Travelling to exotic countries and seeing the many sights of the world is one of the best things about the summertime. If you dream of jetting away to far off places but feel like your purse strings are holding you back from your full travel potential, then there are a few tips and tricks you can use to save on your next adventure. With everything from free makeup and cheaper flights available with just a little effort, there is no reason why you can’t book your next holiday for less. So, what are the ultimate travel hacks to save on your next holiday or weekend break?
Be Flight Savvy
Flight prices change all the time, and while our other hacks will save you some cash, getting the best price on flights is likely to save a small fortune. Luckily for you, we have some sneaky hacks to help you get the most out of your holiday budget.
Start by always doing your flight research in incognito mode. Travel websites and airlines will track your searches, and then increase prices just for you because you’ve looked at those flights before. As well as being sneaky with your research online, it is also worth looking for long haul flights from other European cities.
Long haul flights from less popular locations will generally be much cheaper, and the cost of a local flight from the UK to a European city will probably be a lot less than the amount you can save.
Be Careful With Currencies
When you’re lucky enough to get yourself some free goodies like free makeup for your trip, you will know you are getting a great saving, but exchange rates and foreign currencies aren’t always as straight forward. Every bureau de change and currency exchange desk will have its own exchange rates and additional fees.
It is confusing trying to decipher if you are getting a good deal or not. If you need to get more cash while you are abroad, always choose to use ATMs and cash machines to get local currency. These will use your bank’s exchange rates and fees, which are still going to cost you, but not as much as you could end up paying elsewhere. It can be worthwhile setting up a prepaid card that is designed for travel like Caxton, FairFX and Revolut.
Get Free Makeup For Your Carry On
Every girl knows the struggle of travelling with hand luggage only. With the current limitations on liquids that can be taken on a plane, it makes travelling with cosmetics and essentials a real challenge. Making the most of free makeup UK samples can save you time and money on miniatures and transferring your current products to small bottles.
Not only will you save some cash with free makeup, but you will have the chance to try out some brand new products for your trip.
Pack Wisely
As well as stocking up on free makeup for your trip, there are various other packing hacks that can save you valuable suitcase space and baggage charges. Roll your clothes instead of folding them to fit more into a small space and avoid wrinkles. Pack small items like bikinis and underwear inside shoes. Remember, always wear your biggest and heaviest items while travelling.
If you are travelling to various locations or for a long time, then investing in packing cubes could be worthwhile as you can organise your clothes effectively and save a lot of space.
The lighter you can pack, the less you will have to pay for baggage on your flight, so do the best you can to leave any non-essentials at home.
Always Book Direct
Accommodation is likely to be one of the most expensive parts of your trip. Whether you are booking a hotel or hostel, it almost always pays off to make your booking direct. Most hotels will offer discounts and additional perks for making a booking on their own website or by ringing them up instead of on third party travel sites. You could save around 10% on your accommodation costs simply by making your booking direct.
Many accommodation providers are preferable to those who have booked direct as well, making you more likely to receive a free upgrade or other perks, compared to using a travel agent. You can go one step further and save even more by joining free hotel loyalty programmes. These loyalty schemes often offer money off your hotel simply for signing up to their online database. There is no obligation to stay on the database; you can then unsubscribe as soon as you’ve made your saving.