Travelling in the off-season and going camping are well-known ways to save money on your vacation — but there are smarter ways to do it! Here are 8 tips from the OWWN community.
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Take care of a house — and possibly its pets — and get to live in it for free! Platforms like MindMyHouse or Nomador let you create a profile, and get connected to homeowners. The sites will usually charge you a small annual fee, but if you get a week’s holiday out of it then you’ll have made some big savings!
Short on money, but big on nice hotels? Then instead of booking via online portals (which add a booking fee), try calling the hotel directly. Most receptionists speak English, and you’ll often find the prices up to 15% cheaper!
If you plan to travel by train within Europe, then it is often worth booking your tickets on a travel portal from the country you’ll be traveling in. Their prices will often be cheaper than on a German website. (Routes in Eastern Europe are often especially affordable.)
Before you begin your trip, decide how much you want to spend on local transport, food, activities and shopping. You can then create different savings pools for each of those things, and set yourself a daily budget so that your money lasts for the entire vacation. If there's money left over at the end, then treat yourself to something nice!
Do you ‘give away’ 10% when withdrawing money in non-european countries? We’re not talking about ATM fees, but about the loss of value due to currency exchange rates!
Here’s the deal — the ATM will give you two options: ‘withdraw money with currency conversion’, or ‘withdraw without currency conversion’. You’ll save money if you choose the ‘without currency conversion’ option.
If you choose the other option, ‘withdraw with currency conversion’, then you could lose up to 10% due to high exchange rates. Therefore it’s better to quickly convert the currency yourself and remember to always choose to take out cash ‘without currency conversion’.
Download offline maps before your trip so that you don't use up your data volume on the road!
Humble brag: Here at OWWN we’re working on an in-app map for you and your friends to automatically see all the stores, bars and restaurants where you’ve spent money. It’s a perfect way to see exactly how much money you’ve spent at the resort bar!
The more travel companions you have, the smaller your share of the costs will be for accommodation, car rental, and groceries. It’s a good idea to create different savings pools which everyone in the group can access.
However, if all your friends are staying at home this summer, then apps like Backpackr or Travel Buddy can connect you with other local people who have the same vacation plans or interests. This means you can theoretically start your trip by yourself, but find new people along the way to share gas or shopping costs with.
An obvious one, but it should never be underestimated! Are you a student? Then don't forget your student ID when traveling. Loads of cities give student discounts at museums and movie theaters — sometimes even at clubs too.
Banking services are provided by our partner Solaris SE
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