admin It’s obvious that vacations can take a bite out of your budget. So the question is how to cut down the expenses while you are traveling. There are a lot of travel hacks you can tap into that will help you to get some travel freebies. Here are some of them:
1.Free Snacks & Soda can: One of the main freebies you get on a flight. Each airline has its own offerings, chips, nuts, almonds, cookies etc. Some of them even offer soda cans instead of a cup. You can get more if you ask nicely!
2.Free meals for kids: For anyone, traveling with kids is super expensive. But there is a smart travel hack, there are hotels, restaurants which offer free food for kids of a certain age limit. Holiday Inn has this offer and in Singapore, at Swensen’s, kids eat free on weekends and public holidays for breakfast. Usually, the adult breakfast food set comes with at least 1 free kid’s breakfast set. Thyme at Aliwal is another family-friendly restaurant where children aged 3 to 9 get to enjoy one free dish from the kid’s menu with every adult main course, like a pizza or a pasta. Find those to save more!
3.Organized travel: This is not a freebie, but a tip to cut down the expenses. Check out for travel agents, travel forums, clubs, adventure gatherings where you can find travel plans at an affordable price. For example: Sharjah Airport Travel Agency, a travel agency based in UAE have Paris Packages from Dubai which includes flight fares, breakfasts, transportation costs etc. If we have to organize it individually the cost might go high and also during holiday seasons or any other time the travel agents come up with discounted packages which are really affordable.
4.Free food: There are places where you can get free meals. For instance, Several temples, churches, NGO’s etc serve lunches that are open to the general public and it is free too, such as Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society, Singapore Buddhist Lodge, and Central Sikh Temple to name a few. Try to explore the religious, spiritual centres or community gathering which are open to the public.
5.Free bike rentals: Climate change is real and travel is indeed one of the industry which has got high carbon footprints. Some cities like Copenhagen, Zurich etc offer free bicycles for travel. Going this way has multiple benefits: Health, pollution, more local visibility etc.
6.Free Breakfast: Most of the hotels have free continental breakfast. A very good/heavy breakfast can definitely quench your hunger for the most part of the day. Make sure it is included in the package when you book the room.
7.Discounted Meals: It is not a freebie, but this can work. There are hotels, restaurants, cafe’s in any city offering discounts as a part of their campaign. You can check it out.
8.Free water: Travel is quite an adventure, we end up paying more for freshwater bottles to quench the thirst as travel involves more physical demand. You can refill your bottle from the flight itself, most of the airports have filtered water made available. You also can get the refill done from hotels, restaurants, food outlets or even public libraries!
9.Tea & Coffee: Most of the hotels have free tea and coffee in their lobbies. Make use of it maximum! A fresh tea or coffee can refresh you better than anything.
10.Get into local markets: Locals love tourists and they are very hospitable. Also, they know tourists love to taste local servings. Make sure you go to any local markets or farmers’ markets to taste locally grown and made items. They will definitely provide free samples to taste (On the hope that you buy some).
11.Make use of laundry bags: Most of the hotels have got a stock of laundry bags for you, in case you need dry cleaning on-site. You can use it to repack your dirty clothes. Most of the travelers end up buying new bags to take care of the used clothes and new shopping items.
12.WiFi: Free internet is available right from the airport, to hotels, to restaurants to even any local attraction you visit.
13.Fun activities to win a prize: To engage tourists, most of the attractions have fun activities going. Winners can score even expensive gifts at times! Be sure you take part in activities next time.
14.Maps & Collaterals: Free maps of the city and the collaterals with tourist attractions are available for free in most of the places. It will be handy in case if you don’t have access to mobile network and internet. If you travel a lot then you can save it into your personal collection for nostalgia and as a hobby!
15.Free Admissions: If tickets rate are expensive to visit an attraction, make sure you visit these places when they offer free entrance. Most of the attractions like National Parks, Theme Parks, Shows, festivals have free entrance at some of the year.
16.Free Audio Walking tours: If guided tours are expensive for you, then technology-powered apps offer audio walking tours which are available for free. You can get tips, directions, history without paying anything.
17.Frequent flyer miles: Travel-rewards credit cards multiply the points you earn per dollar spent when you use the card for hotels and transportation. Convert those points to miles and you might multiply them even more.
18.Hottle shuttle services: For inbound and outbound travel, many hotels provide shuttle services. Make use of it to avoid paying for taxis.
19.Visiting Religious Places: Church, Mosque, Temples, Synagogues all have free entrance and most of them have a stunning architecture which shows the local heritage and architecture. As I mentioned before, you can even get free foods here.
The list is endless, but I have touched upon the best ways in which you can minimize the travel costs. Happy Vacation!
