Some tips how to save some money when traveling

[SamuelPocoson]

Hey, so I haven't been traveling for almost a year (and that's a lot for me) and I just couldn't do like that anymore but I didn't have a lot spare money. So what I did, I decided to find different ways how can I save some money and make as low-budget travel as possible. After I did my low budget trip, I decided that it might be useful to share my tips with others. Sorry that I don't want to tell all the details about my trip (like the name of countries and etc.)

 

1. I was flying in to the country and then taking couple of trains there. The thing I've found out before booking flight and train tickets is that if you use a vpn, you can set your computer location like you'd be in a different country. So apparently if you connect to a country's server you're going to and look for tickets as you'd be local you can get different prices. Also, you can feel a pretty big price difference if the country you're going to has a different currency than your home country. F.e. I paid 9 euros for a train instead of paying 30 euros. I personally used nordvpn, but I'm pretty sure that others might work for this too. I can not assure you if it works every single time, but it's still worth trying. You can also try that for airbnb or booking.com, it might work too, though I haven't tried myself.

2. Use couchsurfing or try to find friends of your friends who lives there and could accommodate you for couple of days. Or if none works for you, then there always are hostels in main cities where you can live like 6 people in one room and you sleep in a bunk bed or smth. I know it's not that comfy but if it's all about the money and you still want to travel it will work well.

3. Prepare food at home or even bring some food from your home country that might be more expensive abroad. 

4. Before going make a list of places/museums which are free or even google if there's a certain day of a month or week when all the museums or etc are for free. 

 

I hope it was useful! 
 

[Bangkokazy]

[jastheace]

????

[Naam]

10 hours ago, SamuelPocoson said:

I paid 9 euros for a train instead of paying 30 euros.

fascinating!

[phuketrichard]

Quote

where you can live like 6 people in one room and you sleep in a bunk bed 

how wonderful

[richiejom]

When I first arrived in Thailand in 2012 I used to try saving money on ATM fees by transferring via Paypal to my Thai bank..this process took around 5 days and had very little fees. Transferwise/Fintech wasn't as well known then.  

 

I also like to spend my money instantly and transferring to a Thai bank usually takes at least a day.  Using your Farrang Debit card in 7 Eleven you get a currency exchange charge of £0.50 + 2.99% or ATM fee of £1.50 + 2.99% + ฿220  from the Thai ATM bank.  

 

Then I read about the Transferwise Mastercard and had to get it, even if you transfer cash to a Thai bank having these Fintech cards are useful for emergencies when your Thai bank runs low...  We all have these emergencies and when you've got your Thai wife/GF on your arm you don't think twice about being stung for ATM fees from using your Farrang debit card.

 

I ordered the Transferwise card delivered to my UK address and then forwarded to me here by opening the borderless account here... absolutely no fees on debit card transactions...I use it at 7 Eleven, Grab app, Electricity bill app etc etc

 

I've also got the Monzo card and Revolut card which do the same thing so I have 3 backups

 

[PatOngo]

I worked hard, saved my money and didn't have to travel cheap!

[BritManToo]

2 hours ago, phuketrichard said:

how wonderful

As long as the other 5 are young women, I can live with that.

[Nyezhov]

I have a lot of tips to save money that may help you guys:

 

1. I take my glasses off as much as possible to avoid wearing them out.

2. I had a stent put in and dont want to wear it out. So I take 3x the normal dose of a beta blocker to keep my heart rate down to about 20 bpm. You younger guys can do the same ting with ice, just bring your body temperatue down and you will save wear and tear on your heart.

3. On the rare occasions that I want to be with a young lady, I usually follow a group of Indian guys and offer to contibute 50 baht for the last 2 minutes of a session.

4. I line my pockers with plastic bags and find the cheapest buffet. Thats good for a few days.

5. I shave once a month ( I have been using the same blade for a year) and shower when I wash the dish that I use for everything. Same thing with clothes, wash all at once. Turn undies and socks inside out for extra wear.

6. Coffee can be used more than once as long as you buy the strong roast.

Edited September 6, 2019 by Nyezhov

[sunnyboy2018]

Buy snacks from supermarkets such as fruit and nuts. Get hot food western cheap prepared at 7.11s Travel at night on bus and train to save money on hotel bills.

[oldhippy]

15 hours ago, PatOngo said:

I worked hard, saved my money and didn't have to travel cheap!

Did you enjoy your yearly 1 week holidays?

[roo860]

Buy snacks from supermarkets such as fruit and nuts. Get hot food western cheap prepared at 7.11s Travel at night on bus and train to save money on hotel bills.

[emoji3][emoji3][emoji3] tight <deleted>.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[PatOngo]

4 hours ago, oldhippy said:

Did you enjoy your yearly 1 week holidays?

Normally 4- 5 weeks paid leave! Sometimes a few months between contracts. How about you?

[Skallywag]

On 9/4/2019 at 10:07 PM, SamuelPocoson said:

 

4. Before going make a list of places/museums which are free

Here is an even better tip

 

Just stay home and "visit" at all those places and museums you want to see on Youtube.

 

Virtual reality is the future of travel, and "virtually" free. 

[jastheace]

9 hours ago, Skallywag said:

Here is an even better tip

 

Just stay home and "visit" at all those places and museums you want to see on Youtube.

 

Virtual reality is the future of travel, and "virtually" free. 

i have just tried that. doesn't seem the same though. mind you , it was a 'virtual' trip down soi 6. i'll stick to the real experience thanks

[Chivas]

That Revolut card mentioned is virtually worthless in Thailand these days. Still useful in Euro zone though for full interbank on first £200 withdrawn. Get two cards or more as family and avoid any local ATM charge and its still unbeatable

[SamuelPocoson]

On 9/4/2019 at 8:17 PM, Bangkokazy said:

I just wanted to share my experience. We all know that you can find absolutely everything on google. Though my tips are not really the same as in your picture.

[poohy]

On 9/7/2019 at 2:42 AM, sunnyboy2018 said:

Buy snacks from supermarkets such as fruit and nuts. Get hot food western cheap prepared at 7.11s Travel at night on bus and train to save money on hotel bills.

This way your months travel will seem like a year!

7.11 food, and fruit and nuts your bowels will never forgive your neither will the traveling companions if you have any!

Edited September 12, 2019 by poohy

[treetops]

On 9/9/2019 at 8:16 AM, Chivas said:

That Revolut card mentioned is virtually worthless in Thailand these days. Still useful in Euro zone though for full interbank on first £200 withdrawn. Get two cards or more as family and avoid any local ATM charge and its still unbeatable

The Starling account offers interest on any balance as well as the perks you mention of Revolut which means it beats it in my view.

[Lacessit]

The best method by far, to save money anywhere, is celibacy.

Edited September 14, 2019 by Lacessit

[londonthai]

this report is not country related.

 

as to thailand:

travel off season - prices and availability differ by large margin. 

 

use agoda for a night or two and after arrival look for places, which are not listed anywhere on the web.

 

use bike/motorbike to save on taxi

 

stay close to supermarket, they have special offers for food, sometimes at 10% of the regular price - fridge in hotel would be nice, if not - an ice container will do. That includes a box of beer

 

travel water filter, good one for $20 will pay for itself in 10 days of use and be use useful for tens of years.

 

travel light, on local budget airlines price for a hold luggage might be more expensive than ticket itself