Solo Travel: How to Save Money Pt. 5
Everyone wants to make the most of their solo travel dollars. With this six-part series I want to show you different ways to save money when traveling solo so you can travel more and/or longer. Use one, some or all of the techniques and you will be well on your money saving way!
This is part five (check out Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, and Part 4 here) of the six-part blog series that will cover the different areas of a trip. I will be writing them in order of how I go about planning a trip.
- Trip planning
- Flights
- Accommodation
- Things to do on your holiday
- Getting around
- Food & drink
Lets check out how to get around.
Use ride sharing instead of taxi’s
If you prefer using taxi’s to get around, you should really dig into trying ride sharing like Uber. The are usually cheaper than taxis’ and since you agree on the price before you book it, you won’t have the issue of “being taking the long way around” and upping the meter. Don’t know how to use ride sharing? Check out our course so you are prepared for your trip.
Use local sim cards
When you use ride sharing you will be require you to use the Internet. You need to understand the costs of using your phone. The number one way to save money while having data, text and phone capabilities is to purchase a local sim card on your first day. Most airports and train stations will have kiosks selling them, or you can find a store in the city centre. Get the person to set your phone up for you and then you are good to go. You will need your passport to purchase the card for security reasons.
Use local transportation
To save money from using Ubers or taxi’s (since you are not sharing the cost with anyone else) hop on public transportation as this will be much cheaper. Not only will it be less expensive, but you will also see the city the way the locals do. You can ride the bus instead of the subways and use it as your own bus tour. When you are using public transportation check to see if they have discounted bulk tickets. Some cities sell packages of tickets at a cheaper price than purchasing them each time you ride.
Walk!
This is my favourite thing to do in new places. Walking costs nothing, it gets you in shape and you see things you wouldn’t have seen by taking a car or public transportation. I sometimes combine all the things, I will take public transportation to a specific location and then explore for hours all around and then take an Uber back to my accommodations when I am tired. I carry a paper map with me, that I usually pick up at the airport or tourist office, as a back up, but my main map will be Google Maps on my phone.
Group places that are near each other together
When planning your days, use Google Maps to locate all the things you want to see. Group all the places that are near each other to do on one day (or two or three depending on how many places are on your map). When you group places that are close to each other, this saves big time on travelling back and forth across town costing you money (and time) to get to.
Know your limits and what you can physically do throughout your days. When you are tired and “done” and just want to get back to your accommodations, grab an Uber and head “home”. Travel smarter not harder and you will have a much more enjoyable time. With these tips you know all your options on how to trim costs on getting around.
Be sure to check out part six, all about food and drink, next week so you can continue to save money throughout your trip. Need some extra help with navigating these apps I talked about in this series? We have a package with the three most important apps you need to know while you are travelling. Click here to learn more about these.