Category Archives: Travel Tips

14 Major Travel Scams to Avoid

A black and white photo of the 3 card monte scam travel
Updated: 12/28/2018 | December 28th, 2018

Travel scams are real.

When I started traveling, I fell for them too.

On my first big non-tour trip, I got scammed twice on the same day.

My friend Scott and I had just arrived in Thailand. We were in Bangkok trying to find a boat cruise to take us up and down the Chao Phraya River. A taxi driver suggested this one company; we went there, and found out that an hour-long tour was only $30 USD. Not even thinking about whether that was a deal or not, we agreed. To us — still thinking about prices back home — that offer seemed like a fair price. It was only as the boat tour ended early that we realized we might have been ripped off (later on, we found out that we paid double the price).

Then, after lunch, we wandered over to the Grand Palace. When we got there, we didn’t see any crowds. We looked down the left side of the palace, then over to the right. “Where is everyone?” I asked. An enterprising tuk-tuk driver came over to us and told us the palace was closed for lunch. Scott and I looked at each other. Maybe that was right. After all, many museums sometimes do that, plus we didn’t see anyone around. It seemed feasible. He offered to take us to a few that were open.

“Sure,” we replied — and found ourselves visiting not only a few temples but also a suit shop, a gem shop, and a souvenir shop.

Afterwards, as he took us to the palace (which was unsurprisingly open). It was then we realized that it had never been closed — we had just been on the wrong side of the building.

We had been scammed.

My life as a traveler was not off to a good start.

So, today, I want to give you a list of travel scams to avoid.

Avoiding travel scams requires a lot of common sense and a healthy dose of suspicion. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is!

(Additionally, if you are carrying a travel guidebook, they usually list the most common scams in that country.) Here are some of the more universal ones to avoid:

1. The taxi overcharge

This is one of the most common travel scams out there. Either the driver will tell you the meter is broken and try to charge you a huge rate or you’ll see the meter go higher and faster than Superman!

To avoid this scam, first you need to know how much a ride should cost. I always ask the hostel or hotel staff what a ride should be so I have a frame of reference. Next, if the cabbie tries to negotiate the rate with me, I offer him the correct rate. If he refuses, I find someone who will put the meter on. If the meter seems to be going up too quickly, I have them pull over and I get out. Many tourism boards let you report bad cab drivers, so be sure to always make a mental note of their ID number when you get in the cab.

And never get in an unlicensed cab — no matter how amazing the deal is!

2. Your accommodation is “closed”

Another cab driver scam: your driver will try to tell you your hotel or hostel is overbooked or even closed. It’s not. I mean, you wouldn’t have booked it if it was, right? Just ignore them and insist on going there. If they keep trying, continue to insist. They will usually shut up about it.

And while this seems like a scam no one could possibly fall for, people do. I’ve been in many cabs where they insist my hostel has been closed for months.

A note on taxis: In this smartphone era, we have our power back. We’re no longer helpless, because we can look on a map and see the actual correct route. I like to look on Google Maps and see what the best route is. If it looks like they aren’t taking it, I’ll usually point to the map and insist they go that way. (I left a taxicab in Bangkok recently because he tried to pull a fast one on me by taking a longer route.) If I’m going to a country where I won’t have phone access, I preload the map onto my phone. Your phone’s GPS will work even if you don’t have a connection. Additionally, ride services like Uber place accountability on drivers, which greatly reduces the likelihood of you being cheated.

3. The shell game

I see this one all the time — how people fall for it I’ll never know. It’s such an old and obvious scam. It’s in movies, for heaven’s sake! You’ll see people on the street playing a card game (sometimes known as three-card Monte) or hiding a ball in a cup and someone guessing where it is and winning money. Then you decide to play — and you win! Thinking this is great, you bet more money… and then you lose — and lose again and again.

Don’t get suckered into this con. Remember, the house always wins!

4. “Come in for tea and help me write a letter!”

While in Morocco, someone tried this travel scame on me. I was walking out of a convenience store when a guy struck up a conversation. Finding I was from NYC, he said he had a cousin who lived there (the first giveaway) and wanted to know if I could come to his shop to write a postcard for him (the second giveaway). The goal here was to get me in the shop, maybe give me some tea, and then pressure me into buying something. This uses the psychological principle of reciprocity: he gave me tea, he was nice to me, so soon I’ll feel socially obliged to buy something.

To avoid this, don’t follow people to a second location or believe they suddenly have a cousin who happens to live exactly where you do!

5. Free bracelets/rosemary/anything they can put on you

In this scam, common in Europe, a friendly person will approach you for a quick chat, then place a bracelet around your wrist or hat on your head, or give you a little sprig of rosemary. Once you have it on your person, they will demand money. When you refuse, they will begin to cause a scene in the hopes you would rather give them some money than be embarrassed.

Don’t allow anyone to put anything on your body, and be extremely wary of accepting anything for free. If they put something on you, simply take it off, give it back to them, and be firm about it. Then walk away and move on with your day. They won’t chase you.

6. The spill on your clothes

There you are, minding your own business, and someone spills something on you. Ruins your day, but accidents happen, right? They are profusely sorry and offer to clean it up, dabbing the stain, and apologizing. While you are all flustered, they are picking your pocket. By the time you realize what has happened, they are long gone.

This scam is also common in Europe. Beware of people encroaching on your person if it’s not a crowded area already. If this happens, push people away and clean it up yourself.

7. Motorbike scam

You rent a bike, and then when you bring it back, the owner demands additional payment or expensive repairs because there is some damage you didn’t know about. I see this scam a lot in Southeast Asia and other developing regions of the world.

To avoid this, take photos of the bike first to document any previous damage. Go around it with the owner so they know what you are taking pictures of. Use your own lock, and keep the bike out of sight and off a main street when you park it. Sometimes an owner will send someone to mess with the bike or steal it so you have to pay! Also, always make sure you buy travel insurance so you can make a claim if there is an issue.

8. The flirtatious woman

You arrive in a new country and head to a bar, where a beautiful local comes up to you for a chat. You can’t believe your luck. You have some drinks and amazing conversation and go to a new bar or club that she suggested. However, after a wild night and lots of drinks, the woman disappears and you’re forced to pay an overpriced bill with some really big guys bearing down on you to make sure you do. Or, worse, you get drugged and wake up completely robbed of everything on you.

The simple solution to this is to be wary of attractive women who promise to take you to the world’s best club, get you drinks, or are overly flirtatious, especially when you stand out like a sore thumb as a foreigner. Getting on a plane didn’t increase your attractiveness by a factor of 10.

Note: Why didn’t I mention a similar scam for women? Because let’s be real, we men are dumb and usually thinking with our little brain. Women are too smart to fall for this.

9. Your attraction is closed for lunch

As mentioned, this is what happened to me and I fell for it hook, line, and sinker! A friendly local approaches and informs you that the attraction you want to visit is closed for any number of reasons (religious ceremony, holiday, etc.). Then they’ll guide you to a different attraction or shop, where you’re pressured to purchase something or pay a lot for entry.

To avoid this, find the main entrance or ticket counter and see for yourself. Also, keep in mind that most attractions don’t close for lunch — they close for the day. Even better, look up the open hours before you go, so you know what to expect — opening and closing times are almost always available online. Don’t be like me!

10. The “found” ring

An innocent-looking person picks up a ring on the ground and asks if you dropped it. When you say no, the person looks at the ring closely, then shows you a mark “proving” that it’s pure gold. He or she offers to sell it to you for a better price. They make some money, and you get some gold you can resell. It’s win-win! You think it’s a good deal, buy it find out it’s fake when you try to sell it at home!

This is common in Europe. One of my tour members almost fell for it when we were in Paris, but I intervened in time and sent the person away. The best way to avoid this scam is to not buy the ring. If it sounds too good to be true, it definitely is.

11. The fake petition

You’re at a popular sight and a woman or kid (often pretending to be deaf or a student) will try to get you to sign a petition. You don’t know what they are saying, and to end the awkwardness, you sign the petition, hoping they will go away. But the petitioner then demands a cash donation. At best, anyone who falls for this scam is out some money; at worst, they’re pickpocketed while fighting with the petitioner.

Another one of my tour members fell for this scam (even after I warned him specifically about it), but I saved him in time. To avoid this scam, just ignore people coming up to you to sign a petition, especially when they are in groups and try to surround you. Just keep on walking.

12. The drug deal gone bad

This scam is common in many developing countries. You’re in a popular tourist area (usually a party place) and someone offers you drugs. You say yes, and before you know it, a (real) cop is on the scene! They offer to arrest you or you can pay the fine right there (i.e., a bribe). Caught red-handed, you’ll probably pay the bribe rather than go to jail.

Simply put: Don’t buy drugs in other countries!

13. The wrong change

This happens a lot in countries where the bills look similar to each other. People tend to look at colors first, so when you get a pile of change that is the same color, you think you got the right change — but they really gave you the wrong bills, hoping you won’t notice until after you rush out.

To avoid getting taken, count your change carefully every time.

14. The switcheroo

This happens all over the world and mostly with shirts, carpets, rugs, and antiques. You’re at a store and you see a designer item at a bargain price. Maybe they got it wholesale? After some haggling, the owner agrees to sell it you. But while you aren’t paying attention, he gives you a knockoff.

To avoid this scam, first remember that no designer anything is going to be that cheap. Remember, if it seems too good to be true, it’s not true. Second, be sure to always watch what the seller is actually giving you to be sure it’s the exact item you wanted.

***

To avoid getting scammed when you travel, be wary when it comes to people offering you something in a touristy setting. Think of it this way: in your day-to-day life back home, would you go for it? If the answer is no, then chances are 99% that it’s a scam you need to avoid.

On the road, a little common sense goes a long way.

What travel scams have you encountered or fell for that aren’t included here? Comment below!

STAY PROTECTED ON THE ROAD!
Worried about getting something lost, stolen, or falling for a scam? Make sure you get travel insurance coverage so that if something does happen, you can be made whole again and recover your losses! I never leave home with it!

 

Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight
Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation
You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the largest inventory. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance
Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

Looking for the best companies to save money with?
Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and that will save you time and money too!

The post 14 Major Travel Scams to Avoid appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

How to Become a House Sitter and Never Pay for Accommodation

bright blue villa
Updated: 12/24/2018 | December 24th, 2018

A lot of readers were interested in learning more about house-sitting (watching people’s houses while they’re away in exchange for free accommodation). I’ve never done it, but Dalene and Pete from Hecktic Travels do it all the time, so I brought them in to talk more about the subject. Enjoy!

As I write this, I’m sitting in a comfortable leather recliner in front of three large bay windows. In my view are tall pines covered in healthy green moss, as well as shimmering water from a nearby lake. An old, chubby gray cat — the king of this log cabin — warms my feet.

This is my home for three months, and my husband and I are living here for free. We pay no rent or utilities, and we have a vehicle at our disposal.

We are house-sitting.

We travel around the world taking care of pets and homes while their owners are off on their own travels. Not only does it keep our costs extremely low but it also gives us an intimate experience in a new locale and complete immersion in the neighborhood.

The majority of our last three years traveling have been spent house-sitting, saving us well over $30,000 in accommodation costs and affording us an incredible set of travel experiences we might never had enjoyed otherwise.

But this way of travel isn’t just for long-term nomads like us; opportunities are available for all types of travelers. House-sitting jobs range from weekends to years in length; our shortest house-sit was nine days and our longest was six months.

Why Become a House Sitter

A beautiful manor in Scotland for house sitting
The benefits don’t stop at the savings on accommodations! The worldwide house-sitting community is full of like-minded travelers and adorable pets. We’ve made lifelong friends with eight dogs, nine cats, four chickens, and sixteen humans (homeowners). It is by far our preferred method of traveling for many reasons:

We can travel at a slow pace. Spending only a few days in every city on the prescribed tourist trail may seem like a great way to see the world, but taking on a house-sitting job will give you an entirely different experience and allow you to catch your breath while on the road. Try actually unpacking for once, making your own coffee in the morning just the way you like it, and cuddling up with pets at the end of the day. It’s like being at home, while away.

More savings! Not only will you save big bucks by slashing your accommodation expenses but you will also cut your food budget by cooking for yourself. Start your day with breakfast and lunch at home and pocket those savings or splurge on a big dinner! (Just make sure to schedule your outings around the pet’s schedule.)

Plus, if you’re considering a move, finding a house-sitting opportunity in your desired location will help you really get a feel for what it might be like to live there.

How to Become a House Sitter

Dalene with three of the four dogs in rural Turkey doing a house sit

If you’ve never been house-sitting before, the best place to start is with your own connections. Query family, friends, and colleagues about opportunities. Chances are good that someone in your network will be away from home soon. House-sit for them to learn the ropes. With at least one good house-sitting reference under your belt, you’ll have a better shot at convincing a stranger across the world that you’re worthy of their trust.

Homeowners are looking for responsible people to help reduce their own costs (pet kennels are expensive!) and to keep their house safe and in order while they are gone.

1. Sign Up with a House Sitting Website
There are several good house-sitting websites out there to match with homeowners and find good house-sitting jobs (all have membership fees). Here are the best house sitting websites on the net:

  • Nomador.com (free or $89 USD annual fee) – Nomador has the highest number of house-sits in Europe and is growing worldwide. Its unique “trust profiles” help lay a foundation of trust between homeowners and house-sitters. In addition, it has an exciting “Stopovers” feature, which is similar to Couchsurfing.
  • TrustedHousesitters.com ($130 USD annual fee) – This site is heavy on UK and European house-sits but is also gaining ground in Australia and North America.
  • MindMyHouse.com ($20 USD annual fee) – Low fee to join, a good number of house-sits (primarily in North America and Europe), and a well laid-out website.
  • Housecarers.com ($50 USD annual fee) – Plenty of good house-sits, with a focus on Australia, New Zealand, and North America, but a poor website structure makes it difficult to navigate.

When reviewing available house-sitting jobs on the above websites, choose jobs carefully according to your own desires in terms of location, timing, and other needs. The key to finding one is flexibility in your plans: rather than searching for a house-sit in north London for the first week of August, widening your search to all of London and for a week during any time of the month will increase your chances greatly.

Once you’ve seen some house-sitting opportunities that are right up your alley, be sure to have these basics in place:

2. Create a killer house-sitting profile – This is your face to homeowners, and if it is well written and up-to-date, you may have homeowners contacting you directly rather than posting their house-sitting job. Things to include:

  • Experience, as a house-sitter or as a previous homeowner (do you know your way around basic house appliances?)
  • Pets: Exude your love for all things furry, or scaly, or slimy, if applicable. The large majority of house-sits include pet care of some kind.
  • Special skills: Do you speak foreign languages? Do you have a green thumb, or are you handy with tools? Be sure to outline those in your profile.
  • Enthusiasm: Lots and lots of enthusiasm for this newfound “career” goes a long way.

3. Write an introductory message – When applying for a specific house-sitting job, each website lets you include a message that will accompany your profile when it’s sent to the prospective homeowner. The key to a good introduction is brevity while highlighting important information — and of course, lots of enthusiasm.

Pay close attention to the listing and draft your email according to the job’s specific details. For example, if the homeowners have a dog, make a comment on how cute he is and that Schnauzers are your favorite creatures on four legs. If they have a large yard that may need your attention, mention your agility and strength and highlight how you can easily get the work done!

4. Be speedy – When the six-week house-sit opportunity in Manhattan was posted, I applied within the first few minutes of it going live. I had exchanged emails with the homeowner within the first hour and shared a virtual handshake over Skype within a day. Attractive house-sitting jobs go very fast. Being one of the first to apply can greatly increase your chances of getting it. Sign up for email alerts in your desired areas, or follow along on social media to be one of the first to know what’s available.

5. Have references – The most important thing that homeowners will look at is your references. A house-sitting arrangement between strangers requires a high level of trust, and having quality people lined up to vouch for you is important. If you have no previous house-sitting experience, consider asking the following for references: former landlords, old neighbors or bosses, or anyone who can attest to your character, reliability, and trustworthiness.

running on a beautiful beach when you travel

One good reference leads to another job and another good reference. And once these start to stack up, potential homeowners will be highly inclined to work with you, and subsequent house-sitting jobs will be much easier to get. While all of the house-sitting websites house references online, you should also compile them yourself and have them ready to distribute.

6. Expect an interview – If the homeowner doesn’t ask for one, I insist that you do. In the beginning, it’s easy to get overly excited about the prospect of living somewhere exotic for virtually free and forget about the finer details of the job. So use Skype to have some (virtual) face-to-face time and get a good feel for each other. Be sure to ask a lot of questions; leave nothing left unknown: Can you have guests? Can you leave the property overnight to explore a nearby area? Is there a vehicle available for your use? How is the Wi-Fi connection? You don’t want to be blindsided with rules or surprises when you arrive. And trust your gut: we have said no to house-sitting jobs before because the vibe wasn’t right with the homeowners.

How to Be a Good House Sitter

Walking the dog in the hills of Costa del Sol in Spain

There’s no question about it: house-sitting needs to be taken seriously. In exchange for a free place to stay, you’re being asked to take care of someone’s worldly possessions and perhaps their beloved fur (or feathered) babies.

We’ve chased dogs through muddy fields (and disposed of a half-eaten rat courtesy of same). We have spent an evening trolling through dark alleys in Harlem, looking for an escaped fat cat. We dealt with a dead chicken by “sending it down the river” on the advice of a neighbor in Ireland. We’ve cleaned up after torrential rain hammered our temporary Caribbean house. Most times you’ll be able to kick back and soak up your good fortune, but there will be moments when you will have to work for it.

The key to getting a repeated number of house-sits is to do an excellent job each time and stack up virtuous references.

For starters, make sure you show up! When a commitment is made, it is up to you to keep it. Homeowners make important travel plans based on having someone to care for their house and pets — they are counting on you!

On arrival, treat the house with the utmost respect from the start. Return it to the homeowners in as good — or better — shape as when you arrived.

Stick to the homeowners’ guidelines: on correspondence, how to deal with mail, instructions for pets, etc.

Be prepared to deal with adverse situations (like chasing dogs through muddy fields and disposing of a dead chicken). Bad things can (and probably will) go wrong at some point. Be sure to have emergency contact info on hand, and be honest with the homeowners about anything that comes up.

Also, an important tip: if you have an international house-sitting opportunity, consider what you will tell customs officials at the border. Some may give you a hard time, considering the house-sit “work” that a local could do. Tell them you are visiting friends, and consider even preparing a story on how you previously met each other, just in case they call to check! (I know of people who have been turned away at the border for this exact reason.)

***

We may have had our share of difficult moments, but the incredible experiences we’ve gained by house-sitting have far outweighed them.

In exchange for chasing dogs and disposing of rats, we discovered firsthand how the Turks are the most generous and hospitable people in the world.

While cleaning up after a nasty storm in Honduras, we became close friends with a local lady and later were named the godparents of her child.

In Ireland, we freely explored the halls of the tenth-century manor we were charged with and even took our own twirl in the manor’s ballroom.

We’re always a little surprised that more people don’t know about, or take advantage of, the opportunities presented by house-sitting. Becoming a house-sitter is not just about the money-saving aspect, but the ability to live like a local in a new corner of the world. Whether you’re going away for nine days or nine months, this can be a great way to do something different during your trip. House-sitting has become our favorite way to travel — and we bet it could be yours too.

Dalene Heck and her husband Pete are behind the blog Hecktic Travels, which chronicles their journey since selling all their belongings in 2009. They’ve recently written an e-book on house-sitting (all proceeds go to charity!) that contains even more juicy goodness, including examples of successful profiles and application letters, a three-page checklist of everything to look for in a new house-sitting job, and discount codes for their favorite house-sitting websites.

If you’re looking for other ways to travel ultra-cheap, check out these articles:

Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight
Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation
You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the largest inventory. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance
Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

Looking for the best companies to save money with?
Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and that will save you time and money too!

The post How to Become a House Sitter and Never Pay for Accommodation appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

How to Take Professional Travel Photos

Stunning travel photo of a Dubai roundabout at night
Updated: 12/2/2018 | December 2nd, 2018

Travel photography. It’s not something I’ve very good at. I take all my pictures on an iPhone and, if they aren’t used on the blog, they mostly just sit on my hard drive. I’ve never taken the time to really improve my skills. Like learning a language, improving your photography takes time.

Luckily, just like learning a language, anyone can do it!

Travel photographs are memories. You look at a picture and it conjures up thoughts, feelings, and smells that take you back to a long forgotten place. I think it’s important we all spend a little time improving our travel photography.

Today, professional photographer Laurence Norah of Finding the Universe begins a five-part series on how to become a better photographer and take better travel photos. He’s going to share his top travel photography tips to help you improve your skills and take awesome travel photos.

Enter Laurence…

In 2009, I gave up my job in IT and set off to travel the world. My first destination was Australia, a stunning country where I desperately wanted to capture my adventures. I’d been taking photos since I was 13, but it was only on this trip that I started to focus on learning the art of photography and realized that this was something I could be truly passionate about.

I quickly learned the reality that photography is a skill that takes time, effort, and practice to master.

It’s also not a question of gear — great travel photography is very much about the photographer.

In this post, I’ll give you the 8 simple tavel photography tips you need to take better pictures right away. If you follow these rules, you won’t go wrong!

1. Composition: Taking Pictures People REALLY Want

Patterns: the human brain is a sucker for them. We’re always looking for patterns — be they shapes in the clouds, symmetry in buildings, or colors that compliment each other. There’s just something about a pattern that our brains love.

Understanding these patterns and what pleases the human brain is a nifty shortcut to taking better photos. And that’s what composition in photography is all about. Learn and apply the rules below, and you’ll start taking more photos that people will enjoy.

Before launching into them, though, some important basics. First, ensure that your camera is level. You don’t want wonky horizons. Your brain generally doesn’t like them; they’re the visual equivalent of nails on a chalkboard.

Next — stop moving. You want to be as still as possible when shooting to avoid blurry images. Hold your camera with both hands and be steady, or use a tripod.

2. The Rule of Thirds

One of the most important rules of composition is known as the rule of thirds.

I learned recently that this is based on how babies learn to identify their mothers’ faces, which can be split up into three parts, comprising the eyes, nose, and mouth.

The rule of thirds requires you to break an image into three equal parts either vertically, horizontally or both. The goal is to place key compositional elements into those thirds.

On your device, find the setting to enable a grid over the preview screen. Four lines will appear, two vertical and two horizontal.

Photo of surreal art sculpture park in the Australian Outback

Take a look at my shot above of a surreal sculpture park deep in the Australian outback, over which I have overlaid a grid to demonstrate the horizontal and vertical thirds.

With the grid, you can see how I have composed the image: one-third land and two-thirds sky, while the plane on the left is on the left-hand grid line, close to the intersection of two lines.

Placing subjects on the intersecting points will naturally draw the viewer’s eye to them, as these points are usually where we focus first in an image, and doing so is a great starting point for a good composition.

Another of my favorite subjects to shoot is a sunset. I love how they are always different and how wonderful the light is at that time of day.

To get a great sunset shot, you can easily apply the rule of thirds — composing the shot with two-thirds sky, and one-third land or sea. You want to avoid splitting the image half and half, as it won’t look as good. The shot below of a sunset in Santa Cruz illustrates this and also has an interesting subject in the left third of the image.

Photo of a beautiful, golden sunset over the ocean in Santa Cruz, California

3. Leading Lines

When composing a photograph, you want to make it as easy as possible for the person looking at it to figure out the subject and focus of the image.

One way to do this is with leading lines — the use of natural geography or other features that the viewer will naturally look at first and which will lead their eyes to the main subject.

Roads are excellent as leading lines, particularly in big landscape shots. When I was traveling in New Zealand, I wanted to create a photographic story of the hike up Mount Taranaki, one of my favorite New Zealand hikes. Near the start of hike, the walking trail itself gave me a perfect leading line to illustrate the journey ahead, drawing the viewer’s eye into the frame and up to the mountain.

Photo of the walking trail up Mount Taranaki in New Zealand

Another good illustration of a leading line is this shot of me walking on railway tracks in Italy. Obviously, it’s only advisable on either disused or somewhat infrequently used tracks!

Black and white self-portrait of Laurence walking on railway tracks

The goal for this image was a self-portrait that evoked my life of travel. The parallel tracks, which appear to converge, were perfect for leading the viewer’s eye to the subject — me. I felt I captured the imagery of wanderlust that I was looking for by using them.

4. Foreground, Midground, and Background

Have you ever taken a picture of a mountain or city skyline and then looked at it later and wondered why it doesn’t manage to convey the majesty of what you were looking at?

This is likely because your photograph is a two-dimensional image and you have lost the sense of scale that is apparent when you are present and in the moment.

When composing a shot — and this is particularly true for landscape photography — think about the different elements in the foreground, midground, and background of the shot.

Here’s an example of a sunset in Glencoe, Scotland, easily the most stunning place I’ve photographed in 2015.

Breath-taking sunset photo over a frozen lake in Glencoe, Scotland

I used the rock in this frozen lake to provide something interesting in the foreground, helping to provide scale and balance to the overall image. The viewer’s eye is drawn to the rock, and then likely to the mountain and sunset, before heading into the distance of the valley.

When you are out and about in the world, think about everything around you. If you see a far-off mountain you want to shoot, look around and see if you can find something interesting in the foreground or midground to incorporate into the shot. If you’re near a river, maybe that could be a canoe. Elsewhere it could be a house. Or a group of sheep. Or a car starting to scale a winding road.

If you’re shooting a city scene, look at what is happening all around you. Street vendors, different modes of transport, and signs and storefronts can all be incorporated as foreground to provide context and scale for your city skyline or that interestingly shaped building.

If you can’t find something, be creative. Find someone to stand in your shot to provide that scale. If you’re travelling with a tripod, do what I did in that railway shot and use yourself as the subject. Just remember not to confuse your viewer too much with too many compositional elements, and keep it clear what the photo is of.

Thinking beyond the big background parts of the image and focusing on the smaller elements will help you create more balanced, pleasing images.

Photo of the sunsetting behind mountains in Glencoe, Scotland with a house in the midground

Another shot from Glencoe. Here the house provides that midground scale, while the river works both as an interesting foreground subject and as a leading line to draw you into the photograph.

5. Framing

This compositional technique isn’t about hanging a picture in a frame; it’s about using what’s around you to “frame” the subject you are trying to capture, illustrating to the viewer what the shot is of and drawing their eyes into the scene.

Photo of old bridges in the Medieval town of Besalú, Spain

In this shot of the bridge into the medieval town of Besalú in Spain, I used the old bridge and its reflection as a natural frame for the newer bridge.

When you have found your subject, look around to see if there’s a way you can frame it creatively. Some good options for framing include vegetation, like tree branches and trees, as well as doors and windows.

Take a look at this shot of a temple in Ayutthaya, Thailand, to see what I mean. I wanted to capture the beauty of this temple scene while drawing the viewer into the wat in the center.

Photo of beautiful, old temple in Ayutthaya, Thailand

The frame in this case is much larger than the subject, but it is never unclear what the shot is of. This is a really easy photography technique, but it might require you to scout around, or step back from your subject, to find a good way to frame it. Don’t be afraid to stand further away and use the zoom on your lens to get the frame you want.

As another example, using trees to frame a waterfall, here’s a shot of Lower Yosemite Falls in Yosemite National Park.

Photo of Lower Yosemite Falls between the trees in Yosemite National Park

I felt that the trees added much more to the shot with the waterfall between them. There was a pleasing symmetry to the shot with the two parallel trees.

There are many more options for framing. Experiment and see what works!

6. Focal Points

One way to be sure that people look at the part of the image you want them to look at is to have only that part of the image sharp and in focus and the rest blurry.

This is particularly effective for isolating people or animals in shots — take a look at wedding or sports photos of people, and you’ll see how often the subject of the shot is the only thing in focus.

I love shooting events with friends and family, and I find that this technique works really well at isolating the subject from a crowd and making it obvious who the photo is of.

Photo of a woman having at a party with friends

To start with, you can achieve this effect with the “portrait” or “people” mode on your camera. You can see some more examples of subject isolation through focus here.

7. Use of Color

Color is really important in photography, particularly how different colors work well together. For example, blue works well with yellow (sunflowers in a field), and red works well with green (Christmas!).

To figure out which colors work well together, take a look at this color wheel.

Generally, colors opposite each other on the wheel will complement each other. These colors don’t need to be evenly balanced in a shot — often images work best with a small percentage of one and a greater percentage of another.

Photo of houses reflecting on the Nyhavn Harbor in Copenhagen, Denmark

Take a look at the shot above, from Copenhagen’s gorgeous Nyhavn Harbor. You can see all sorts of colors, but in particular, the blue of the sky and water is the predominant color, with the houses’ reds and yellows (yellow is opposite blue on the color wheel) offering a counterpoint.

When you are on your travels, keep an eye out for contrasting and complimentary colors that you can incorporate into your shots. Spice markets, old European cities, rural meadows, and old colorful barns in green fields are a great place to start.

8. Storytelling

Remember that when you are taking a picture, you have all the background and surrounding knowledge of your trip in your mind. When you look at the image later, all of that will come back to you.

No one else has that advantage. To them, that shot of a waterfall is just that — a shot of a waterfall. The story of the five-hour hike there through a leech-infested jungle? Lost. The feeling of how refreshing it was on your skin when you took the plunge in to cool off? Also gone. It’s just a two-dimensional image on a screen, likely quickly flicked by to be replaced by the next image in the stream.

It’s your job to bring all that lost context to life.

We’re often told that a photograph is worth a thousand words. As a photographer, it’s your job to convey those words. Figure out how to tell that story with your image. Get the shots that pull your viewers into your stories. Use emotion, find and freeze moments, and incorporate the human element so your shots resonate with your viewers.

Take this monkey in Rio de Janeiro. These guys were being really cheeky with tourists, trying to get food from them and generally playing around as much as possible. I wanted to try and capture some of that, and I managed to get this monkey sticking its tongue out at me.

Photo of cheeky Monkey in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

I’d advise spending time thinking about the shot you are trying to create, the moment you are trying to capture, and the story you are trying to tell your viewer. Put yourself into their shoes, imagine you are going to be looking at the shot with no other context, and try to build the shot from there.

This is probably one of the harder parts of photography, and — like the shot of the monkeys above — will likely require some time, patience, and luck. You will make errors. But with research and practice, you will be able to master it!

***

Practice makes perfect – and travel photography is no different in this regard! The more photos you take, the more you will learn how to compose and capture great shots. While reading some travel photography tips will definitely help, the key is to actually go out in the world and practice them. The more you practice, the faster this will all become second nature. It won’t happen overnight, but over time your skills will improve — I promise!

So what are you waiting for? Get out there and start taking some photos!

Laurence started his journey in June 2009 after quitting the corporate life and looking for a change of scenery. His blog, Finding the Universe, catalogs his experiences and is a wonderful resource for photography advice! You can also find him on FacebookInstagram, and Twitter.

Travel Photography: Continue The Series

For more helpful travel photography tips, be sure to check out the rest of Laurence’s travel photography series:

LEARN TO GET OUT OF AUTO!

capture the world photography courseIf you are looking to really get into photography and want to master your camera and take amazing photos when you travel, Laurence and I have developed a comprehensive photography course that will get you out of auto and have your friends go “Wow! That’s really breathtaking!” in no time. Click here to learn more about the course and start today!

Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight
Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation
You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay elsewhere, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance
Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

Looking for the best companies to save money with?
Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and I think will help you too!

The post How to Take Professional Travel Photos appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

RTW Update: How Heather is Traveling on a Budget

Heather in Italy
Posted: 11/12/18 | November 12th, 2018

Last December, Heather won our round the world trip contest and was gifted a trip around the world worth $50 a day! In January, she started backpacking her way through South America on a budget. Today, she’s written a blog post about how she’s been able to stay on budget for the last 36 weeks and the lessons she’s learned as a new traveler!

 

After over ten months on the road, it’s time to update the community again on my trip! Since the last update, I spent two weeks in Brazil, a month exploring Morocco, and two months in Europe watching the World Cup.

Now, I’m in Tanzania exploring Africa!

After so long on the road, I think it’s time to answer the question that really drove the contest in the first place:

“Is budget travel possible on Matt’s $50 a day recommendations?”

One of the reasons Matt sponsored this trip was because he wanted to show everyone that travel is possible on his suggested budget of $50 a day. He wanted a living case study for the ideas in his book!

After tracking all my expenses — including my flights, travel insurance, and incidentals — I’ve spent $14,450 or $56 a day so far. I’ve not only found sticking to Matt’s budget feasible but not at all demanding (especially with a little creativity).

After Africa, I’ll be flying to Southeast Asia, where I’ll end my trip. I suspect that will lower my overall costs even more!

How I stayed on budget

Heather in Africa
At the beginning of my trip, I went to the Galápagos Islands, which are not backpacker-budget friendly, so I had some work cut out for me to get back on budget.

I saved on housing costs by Couchsurfing and staying with friends. In Chile, I stayed with friends I met in Colombia. In Paris, I stayed with a friend I met in Brazil. I’ve been overwhelmed by the number of kind people who offer me help, especially with accommodation, as I travel, expecting nothing in return. The travel community is extremely warm and open. It makes friends of strangers.

I’ve been balancing out other expenses by also keeping my transportation costs low. I opted to take the longer, cheaper way to get from A to B. In Brazil and Europe, I used BlaBlaCar to save money. In Morocco and South America, buses were my go-to option — they were cheap and easy. I booked a limited number of flights and tracked prices so I could book them at just the right time if possible.

Food has been the only place I haven’t cut back. I’m a foodie and, as Matt always says, what’s the point in traveling if you don’t eat the local food! In South America, this was usually easy. There were tons of lunch specials around and cheap local food so I was able to eat on a budget. In Europe, it was much harder. Food was by far my biggest expense but I have no regrets. A girl’s got to eat!

Here are my costs broken down by region:

Duration
Total Spent
Average per Day
South America
115 days
$5,215
$45; $32*
Ecuador
14 days
$600
$42
Galápagos
8 days
$1,700
$212
Peru
63 days
$1,800
$28
Chile
7 days
$210
$30
Argentina
4 days
$146
$36
Iguaçu Falls
3 days
$225
$85
Brazil
16 days
$534
$33
Africa
63 days
$3,904
$62
Morocco
22 days
$748
$34
Tanzania
31 days
$3,156
$76
Europe
78 days
$4,757
$60
Portugal & Spain
5 days
$368
$74
France
22 days
$1,650
$61
Germany
7 days
$500
$42
Italy
14 days
$839
$59
France (part 2)
30 days
$1,700
$56

*Total for South America if you exclude the Galápagos

Here’s the breakdown of my spending by category:

  • Housing: $2,874
  • Transportation: $2,632
  • Food: $4,687
  • Travel insurance: $1,040
  • Activities: $3,217 (such as tours to Machu Picchu or the Sahara, diving, a safari, shopping, etc.)

However, that’s not to say it’s all been super easy. I’ve made a ton of rookie mistakes. Even though I’ve read countless articles and books on traveling, once you’re on the road, you tend to get caught up in the moment. It’s one thing to read about it, it’s another thing to be there doing it!

And that can lead to a bunch of easily preventable mistakes! For example, some of the “doh” moments I had:

  • I spent 16 EUR on coffee as I was walking with a friend I met in Rome. It was SO hot and we just wanted to get off our feet before going to the Vatican. Big mistake! We even forgot to ask the prices. Since it was so close to the attraction (something I normally never do), each cappuccino was 8 EUR — and I got two! Oh, man were we pissed.
  • When I was in Morocco, just before going to the desert, I went to the supermarket to buy three day’s worth of snacks for lunch. I had heard that lunch was not included in your tour price (already ridiculous, at 86 EUR for three days!) and the tour guide, of course, only takes you to expensive lunch places. I did buy a bunch of groceries — 130 dirhams’ worth ($14 USD). But then I ended up eating at the restaurants anyway because I felt too awkward not eating with everyone and too tempted to order a nice chicken tagine instead of eating trail mix.
  • Looking back, I would have done a self-guided tour of the Sahara. I knew that before I did the tour, but I was lazy and tired, and I wanted to get out of Morocco. Being lazy is a quick way to burn money — and often also a quick way to have a less special experience.
  • I met some really interesting people in Buenos Aires who invited me to dinner. One of them was a local expat who was eager to show us that Buenos Aires “isn’t all meat anymore.” It was a great place, but that dinner was about 25 USD, which was almost my budget for the whole day! Then we had drinks afterward as well.

My Advice for Others: How to Save Money When You Travel

Heather in Brazil
Backpacking isn’t like vacation travel. When you travel on vacation, you have little time but more money. When you backpack, the opposite is true: you have time, but little money.  If you seek too many comforts and conveniences, you’ll blow your budget and have to go home early!

If I were to give advice to others, my main piece of advice would be to take a minute before your trip to think about what expenses you anticipate and what you are willing to spend. (Matt talks a lot about this.) Ask around for the right price for experiences, food, and lodging so that you have the most accurate information. The time you spend researching will help you better budget you money.

On the road, I would suggest doing two things: first is to write down everything and, second, is to forego convenience.

In his book, Matt says, “It’s the people who don’t write down their expenses that go home early.”

Speaking for myself, I can say this is completely true. There were a few days here and there where I would be so caught up in the experiences I was having that I completely forgot to write down my spending. Afterward, when I sat down to recall what I had spent, I realized I was not thinking about these costs and how they fit into my budget. Writing them all down helped me be mindful how much I was spending. It allowed me to make adjustments to my spending as I went. It’s because of that that I haven’t run out of money yet!

Heather on safari in Africa

Even more important is foregoing convenience. Backpacking isn’t luxury travel. The majority of the time, there isn’t someone to port your luggage, drive you directly to your lodging, or arrange your day trip or tour. But walking when you can, sharing a ride with other travelers, asking for help from a kind stranger, or arranging your own itinerary — all those are free or nearly free.

***
Staying on budget has become second nature to me now. It’s not hard once you internalize the strategy and learn to think outside the box. When you do that, you can spend your energy on why you are traveling in the first place: for new experiences and new friends.

I’m ten months into my yearlong trip. Some moments whizzed by. Others felt like they lasted forever. But, overall, it has been everything I hoped it to be – and also unlike anything I expected.

As Heather keeps going with her travels, we’re going to follow along to get more details about her trip, experiences, roadblocks, budgeting, and everything in between! You can follow her journeys on her blog, Confidently Lost, as well as on Instagram. She will also be sharing some of her experiences here!

How to Travel the World on $50 a Day

how to travel the world on $50 a dayMy New York Times best-selling paperback guide to world travel will teach you how to master the art of travel save money, get off the beaten path, and have a more local, richer travel experiences. It’s the book Heather is basing her travels off her and using as her guidebook around the world. As you can see, it’s working! She’s travel big on a small budget.

If that’s something you want to do too, click here to learn more about the book, how it can help you, and you can start reading it today!

Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight
Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation
You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay elsewhere, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance
Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

Looking for the best companies to save money with?
Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and I think will help you too!

The post RTW Update: How Heather is Traveling on a Budget appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Cheap Holiday Ideas: 8 Alternative Budget Vacation Deals

Visit Beautiful Zion National Park
Updated: 11/8/2018 | November 8th, 2018

While many of us dream of traveling the world (or at least taking a few months off from work in pursuit of adventure), it’s not always feasible, even for those with the best of intentions. A lot of things can get in the way.

I frequently talk about long-term travel and round-the-world trips, but I know that realistically, not everyone can or wants to enjoy this style of travel. I don’t think traveling the world is hard, but I also know that what I do isn’t for everyone.

Some people just want to go on a cheap vacation for a few weeks. Not everyone has the time or luxury to take an extended trip.

So what do you do when you only have a short amount of time and a short amount of money?

What are some budget vacation ideas that aren’t about traveling the world?

Even if I won’t find you backpacking Cambodia for three months or walking the Camino de Santiago, there are many ways to get on the road and see the world without breaking the bank! Here are eight cheap travel ideas if you are cash-strapped and/or time-poor:

Cheap Vacation Idea 1: Be a Local Tourist

 Tour The Statue of Liberty
How often do you visit the tourist sites in your own city? Hardly ever, right? I know New Yorkers who have never seen the Statue of Liberty and Bostonians who have never walked the Freedom Trail. I once took a Dutch friend on a tour of Amsterdam because, despite growing up there, she had never seen the local attractions that lure millions of visitors to the city every year.

We’re all guilty of this. It took me five years to see the Jim Thompson House in Bangkok (even after living there), and I’ve still never been to Bunker Hill in Boston despite spending the first 24 years of my life there.

We always put it off until tomorrow, because when we live in a city, we think there is always a tomorrow.

We get so caught up in our daily lives we forget that we can have a cheap vacation in our own city. We don’t have to go anywhere!

If you’re short on time and money, there’s no better way to spend some free time than to wander your own city. No matter what its size, it has a number of wonders that you’ve never seen or even known about because you just don’t like! We’re busy leading our lives and following our routines. It’s normal but let’s look at your home with new eyes.

Be a traveler in your own town!

Important tips: When you become a local tourist, check out of your house and into a hotel, hostel, or guesthouse. It’s important to get out of your familiar environment because if you stay home, you’ll find something to do around the house and create excuses for why you can’t sightsee. Moving to a different location can help give you that feeling of adventure, excitement, and unfamiliarity.

Moreover, be sure to go to your local tourism office and get a city tourism pass. These cards allow you to see a wide range of local attractions for free or reduced prices and can be your way to see your local sites on a budget. They aren’t just for outsiders!

Cheap Vacation Idea 2: Travel Regionally

 Adventures in The Woods, Maine
Travel brings to mind faraway and exotic destinations. It invokes images of all the places we’ve dreamed of and seen in movies. Because of that, few people look in their own backyard for adventure — as my Aussie friends always tell me before they jet off somewhere, “Mate, you’ve probably seen more of Oz than I have!” — but it offers just as many places to travel.

I could say the same thing as my Aussie friends. I grew up in Boston, and from there, I could visit New Hampshire, the woods of Maine, the bed-and-breakfasts of the Berkshires, or the farms of Vermont. New York was a four-hour car ride from home. How often did I do that? Not often enough!

Exploring your own region is an underrated and often overlooked aspect of travel. It gets the occasional lip service in magazines, but driving across the United States made me realize how much our own countries have to offer us and how often we overlook that for some foreign place.

There’s something special about being a stranger in your homeland and realizing you really don’t know much about it as you thought.

We think because we’re born in a place we understand it but every country has regional differences that make it unique and, unless we travel to see and experience them, we’ll never fully understand the place we call home.

Driving across my country (the U.S.) taught me a lot about it. It gave me a deep appreciation for it, the people, and the diversity within its borders. It broke down stereotypes and misconceptions I had about the different regions in the US. My time exploring my own backyard was just as important to my growth as any trip to a foreign country.

If you’re on a limited budget, can’t afford a flight or a trip to exotic lands, or just want to do something different, don’t forget that you can always travel your own country. It can be just as powerful as visiting another country.

Cheap Vacation Idea 3: Go to National Parks

 Take A Tour of the Grand Canyon To Save Money
The great outdoors present a great chance to go somewhere on the cheap. Camping, after all, costs very little money. Camping fees in national parks are as little as $15 USD per night in the United States, $15-40 CAD in Canada, $10-60 AUD in Australia, and $17-22 NZD in New Zealand. And in many places in Japan and Europe (especially Scandinavia), you can camp on public lands for free. Additionally, you go camping stocked with all your own supplies and accommodation (i.e., a tent), so you don’t have to worry about spending lots of extra money. Your food bill can be whatever you spend on groceries and nothing more.

You don’t need to love camping to spend time in the national parks, either. Personally, I hate camping. I’m not the camp-in-a-tent kind of guy; I need toilets, beds, and hot water. Luckily, many parks provide cabins. While hiking the Grand Canyon, I stayed at a national park lodge at the bottom. I had a room in a dormitory, but for a few nights, it was the cheap accommodation I needed.

There’s almost always a park nearby and spending a few days with nature is not only good for your wallet but also good for your soul.

Along these same lines, Camp in My Garden is a website that lets people camp in someone’s backyard (or garden). Got an RV that needs parking? Check out RV with Me, which finds cheap parking and overnight solutions for RV owners!

Cheap Vacation Idea 4: Book a Last-Minute Cruise (or Book Far in Advance)

 Book a Last Minute Cruise To Have a Cheap Holiday
Cruises are normally very expensive, affairs with a seven-day Caribbean cruise costing over $600–700 USD per person for a small interior room. And, if you’re traveling alone, you often have to pay the price of two people since not many cruise lines offer single traveler rooms!

But, if you’re the last passenger running onto that ship, you can find some sweet deals.

Cruise lines always offer incredible last-minute deals. No ship’s captain – or cruise company – wants to leave with half the cabins empty. If you wait until a few weeks before departure, you can find some really amazing deals as cruise lines scramble to find passengers. Plus, cruise operators always throw in some on-board amenities, free upgrades, and cash vouchers to sweeten the deal.

The website CruiseSheet often has cruises as low as $30 per day! (It’s the best cruise booking website in the world!)

Conversely, if you book over a year in advance, cruise lines also offer amazing low fares for early birds.

Cruises are the one form of travel for which I recommend visiting a travel agent if you’re part of a big group. They have wonderful working relationships with the operators and can score better packages than booking online.

After you book, keep an eye out on prices, because if they drop, you can often call your travel agent or the cruise company itself to get a partial refund or vouchers to use for dining and alcohol on the boat.

READ THIS —> Click here to read my guide to finding super discounted cruises (and how to save money once you are on board.)

Cheap Vacation Idea 5: Think Outside the Box

 Visiting Paris in Winter
Forget Mexico and go to Guatemala. Skip Paris and head to Budapest. Forget Italy and see Greece (it’s really cheap!). Ditch Brazil and take on Bolivia instead. The list goes on and on. There are countless cheap alternatives and budget destinations around the world!

Travel counter to the prevailing trend.

Zig when everyone zags.

If people are going in the summer, you go in the spring or winter. Skip the popular destinations and head off the beaten path a bit.

Contrarian travel will save you a bundle of money. It’s like reverse commuting. While others heading into the city in the morning for work are stuck in traffic, you breeze the opposite way hassle free. The same is true for travel.

The more you are a contrarian in where – and when you go – the better off you’re wallet will be. Plus, you’ll enjoy destinations more because there will be fewer crowds. No one loves a crowd!

READ THIS –> Click here for 10 Destinations to Visit on a Budget to help give you ideas on where you to go!

Cheap Vacation Idea 6: Book a Last-Minute Tour

 Last Minute Tour Bookings Save Money
Just like cruises, tours are best booked last-minute. Tour companies need to fill the seats just like cruise companies, because once that trip departs, they still have the same costs. Last-minute tour bookings work the same way as cruise bookings.

Why are tours so cheap last-minute? Well, think about how people plan vacations. You get the time off work, you book your vacation, you buy your flight, and you go. Since people pre-book, prices are higher in advance because these companies understand booking patterns and then price accordingly. As departure time nears, companies know people aren’t likely to turn up and book on departure day, so they sweeten the price to increase bookings. So take the time off work, wait until the week before, see what’s cheap, and then go.

My favorite company, Intrepid Travel, often offers 15–30% discounts on last-minute tours.

Cheap Vacation Idea 7: Become a House Sitter

 House-sitting Can Save You Money on Your Vacation
Accommodation can eat into the cost of a trip big-time. You might get a flight deal, but then accommodation — even if you can find it cheaply — might push the cost of your trip into unaffordable territory. A way around that is to stay somewhere for free. While I like Couchsurfing, it’s hard to do that for two weeks without annoying your host. A unique way to overcome this is to house-sit for someone while they are on vacation. You get free accommodation, a kitchen to cook in, and the chance to explore a destination in depth. It’s a pretty unique way to travel and one that I know a lot of world travelers take advantage of. You can even do this in your own region too, to cut down on transportation costs.

READ THIS —> How to Become a Housesitter

Cheap Vacation Idea 8: Grab a Cheap Flight

 Book Cheap Flights to Get You to Your Budget Vacation
Nowadays, you don’t have to guess where the cheapest flight from your home would be. You can look up a whole list of flights (from cheapest to increasingly more expensive) using a site like Momondo or Google Flights. With those sites, you can type in “(the closest airport to you)” for your departure city and “everywhere” for your destination. Then a list of the cheapest flights appears in front of your very eyes, so you can choose where to go within your budget. This is how I decide where to go when I don’t have a specific place in mind. It’s a great tool!

Here are some other great airline booking sites where you can find deals:

  • Skyscanner – Skyscanner has a very intuitive platform that lets you search for an open-ended trip. If you’re not 100% sure where you want to go (or when) then start your search with Skyscanner.
  • Kiwi – Kiwi recently updated their search platform, making it much more intuitive and user-friendly. You can also search multiple cities and countries at once, making this a must-use platform when looking for budget flights.
  • AirTreks – If you’re looking to plan a multi-city trip, AirTreks offers great deals for round-the-world adventures with multiple stops.

***

Not everyone can jump overseas at the drop of a hat or spend six months backpacking around Europe or Asia. A fancy vacation to Mexico may be out of your reach. But while you might not have a lot of time or money, luckily there’s more than one way to see the world. These cheap vacation ideas may be exactly what you’re looking for!

Travel is simply the art of going somewhere new and different and exploring everything the place has to offer. It doesn’t matter if you have two days, two weeks, or two months. Use these cheap vacation ideas and go explore – on a budget!

Want more? Read these articles to get more specific destination ideas for where to have a budget vacation:

Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight
Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation
To find the best budget accommodation, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time. You can book your hostel – if you want that instead – with Hostelworld as they have the most comprehensive inventory.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance
Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

Looking for the best companies to save money with?
Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and I think will help you too!

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