. Instead, I dine at where the locals dine. And I do enjoy all my meals at local hangouts wherever I travel. For example, I have dine at nice sushi outlets in Tokyo and enjoyed those generous servings of ikura (salmon roe), uni (sea urchin roe) and maguro (tuna) at prices not exceeding 1500 JPY (about USD$15 or SGD$20) per person per meal. I have also bought takeaway salad sets for less than 1 GBP (about USD$1.22 and SGD$1.70) in London at supermarkets where they usually marked down the prices for takeaways near to store closing time.
These are just some tips I have learned from my travels to save some cash during an overseas trip without having to really starve myself.
Thus, while travelling can be an expensive hobby, with a little ingenuity and planning, a lot of savings can be harvested and the money saved can go towards that next trip!
Travel is our window to the world! Enjoy travelling....... :-) I am headed for Taipei in November 2016. When and where is your next trip?
Travelling can be an expensive experience. For most of us, the main bulk of the cost of travelling is usually transport, accommodation and dining.
Transport expense includes air tickets, train tickets and also money needed for those trips around a city. Out of these transport expenses, air tickets are more often than not the main big ticket item in our travel transport expense. I usually save on air tickets by subscribing to email newsletters from the major airlines I travel with. This way, I keep myself updated on any promotions these airlines may run from time to time. Keeping my eyes peeled for promotions and purchasing air tickets at the discounted rates have help me save much cash for my trips. And in this age and day, there are a whole lot of promotions with air ticket prices going at prices for as low as half of their standard prices. The best part is, these promotions usually include all classes of air tickers; from Economy and Premium Economy classes tickets to Business Class. Occasionally, even First Class tickets may also be on promotions.
Enjoying my meal on a Business Class flight courtesy of a discounted Business Class Ticket purchased for travel during non-peak travel seasons, Singapore
Accommodation is the next big ticket item on any travel expense list. To save on accommodation, we do not really need to stay at budget hotels, backpackers motels and the like. For me, I usually stay at a particular hotel chain with many similar branded hotels across all major cities around the globe. My membership in the hotel chain allows me to earn points which I will use to redeem free stays on my next trip.
Apart from transport and accommodation, dining probably ranks as the next big ticket expense for any trips. While dining out at a Michelin-starred restaurant will provide both a nice dining experience as well as the bragging rights on social media, I usually do not dine in expensive and chic restaurants when I travel unless there is a special occasion that warrants plonking down those cash for that meal of fine dining. Instead, I dine at where the locals dine. And I do enjoy all my meals at local hangouts wherever I travel. For example, I have dine at nice sushi outlets in Tokyo and enjoyed those generous servings of ikura (salmon roe), uni (sea urchin roe) and maguro (tuna) at prices not exceeding 1500 JPY (about USD$15 or SGD$20) per person per meal. I have also bought takeaway salad sets for less than 1 GBP (about USD$1.22 and SGD$1.70) in London at supermarkets where they usually marked down the prices for takeaways near to store closing time.
Local Japanese dining at prices below 1500 JPY per person per meal, Japan
These are just some tips I have learned from my travels to save some cash during an overseas trip without having to really starve myself.
Thus, while travelling can be an expensive hobby, with a little ingenuity and planning, a lot of savings can be harvested and the money saved can go towards that next trip!
Travel is our window to the world! Enjoy travelling....... :-) I am headed for Taipei in November 2016. When and where is your next trip?
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