5 Travel Hacks for Budget Travelling
Saturday, May 28, 2016
I travel leisurely frequently and people are often asking me how I get the money to continue this hobby. Here's the secret, I'm always getting the cheap deals and travel on a budget. For example, my return flight to Sydney/Gold Coast only cost me $375. My Osaka hotel accommodation was less than $25/pax/night.
I'm going to share some of the tips to travel on a budget (because we are all students here!)
There's another option to cheap to hotels - hostels. I love hostels, especially when I'm on the road in Europe. They're cheap and hip. Booking.com and Hostel world are perfect sites to look for cheap hostels and I've used them way too many times when I was in Europe.
Another option is to go for home stay aka airbnb. They can be pretty cheap, and there are some hits and misses with airbnb. My only advice is to read the comments very carefully. I actually prefer going with airbnb in Australia but when I'm in Asia, I would stay away from airbnb.
I adore the app maps.me and it allows me to download maps in advance so I don't have to worry about them not loading when I'm overseas. If it rings a bell, that's because I've mentioned about maps.me before in my other posts. You can also use Google Maps to save an offline map so you'll be able to use it without connectivity.
Do you know that you can actually use GPS without data connection? Simply make sure you have GPS turned on and it'll work without incurring costs!
If you're planning to travel by HSR in Taiwan, booking early saves you money. If you're travelling to Japan, you might want to calculate if a JR pass is worth the money. It can actually save you money if you plan to do a lot of travelling around.
Therefore planning your route before hand may be a wise idea. Planning in advance also allows you to better understand the area you're going. You can easily find cheaper alternatives when you're planning rigorously.
Shopback allows you to get rebates from making online purchases. They have a long list of partners ranging from Expedia, Agoda, Booking.com, HostelWorld, Jetstar, Tigerair, Singapore Airlines, and so many more. The rebate amount depends on each partner site.
I've saved so much from Shopback just from booking my accommodation and flights. So here's how you can go about doing so.
Firstly, create a new account using the referral link!
After signing up, you're ready to start saving! Whenever you want to shop at a certain site, simply go into ShopBack first. Look for your site from the long list of partners they have (or simply use the search function). 
Click Shop Now and you'll be given some terms and conditions and a notice that you have to stay on the same window while making the purchase. 
You'll be redirected to the site of your intention and you can begin making your purchases!
Again, I emphasize on staying on the same window whole making the purchase.
The rebate is not immediate (as how credit card rebates are not either). Thus, be patient and you'll be able to see that your transaction is pending after a couple of hours.
After the money is in (the days differ between different partners), you can cash out your money! Kaching!
It's simple as that! And here's the extra catch! If you sign up using my link, you'll get a $5 immediately which you can cash out together with your first cash out. That's $5 just for signing up an account!
https://www.shopback.sg/?raf=QYoCbl
So these are 5 tips I use when travelling to save money and I hope you find them useful!
I'm going to share some of the tips to travel on a budget (because we are all students here!)
Cheap flight
Flights are getting cheaper with competition from budget airlines. I mostly book my flights through FlyScoot because they're my favourite budget airlines (even though they can be quite unhelpful when you miss your flight). Tigerair and Jetstar are other great alternatives.
Catch them during their promotion period. For example, Jetstar has its promotion day on Fridays and that's when you'll get cheap fare deals!
There are promo codes at times too. Some promo codes give you discounts for flight, some provides discounts for the baggage. I do know Scoot do give out baggage allowance promo codes from time to time. This helps you to save money on baggage because baggage allowance on budget airlines cost way too much.
Catch them during their promotion period. For example, Jetstar has its promotion day on Fridays and that's when you'll get cheap fare deals!
There are promo codes at times too. Some promo codes give you discounts for flight, some provides discounts for the baggage. I do know Scoot do give out baggage allowance promo codes from time to time. This helps you to save money on baggage because baggage allowance on budget airlines cost way too much.
Cheap hotel
I booked a lot of my hotels with Agoda (or used to till I had a bad service experience with them). I've been using Expedia since because of their exceptional service and experience. Expedia is great because they help secure the cheapest prices. Haven't had any problems with Expedia!There's another option to cheap to hotels - hostels. I love hostels, especially when I'm on the road in Europe. They're cheap and hip. Booking.com and Hostel world are perfect sites to look for cheap hostels and I've used them way too many times when I was in Europe.
Another option is to go for home stay aka airbnb. They can be pretty cheap, and there are some hits and misses with airbnb. My only advice is to read the comments very carefully. I actually prefer going with airbnb in Australia but when I'm in Asia, I would stay away from airbnb.
Offline Maps
If you do not have a mobile data connection, it may seem like it's going to be very difficult to navigate your way around. You wouldn't be able to find wifi anywhere either. When I was in Tasmania, I had poor connectivity because I'm always out in the mountains. That's when offline maps come in handy.I adore the app maps.me and it allows me to download maps in advance so I don't have to worry about them not loading when I'm overseas. If it rings a bell, that's because I've mentioned about maps.me before in my other posts. You can also use Google Maps to save an offline map so you'll be able to use it without connectivity.
Do you know that you can actually use GPS without data connection? Simply make sure you have GPS turned on and it'll work without incurring costs!
Plan
A great way to save money while travelling is to plan well. Why do you need a good plan? Because there are early bird promotions, especially when you get accommodation or transportation deals.If you're planning to travel by HSR in Taiwan, booking early saves you money. If you're travelling to Japan, you might want to calculate if a JR pass is worth the money. It can actually save you money if you plan to do a lot of travelling around.
Therefore planning your route before hand may be a wise idea. Planning in advance also allows you to better understand the area you're going. You can easily find cheaper alternatives when you're planning rigorously.
Save with Rebates
The last hack I'll be sharing will be the use of rebates.Shopback allows you to get rebates from making online purchases. They have a long list of partners ranging from Expedia, Agoda, Booking.com, HostelWorld, Jetstar, Tigerair, Singapore Airlines, and so many more. The rebate amount depends on each partner site.
I've saved so much from Shopback just from booking my accommodation and flights. So here's how you can go about doing so.
Firstly, create a new account using the referral link!
After signing up, you're ready to start saving! Whenever you want to shop at a certain site, simply go into ShopBack first. Look for your site from the long list of partners they have (or simply use the search function). Click Shop Now and you'll be given some terms and conditions and a notice that you have to stay on the same window while making the purchase. You'll be redirected to the site of your intention and you can begin making your purchases!Again, I emphasize on staying on the same window whole making the purchase.The rebate is not immediate (as how credit card rebates are not either). Thus, be patient and you'll be able to see that your transaction is pending after a couple of hours.
After the money is in (the days differ between different partners), you can cash out your money! Kaching!
It's simple as that! And here's the extra catch! If you sign up using my link, you'll get a $5 immediately which you can cash out together with your first cash out. That's $5 just for signing up an account!
https://www.shopback.sg/?raf=QYoCbl
So these are 5 tips I use when travelling to save money and I hope you find them useful!