There are many places and ways you can visit on a budget that can be pocket-friendly. Let’s elaborate on what to look out for when planning a trip on a budget.
Below are five ways to plan a foreign trip on a budget:
1. Choose Your Destination Wisely
As a Nigerian, the range of countries our passport gives us access to is limited, so it’s best to consider West African countries like Benin Republic, Togo, The Gambia and Ghana. This way you spend less on visas or airfare compared with travelling to Europe or Australia. You can also consider countries whose exchange rates are affordable compared to our Naira like Indonesia, Cape Verde, Thailand, Kenya, India, Mauritius, etc. If the country you want to travel to has an airline that flies in and out of Nigeria, that’s great because it means the tickets will be affordable. Countries in this category include Ethiopia, Dubai, Rwanda, France, Britain and South Africa.
2. Take Advantage of Tour & Travel deals
Most Airline websites, travel blogs or websites/apps send out occasional travel deals to their subscribers. Sign up and keep an eye out for their next mind-blowing, fastest-finger deals. These price slash deals come up when booked passengers cancel their flight. Also, look out for package deals with combo offers like non-appearance visa, return airport transfers and return flight tickets to a destination or flight, hotel, accommodation etc in one price offer. This will save you the hassle of trying to figure things out in a new city. Don’t forget to consider layover flights. Sometimes it is cheaper to get a flight ticket that makes a transit at another country (giving you time to kill two birds with one stone if your take-off flight is above 9 hours and a transit visa is available) than it is to get a direct flight.
3. Travel During Off-Peak Periods
It costs more to travel to certain places through some airports (e.g. airfare from Abuja is higher than Lagos to certain destinations like New York, London, etc. causing travellers to opt for travelling from Kano or Port Harcourt). To save some extra buck on flights, make sure you check out the airfares from the different international airports in Nigeria before chose your departure airport. Also, keep in mind that peak period affects the availability of flights free from delays or cancellations. It’s cheaper to travel during off-peak periods because fares will be cheaper to encourage passengers to travel. Days such as Tuesdays and Thursdays are usually cheaper for travellers than weekends and Mondays. The same applies to the destination you are choosing. It will be cheaper to find services and accommodation there during off-peak periods and their tourist sites will be less crowded too.
4. Choose Affordable Accommodation & Transportation Means
Outside Nigeria, there are other accommodation options besides staying in a hotel such as Airbnb, Hostels, Couchsurfing, Motels, or at a friend/relative/family’s place in that country. Some friends might just have access to a guest house you could stay for free. These options reduce the amount you would spend in a luxury Resort or Hotel. As for transportation, using taxis is sometimes more expensive than moving around in a metro train or bus for long distances and bicycles for short distances. If you don’t know your way around ask questions and people will direct you on how to get to where you want to go.
5. Factor in All Expenses When Saving
If you sign up with a tour operator for a full on package covering flight, accommodation and tours, chances are they would only give you breakfast buffet option and one or two nights of dinner. You need to save extra for the food you will eat and the transportation you would need to get around the town outside the scheduled itinerary. Don’t forget you need to have a specific amount of BTA with you depending on the country you are going to before you leave Nigeria. So when you are saving, save more than you need for that trip to cover miscellaneous expenses.
There is no harm in fixing your next travel date two years from now. Just make sure you have enough time to save and plan the logistics for your trip before you embark on it. And as soon as you are done having a great time, start saving and planning towards your next trip in the same way.
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