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Budget travel

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Budget travel

A good hotel or holiday resort, attractions for children and adults, great location, and, above all, low price, preferably the All Inclusive option. This is a recipe for perfect holidays, which unfortunately seems to be unrealistic. Usually we are forced to give up on some of these criteria and more and more often give up on the low price. Poles tend to take out loans and credits to spend their dream holidays. However, they are not always aware that two weeks of holiday paradise will cost them long months of debt repayment. This is especially dangerous when we are already repaying other liabilities…

Before the holiday period, search engines inundate us with great amounts of loan offers such as: holiday credit or vacation loan. According to analyses*, Poles willingly take out loans during the holiday period. The comfort during holidays we await for the entire year (sometimes even longer) is a must. Therefore, in order to ensure dream rest, we often forget about financial matters. We reach for easily accessible money, forgetting about the influence they will have on our wallets. Especially when we already have difficulties in repaying the existing debts. That is why it is better to first repay all payment arrears than to take out further loans due to holidays.  

According to the study conducted by the Ministry of Sport and Tourism**, in 2013 the participation of Poles in holiday trips was in total by 9% (by 1.5 million) higher than in 2012. This concerned both domestic and foreign trips. And in spite of the fact that the costs of a two-week stay in the most popular countries such as Greece and Egypt cost several thousand zloty, Poles more and more often decide to go on foreign trips, for example due to guaranteed good weather. The data collected in the previous year*** show that during holidays Poles value comfort and choose All Inclusive options and 4- or 5-star hotels. This trend is to continue also this year. In order to save money and energy, Poles use the services of travel agencies, which provide comprehensive organisation of holidays. But do we really get total peace of mind and comfort knowing that our savings get consumed and our overdraft gets bigger and bigger? Maybe it is a good idea to spend some time trying to organise holidays yourself? It only takes some commitment to plan a dream trip for a relatively small amount of money.  

The first step to budget travel is being independent. Those who book a hotel or private accommodation and buy tickets on their own will pay much less for their holidays as compared to tourists using the services of middlemen. It is worth to remember that the cost of commission of a travel agency increases the actual price by several hundred zloty. Meanwhile, there are a lot of possibilities to organise holidays on your own. Remember also not to get into debt due to holidays, especially in a situation when at the same time you are trying to get on an even keel and pay outstanding liabilities. Once you decided to take out a new loan, carefully analyse whether we will be able to repay also this additional liability. It is easy to get into debt but the way out of it is much more difficult.  

Planning is key.

It is a good idea to look for the most cost-effective possibilities of a holiday trip, as there are a lot of them. Apart from using search engines, it is worth to subscribe to newsletters of travel agencies, airlines and other carriers, and also to group purchases platforms, so to be up-to-date with the most attractive offers all year long. This will enable you to find cheap ticket, discounts on transport, and vouchers for accommodation. It is worth to remember that online reservations can be made also free of charge and, in the case of resignation from the trip, you do not bear any costs. When planning holidays, remember about a few rules:

 

Planning What to pay attention to to Where to look
 Transport
  • plan the time of your trip and look for first or last minute offers but be careful – the last minute option does not always have to be the cheapest
  • one keep track of information on special offers on websites and fanpages of travel agencies and carriers
  • plan funds for local transport; check the costs of local public transport tickets, rental of cars, scooters or bikes

 
Accommodation
  • look for accommodation in hostels and shelters - they are cheaper but the conditions there are not necessarily worse than those in hotels
  • when travelling with a group of friends, look for a camper or a campsite; it may be a good idea to rent a studio or a flat
  • use the flat swap option and spend the nights in the residents of the city of your destination
Expenses
  • read the guide or look for information about a given city on travel blogs (you will find there many tourist routes and ideas for spending free time)
  • lan sightseeing (calculate how much money you will spend on entrance tickets and local transport); when visiting museums, remember about the days on which entry is free
  • plan your funds for meals take out insurance
  • in case of problems, you will avoid additional expenditure

 

You cannot be too careful

If you decided to make a reservation online or by telephone, both of accommodation and transport, it is worth to check whether we are working with a reliable contractor. Internet forums will certainly help you find opinions on the place, facility and carrier you are interested in. If it is a travel agency or transport company, you can check it in ERIF Register of Debtors BIG Internet portal, and in the case of a tour operator - in the Central Register of Tourism Organisers and Intermediaries.  

 

*Statistics of Comperia.pl financial comparison website; 2013

**A study conducted by Activ Group. on behalf of the Ministry of Sport and Tourism under the Public Statistics Programme for 2013 – topic No.1.30.06(099) "Tourism activities of Poles"

***Tourist market forecast according to fly.pl, 2014    

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