[PrideRed]

The biggest saver over anything else to me is time of travel. Off late I always book odd days. Like start on Thursday and return on Monday. If booking hotels avoid long weekends, try to include as much weekdays as possible. I know it may not be possible for everyone, but one should atleast should avoid long weekends.

Advantages:
1. Less traffic, better fuel efficiency and more enjoyable. Of course you save a tonne of time. Recently I returned from hometown on Monday, which took me just 4:30 minutes, same would take 6-7 hours if traveled over Sunday. I did not have to stop for lunch/dinner and was home relaxing by 6PM.
2. Most hotels offer superb discount when booked on weekday. I see anywhere upto 30-40% discount. Plus less crowd=better service. You can easily get 4/5 star hotel for the price of 3 star if you avoid long weekends.

In addition to time of travel, invest enough time on web researching before travelling. Plan for where to eat, what to see. Some of them are hyped and you end up getting disappointed despite spending a lot.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by purohitanuj

Also see zostel.

Quite a few hostel options coming up around the country. Some of them are not great and some are ok. Zostel is certainly the best of the lot. During our year off, my wife and I stayed at several Zostels along the way and it was a great experience every time.

One thing to remember about hostels is that they aren't really suited for families. Not that they're unsafe or that they're noisy party places or anything like that, but most families when they travel, especially with children and elderly people, expect a hotel-type level of service and facilities which is really not what these hostels are meant for. They're ideal for a solo traveller or a small group of travellers who don't mind doing things for themselves and want to explore the place on their own rather than feel the need for room service and guided tours.

[Viraj_Guru]

@smartcat. Good discussion. I feel a holiday is always about what we are expecting out of it. I prefer not to go on holidays/weekends and so obvious places.

Originally Posted by smartcat

DRIVE TO THE DESTINATION
Disadvantages:
- Accident risk.

Accident risk also there even if we hire a car or choose to fly, if you didn't mean only to our own car as limited as an asset.

STAY IN LOW COST RESORTS OR HOMESTAYS OR AIRBNB
1) Expensive resort stay is just a short term "experience", not something you bring home. It is not something you get to keep. In comparison, buying an iPhone 8 or an expensive car makes total sense to me. Because it is something you can touch and feel. It is something that you will use every single day.

2) We usually leave the resort after breakfast and come back to the resort after dinner. What we basically look for is clean accommodation. Paying lot of cash for resort stay does not seem like value for money for our type of holidaying.

It depends on the resorts we choose, we once went to this resort and booked maharaja suit, It's on the hill top and getting overview of dam, lot of activities like indoor, outdoor adventure, nice swimming pool & tasty unlimited food. So I think we took very nice memory home and felt the money (11k) well spent & we went there after 2 years again for a day. Just sharing different perspectives.

[saket77]

Great thread.

I am a travel freak and intend to be at it for as much time in future as I can. While on a trip, I tend to avoid booking swanky resorts and hotels, if I don't get a good deal. I try to cap the expenses of staying at max 3K per night.

My tips:
1. I try to drive to the destination. Though, I am not sure if everytime it comes out cheaper because we put up at a decent hotel for the night as I avoid driving all through the night when with family. That does add to the travel cost. But then driving is immense fun and when you cover the distance by land, you get to see the changes in culture, surroundings, may be even flora & fauna; all of which you lose if traveling by air. It adds to the fun greatly and also helps you understand the place better. Kind of sink-in the feeling.

2. I look up first at hotel booking websites online before traveling. If I get a good deal, I prefer to book it. It helps a lot in planning your finances because you know the accommodation cost before hand and it being among the biggest outgo, certainly helps planning.

3. We try to go by the local food. Just try that. It's no fun having a continental breakfast when you're in say, Thailand. Rather, enjoy the local cuisines with enriches your experience of travel. Go for Ema Datshi when in Bhutan, rather than gobbling sandwiches. Enriches your travel experience and easier on the wallet at the same time compared to the buffet in your resort or that expensive restaurant.

4. Avoid shopping! Just avoid shopping at tourist spots. Most stuff are useless, expensive and hardly a worthy souvenir. Not all, but most of the times it is. Plus, that shopping adds to the luggage to be carried along. Though, if you come across something really unique, it might be worth it.

5. Avoid touts like plague. Touts are there for everything, be it a hotel room, vehicle for local sight seeing, or for even eateries! For eg. if my memory serves me right, I paid 11-12K to the taxi driver for 4 days during our Bhutan travel a few years back which was booked through the hotel I stayed at. Later, speaking to the driver casually revealed that he had received only 8K. So, I could have saved a good 3-4K had I preferred getting out of my room rather making the phone call to the reception.

6. Top up fuel in states where you find it to be cheaper. I don't know by what degree it applies to your trip depending on the places you would come across, but traveling in this region means you top up fuel in JH rather than Bihar or WB. The difference has now though narrowed quite a bit but until a couple of years back, there was a cool difference of Rs. 7-8 per liter of petrol in JH as compared to WB. Every drop counts, isn't it?

7. Try to visit in off-season. Yes, I mean it. To me a chilly place is even more enjoyable in winters. Not sure about hotter places like Rajasthan though. But you can always plan a trip in a low-rush season. That way you avoid a lot of touristy crowd and you bag great deals on good hotels. On my last trip to Sikkim, I got a great deal on a hotel with original cost being Rs. 4.5- 5K per night to about 2K per night in peak December!!


These are some of my tips that I follow while traveling. Trust this helps some.

Regards,
Saket.

[AdiSolEn]

This is a great thread. However, the most common ways of saving on holidays has been repeated a lot, namely:
1. travel during the off-season.
2. Do all bookings for flights and hotels and also for tourist attractions by yourself (and by yourself means online, without using any agent/intermediary).
3. Plan in advance, search extensively for experiences of other people for the destinations you are planning to visit. You will most likely find a plethora of information regarding good hotels, great places for food which are cheap as well etc.
4. If you have the option of a travel card, use it extensively for collecting points and convert them to air-miles or hotel points.
5. Another great way of finding good and reasonably priced food is to ask the locals. They will always point you to the best food joints that the locals prefer!
6. When planning the trip, always start your planning with 3-4 permutations of your itinerary with the expected budget for each combination. You will most definitely find a good itinerary emerge from this exercise.
7. Spend on experiences that you have always dreamt of, and save on unnecessary things like shopping,travel agent fees etc.

Well, this list can go on and on, but just to give you an example, when you plan for off-seasons, you can always think out of the box. We traveled as a family (3 adults) to Dubai in the first week of June 2017, in the month of Ramadan! Any sane person will advise you to not travel to the middle east during Ramadan, as almost nothing is open. But a little research revealed that you get the best deals and discounts during Ramadan. Also, if you limit your trip to Dubai, you have no problem since everything is open in Dubai for tourists (except mosques and other religious places) in Ramadan as well. Only dance and performances of any kind are not allowed, and if you are not into these things then it doesn't matter at all.

Long story short, we managed the entire round trip inclusive of tickets, 4 star hotel for 4 nights(2 rooms), visa, food, all entry fees, all local travel etc in 45,000 per person for a trip of 4 nights and 5 days (Pune-Dubai-Pune) even when we did bookings on a very short notice (only 20 days in advance). Plus there is the added advantage of no crowds (we reached the top of Burj in 5 minutes flat and also were served amazing chocolate dates at iftaar time)!

Similarly, for travel within India, always book in advance and always talk to the people at the hotel directly before booking from a website. 8 times out of 10 the hotel will give you a better offer than any website! Hope this helps

[Samba]

Great topic-

If i plan to go for a trip without my car, i do the following-

I book the flight tickets as early as possible. From checking with the online sites to calling up different airlines, i do all and pick up the best rate.

I generally try to buy the tickets on the date the fares are less, rather than fixing a date before hand. I know its not feasible for every one.

For hotels, first i visit TripAdvisor. Then i short list the hotels with great reviews which falls in my budget.
Next i try to search the rates for those hotels via online sites like Makemytrip, GoIbibo etc etc. Plus i mail the hotels directly for the best rate too and try to negotiate via mail.

For example last February i did a trip to Goa. Booked the flight tickets 10 months in advance from IRCTC. I got the return tickets for me & my wife for around 16k.
Booked Resort Terra Paraiso around 6 months in advance through Makemytrip. Got the room at 4k per night which costs around 6k per night.
By planning early, i managed to save around 15k including hotel and flight.

I have seen, the most tricky part is to book hotels in forests with jungle Safari. Most of the resorts try to fool the customers by giving insane rates as a package. They fool us mostly on charging the safari vehicle and obtaining the forest permits. For places like Ranthambore, Corbett, Tadoba, its best to go via personal contacts, where you wont be cheated.

When i plan a road trip -

I generally do not bother much. I prefer visiting places in off-season and avoid week ends. I call up few hotels few days in prior and do a pencil booking and start the trip. On the go, i keep checking MakeMytrip or other online portals for best offers. I reach the hotel and try to negotiate. If any online portal gives me a better rate, i instantly book it, standing at the hotel itself.

During our recent Spiti trip, i did the same at Hotel Costa river Varanashi in our return leg. The rack rate was around Rs5,000 and we got it for Rs 2,500.

In off season in our Bhutan Trip, i bargained right at the hotel reception and was able to reduce the rate by Rs 2,000 in an average.

Actually a road trip saves more money rather than taking a trip by flight and hiring cabs.

Let me give an example-

Last month my parents did a 7 days trip to Darjeeling and Gangtok. The trip was planned just a week prior to their journey date. Planning early could have saved more. They took a flight to & fro. Hired an Innova for their entire travel and sightseeing. The cost for the flight plus Innova came around Rs40,000.
The same trip with our own car costs less than Rs10,000 in fuel. So a net savings of around Rs30,000!

My motto is travel less but travel like a king. While in a trip, i will prefer cosy rooms with plush washrooms. So now a days getting these types of rooms cost a minimum of Rs 4,000 and above. Here most of the time the online sites save me by giving some great deals.

My key for savings are -
Plan early
Bargain
Prefer a road trip
Wait for the good offers and book online.
Prefer off-season & avoid weekends.

[GeeTee TSI]

A few points which worked for my wife and I during our road trips

• Starting early with packed breakfast (and fruits) with in-car catering - saves time and cost
• Shoping online for hotel deals - makemytrip, paytm, Mobikwik have all thrown up interesting deals for us. At times booking through the hotel chains' app could also quote good rates (can always unsubscribe from the app)
• Avoiding the hotel's restaurant if we are in an expensive hotel on a discounted fare- we resist the urge for room service and have at times sneaked in outside food too

Flight bookings -

• Tracking deals and flash sales of all major airlines - cross check rates through airline app as well. Even if it means blocking your funds in advance, as well as selecting a destination around the deal (which makes sense, of course)

Trip planning -

• Independent planning and bookings offer more with prices in check - We have planned overseas trips complete with Eurorail bookings and entry tickets to important attractions all by ourselves and never felt the need for a package deal.

Lastly, water - being quite expensive (especially abroad) for a high consumption item, we always carry bottles and fill up at water fountains. For local car trips too we prefer to cart along a can filled from home, just saves incidental expenses over the long run

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by bsdbsd

2. Have a club membership (like Club Mahindra)
.

I hate to be poncy but being a member of Bangalore Club gives me club affiliations in different places at throwaway prices

Imagine a 2000 sq ft suite in Bombay Yacht Club for Rs 3000 per nightt next to the Taj Hotel

A compact 3 star equivalent room in Secunderabad for Rs 1800 per night

However, these places will not be tourist oriented - to get info on what is happening in town, you need to ask elsewhere. Main attraction of these places are the convenient locations.

Originally Posted by saket77

3. We try to go by the local food. Just try that. It's no fun having a continental breakfast when you're in say, Thailand.

4. Avoid shopping!. Though, if you come across something really unique, it might be worth it.

5. Avoid touts like plague.

7. Try to visit in off-season. Yes, I mean it. To me a chilly place is even more enjoyable in winters.


.

Agree with the food part, usually breakfasts are thrown in so one does not throw away free money. In Singapore, I was staying in a posh hotel off Orchard Road. I used to get up for an early morning walk, hit a small hawker stall for konjee or similar and be back in my room to get ready for the day. Was more fulfilling than gorging at the buffet (I must admit I love breakfast buffets!)

Shopping - One good appealing artefact is worth more than the many stupid nicknacks. Also most of the stuff is available away from the tourist spots. Due to limited time during a recent trip to Prague, I bought my wife, a Czech crystal near Wencelas Square, only to find the same thing cheaper at the airport duty free.

Touts - Avoid - you will always find a tour. In Krabi, the taxi driver was hustling us, we said no. You can always spend your arrival day in such small places walking around and bargaining direct. Thailand, they tend to keep the rate as fixed and pay commission if required. You need a local to do the bargaining. I discovered in Sri Lanka when our colleagues bargained for the water sport activities in Hambatotta, they got 20% off that is normally given to touts. In Colombo, I was in a store which we asked to visit and I noticed our drivers name written down near the chashier desk. All get their cut.

Wrong Season - As I learnt from Spiti Valley, there is nothing called wrong weather, it is wrong clothing, of course - some activities like ballooning, swimming in the sea, cave diving in the monsoons, might limit activities. Set your expectations accordingly.

Originally Posted by AdiSolEn

2. Do all bookings for flights and hotels and also for tourist attractions by yourself (and by yourself means online, without using any agent/intermediary).

This is easier said than done. It is easy when going to a single location but if you are travelling to multi-locations in a new country, an agent helps. They also know good hotels as they depend on reat business and referrals. I am willing to pay a little bit more in those circumstances.

[9thsphinx]

Some tips on here are

However, for us a holiday has always been about the destination, the memories, the company, the experience.

We almost always exceeded our initial budgets when planning holidays (which are far and few between) but past experiences says, if you're paying top dollars, the treatment and services you get at expensive places are totally worth it!

In the end, our agenda for a holiday is that it should end with we being relaxed, refreshed, rejuvenated. Not saying going frugal won't give you that, but having a more relaxed budget definitely helps improve the overall feel good factor. You know, money well spent

[PetrolRider]

For us, holidays are generally a breakaway from our daily chores. We normally plan something that would give me, my wife and my son some break and relaxation. We don’t do Airbnb kind of holiday as my wife won’t get her part of holiday. Our holiday also includes relaxation (good hotel) and good food.

As most members do, we too stick to relatively off season. I normally make a budget for the holiday and plan accordingly.

Stay:
A 3-star business hotel gives you 70% of 5 start hotel service with 40% price. Even in popular holiday destinations, comparative business hotel can be VFM than a family resort. Sometimes sticking to a chain hotel also prevents surprises. A 3-week advance booking can do wonder on your hotel cost. I normally have loyalty card for most of the popular chains, which helps me in some cost advantages.

Food:

Food at the hotel is a very costly affair, we avoid it most. We try to get a room with breakfast deal and other meals are normally on the fly. Standard business hotels have coffee machines with supplies and we normally carry some cookies. This helps in emergency situations.

Transport:

If we can drive, we drive. If the distance is too far, then we prefer flights; time is money. Normally, too far holidays are planned much in advance and I normally use Google flight price tracker on preferred flights. This helps me to get the ticket price in check. We stick to flights that will help us avoid food in flight or on airport.

Once, plans are done, we just enjoy our vacation. After all vacations are made to relax and enjoy.

[silverado]

Avoid staying in popular places.

If you have a car, you can stay at a not so popular place in decent hotel at lower rates.Just be prepared to travel little more.
If its train travel, try travelling in train overnight, saves you on hoteling expense.

Shop only what's necessary. Over years I have realized we tend to shop real unnecessary items on holiday and they are eventually dumped somewhere on house.

[motorguy]

There has to be a balance between frugality and the cost of accommodation. For example, a couple of years back I had gone to a resort in Masinagudi (in the Bandipur jungle) where I got a good deal on a Tree House accommodation in the forest - you had to leave your car at the resort and they would drop you at the Tree House a half kilometer away.

The first fright I had when coming back in the night after dinner was there was a tusker lurking around the tree house. So the jeep could not drop us till about 11PM in the night till the elephant wandered away.

The second fright was after coming back, the entire tree house was filled with insects as we did not switch off the light when going to dinner. Called the resort and after waiting for 1 hour for them, they fumigated the entire tree house at about 12 midnight but they could not get rid of all the insects - had to sit on the balcony of the tree house till 1AM in the dark till the insects had gone.

The worst fright was because of the cheap construction of the tree house (and possibly the effect of fumigation), a small snake (a non poisonous keel-back) dropped on the bed from the roof and I screamed when I accidentally touched it - my wife thought I was dreaming but when we put on the light, the snake slithered away into a crevice.

We could not sleep after that - lolled uncomfortably till 6AM. Finally in the morning went and complained. The owners were decent - they did not charge us accommodation and only asked us to pay for the food which was fair.

Obviously, if we had stayed at a better place (maybe more expensive, but better constructed), we wouldn't have had this terrible experience.

Left that day itself and booked accommodation in Mysore at at 4 star hotel which calmed us down.

[strawhat]

Prior to any holiday the tactic that has saved me each time is, research. To date I never depended on agents nor did I take the easy way out and booked fixed packages. This has always worked in my favour and I could save as much as 1/3rd of an organised package fare. True not just with domestic holidays, even internationally.

I love to spend time on the internet exploring about my travel destination. To me this is as much a part of fun and excitement as the holiday anticipation itself. I begin by comparing the modes of travel (to/from destination and within), then stays, places to see and food. I become so dedicated to (read: obsessed with) this task, I even push my office work on one side. Hope my boss doesn't read this.

Some pointers:
* Flight Travel: search kayak.co.in/skyscanner.co.in. They gather flight prices from several websites like makemytrip, cleartrip, goibibo, yatra etc. giving me the best deals. I would still go and compare on each website (there may be anniversary/bank offers) but this makes my life a lot easy.
* Accommodations: Airbnb is the first place I look out. Some of the most value for money stays (including free breakfast) are found here. If traveling out of country I even try to couch surf. With family I don't prefer hostels though.
* Food: I look for local delicacies. I carry a can of peanut butter and protein bars. I also buy local produce from market whenever possible during longer vacations. This is an experience in itself. This also knocks some bucks off my food spends.
* Sights: If public transportation is available to these places, I don't give a second thought. City cards/transport passes are real savers too (admission fees are included). Also do check if there are train/airplane passes (for international travellers).

After all this, I manage to strike a balance between luxury and affordability. Its so satisfying and gives me a feeling of pride and achievement when I finally draw the trip itinerary.

[jassi_jeeper]

The two things we do are
1. Staying slightly outside the main city. Example when we go to Simla ( which we often do being from Chandigarh ), we stop 5 K.M. short.
2. Carry an electric kettle and a sandwich griller. Its also a fun activity me making early morning tea n sandwiches while on a break. The downside is that my little enjoys it so much that she makes me do the same for days even when we are back home.

[VivOverland]

The best way to be frugal on a trip, in one word?

Camping.