Like many things in life, the more you travel, the better you get at it, and the more money you can save. I must admit for my first big trip overseas we used a travel agent, stayed at expensive hotels, and the bill of course was enormous.
Today thanks to the 'Digital Revolution' we can book everything online and use the various websites and APP's to save money from everything from accomodation, flights, and transport. Honestly, it really isn't hard, and you can save a lot of money.
Forget the travel agent
On the second big trip to the United States we worked out that we could save three to four thousand by making the bookings ourselves online, and leaving the travel agent entirely out of it.
Generally, what I find easier is to use a spreadsheet document like EXCEL or Numbers for planning the trip, and getting the whole thing costed. It's good to have some type of plan to begin with, even if you completely throw it away like on our last two overseas trips. That's the benefit of the Digital Revolution - you can usually book things at the last minute, and make it up as you go along.
Forget the big expensive hotels, stay at 'Bed and Breakfasts'
Returning back to the UK and Ireland we saved even more money by staying at 'Bed and Breakfasts' (BnB's).
I'm a big fan of Airbnb (www.airbnb.com), and we used it to book nearly all the accommodation for the Spain and Czech Republic trips.
Consider renting a car, especially in the United States
Regular readers know that we rented a car for the UK trip and took the car over to Ireland on the ferry from Wales. Sometimes it's cheaper and easier to just drive, even in Europe. By the end of the six week trip to the United States we were driving everywhere - it's really not that hard to drive on the other side of the road. The fuel price in America is much lower than Australia or Europe, so I think it's cheaper to drive, especially if you are there on a long trip.
I do reccomend a GPS unit to make navigation easier, particularly regarding which lane to get into on the big freeways (motorways).
Food and drink: eat where the locals eat
The number one rule is never eat at a restaurant that has those plastic menus with pictures of the food on them that are abundant in tourist hot spots. You want to find a restaurant or cafe, where the locals go. Here, you will be at an advantage if you stay at an Airbnb place where usually your host will have a list of places where they like to eat.
I also like going to the supermarket or market stalls to buy food, because I'm fascinated how the locals actually live.
In conclusion the internet, portable computers and smart phones make travel so much easier: from booking accomodation, transport or researching things to do or just finding your way around with Google Maps or a SATNAV.
So, try doing everything yourself by ditching the travel agent, and save a lot of money in your travels. Check out some of the websites on the right hand side of the page that make travel easier.
