With its wide variety of cuisines, immaculate beaches, ancient temples, and well known affordability, Southeast Asia remains to be one of the most alluring destinations for travellers all over the world. However, often times, the main deterrence for most is the lengthy and expensive flights to get there! Here are our tips for Budget Travel.
We get travel isn’t always feasible and it can often times seem daunting especially when you are choosing a destination halfway around the world! Below we have mapped out our top 7 tips for budgeting your travel in Southeast Asia. We hope these tips can help offset those expensive flight tickets and allow your dream trip to come to fruition!
Tips for Budget Travel – 1
Eat Street Food
Now…we all have that relative, or friend who warns you to ‘stay away from the street food,’ and that’s nice… but have they ever even tried it? Honestly, street food is probably the number one way to save money on the road. Sure, nice, trendy restaurants are alluring and definitely worth a splurge every once in a while, however after spending 5 months in Asia, we can assure you that the street food is often times just as good and half the price! For roughly $1-$2 for a full plate of authentic cuisine, you can definitely enjoy your fair share of food without breaking the bank.
Our top tip when eating street food is to go with your gut. Not everything on the menu may look appealing, and we definitely wouldn’t recommend dining in a spot that felt ‘fishy.’ Generally, if you see that it is crowded then most likely you can give it a green light and give it a go! Some countries like Vietnam even offer street food tours! Entire days dedicated to taking tourists out to all the best local street food vendors!
Overall, you really can save quite a bit of money by dining on the street. Street food is a great alternative and way to try delicious authentic dishes!
Tips for Budget Travel – 2
Use Ride Share Apps
Transportation from point A to point B within a country can add up. Notably, even the taxis can add a surcharge.
One pro tips for budget travel anyone traveling throughout Southeast Asia is to download the local ride share apps. Although Uber is no longer an option here, other apps such as Grab, or Go-Jek are taking over nearly all of the major cities in Asia. With their easy to use interface, these apps will drop you off, or pick you up at any desired location! Often times, fares on these apps are even cheaper than taking a metered taxi, so be sure to look into doing your research before you hail a cab!
Tips for taking a cab: If you have no other option make sure you follow these steps when taking a cab. Prior to leaving, make sure you either establish the rate of the ride before you leave, or ask for a meter. NEVER have a cab tell you they will give you the price once at the destination. Another little tip we have is to carry only small bills on you (hide the rest)! This is because if they do try to rip you off, the least you can do is show them your wallet and they will see that there isn’t much left!
Tips for Budget Travel – 3
Buy a Local SIM Card
One major expense when traveling overseas is your phone bill. Either you have worked out an international plan ahead of time, or you don’t! For us, we actually just either rely on WiFi (which is very accessible all throughout Southeast Asia), or we but local SIM cards upon arrival. Most airports will sell tourists 30 day SIM cards. Prices generally range between $15-$10 a month. This will allow you to have data, calls and texts whilst on the road and is a huge money saver! Many times people do not know about this and they totally get taken advantage of by their phone companies back home! Don’t fall victim, this is one of our top tips for budget travel! There are so many alternatives and ways to have your phone working for you overseas.
Tips for Budget Travel – 4
Book Flights through Skyscanner
One of our favourite ways to find cheap flights is through an app called Skyscanner. Similar to Google Flights, Skyscanner essentially scans all the options for you flight details and will find you the cheapest ones around. Unlike Google Flights, Skyscanner also scans for flights through local cheaper airlines that often times are missed in a google flight search. Once you have the app downloaded all you do is enter the city of departure and the desired destination along with the dates and it will spit out a wide variety of options! This is one of the best ways to save money on those flights!
Tips for Budget Travel – 5
Travel During the Off Season
Every destination has both a ‘high’ and ‘low’ season. It is no secret that if you choose to travel during the low season you will be granted access to savings all around, especially when it comes to accommodation. Prior to leaving, try to do some research on when the low season hits. We have done comparisons before that showed one hotel room was half the price in October, versus its price in June! Always double check because you never know when you could save loads more on the road!
Tips for Budget Travel – 6
Longer Travel Saves Money
Believe it or not, booking accommodation for a week will often times garner you extreme savings. Since we are slow travellers, we have worked out deals with many hotels to lower the price for staying upwards of 5 nights at a time. Since most travellers are in and out quickly, hotel owners will sometimes provide you some savings if you stay for a longer duration. When in doubt, always ask you never know if you don’t try!
We hope that you found out tips for budget travel helpful and interesting. For more guides and tips click the link below.
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