Booking tickets for your trip can be stressful given the world of opportunity out there in terms of deciding which option will be best to get you to your chosen destination. These 7 ways to save money and avoid travel booking stress may help.
There are a lot of things that you will need to consider when deciding how to actually get to your destination. The factors that may influence your decision will include the length of time it will take to arrive at your destination, whether or not you will need to make connections to your onward journey, how much luggage you will be able to take with you, the environmental considerations such as how the mode of transport will affect your carbon footprint, the likelihood that you will face a delay in your travel, how busy the service is likely to be, how stressful it is likely to be, what the comfort levels on your journey will be like, and then finally, and importantly, the cost.
Whether you are planning on making your journey as cheap as possible and are looking into using low-cost options such as buses, or whether you want to travel in the height of style and sophistication and want to know how much does an airplane cost to charter for your own private use, there is much involved in the planning of your journey.
Get the most out of planning your travel arrangements with these suggestions.
Book Early
It may seem like the most obvious piece of advice, but the earlier you book, the more likely you will be to travel for less. Start looking for the cheapest options as early as possible. If you are travelling by rail, you may be inclined to buy your tickets on the day of travel, or just a few days before. But often, you will be able to severely reduce the cost of your travel by buying your tickets weeks or months in advance.
Shop Around
Shopping around for the best deals again seems very common sense. While there may be websites out there that offer flights, train, or coach tickets for a number of companies, and you may assume them to be the cheapest way of getting the ticket you need, check with the airline, train, or bus operator’s website because they may have special offers than they are not sharing with other companies. Make sure you check as many places as possible before you commit to buying your tickets.
Use Private Browsing
If you are buying online, select the private or incognito browser option on Google Chrome or Mircosoft Edge/ Internet Explorer. When you visit any website, tracking cookies are used to record the visit and what you have looked at. If you have had a quote from the site for flights, the airline may use the fact that you have already seen one set of prices to give you a whole new, more expensive price. That way, you will rush to buy them before they rise any further. But if you visit the website using incognito or private browsing, then your visit will not be tracked by their site and you can continue your search for the cheapest possible tickets elsewhere before committing to buy.
Buy Using A Credit Card
There are a couple of very good reasons why you should use a credit card when you book your travel tickets. Firstly, credit cards offer a level of purchase protection that you will not find in other payments. If the company that you buy your tickets from goes under, then your credit card company will be able to reclaim that money for you. Secondly, some credit cards will have special offers for buying travel tickets such as flights. You may want to even take out a credit card with the airline that you are planning on flying with, as this could save you money.
As with any credit card purchase, make sure you pay it back as quickly as possible in order to minimize interest. If any part of your journey involves a car journey, either using a hire car, your own vehicle, or a taxi, look at ways that you car share this trip with other travellers. Sharing a journey means splitting the cost, and the more of you that there are to split the price, the better. Fewer vehicles making the same journey is also a good, common-sense way of reducing your impact on the environment.
Make Car Journeys At Quiet Times
If you need to use the roads, the quiet times are best. Not only will you face less congestion and get to your destination quicker, but the journey will also be much more fuel-efficient. This is useful if you are using your own vehicle or have rented a car.
Quieter roads will also mean that your emissions are likely to be lower. When you are sat in a traffic jam, you will be burning off fuel. By continuously moving and using less fuel, you will be pumping out less carbon into the atmosphere.
Travel Off-Peak
Peak time travel can be a nightmare. With so many people travelling at the same time, it can get very stressful. By making your journey at off-peak times, this can save you a great deal of stress and allow you much more comfort in your travels.
For flights, think about making your journey through the night or midweek. With weekends being popular times for tourists, and the start and end of the week being common days for business users to fly, there are less likely to be as many people travelling around those times, meaning that it is likely to be quieter, but also cheaper.
If you are using trains, make sure to avoid the times that are popular with commuters such as early in the morning or early evening. Again, these times are not only likely to be cheaper, but will also be more comfortable in terms no cramped communtors..
