“The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead
of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are.” – Samuel Johnson
Throughout my life, I have traveled to a few typical places in relation to where I live. Such as Mexico, a few states in the US and other parts of Canada. Other than that, I haven't really explored the world, which I would love to do one day.
Currently the BF and I are planning a small-ish trip to the other side of Canada, and as simple as it should be, planning trips is a lot of work. Not only cost wise, but just the time it takes to get everything together. Now, maybe others out there are just better and more efficient than I, which could be totally possible but there are so many things you have to take care of.
First is flights. I personally LOVE flying. It's on my bucket list to actually have pilots license, but that's a story for another day. Booking flights are so frustrating to me, because the price can vary so much depending on where you are going, the day of the week you book, and the airline you book with. It's just so tough to try and find a good deal. In my experience, I have always booked through Expedia which considers every airline and provides you with the cheapest options. But I do hate the feeling of booking a flight, checking the same flight a week later, and finding out that the price dropped. Not cool bro.
Next is hotels. I have had pretty good luck with hotels, but I'm not a fan of trying to find a hotel that a) is around the location you want to be in and b) in the price range you want. I'm always scared to show up to the hotel and it look nothing like it did online. I have heard horror stories of that. But I suppose you can't go wrong with the big chain hotels. Those are usually my go to anyways.
Trips are normally expensive regardless, but trying to make it as cost efficient as possible is definitely a challenge. Should be interesting over the next few days to see how much I can actually save compared to what I would normally spend on a trip like this.
Do any of you have tips on trying to be cost effective while traveling?
here's a random tip.. airlines keep track of your search history on their, so prices go up when you continue to go back to motivate you to book. "clear cookies" on your browser to see prices drop again..
ReplyDeletealso, try hostels if going to Europe or other backpack friendly countries. don't be scared of them, you can get unbelievable cheap accommodations with private room and bath there.. plus while traveling you rarely are in your hotel except at night. Unless you're looking for an all-inclusive trip, then of course stay branded well known.
Otherwise some sites do have great discounted flight & hotel packages so it might be interesting for you to check out some of those!
Wow Kyla, that's interesting...I didn't know that about clearing your cookies. But that's kind of crazy because sometimes I check prices on my work computer, then at home, or my wife's computer...I never noticed a discrepancy.
DeleteI also hate buying tickets and see them drop. Apparently kayak.com has flight price predictor but I don't know how accurate it is.