Alicia's Travel Guide
- Oct 17, 2020

Travel Resources For Travelling On A Budget

A common trend in travel is the talk revolving around one word...budget. Everyone wants to get the best price. When planning my travels I find that I'm always using the same sites to compare prices. I always reduce my costs as much as possible so I recommend checking these sites when planning your flights, and accommodation.

FLIGHTS

A few points of note before the sites. Always use a private or incognito browser at midnight on a Tuesday. I know, it sounds a bit excessive, but this is guaranteed to get you the best price. On average you can save about 6% by booking in this way.

SKYSCANNER- The classic option, but the best (I almost always book through Skyscanner). I start with Skyscanner to check the variation of flight prices. I like the fact that you can set strict search criteria, and the calendar is visually easy to use. The search via a map is super handy if you're wanting some travel inspo. I always make sure I set a price alert to keep an eye of flight; this is why you need to book off a private browser as cookies would recognise you've signed up for flight alerts and prices may be boosted as a result! Find out more here.
STUDENT UNIVERSE- Best for when booking as a group. Whilst you don't have to be a student to book through the website, prices are optimised for groups. i.e. receiving discounts for more people booking etc. You can also often find individual flights for much cheaper than other sites. I recommend booking as soon as you see an appealing price as they are regularly changing. Find out more here.
JACK'S FLIGHT CLUB- Best for spontaneous booking. Sign up to email updates and Jack's flight club will email you the best flight deals they've found online; often saving a good few hundred pounds! Whilst the flights can be amazing bargains, you do have to be flexible with both dates and locations to fit with the offers. Find out more here.
GOOGLE FLIGHTS- I love GoogleFlights as they can easily find the best travel dates for your destination. The search results are extremely quick for even the broadest searches. I usually use GoogleFlights in conjunction with these other sites. Find out more here.
ITA MATRIX- This site is ultimately what most other flight search engines use behind the scenes. So why not go direct to the source. This site analyses every single possible flight route and prices for almost all airlines. I just love this site; I feel like my own little travel agent. Find out more here.

ACCOMMODATION

HOSTELWORLD- When looking to stay in a hostel, the HostelWorld app is absolutely vital. You secure your bed (or room) by paying a small deposit, and the remainder when you arrive. I recommend downloading the app as you can easily search and book hostels, but also use several in-app features. For example, there's a chat that you can access to talk to others staying in the hostel, a translator, and often a virtual noticeboard of hostel activities and events. Find out more here.
BOOKING.COM- Typically where I book my hotels. I think the combination of reviews, images, and descriptions makes it the perfect booking site. As well as the fact they suggest similar hotels if your first choice is fully booked for example. Find out more here.
AIRBNB- Sometimes Airbnb can be the best option if you're wanting a more unique stay or some time away from others. There are some unique and wonderful homes on Airbnb for cheaper than a hotel! Find out more here.
OWN WEBSITE- Hotel's own websites can occasionally be cheaper than the above sites. Whilst I don't often book rooms using this method, I always check. There can often be direct discounts as they don't need to pay commission to the comparison sites. For example, I booked my recent stay in Hong Kong through the Prudential's own website as they were offering deals to attract tourists, given the protests that were going on in HK at the time (October 2019).

SAFELY CONNECT ONLINE

VPN's are essential if you're planning on using unsecured wifi's whilst travelling, or if you need to access your banking apps. It's better to be safe than sorry. They're also essential if you're visiting China where there are major restrictions on the internet. The two VPN companies below are very similar, however, there is a brief comparison.

NORDVPN- slightly cheaper and often heavily discounted through discount codes. Find out more here.
EXPRESSVPN- slightly faster and higher level of security. Find out more here.