Travelling Overseas

The challenge with overseas travel is to have a great time and come in under budget. You want your plane cruising at 38,000 feet, but you don’t want sky-high vacation bills. Here are some tips to cut costs from your holiday budget without skimping on the good times.

Before you leave

When booking airfares and hotels, don’t rely on a single airline or travel website. Comparison sites trawl the internet and stack up all the airlines and travel sites. Type “comparison” into Google followed by what you’re interested in and choose the best deal.

Spending on travel insurance may save you plenty if you’re a victim of theft or suffer an accident. Insurance and travel vaccinations are often overlooked, particularly for last-minute travel. Some credit cards offer travel insurance which may be worth looking into. If you’re holidaying with family or in a group, consider renting a car to save on local transport costs. And check to see if your credit card provides free, comprehensive rental insurance at no extra cost, as that can halve your rental cost.

Staying in touch

Skype, or any similar Voice-over Internet Protocol (VOIP) software, is your friend. Skype is free to create an account and call other Skype users, from anywhere. It’s also dirt cheap to call landlines. And if you can see tourists, there’s probably an internet café nearby for you to sign in and catch up with friends and family. Even better, if you have an iPhone or Android Smartphone you can run Skype or any similar VOIP software from any Wi-Fi hotspot, which is cheap or even free at web cafés, hotels and airports.

Alternatively buy a SIM card at the airport on arrival and put it in your phone. In some parts of the world you buy “minutes”, which run down whether you make or receive calls. In others you receive calls free and use credit to phone out. And in places where networks differ, it’s sometimes best to rent a phone and a SIM. Go here for more details on international calling.

Eating out

Eating local tucker is one of the joys of overseas travel. Although it’s great to be spontaneous, some planning can go a long way. Try booking a hotel that includes free breakfast. And read local newspapers, or use smart phone apps like Yelp and UrbanSpoon, to find where the locals eat. The food will be cheaper and better, and you won’t find yourself – maybe with hungry kids in tow – settling for an over-priced tourist trap.