Travel Savings That Are Not Savings

It is very satisfying to travel on a low budget and that you have enough scope for everything. However, sometimes travel savings are not what they seem. For marketing reasons, they present you with an infinite number of offers that at first glance are great, but do not always represent real savings.

As a general rule, one should be wary of something that has an exceptionally low price. Nobody is in the tourism industry to lose money. So if costs go down that much, they are probably also reducing some service or the quality of some product.

Among the travel savings with which you must be especially careful are the basic costs: transportation, accommodation and food. It is good that you make your plans remembering the maxim that sometimes cheap is expensive. So be very careful and keep the following recommendations in mind.

Low-price flights

The price of flights is one of the most relative issues out there. Sometimes it is true that you hit the mark. You find just the route and the time when it seems impossible that this is the true price of the air ticket. Often times, however, these offers cover up a series of concessions that affect your budget.

Some airlines charge large sums for luggage. Keep that in mind. Sometimes you find incredible prices, but when you start the purchase process you realize that they only allow you a small handbag and that carrying a cabin suitcase or checking luggage in the hold comes out of the blue.

Also, the cheapest flights almost always include stopovers and plane changes. That many times means that you have to pay not just one, but several times, for that checked bag or for an additional carry-on bag. If you do the math, you may notice that it is cheaper for you to travel on an airline that includes these services, although in principle they have the tickets at a higher price.

Ultra-affordable accommodations

This is one of those travel savings that can be relative. Like flights, sometimes you really get great deals. Above all, if you usually book well in advance and in low season.

However, ultra-cheap accommodations tend to have some shortcomings. The first one is that they do not include breakfast . This can be a drawback in places where food is expensive. If, in addition, cheap accommodation is far from everything, then much worse.

Before you book for the fabulous price shown in red, take a good look at the opinions of those who have been there. Sometimes they offer WiFi that never works, hot showers that are freezing, or a bed that no one can sleep in. Unless you have a Spartan spirit, you might be better off avoiding big travel savings on accommodation.

Some tours do not represent travel savings

When you travel on a low budget, you are looking for the cheapest. This includes the tours that are offered in the destination you are going to. Suddenly, you see an offer almost given away and you assume that you found something ideal. The truth is that they are not always a bargain.

Often times, those tours that are especially inexpensive give you what you would be able to get yourself. Sometimes they are nothing more than a walk through a few streets, while they tell you data that you find on the Internet and for ‘reasonable’ prices that are not worth it.

Other times something worse happens: they put you at risk. This occurs especially in countries where tourism is not highly regulated and, mainly, in beach destinations. They offer you a maritime excursion and when you arrive at the place of embarkation they want to transport you in a boat with minimal security conditions and without any guarantee.

Dangerous travel savings: street food

Not all places have true control over the food they sell on the street. It is clear that this type of food is cheaper than that of a restaurant or a hotel, but remember: cheap is often expensive. You cannot expose your health to save a few euros.

If you are going to eat on the street, make sure you eat in a place that respects basic hygiene rules. It also controls that they give you food, let’s not say healthy, but safe, that is, food that has not been made with expired or poor quality products.

We are not exaggerating: that happens in some parts of the world. At best, it leads to indigestion that can ruin part of your trip. In the worst case, you can get a disease with unpredictable consequences.