Travel advice

How to Find Discount Travel - The Stress Free Way

The greatest part about traveling (especially backpacking) is the pure freedom that you experience while adventuring in a foreign country. There is no one to tell you what to do, or where to go, or how to go. You are your own boss, with your own ambitions and rules for how the day should progress. Awesome!

The last thing you want is for your finances to begin weighing you down. It is therefore, incredibly important that you find discount travel whenever you can. This ensures that you have a well balanced bank account, as well as extra money in case adventure comes knocking. Plus, it greatly reduces any stress you might experience as you attempt to make the last few dollars stretch.

Below I have included five essential steps on how to find discount travel, with the least amount of effort. Follow them, and you are guaranteed a financially stress-free trip, and a few extra dollars in the bank at the end.

Step 1 – Find 2 or 3 discount travel sites.

It is important to find more than one discount travel site, such as Expedia, and Travelocity, and compare their prices. You would be surprised at how often they quote different prices for the same airfare, or hotel. Once you have found a couple of online travel sites with a good reputation of finding the best deals, create an alert within each. Ask them to notify you when a deal comes up for the route you wish to take. If the travel site you are using does not offer alerts, then find another site, believe me, there are plenty. Now sit back and wait for the alerts to come rolling in.

Step 2 – Be flexible

If you can be flexible with your travel dates, then you are in a much better position. Often flight deals will come very cheap at the last minute. Those who are able to jump ship at a moments notice, often get the best deals. Set aside a 2-4 week time frame, and wait for the specials. They always come rolling in, with the exception of the extremely busy times of year.

Step 3 – Don’t travel on public holidays

The absolute worst thing you can do is try to book a flight or accommodation at the same time as everyone else. The rates are always at the highest. By traveling during ‘off-peak’ times, you will save yourself a bundle

Step 4 – Find an auction

There are numerous travel auction sites that are popping up all over the web, such as pirceline.com. You can bid a low amount and wait to see if it is accepted. If not, move on to bidding on another, and another, until you find one that goes low enough. Again, you may have to wait a while, and be flexible with dates, but the bonus is that once you place your bid, you can sit back and relax. No further effort is required!

Step 5 – Be patient

The worst thing you can do is try to rush booking your flight or accommodation. This is when people make bad choices. Just calm yourself, and wait for the deals to come. They always do. Trust me.

Vacation is all about chilling out and enjoying yourself. So try not to stress too much about money. If it is too expensive to travel on a certain date, then wait a while, until something better comes along. For every hotel and airline in the world, they rely on filling seats and beds. Catch them at the end of their sales period, and they will dump anything that is left over, at cost. This way, they don’t gain any money, but they don’t lose any either. It does make your travel a bit more ‘unscripted’, but it adds to the adventure, and the overall experience. Plus, you save money!

Safe travels my friends!