Goodbye Lil’ Kleine with your four times more expensive
This is how traveling becomes twice as cheap
Hey vacationers, nice that you are flying along again. Seatbelts fastened? Welcome to the Kiki Cheapy Travel Agency Part 2. (By the way, read part 1 here.) Look, traveling is super fun/cool/life-changing and stuff, but it’s also quite an expensive hobby. I could know. And that’s why the coming summer months are time for some lessons on how to keep your money smart in your pocket while traveling.
Copy that, Roger? Good, ready for take off.
Don’t believe in restaurant tips from travel guides
How many Dutch people don’t take such a nice travel guide with them on vacation. But do we also think about the fact that those commercial travel books often send you to restaurants that are close to tourist attractions? Exactly. Which brings me to the next point.
Talk to locals
Definitely nice for your social skills, but locals also know exactly where you need to go to NOT pay three times as much for that cocktail. Without a plan, you’re quickly inclined to plop down on a terrace and not think about the price anymore. Goodbye Lil’ Kleine with your four times more expensive, it can always be twice as cheap. And the locals know where.
Ticket around the world? Don’t travel too fast!
Getting through that as quickly as possible bucket list might be fun for your Insta feed, but is anything but tranquilo or cheap. Especially transport quietly eats up a large part of your budget. The less you move, the better for your wallet. See which ‘unnecessary’ train/flight/bus trips and destinations you could actually miss and you’ll save hundreds of euros.
Just a bit about those souvenirs…
It’s a strange obligation we’ve imposed on ourselves: buying souvenirs for the folks back home. How often does it happen that you find something at the destination that ends up costing you way too much at the airport for something that ends up in your mother’s attic at home? My tip? Make a personal video message for everyone who deserves it while traveling. It’s original, much more fun than an ugly bracelet, shot glass, or thimble (ugh) and costs you nothing.
No water right at the door = twice as cheap
All those villas with private pools at the door are all very nice, but we’re talking about saving money here, remember? If you still want to rent a villa with friends (which can actually be much cheaper than a hotel room), don’t look at houses ON the beach, but close to the beach. And, every morning that ten minutes on the bike or scooter in the sun is actually not a punishment, right?
Pack medicines you don’t think you’ll need
The biggest wins I’ve had during my vacations? At 1: something with a shoe store and at 2: something with a pharmacy. There’s always something of a little inconvenience with yourself or your travel partner and how chill is it if you have a mini version of grandma’s medicine cabinet in your luggage? What to bring? Aspirins, blister plasters, anti-diarrhea pills, nasal spray, vitamins, and throat lozenges. You can thank me later.
