Travel Logistics: Trips, Bookings and Details
This is what we’re going to cover here. It’s all about the basics on this site, so don’t expect any advanced tactics - but often when travelling we get caught up in the excitement and experience of it, and then we oversee these basics and that can cost us lots of money.
So, here’s what this site is about:
- Destination, location, type and duration of trip
- Means of getting to and from, airfare
- Ground-transportation while on the trip
- Accommodation, Meals and special events
When considering a trip or planning any kind of travel, it is important to plan for the unexpected and consider the financial side of things early on. This ensures affordability, liquidity and having the resources to enjoy it to the fullest!
Europe Budget Travel focuses on this aspect in more detail.
When budgeting, plan for the worst-case scenario money wise. Prepare for things to cost a little more than you expected. Keep and eye on the exchange rate (if applicable). Allow up to 20% increase in cost to be on the safe side of things.
It is extremely easy these days to have access to your financial resources through ATM’s and credit cards. Just remember that it is just as easy to overspend because of it being so readily available. A little discipline will go a long way to protect your financial interest and help you stick to your travel budget.
Set some spending priorities and criteria in advance, like eating well, even if this means sacrificing a bit on lodgings or visa versa, depending on what is more important to you. Think about value and cost in the local currency as opposed to converting all the time to your home-currency and comparing and weighing prices that way.
Carrying some spare cash somewhere can be a lifesaver. The rule of thumb seems to be around $50-$100 US equivalent, in small bills. This can be used for incidentals, ground-transportation like cab fare and/or your return home, tips and more.
When considering when, where, how, for how long and what type of vacation, trip or holiday venture to undertake, we all get caught up in the anticipation, excitement and exhilaration.
Sometimes we let the more important financial side of things slip a little. After all, for most of us, this only happens a couple of times in our lifetime or perhaps once a year. We tend to indulge and forget about our pocket book a little. However, some close attention to the financials now and during your trip, will save you lots of headaches and interest charges on your credit card balances later! You will thank yourself for your fiscal restraint and spending discipline, upfront planning, foresight and forward thinking!
There are many ways to save money, avoid unnecessary cost, ensure you take care of details end up a smart and perceptive traveler. We look at a couple of suggestions in this section offering some handy tips in handling the logistics of your trip, in effect optimizing traveling on a budget and making your travel dollar go further!
Road trips - saving money while traveling by car
- Maximize gas mileage and efficiency. A well-maintained vehicle will go a long way to ensure carefree driving. It is advisable to travel in a small economy car. It could be your own or a rental. However, bear in mind, the smaller the vehicle, and the better it will be on gas. Minivans and sport utility vehicles are practical only if you have to transport a large family and lots of equipment or luggage.
- Keeping yourself and others entertained while on the road is no small task. Music or books on tape or CD, signed out from your local library, can be a lifesaver. Solo driving can become extremely boring especially when all others have nodded off and all falls silent.
However, when you are actively listening, on the edge of your driver’s seat so to speak while listening to a novel or mystery, the time passes by quite quickly.
- Pack-a-snack. Bring your own refreshments and snacks. Gas station prices on drinks and snack food are high. Avoid these during a pit stop, if you are counting your travel dollars. A cooler packed with lots of cool drinks, water and ice and/or a thermos of coffee or hot water for tea, some fruit, granola bars, or a sandwich, goes a long way to still the hunger and save you money by avoiding all high priced stops en route.
- Gas fill-ups. For filling up your car en route, avoid pushing to the limit until the gas runs out or filling up at or in remote locations. The rationale in this statement: gas will obviously be more expensive, the more remote or isolated the station is. If you miscalculated and the light on the dashboard indicates that you are really in need, opt for filling just half a tank until you reach the next more densely or major populated destination, where gas might be a little cheaper.
- Travel necessities. It is advisable to be traveling with basic value-add necessities, like a cell phone and a first aid kit. Both can prove to be essential in emergencies.
- Communication needs. A handy short-term cell phone rental might be the answer for and on your trip. The peace of mind it offers, might just be worth the price, trouble and investment. Cell phone long distance calls are still cheaper than ones made from hotels or resorts. They typically add some hefty surcharges and tend to charge higher long distance rates.
Traveling Baggage
Next, our discussion turns to luggage. What exactly do you need to pack into your suitcase and how? What goes into your suitcase is important too.
- Shop for the items you need several days before your trip to avoid last minute convenience buying
- Empty cheap dollar-store equivalent plastic bottles filled with products like shampoo and liquid soap will go a long way to save you some money. Buyers beware of travel size items. Typically, you do not find these items economically priced. Mostly people can consider them a luxury and specialized item. Soap dish and toothbrush cases are also handy items to store your wet bathroom utilities in and keep your clothes dry.
- Invest in a customized and general mini drugstore with various basic items like aspirin, band-aids, antacids, and cold remedies When in need the hotel convenient store or local pharmacy prices can be astronomically and notoriously over-priced.
- Back-to-the-basics: always have an extra pair of socks, pantyhose, and underwear somewhere. Be prepared for anything and everything, including delays. If there are delays on your return trip, for any reason, it is reassuring to know that you will at least have fresh undergarments to wear!
- Pack wisely and include a couple of extra outfits. Hotel dry-cleaning is expensive and having a quick change of clothes for a spill or other inevitabilities is always a good idea. Pack more than you need seems to be the rule of thumb.
- Liquid laundry soap can be a good investment for clothing that needs a little spot cleaning or laundering, hand washing it in the sink will also save you a dollar or two while en route.
- A trusted toiletry bag, stocked with all you might need, ready to go is always a good idea. Having your toiletry and bathroom essentials ready at all, times will reduce the likelihood of forgetting something important like your toothbrush and having to buy one.
Hotels – hotel coupons or room savers (online)
- Check with the hotel if they have a frequent guest plan
- Ask about package deals
- If attending a conference, ask for the delegate rate
- Explore other options than hotels - homes, apartments, guest rooms and houses, B&B’s , sub-let or short-term ‘lease’-like agreements for example: rent a Florida house for a month, staying with family or friends, relatives or business contacts, farmhouses, self-catering apartments, Monasteries and convents in Europe are also cheaper options
- Avoid big Hotel bills, try AAA memberships, family-friendly hotels, ask for a first floor room, as most have pools (if you are fearful for little children wandering around and falling in).
- continental breakfasts are a great money-saver for large families
- Ask about any reduced fares at hotels, consider last-minute check-ins – hotels are rarely really fully booked
- Eating in a supermarket deli-like counter proves to be much cheaper than fast-food locations or expensive restaurants
In The Air
- Explore offerings online, comparison shop and booking with discount airlines are all smart strategies. Remember flexibility on your part regarding dates and times will translate into savings.
- Enroll in an air miles, reward or frequent flyer plan that often includes discounts on hotels and car rentals.
- Timing is everything. Avoid peak periods for example, holidays, spring break, and peak business hour time’s makes for more travelers en route and supply and demand will dictate pricing and cost – usually higher. Take advantage of shoulder and low season travel periods.
- Best airfare rates often involve a Saturday night stay.
- Book flights at least two weeks in advance. The closer the booking to the flight date, the more expensive it will be.
- Log on to the airline’s website and check out unadvertised flight specials.
- Booking on-line usually saves a few dollars too.
- a good site to find cheap European flights is www.skyscanner.net
- Use a park-and-fly service and park your own vehicle at the airport. Driving your car there and back is much cheaper than a taxi if you live far from the airport. There are also airport bus services or shuttles that are cheaper than taxis.
- When boarding the plane, bring your own water. Airplanes are dry and flight attendants do not have time to keep refilling your glass.
- Never eat at the airport. Airport food is twice the price of food anywhere else. Try to eat before arriving at the airport or pack a few snacks to tie you over until you reach your destination.
- Once on the ground, ask the information desk about free shuttles to your hotel or use public transit.
- Save time and headaches by traveling with a bag, you can carry on the plane. Some airlines have express check-in counters for passengers traveling with carry-on luggage only.
- For advanced tactics on how to save money flying you should consider buying “Airfare Secrets”. It’s not free (costs $25) - but hey, you’ll recoup that money on the savings of your first flight. It’s a really good book that saved me lots of money. Good thing is also that it’s not a “paper book”, but an “ebook”, so you can read it on your computer (or any other computer). When you buy it you can start reading it right away, no need to wait for shipment, and since it’s not paper you safe the environment. More books should be published like that (imagine how many trees could be saved that way each year)…
Transportation
- Travel passes for public or mass transportation offers a good deal and can save you some money.
- Shuttles or trains are often cheaper than flights, sharing cab-fares if traveling alone
- Taxis are convenient but rarely worth the price. If you do hire a taxi, consider asking someone to split the fare with you.
All these tips aren’t groundbraking advice or super-secret saver strategies. They are just common sense, but sometimes in the travel excitement we tend to forget these things. That’s why I wanted to cover the basics extensively here. You can find more advanced strategies for saving money while travelling Europe in other sections of this website.
