Ryan Galiotto

Posts Tagged ‘Travel Tips’

Travel doesn’t have to be expensive. One reason that people avoid long term travel is because people assume it is expensive and believe they will never save enough for a trip. This is untrue. One of the greatest myths about travel is that it is only for the rich. There are many cheap ways for you to travel the world.

For most of us travel begins with an extensive hunt for cheap and discounted international flights to get you to your holiday destination. Once you’ve reached your destination, you can then book low cost regional airlines within the country or region. Using these airlines can save you a lot of money. Most of them are more than half the cost of a normal airlines. You won’t get any perks, just a sit on the plane but they can cut your travel budget down a lot.

One of the best ways to get free accommodation is to stay with someone who lives where youre going via Couchsurfing. Couchsurfing connects travelers with people in various locations who offer a free place to sleep. Sometimes its a bed, sometimes its a couch, sometimes its literally just space. You get to meet a new friend and get a local perspective on local places and activities. Its a good way to mix up your travels between meeting people in hotels and meeting the locals.

Another great way is to eat like a local. Avoid fancy restaurants and buy food in markets. Markets offer a great variety of food and a chance to eat local foods that are seasonal. They are very cheap and you can make a delicious sandwich for a picnic in a park. Moreover, try to stick to the small neighborhoods restaurants in the area. You’ll find a lot of local characters there.

Train travel, far cheaper than air travel though, is also a thrilling experience, a one of a kind opportunity to watch the country side cruising by like slices of life in motion. Single train journeys are invariably more expensive than train passes, however they still do a seamless job of making train travel a reality. Distant towns and villages can be accessed very often by buses that are an excellent and cheap substitute to other forms of public transport.

There are many ways to travel around the world cheaply. It simply requires good planning and budgeting. Not all tips work and each area and you need to be versatile and flexible. If you use these tips where they best apply, you will maximize the use of your money and save a lot so you can travel longer. Those like me who travel long term do it by good research and proper planning.

Buying travel insurance is something every traveler should do. Many problems could happen while overseas and many regular insurance plans wont cover you overseas. If you aren’t covered when you travel, you should buy travel insurance for your trip. Moreover, travel insurance cover more than just you but all those accidents and problems you might face on the road.

When you get travel insurance, make sure you are aware of of what is and is not included. Typically, they include health insurance, trip cancellation protection, and lost and stolen goods. Travel insurance policies do not cover alcohol or drug related problems, or carelessness in handling your possessions and luggage. You wont get reimbursed if you were simply being stupid.

Moreover, travel insurance usually covers health incidents. You will want to make sure your plan does. If you get sick while traveling, you want to make sure you are covered, especially if you are injured during an outdoor trek and need to be airlifted somewhere. Make sure your company covers at least 500,000 dollars in health coverage.

If you make a claim, remember travel insurance companies, no matter how good, are there to make money and will try to avoid paying out as much as they can. Make sure you have all your receipts and necessary forms. Be prepared to wait awhile to receive your money too. Even the best companies drag their feet.

Another way to get travel insurance besides signing up for a specific insurance coverage is via your credit card. The majority of credit cards offer travel insurance. American Express, Capital One, and Citi all offer various degrees of protection depending on the card you have with them. American Express offers the most comprehensive coverage but if you have a high fee card or good credit, usually any company offers good insurance. Just remember though that this credit card coverage does not include health insurance.

Whatever kind of trip you take, it is important that you buy a travel insurance plan before you go abroad, especially if you are going away for an extended amount of time. You never what could happen when on the road, what could get misplaced or stolen or who could get ill with what. It is better to be safe than sorry for the few more dollars travel insurance costs per day. It is a wise expense for some peace of mind.

Traveling for free may seem like an impossible idea since we’re taught that everything comes with a price. Free travel does have a price, but not one that is paid in cash. Traveling at no cost is possible and the journey is well worth the trouble.

You might be wondering how people are able to travel for little or no cost. One of the best and most common ways is to join a sponsored volunteer program. Programs like this have projects all over the world and you can not only travel to new and exotic places, but can help people in need.

Volunteers can look for positions teaching English, offering medical and dental assistance, working in agriculture or nature conservation. For their side, volunteers can expect to experience a new culture, learn a new language, and earn good karma points by volunteering their energy to a worth project. Many programs will offer travel and accommodation vouchers, but will expect the volunteer to live and work with locals.

Other ways of travelling for free are to find jobs on cruise ships, cargo ships, ski and other resorts. House and hospitality exchanges where foreign families exchange their home with yours for a short period of time are methods of traveling for free. House sitting for families when they are on vacation is a method of traveling for free and learning about the place where you stay.

Another great option is to enter contests for free vacation prizes online or through other media. Chances of winning may not be high, but entry costs are limited and the opportunity to travel to a far-off place for free is worth it.

If your skills and talents meet the requirements, the Rotary club and other service clubs have international exchange programs where they select individuals to travel abroad to share their culture and learn a new way of life.

For travelers willing to be creative, there are many ways of traveling the world for free. Some time spent online will uncover even more options for free travel than are covered in this article. Search for links to groups and organizations that sponsor free travel. What are you waiting for? Get started on your free travels!