Most people aren’t born savvy travelers. It’s something that only comes with on-the-road experience. In the beginning, you make a lot of travel mistakes. Travel savviness is a process born of missed buses, foolish behavior, cultural unawareness, and countless tiny errors. Then, one day, you begin to seamlessly move through airports and integrate yourself into new cultures like a fish to water. I’ve learned these tips over the last twelve years. These tips for traveling will have you saving money, sleeping better, getting off the beaten path more, meeting locals, and just being a better traveler.

Book the hotel at the last moment (if you could not much in advance)

Many hotels reduce the price of unsold rooms. To do this, there are services like Hotel Tonight - there are hot offers.

Go to restaurants with panoramas

The entrance to the observation deck in the skyscraper may cost more than a couple of cocktails in the panoramic bar downstairs.

In a dollar country, take a card tied to a dollar account; in the eurozone, use a euro card

The fact is that otherwise, you may encounter not double conversion, but double conversion because the bank can conduct all transactions in the currency of your account. For example, you have a ruble card, you are in the USA, and the bank conducts transactions in euros. First, the amount will be converted from dollars to euros (and you will most likely pay a commission), and then into rubles (commission again). 

Go to museums for free

Some museums, such as the Prado of Madrid, begin to let visitors in without an hour or two before closing time.

Use the card in the phone offline

Some navigators and travel guides for smartphones download maps in advance and can work offline.

Buy tickets for flights with a transfer in parts

If you need to get to a small regional airport or a distant exotic country, then individual tickets can cost significantly less than the through fare from Russia to their destination. 

Not enough miles? Check how you can get them quickly.

Any mile program has promotions. For example, this summer, if you make an online application for a Visa Travel Classic card at Raiffeisenbank and complete the first transaction in the amount of 1,000 rubles, then you will be given 2,000 welcome miles.

 Fly business class for the price of economy

Almost all major airlines sell tickets for the flight a little more than seats, knowing that someone will not come anyway. In the case of overbooking, it is easier for them to transfer you to a business class for free than to pay compensation or send it by competitors.

Get insurance for free

Some banks offer free travel insurance inside package deals. For example, in Raiffeisenbank it is put to all customers (as well as their children and spouses) who use the package Golden, Premium Direct or Premium.

Search for local free wifi.

Install the WiFi Finder application. It helps to find open access points and prompts passwords to closed.

Ask the bank for rent discounts.

In Europe, such discounts are most often given to MasterCard cardholders.

Get a card to withdraw cash

Some banks offer cards from which you can withdraw money from ATMs abroad without commission. 

Check what travel cards give

If you are going to actively travel around the country by train and bus, Find out if there is a special travel card for tourists.

Turn one trip in two. Or three

Suppose you have found a cheap ticket to Bangkok Vietnam Airlines with a transfer in Ho Chi Minh City - and you want to take a boat along the Mekong Delta for a couple of days? Many long-distance tickets with a transfer allow you to make a stop on the way not only for 24 hours but at least for the entire duration of the ticket.

also read: Viral Video: Watch this video before planning a trip to go to the Himalayas

Install the application of your bank

This is the best way to manage your finances away from home., control expenses, transfer money from one account to another or transfer it to your close ones.

Do not hesitate with night trains

A purchased ticket to a sleeping car will cost no more than a good hotel.

Get a travel credit card

Give a credit card in hotels and car rentals when you are asked for a deposit. You will not pay interest on the frozen amount, and the deposit will not eat half the money set aside for a vacation. 

Search for secret hotel deals

There are services like Hotwire, in which hotel chains merge rooms cheaper than they can be called publicly. 

Buy tickets from low-cost airlines on several dates at once.

If you are until the last moment only an approximate date of travel, you should subscribe to mailings of all airlines that interest you and as soon as any Ryanair throws out another batch of flights for 5 euros, take immediately five tickets for different days.

Do not pick up a rental car at the airport.

Better to do it in the city, so you will avoid an additional commission. True, rental offices in the city rarely work on weekends and charge extra service charges during regular hours.

also read: Best Countries to visit during summer