Cheap holiday: This is how I prioritize to afford travel is written by Jens Skovgaard Andersen, editor.
Airline tickets instead of cinema tickets
When I was younger, I went to the movies a lot while dreaming of traveling. Since then, the cinema has become more expensive and the flights cheaper, so now I travel a lot while dreaming of going to the cinema.
It is, of course, an exaggeration, but with the entry of low-cost airlines into the European airline market in particular, it is actually the case that a cinema ticket and a plane ticket can end up costing the same. That's why I've stopped looking towards the darkness of the cinema and am instead looking towards the airport.
Live cheap and travel cheap
For the past many years, I have lived off not very much. A number of years at SU were replaced by unemployment benefits, cash benefits, loans, money won and part-time jobs. And regardless of income, the priority has been to get out to travel. Not necessarily far away - but away.
I have traveled with volunteer work, on extended weekends, in periods between jobs, on strategically placed holidays and roughly taken every opportunity to get going. However, the options depend on the price, and it is therefore the price that determines where I go and when I leave.
Queuing offers and discount travel
Airline tickets can be very cheap these days, for many reasons. As a younger person, I spent many hours and days standing, sitting and lying in line when there were queue offers travel agencies, and I have therefore flown to Cape Town in South Africa for 1 krone, to Istanbul for a 10s and got a free ticket to Thailand.
Sometimes tickets are used as bait to sell something else - like on the day trips to Germany for a fiver when I was a teenager - and it's the same model that gives cheap tickets on planes, buses and trains in Europe. Fortunately, you decide for yourself whether you buy something on top of it.
Search engines such as Momondo usually has a function that shows the cheapest tickets within a certain time period, If you are flexible and ready to experience almost anything, then there are really good experiences to be found by exploring there.
When the travel agencies put discounted trips up for sale, they often make no profit on them, but they lose a little less than they would otherwise. I use that when I can.
Ethical considerations – is a cheap holiday ok?
Obviously, there are several things to consider when looking to travel cheaply. The desire to travel is governed by, among other things, ethical considerations and one's own financial situation. Do the employees get a decent salary? Is there control over the environment? What about the alternatives – are they better? And how much better?
When you travel, you enter into a chain of transactions that is almost impossible to see through in full. Where does the money ultimately end up? Who do you support with your purchase?
If you do not want to travel with certain providers of flights, buses and other transport, then there is nothing wrong with that. However, it limits the options for a cheap holiday a bit, and it is a choice you have to make.
It is basically up to the individual what you put your finger on. In my case, the economy usually wins.
Live cheaply on holiday
When I leave, I live as cheaply as possible - usually in a dormitory in a hostel - and live mainly on food from the local supermarket. It may sound a bit scratchy for a man who has gradually grown out of the backpacking age, but that's what makes it possible to be away; I would rather not spend more money than if I had been at home.
Of course, I also have to go out to see something when I'm away, and the choice falls on the things that don't cost money; there are plenty of museums, galleries, parks and amusements that do not charge admission. And all in all, there is always something to look at when you stroll around a new place. In essence, everything is new and therefore an attraction in itself.
Research, research, research
A lot of research beforehand helps to find what is free and I am happily happy to research. Without research, you have to be more spontaneous, and you can easily be without costing a lot of money. It's about prioritizing.
It often pays to find the cheapest transport from the airport to the city center well in advance of the journey, so that you don't stand tired and worn out after the flight and end up taking an expensive taxi, which puts a dent in the budget.
You can advantageously download a map on your mobile and put a cross next to sights in advance, so that you have something to look for from the start. A lot of other things will probably appear along the way, but it's good to have something to start with.
If you want to go on a cheap holiday, you have to sacrifice a bit of your freedom of choice. Buy the ticket when it's cheap, travel without a lot of luggage, find yourself sharing a dormitory with others, walk around instead of driving, eat cheap food and skip the expensive sights - you can just see them from the outside.
It is quite possible to go on a cheap holiday and travel many times a year - I do it myself.
Good desire to travel and a good cheap holiday.
5 tips to travel cheaply
- Be flexible and open: Use low-cost calendars to find the cheapest travel days and destinations
- Walk around the city instead of taking a taxi or other transport
- Find the free experiences in advance - planning can save you a lot of money
- Live cheaply on the journey with food from the supermarket and accommodation in dormitories
- Live cheaply when you're at home - then you can afford to get away
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