Travel is often fun, but almost always expensive. That’s especially true if your trip is for an extended amount of time. The good news is you may be surprised how far your vacation money can go by avoiding certain things travelers often buy. Here are 14 of the best examples:
Food You Can Get at Home
When you’re traveling, it’s quite normal to crave the familiar foods you’re used to back home. While there’s nothing wrong with treating yourself to a food you love, the odds are you’re going to end up very disappointed. The dish will not taste anywhere as good as what you’re used to and will probably be more expensive than the local specialties.
Souvenir Shirts
Souvenir T-shirts at just about every major tourist site in every country are typically gaudy and cheap looking. They look especially silly when you wear them back home. Buy a shot glass instead — that would at least be useful.
Knockoff Bags
Knockoff merchandise is plentiful, but do you really need a fake bag or counterfeit coat? The price is appealing, but the quality of these items is always underwhelming. Trust me: I’ve been down this road before.
Food Near Tourist Sites
The closer you are to major tourist sites, the more expensive the food is going to be. The price has nothing to do with quality and everything to do with the high rent of being in such a prime location. Go a little out of the way and find places that’ll taste just as good for a much better price. Usually, this involves only walking a couple blocks.
Taxis
Unless it’s an emergency or you’re in a poorly-developed country, consider skipping the taxi and use public transportation.
Rip-Off ATMs
Not all ATMs are created equal. Some of them are shockingly expensive to foreign cards with high fees and poor exchange rates. Check out a few different ATMs to see which ones offer the best deals.
Souvenirs From Children
In some countries, impoverished yet adorable children will try to sell you souvenirs. Instinct says you should do something to help these poor kids, but buying from them doesn’t help. These kids are forced to work by adults who make good money off their effort — so buying from them ensures that they’ll continue selling items instead of going to school. It’s a vicious cycle where helping does more harm than good.
Wi-Fi
Free Wi-Fi for customers might seem like an inalienable right, but that’s not always the case. In some countries, even coffee shops charge hefty fees to customers for the privilege of using their Wi-Fi — Starbucks in Thailand is especially egregious. Hostels in some of the most popular cities — New York City, Venice, etc. — sometimes charge guests an additional fee for Wi-Fi. Avoid this nonsense and download some apps that will point you towards free Wi-Fi spots.
Walking Tours
Cities both big and small offer a variety of different tours, many of which are costly. To get a feel for a city while on a budget, do a web search for free walking tours. These tours are often excellent and work on a tip-based system, so you’ll spend less than you would on a more formal tour. I’ve been on many of these and have never been disappointed.
Scammer Trinkets
Every country has specialized scams. Some rely on smooth-talking and forced friendliness; but others are more aggressive. Someone will hand you something you don’t really want — often some sort of trinket — and then demand money. This is unpleasant and unfortunate, so keep your guard up when traveling.
Pub Crawls
Pub crawls are advertised at almost any hostel or guesthouse you go to. They can be a fun time, as you’re meeting up with liked-minded travelers at bars. However, you’d be better off taking a DIY approach with people you meet instead of paying a premium to go with an organized group.
Guidebooks
Guidebooks have their use when it comes to trip planning, but carrying them around is a hassle. Lots of tourists seem to spend more time in their books than they do enjoying the surroundings. Learn what you can online and then ditch the book.
Phone Calls
Your phone company would love nothing more than to hit you with heavy international fees. Instead, use programs like Skype while on Wi-Fi to communicate with people back home.
Anything Too Far in Advance
One of the joys of travel is going with the flow. To do that, you need to be somewhat open-ended with your plans. Book your first hotel and flight well in advance but, beyond that, keep a rough plan and see how things shape up. Of course, during peak season in popular places, you might be required to book in advance — so do some research to gauge if early reservations are needed. You might be surprised how easy it is to show up to a place and easily find somewhere to stay.
Photo Credit: Michael Cory
Great advice, but I think taxis really depend on the country. Depending on the country, you may be able to get a taxi for only a few dollars and avoid the hassle of navigating a new transportation system.
Good to know. Thanks for the counterpoint, Sean!
I would say definitely to check out the area and its coming events before going with the flow on your accommodations. I well remember the weary family who showed up in my town after a seven-hour drive from Daytona Beach, FL. They had flown in to Daytona to explore Florida having decided to wing it and have fun. Only they unknowingly picked Race Week in Daytona, when half the state is full of visitors. They had been winding through towns all across the central part of the state, looking for accommodations, when they finally showed up where I live, on the other coast. And someone in my family had an urge to make a quick trip to the Keys, unplanned and unscripted. And ended up sleeping in a parking lot back on the mainland the first night, after driving all over Key West looking for a room until midnight, because some festival was happening.
Agree, JD. Awhile back I was in Huntsville, of all places, on business and had a similar problem — a series of “big events” were in town at the same time and it was VERY difficult to find a room (or a rental car) anywhere within a 75 mile radius.
Good tips, Len. Taxi is really is one when there’s always scam especially at airport, so it’s better to get taxi in legit places when taxis are in queue and drivers provide receipts.
Practical analysis that I learned a lot from — thank you.
Len, seems Twitter somehow figured out I listen to you over on Stacking Benjamins, and so they inserted a link to your post into my normal twitter feed. You are getting noticed — keep up the good work!
Thank you, John. That’s good to know!
Agreed that guidebooks are too clunky to haul along but they’re still extremely useful for places that are new to you. Instead of buying the actual book, buy the e-version and download it to your phone so it’s available at all times. It’s a $20 tool to help you maximize your trip that cost thousands.
Regarding public transportation – years ago I would have disagreed. PT even in English can be difficult and confusing, much more so in a foreign language. But now almost every city has travel apps that will help you navigate their systems. Literally walk you to the bus/train stop. In many you can purchase an e-ticket as well and avoid the how-to-pay hassle.
Many cities also have a public bus/tram/train line that stops at many of not most of the tourist highlights. A bargain compared to the hop-on/hop-off bus. And PT makes you fell just a little more like a local vs. foreign traveler.
If in a city with a tram. Nice things about trams is that they run in both directions. So if you have time, just ride one out and see where it takes you. Get off at any time, cross the street and ride the next train back. Kinda nice to get out of touristville and see the larger area. On the way, note interesting shops/sites to stop an visit on the way back.
I agree; it is amazing how much there is to see outside the typical tourist zones, Frank.
A few other ideas when travelling to save both real and emotional dollars:
1. Never purchase anything tangible other than food and drink. Experiences trump the trinkets every time.
2. In major cities avoid renting a car. Often times the public transportation multi day cards are very affordable. If you must have a car in order to leave the urban area to visit a rural area with limited public transportation it is far less stressful to rent the car away from the urban area…transfer by public transportation and pick up the car 20 miles or so outside of the major tourist city.
3. When travelling internationally skip the high end U.S. type hotels. Enjoy the local culture by staying in a family owned hotel.
4. Use Google street maps to check out the neighborhood of your hotel before reserving your hotel.
5. For trip memories be careful with the iPhone for picture taking unless you have an Apple product available to you for saving and transferring those photos to another media…otherwise Apple will scramble the order of your photos…maybe the more tech savvy know otherwise.
Thanks for all of these additional tips, Kev!
I agree with Kevin that it’s about the experiences. That is was why I was very glad that we spent a bit on a four-person walking tour (who went at OUR pace) with a multi-generational native Charlestonian (young retiree) who knew every nook and cranny of the city and where the bodies truly were buried.
Great information!
One tip I have for souvenirs is that I send postcards, the grandkids love them! They are a lot cheaper then trying to find the right souvenir and now a days, it’s kinda fun to get mail!
Photos and experiences mean a lot more than souvenirs. I have a lot of wonderful photos from two trips to Scotland. My Scottish friends took me to a lot of non-tourist places.
I stayed at a B&B run by two of the most wonderful people. Every morning, I had a large hot breakfast. They would give me suggestions of non-tourist things to see.
Sounds like my kind of B&B! Was fruit cake on the menu?
They had large fruit cakes. I avoided them. Most of them were walking on two feet.