Don’t Make These Money Mistakes while Traveling
Isla Saona, Dominican Republic
Have you ever heard the phrase ‘I can’t afford to travel’?
If yes, then you have come to the correct place. We aren’t millionaires but in our opinion being rich comes from experiences and memories. This is exactly what we are searching for on our journeys around the world. As we have years of travel experience under our belts, we have learned about the most useful tricks to budget during our trips, so that every dollar would take us further.
This post will give you an insight on how to budget for your trips and what can be the biggest money-savers on your travels (We will talk about how to start full-time traveling and the finance side going into that in another post).
Over-packing
Bringing a big suitcase with three outfits for each day of a 7-day trip might seem appealing, but it can end up costing you hundreds of extra dollars. Let me break it down for you!
First, there are the flight expenses. Depending on the region, many airlines no longer include checked luggage in their fares, and adding extra bags can cost anywhere from $10 to $50 or more per flight. If you have multiple flights, these extra baggage fees can really add up.
Secondly, having lots of baggage can limit your transportation options. For instance, getting from the airport to the city is often affordable with public transport. However, if you have many bags, you might be restricted to expensive taxis. Avoiding these costs can make a significant difference.
2. Not using local public transportation
As I mentioned earlier, taxis are typically the costliest mode of transportation, and this applies even in budget-friendly countries. However, in many cases, there's a local transport option available that connects towns or tourist spots, saving you the need for expensive rides.
But it's not just taxis; consider this: to reach London from Gatwick airport, you could opt for the pricier Gatwick Express train, which is designed for tourists, or you could take the local Southern train, which costs about half as much, depending on where you purchase your ticket. Another example is the Maldives, where you can take a $2 public ferry instead of a $30 speedboat to the same destination.
The only drawback with local transport is that it might be a bit challenging to navigate, and it can take more time. However, it all boils down to your priorities: do you value saving money more than saving time?
However if we need to use Taxis in more exotic locations, we avoid taking them right from the street if possible as these tourist prices can be times higher than the local fair rate. Many of these countries don’t have Uber or Bolt but they have Indrive - it uses a ride-share model but you as the customer sets the price and the drivers can accept it or not accept it. We have used it in Nepal, India and Dominican Republic and no taxi driver has ever been nothing but honest through this app (in contrast to taking a taxi from the street where the negotiated price seems to not be satisfactory anymore after approaching the final destination).
However when traveling to more far-away places, we try to avoid taking taxis from the street if possible because they often charge much higher tourist prices and even after negotiating and setting a price the drivers have tried to ask double when approaching the final destination.
We've found InDrive to be a reliable alternative. It operates on a ride-share model like Uber or Bolt, but you, as the customer, set the price and drivers can accept or decline it. This app has worked well for us in countries like Nepal, India and the Dominican Republic, ensuring honest interactions with taxi drivers.
3. Choosing ‘expensive’ destinations
This might sound crazy in the sense of “What the hell are you saying - I travel to wrong countries!?“ but if you’d like your every dollar to take you as far as possible for the longest amount of time then the same traveling style can vary in costs tremendously in different countries.
Some regions in general are more expensive (especially if you want to travel longer) than others - for example in Norway travelers are advised to have a budget $100 - 150 per day per person (for most countries in Europe suggested budget is between $50 - 150 with Scandinavia being more expensive and Eastern Europe less expensive) but in contrast the daily budget for Thailand or Peru is $30 - 70.
This means that with the same $1000, you can travel for about 10 days in Europe but up to 20 days in cheaper regions, all without changing your travel style.
4. Having dinner close to major tourist attractions
We’d avoid eating close to major tourist spots because not only is it expensive, but the food quality can also suffer. When there's a high demand from tourists, the focus on quality often takes a back seat.
To savor authentic cuisine, we prefer dining farther away from tourist attractions. We rely less on online reviews and more on the number of locals dining at a place as a reliable indicator of its worth.
A valuable lesson came during our time in Istanbul, Türkiye. Despite spending six months in the country without a bad food experience, we made the mistake of entering a restaurant in the city center. It had an extensive menu of 50 different dishes (not a good sign) and ended up costing us three times more than similar places further away with food that wasn't even tasty.
5. Credit card fees and airport currency exchange
It's a good idea to have local currency because many places around the world still prefer cash, and using a bank card for every payment isn't common. Whether you choose cash or card, there are ways to save money.
Since we're from Europe, we can't provide extensive advice on leveraging US credit cards for travel, but nevertheless the choice of card makes a big difference when abroad. Travel cards like Revolut and Wise can minimize costs when you use them for payments or withdrawals (Fees from the same ATM using a regular bank card vs a travel card have been 2€ vs 7€ and these can add up). Do you really want to pay extra for something like this?
When it comes to currency exchange, it's important to be cautious. Airport currency exchanges usually offer the worst rates, but sometimes you can't avoid them, especially when you need cash for transportation out of the airport. Generally, it's wise to exchange currency in the nearest city. Additionally, depending on the country, bargaining for the best exchange rate may be necessary. We've had to negotiate in many places, but one of the most significant instances was in Iran. Initially, the offer was 1€ = 25,000 Iranian Rials (official rate was 42,000 at the time), but we negotiated it up to 41,000.
6. Using mobile Internet from your home country SIM while abroad
This tip can save you a lot of money, especially in pricey exotic destinations. When you travel anywhere in the world and that country isn't covered by your home mobile provider's plan (note that many European countries offer affordable bundle packages for usage across the continent), we recommend avoiding using your home SIM card for calls and internet abroad.
Instead, it's best to buy a physical SIM card from the country you're visiting. We find that e-SIM can be a viable alternative as well but the choice may depend on the specific country you're going to and the duration of your stay. We often spend weeks in one country and need larger data packages. For example, in Pakistan, an e-SIM offering 30 days and 10GB costs $30, but a physical SIM card with 25GB data only costs $11 - on the other hand, having an e-SIM saves you time (sometimes even hours) dealing with local Telecom providers and is instantly available.
