You might be surprised to learn of the many cheap traveldeals, including cheapairplane tickets, discount hotel rooms, discounttravel deals, and cheap vacation packages that canhelp make overseas travel affordable.
The following are overseas travel tips for the budgetminded traveler:
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Make apoint of accumulating as many credit card reward points and frequent fliermiles on as few cards and airlines as possible. You should compare different card offers and frequent flier programs tofind the ones that best suit your needs.
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Becreative regarding your destination overseas and how you are routed to thatdestination. Sometimes you may not havemuch interest in the area you are flying into, but can arrive in a continentmuch cheaper than by flying into more popular cities. Then you can take local transportation toyour ultimate desired destination.
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Oftenyou can save on hotel expenses by arranging to stay during the weekends inurban hotels popular with business travelers.
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Savingscan also be realized sometimes on overland transportation costs by being acontrarian traveler and reversing your course of travel on itineraries suggestedin popular guide books.
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Travelingduring the off season is one of the best ways to save. Peak season prices can be between 20 to 40percent more and often a single week is the difference between paying peak vs.off peak prices. Being flexible on thedays you will fly, even by a couple of days, can result in savings of hundredsof dollars on international airline tickets.
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Make apoint of using public transportation while overseas. Public transportation systems in most othercountries are far more extensive, affordable, and user friendly than inAmerica.
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Makeyour big meal of the day lunch rather than dinner, which is when menu pricesare lower. Be open to trying inexpensivestreet food.
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Minimizethe cost of exchanging money by withdrawing local currency from a bank ATM uponyour arrival. This usually results in abetter exchange rate than trading US dollars. If you will be staying in a country for an extended period of time,safeguard your cash by withdrawing local currency incrementally as needed.
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Beforedeparture look for a bank in the U.S. that does not charge a special servicefee for ATM withdrawals overseas or has minimal fees. Also make a point of finding a credit cardthat does not charge foreign transaction fees.
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Beforeleaving on your trip find out about local negotiating customs. While negotiating the prices of goods andservice is the exception in America, it is the norm in much of the rest of theworld. Depending on local custom, youmay realize significant savings by asking at hotels, local markets, and otherservice providers if they will accept less that their stated price.
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If youhave the time, consider taking overseas trips that last weeks or even monthslong, since the cost of airline tickets is often your most expensive travelexpense and by visiting more cities and/or countries once on a continent, youcan farther stretch your travel dollar.
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