Travel on a budget: Tips and tricks for cost-effective travel and adventure

Exploring exotic places doesn?t have to cost a fortune and you certainly don?t need to win the lottery to travel the world ? not if you know how to watch your pennies. We?ve complied some tried and tested tips to help you plan a holiday on a budget.

1. Come up with a plan
Travelling spontaneously is great, if you have the luxury of time and money to spare. But if you?re travelling on a budget, the first thing to do is come up with a plan. You don?t have need a tight, hour-by-hour itinerary, but you should at least have an idea of how long you?ll be spending in each city or country, and know the route that your epic adventure will take. Leaving less to chance means less unexpected spends; last-minute flights and accommodation are often far more expensive.

2. Travel out of season
Avoid trips during the school holidays, this is when the travel industry hikes up prices to take advantage of families who can only travel during these weeks. Research the best time to visit your intended destination, and then travel just before or after these dates. This is called the ?shoulder season?, where you?ll still have a great trip but maybe the sun won?t shine quite as brightly (and, on the plus side, it won?t be quite as hot.) Hotels and airlines lower their prices to attract customers during this time.

3. Be accommodation-savvy
Trade expensive hotel suites for dorm rooms in hostels. Sharing a room naturally divides the costs and communal bunk rooms offer the opportunity to meet people who might be keen to explore with you. Other great alternatives are websites like AirBnB and Couchsurfing, where you simply book a spare room in a local person?s house or apartment. It?ll halve the price and allow you an authentic snapshot of real life in the city. Consider your host your very own, personal tour guide, filled with insider-tips for the best eateries and tourist spots in that neighbourhood.

You could even stay with family or friends. Reach out to people you know or plan a trip to somewhere that a long-lost cousin or school friend now lives ? this could take you to visit places you?d never have thought of before.