How to organize your own travel. Independent rest

When for the first time the thought comes of how to relax without a tour operator, it may seem that it is very difficult and it is better to trust in the hands of professionals. In fact, organizing an independent holiday is an exciting pastime and is integral part trips.

As you know, all people are divided into leaders and followers. Leaders organize their own holidays on their own, while followers prefer to use the services of a tour operator. Naturally, if it is alien to you to make any decision on your own, then you do not need to force yourself and contact one of the nearest travel agencies.

Today we will learn how to travel on our own and find out how to relax without a tour operator. If you have previously bought package tours, then you know what they give you: copies of air tickets, hotel reservations (voucher) and a copy insurance policy. For visa countries they still issue a visa, although in some countries it is done upon arrival at the airport.

Flight booking

In order to buy a ticket, you do not need to go to the airport or the ticket office and spend a lot of time. Now is the age of information technology, so you can book a ticket without leaving your home via the Internet. We go to, enter the estimated dates of your trip and look at ticket prices and the number of transfers. If you are satisfied with all the conditions and the price, then fill in the details of your passport and pay for the ticket using a payment card. Copies of tickets will be sent to your e-mail and can be printed on paper. At the airport, upon departure, it will be enough to show your passport and you will receive boarding pass at the check-in counter for the flight.

Booking a hotel

With the help, we select housing for ourselves at the resort that you have chosen, taking into account the price and quality of the services provided. As in the case of air tickets, we book a room by indicating your passport details and paying with a payment card. If you are not going to spend your entire vacation in one hotel or one resort, then it will be enough to book a room for a couple of days. If it turns out to be good and you want to stay longer, you can extend it on the spot, but keep in mind that during peak season all rooms can be booked in advance. It is not necessary to check into a hotel, as locals quite often they rent out their apartments or villas to tourists for quite affordable prices. The advantage of apartments or apartments is the presence of a washing machine and the absence of annoying staff who are always begging for tips. The latter is quite typical for, and other Muslim countries.

Insurance policy

Travel insurance is not required in most parts of the world, but the miser pays twice, so it's best to have one just in case. You can buy an insurance policy via the Internet on one of the sites providing these services. Also, if you do not trust online shopping, you can go to the nearest insurance company. Depending on the country and the amount of coverage, insurance can cost from $15 to $30 for 14 days.

Visa

Main tourist destinations, except for the countries of the European Union, are visa-free or conditionally visa-free for Russians, which means the possibility of obtaining a visa upon arrival in the country. For example, such conditionally visa-free countries are Egypt and Turkey. For a vacation without a tour operator in one of the EU countries, you can apply for a visa at the consulate of the country where you are going to relax, at your place of residence. To do this, you will need copies of round-trip air tickets, an insurance policy and a hotel reservation. Plus, you will need to pay a consular fee for a visa.

Transport

Upon arrival at the airport of your resort, it is natural that no one will meet you, since you are resting without a tour operator. However, some hotels have free service like a transfer from the airport to the hotel. Ask in advance at your hotel if they provide such a service. If not, then leaving the airport, take a taxi and go to your hotel, where your room will already be waiting for you.

Excursions

Some sights can be explored on your own, especially if they are located in the city itself. However, in the matter of excursions, it will be possible to buy in one of the street tourist offices organized tour. benefit organized excursion there will be a Russian-speaking guide who will be able to tell interesting things that are not in printed guidebooks, and it also removes possible problems with a language barrier. Also, many countries have tourist buses, which have an audio guide on the main foreign languages, and who travel to the main attractions of the city and make stops near them. This The best way explore the city and its monuments.

That's all science! Now you know how to relax without a tour operator and you can safely prepare for your vacation.

A lot of myths are connected with rest without a travel agency. One of them will be more expensive than buying a tour from an operator. But in fact, you can plan a trip for any budget, and in addition, get complete freedom in choosing the direction, type of vacation, dates and other components. What is needed for this?

Photo miridei.com

Direction

Poland or a European tour of the Baltic countries will do. Do more experienced travelers Spain and Italy are popular. In the first case, most travel to Catalonia to explore Barcelona and its surroundings, relax on the beaches of the Costa Brava or Costa Dorada resorts. Trips to Italy most often include visiting famous cities- Milan, Florence, Pisa, Venice. In these areas it is convenient to combine sightseeing and beach holiday.

There are routes on which independent travel with air flights and accommodation (apartments without meals) can be many times cheaper than from a travel agency. For example, vacation canary islands in summer it will cost from 450 euros per week, in Mallorca - from 500 euros.

Transport

Alexander Ganulich advises to buy air tickets first (and after booking accommodation and solving other issues) - their prices are the most unstable:

Even at the planning stage, reach the last stage of buying a ticket, when all fees and commissions are visible - fuel, airport tax, booking fee, payment credit card and so on. This is the only way to know the final price. Be sure to pay attention to what is included in the ticket price, what are the sizes of the free hand luggage how much is baggage allowance.

Pay attention to the time of arrival and departure - this is especially important for those who have to transfer. When transiting, take into account the place of disembarkation and landing - if they do not match, calculate in advance the time it will take to move. Plus, add a couple of hours of reserve in case the transport is late. The expert explains:

When transferring between buses of different carriers, lay down 1-2 hours, depending on the reputation of the carrier and the situation at the border (there will be more queues on holidays). For air transfers, it is better to leave 2-3 hours between flights. The longer the flight distance, the higher the probability that the aircraft will fly longer than planned. And do not forget that it is advisable to be at the airport 2 hours before departure, and check-in ends 40 minutes.

If you are late, the main thing is not to panic. The first step is to find out if the option of returning or replacing a ticket is possible, says Alexander Ganulich:

But when it comes to flights on low-cost airlines, as a rule, they didn’t fly away - they lost money. The next step is to find the internet and buy a ticket for another flight. This means that you need to have bank card, suitable for settlements abroad, and a stash in the account. Also, do not forget to warn your loved ones that everything is fine with you: you have not disappeared, but simply missed your flight.

When calculating the final amount that the vacation will cost (excluding the money that you will take with you), do not forget to take into account not only housing and flights / transfers between countries, but also other trifles - for example, transfer to the airport and to your place of residence, if necessary - payment consular fee for opening a visa, paying for baggage, etc.
Photo econet.kz

Housing

The hotel is suitable for those who want to live in comfort and have meals included. More a budget option- apartments (with their own kitchen and washing machine) on long term or a private room in an apartment for short. If you want to make new acquaintances - choose a hostel. Fans of an extraordinary holiday can book a tent, trailer, trailer, boat - it's interesting to try, but not for a long stay.

The cost of housing depends on many factors, including location and season. For example, in the summer in Barcelona, ​​a double room in a hotel will cost about 80-70 euros per day, apartments - from 50 euros, a room in an apartment - from 30 euros, a bed in a hostel - from 10 euros. Do not forget to enter the number of the owner of the apartment or the hotel reception, as well as the address of the accommodation, into the phone’s memory, the expert says:

Regardless of whether you have booked a hotel or apartment, it is better to contact the host (the one who receives guests) in advance: name the time of arrival, specify the address and how to identify the hotel or house on the spot, coordinate the handover of keys with the owners of the apartment or find out the opening hours reception at the hotel (not all work around the clock). Often, the owners of small hotels or apartment owners offer a transfer, if the price is acceptable, you can use it.

Excursions

There are places that you definitely need to think about visiting while still at home: for example, the Teide volcano in Tenerife - places for those who want to look inside the crater, as a rule, end 1-2 months before the date of visit. And if you plan to visit the Eiffel Tower or the Reichstag, it is also better to book tickets in advance so as not to stand in line. In some cases, it is more convenient to buy tickets on the spot: for example, Park Güell in Barcelona - when you want, then you can go.

Safety

You can not call anyone and not spend money, but in case of emergency, you should always have access to communication. Find out in advance if there is a representative office of Belarus in the country where you are going, write down its address and phone number. If not, in what nearest country does it exist and are there representations Russian Federation. Even before the trip, sort out the currency: you always need to have a small amount of local money in cash with you, but it is better to keep the main budget on the map.

Tatyana Solomatina

How to organize a trip on your own?

Greetings to all readers of my blog!

What makes people give up independent travel, overpay tour operators, risking losing everything?

Someone fundamentally does not want to engage in training, and someone is simply afraid, does not know where to start. This information will be useful for people who dream of relaxing on their own, but do not know how to act. It was for them that I made detailed plan how to organize a solo trip.

Step-by-step instruction

Think about what interests you, ask friends and acquaintances, read reviews. Calculate your budget. Understand the number of days.

It's good if the dates are floating, plus or minus a few days. This will allow you to subsequently play on the cost of air tickets. It's no secret that ticket prices can vary greatly for neighboring dates.

Carefully read the climatic conditions of the chosen vacation spot, it is possible that during your vacation there is not a season there, which may negatively affect your plans. In this case, either change the place, or mentally prepare for inconvenience.

Step 2: Making a route

This point is very important, especially for those who plan to visit several places or even countries. Here are the highlights:

1. Open the map, select the places of interest. We read the reviews, maybe you won’t have time to go somewhere, it’s not worth going somewhere, but something is expensive.
2. Arranging the order of visits. Let's break it down by date.
3. Internal movements. If you plan to travel by rented car or taxi, then most likely there will be no problems here. If public transport, then you need to find out the schedule and cost in advance.

Adviсe

• Find out in advance the opening hours of the places you intend to visit during your trip. Perhaps on the right day there will be a day off. It's a shame not to visit what we planned.
• If your itinerary includes domestic flights, take into account climatic conditions countries.
• Stock up on patience. How harder route the more time it takes to develop it.

Step 3: Buy tickets

Go to the Aviasales website - https://www.aviasales.ru For me, this is the best service. It is convenient in that you can quickly separate direct flights and flights with transfers, set the required departure time in the search, set up tracking of cheap tickets, view a table with prices for each day of the month.

We enter the data, click "Find tickets", in a few seconds all options for your dates are displayed. If you have floating dates, be sure to check the cost of tickets for neighboring dates. Might be good savings.

I prefer to buy tickets on the websites of the airlines themselves, and not on the services of intermediaries. Therefore, having found a flight convenient for me, I write down all the data and go to the website of the airline operating this flight. I set the same dates in the search engine, find tickets and buy them. Many will probably disagree with me, but I'm so calm.

You can try to buy a ticket for a charter flight. It will most likely be cheaper. However, if you are going to buy them, you must understand that you are completely dependent on the tour operator. The risk of flight delay, replacement, cancellation is much higher than in the case of a regular flight. How to buy tickets for charter flights, read .

Adviсe

• Buy tickets there and back. It will cost less than one way.
• Buy tickets in advance. More likely pay cheap.
• If you are planning domestic flights, buy them in advance. Read reviews, look for local airlines, prices are usually lower.
• Pay attention to the baggage allowance. Sometimes cheap fares come with a minimum baggage allowance, which costs a pretty penny when you check in for a flight.
• Always print e-tickets. Once I saw how at check-in in Thailand they could not find people on the passenger list. It was a scheduled flight. The guys were lucky, they had a laptop with them, opened the mail, showed the ticket number.

Step 4: Book a hotel

Having bought tickets, you can proceed to the choice of accommodation. Someone plans to live in a hotel, someone in a luxury villa, and someone in a simple bungalow. There are a lot of services for booking accommodation. I prefer to use booking.com. But I always check the results on the aggregator services Hotellook, Roomguru, Trivago. Why do I do this and what is the best way to book accommodation? Read.

Everything is very simple at Bucking. Come in to the website, enter the place, dates, number of people in the search engine, click "Find". You can enter data into the search engine from above.

On the right, you will find many accommodation options. In the left field there is a search engine where you can sort by price, services, location, there are many filters. Then you look through the options, choose, and book. When booking, please provide a valid email address, you will receive a booking confirmation. Be sure to print it out and take it with you. In case of problems on the spot, it can come in handy.

Adviсe

• Book your stay in advance, there will be more options.
• Are you planning to stay in one place for a long time? more than a week), it may be worth booking for one day, and looking for better accommodation on the spot. Unless, of course, this is not the peak season, and your trip does not coincide with local holidays.
• If possible, choose places that do not take prepayment, where you can cancel your reservation. Then if plans change, you will not lose money.
• Please read the booking conditions carefully. Sometimes they are very tough.
• Pay attention to the accommodation policy (no pets, no smoking, much more).
• Be sure to read the reviews, see the latest information on the forums. So you will get more information than you can see from the description on the service.
• If you decide to book a hotel directly on its website, do not be too lazy to translate the text into Russian. Otherwise, you can lose your funds (read), as it was with me in Sri Lanka.

Step 5: Making visas

Many countries require visas to enter. It's time to do this.

There are countries where a visa is placed at the border. Issue it upon arrival at the airport. There is nothing complicated, after landing, do as everyone else, no problem.

Some countries require you to apply for a visa online. In this case, go to the website of the embassy, ​​read the rules of registration and follow the instructions. If this is difficult for you, there are many intermediary agencies willing to do everything for you for a fee. I used their services when I was. Everything was done quickly and accurately.

Some countries require you to apply for a visa at the embassy or visa application center. It will take time, but it's also not scary. Study the information on the embassy website, follow the instructions. Sometimes an electronic record is kept for filing documents.

How to apply for a Schengen visa, read.

Adviсe

• Making a visa yourself is not difficult, you do not need to overpay for assistance in providing such a service.
• Arrange in advance, do not leave for later.
• Check expiration date foreign passport. One of common causes visa denial.
• Carefully prepare the documents, copies should be of good quality.
• If you decide to contact intermediaries, read reviews about them.
• If you are traveling with children, do not forget to make notarized powers of attorney from legal representatives.

Step 6: Get health insurance

Somewhere insurance is required at the time of applying for a visa, somewhere it is not required at all, and somewhere it is asked at the border. And there are only two options:

1. You need insurance only to receive documents.
2. Do you need insurance for medical care in another country, you want to protect yourself from unexpected expenses.

With the first option, everything is simple - go to the nearest insurance agency or apply online, buy the cheapest option.

The second option is the most correct in my opinion. But you need to seriously approach the choice of an insurance company. The main thing you need to pay attention to is the assistance of the insurance company, that is, its partner abroad, which is designed to provide medical service in place. Timely qualified assistance depends on this in the event of an emergency. insured event. I have a separate blog page about this. There I compare many insurance companies and talk in detail about what must be taken into account when choosing a policy.

I always buy insurance. I usually use the service cherehapa.ru:

Adviсe

• In order to understand what kind of assistance you need (they may be different, depending on the country), read the reviews.
• Carefully fill in the data when buying insurance. One wrong letter or number, you will not be paid for the insured event.
• Don't rely on luck. The $100 you save can make all the difference in your journey.
• If you are faced with the choice of buying insurance or not, I recommend purchasing it.

Step 7: Learning Transport

If you decide to rent a car, then there are two options. Order in advance or choose on the spot. There is no clear answer. It all depends on the country and season.

If you are traveling at the peak of the season, it is wiser to book a car in advance. This is how you ensure it exists. International car rental companies will require payment immediately upon booking. This deprives you of the right to change the decision, the advance payment will remain with them. Must have international driving license and a deposit for the car.

I have never booked a car from home. I risked being left without a car, but somehow managed. international law received recently, how to get the coveted crust, read.

If you are not planning to take a car, it's time to think about how you will get to your place of residence and how you are going to move around the country. There are several options here too:

1. Transfer order at the hotel. Usually not the cheapest option. But the simplest. But with subsequent movement around the country, it certainly will not help.
2. Take a taxi. Not a budget exit, only for short distances. You can't move from city to city.
3. Contact private drivers. This is not always possible at the airport. But to agree on long-term cooperation with them is quite realistic. By negotiating the terms, it is often possible to bring down the price of services.
4. Go by public transport. Inconvenient with luggage, there is not always a direct connection, arrival may not coincide with the schedule. However, this is the cheapest option.

If you choose to travel by public transport, then it's time to study the timetables and routes. I collect this information from the internet. I analyze, I write down everything, I take this data with me.

Adviсe

• Even at home, think about how you will move around the country, find out prices and schedules. Take this information with you.
• When choosing a car booking service, be guided by reviews.
• When ordering a transfer from the hotel, find out the price and method of payment. I had a case where I paid twice. First, the driver demanded money, and then they added it to the bill when leaving the hotel. Couldn't prove anything.

Step 8: Plan excursions

Almost all preparations are made. When planning your itinerary, you have already chosen the places you are going to visit.

You can explore everything on your own, you have already read the schedule, decided how and what to get to (if not, read Step 2 and 7 above).

Alternatively, buy excursions. They can be booked in advance, having studied the information on the Internet, or bought on the spot. There are many tour agencies in almost every tourist city.

If you don't know English, don't worry. Usually there Russian speaking guides. This option will cost more than a visit on your own. But the price usually includes transfer, entrance tickets and guide services.

general information

To feel confident when traveling, be sure to read about the country. Study history and culture, orders and customs.

Decide on a financial issue. Find out. Solve the issue with . I had a problem in Thailand. Before the trip, I did not inform the bank about my plans and could not use a credit card. The fact is that many banks, for the security of payments, require the country to be opened in order to be able to withdraw funds there. And until you do this, it will be impossible to make transactions with the card. To prevent this from happening, just call the bank and tell them about your plans.

Perhaps you have friends who have been in this country, consult with them. Read, there are many travel blogs on the Internet.

The most important advantage of independent travel is freedom. Organizing a trip is not difficult at all. If you have a great desire to try something new, if you are tired of overpaying tour operators, do not delay, take and plan your next vacation yourself. Everything happens for the first time. It's not as scary as it seems. Believe in yourself and then everything will work out!

Doubt? Read my article. And in me it was possible to show the selection process on a virtual example.

If you do not agree with me, you have additions or corrections, leave comments, I will be glad to see them.

It may be difficult for you to organize an independent trip on your own, there is no time or desire to delve into all the intricacies of the issue, write to me, I will select the most profitable flight and accommodation options for the given dates, draw up a route, do everything better and cheaper than travel agencies. You don’t have to worry about money, you won’t have to trust me, you yourself will pay for everything online under my guidance. Read more about cooperation.

Now I say goodbye for a while.

Tatyana Solomatina

Where is it cheaper to go on a tour, and where to book a vacation on your own? On what dates can you catch trips cheaper than a round-trip flight? And why are tours no longer mainstream?

It is very difficult to dissuade a person. If once we accepted a certain statement as true, then try to encroach on this fact with a portion of healthy argumentation. Like, for example, if one day we decided that the independent selection of a trip with booking plane tickets and hotel rooms separately is much more profitable than buying tour, then everything - write wasted. More precisely, our finances, which could be used more efficiently, will disappear.

Since Russia owns only one seashore where you can warm yourself - the Black Sea, the time for swimming is limited to only three months. Only in July, August and September, and partly in June, the Black Sea warms up to comfortable temperature for a complete beach holiday. Yes, and our southern resorts not rubber and often “please” with unpredictable weather. Therefore, “our man” always strives to warm up somewhere, preferably away from home. And of course - for a reasonable price.

Package tours exist and have been popular for many years, especially beach holidays. Regulated by a market economy, they have undergone many changes during their existence - in pricing policy, trends, the degree of reliability of tour operators. And during this time overgrown with many myths. Here are some of the most important of them, in which it is time to stop believing if you want to properly relax.

Myth 1 (the most important!)

Tours are always more expensive than independent travel.

In fact, the benefit of buying one way or another - a ticket or self-booking - depends on the direction. If you want to go to Tunisia on an “all inclusive”, then naturally you are better off choosing a full-fledged tour package. If you would like to visit wineries in French Provence, then it is better to organize such a trip on your own.

However, the range is not worth package tours limited only to Bulgaria, Greece and other sales leaders in the summer. Often on a tour you can fly to Spain very profitably, settle at sandy beach Costa del Maresme and visit every day in Barcelona, ​​which is half an hour from the resort.

It happens that at the turn of the seasons or for a sudden promotion, you can buy a tour to Thailand - most often, for the most popular resorts- to Pattaya, Bangkok and Phuket - cheaper than a flight. For example, you can fly to Phuket with Qatar Airlines with a transfer in Doha. Here, the quality of airlines will be a plus - comfortable chairs, good food, TV, and a minus - a flight until 18 hours. In early June, the price of a flight with transfers costs 26,000 rubles, a direct Aeroflot flight - 28,000 rubles (10 hours on the way), or you can buy the whole tour with a direct charter flight, 10 nights' accommodation, transfer, insurance and breakfast at the hotel for 25,000 per person (for double occupancy). An example is the 3-star Tuana M Narina Hotel in Patong.It is not even necessary to live in the chosen hotel - on the spot you can move to any other place (only you will have to return to the hotel for the transfer).

Myth 2

Tours are boring for pensioners too

Any tour can always be customized. For example, go to Ayia Napa, rent a car and drive around the island. No rights? Sign up for any excursions or meet the locals, and they will give you such a tour of the territories that you cannot even imagine. And in the evening, have fun at discos, meet tourists from all over the world, practice English.

Pensioners sit in the hotel and go down to the beach. You can arrange any adventure for yourself, and no guide will limit you in this. In addition, the price of the tour in the vast majority of cases is really a decisive factor. Even if the whole hotel is filled with old people, this does not prevent you from getting out to adventure every day. And it doesn't matter what your friends think, if you flew really cheap and safe.

Myth 3

No guarantees!

Many people believe that in the process of buying a tour and during the holiday itself, you go through many intermediaries, which means that no one is responsible if something goes wrong. In fact, everything is different.

For example, a travel agency that works with several tour operators on the same terms, although it is an intermediary, takes responsibility for organizing your holiday. You are guaranteed a visa, as there is an agreement with the consulates. If you have any problems at the airport, they immediately contact representatives of tour operators on the spot and solve them. If you missed your flight, they help you find and buy the most cheap ticket on the next flight and contact the hotel, warning about the delay. Moreover, if you are not satisfied with the hotel, you must be relocated to another hotel of the same category. In independent travel agencies, it even helps to write a claim against the tour operator and demand a refund! To request assistance in organizing a service or compensation for losses, you can always contact your travel agent by direct phone or email.

However, there is always the possibility that the tour operator (not the travel agency) will go bankrupt, and then you will lose everything. To avoid such risks, contact only trusted tour operators that are registered in the public register of tour operators.

When buying a plane ticket and booking a hotel room, either the airline or the hotelier is directly responsible for each item. The hotel is unlikely to close, and airlines rarely go bankrupt. If a regular flight is canceled, you are required to transfer to another flight or compensate for the cost of the ticket. And the hotels are afraid negative reviews and do everything they can to make sure you enjoy your stay. In addition, they take great care of those customers who book rooms directly.

Why is it so cheap?

Tourists often miss advantageous tours because they don't believe they're really that cheap. Expect surcharges and other fees and do not even try to purchase this tour. Well, who will believe that after May holidays could fly to Greece for 7 nights and half board for 18 thousand rubles for two for the whole tour? In fact, there is always a rational explanation for such cheapness.

Tour operators redeem tickets for regular and charter flights at popular destinations m in advance, planning the whole season. That is, they have full right significantly reduce ticket prices if they were not sold out before departure. On scheduled flights, which are purchased independently, there are no last-minute offers. If the plane is not full, any seat will be sold at a pre-fixed price. But airline promotions are possible, which need to be carefully monitored.

In addition, tour operators often arrange promotions for certain destinations with discounts of up to 50-60% - when you urgently need to sell tours to this resort according to the tour operator's internal plan. Usually such a promotion lasts no more than 3 days - it is convenient to follow the offers in the social networks of the travel agency you trust and not miss the best offer.

It is also always beneficial to travel right after the holidays - when Russian tourists return from vacation, and the resorts are empty, and the planes are not full. For example, by the end of the January or May holidays. And also with a return date that coincides with the beginning of the holidays - for example, in the last week of April with a return on May 1.

As for the aforementioned Greece, the offer was so cheap (up to 70% discount!), because the flight was scheduled 5-7 days after the purchase. During this time, you would not have had time to apply for a visa. But if you already have a Schengen visa, you can always travel to European resorts on very last-minute trips - buying a tour a few days before the departure date.

There is also a system called Early booking". Using it, you can save up to 40% on the purchase of a tour to a certain hotel (most often very popular). The main principle is the purchase of the tour or its partial payment with arrival during the peak period (summer or New Year), but always in advance - for a few months. It is important for hoteliers to know how many tourists will check into them, and it is convenient to receive money as early as possible.

At independent travel it is always profitable to buy a plane ticket six months in advance, or rather at least 29 weeks before the departure date. Besides, in European countries promotions are often arranged, especially if you are flying for only 2-3 nights. And there is no point in buying a tour.

So what are the pros and cons?

And a few more points for comparison and making the right decision for this summer:

Tour vacation

Fast, easy: no need to look for anything yourself

Permanent Russian-speaking support for your travel agent

Visa support

Ability to fly on hot deals

Everything you need is included in the tour: flight (charter or regular to choose from), hotel accommodation, meals, transfer, insurance, support of a Russian-speaking guide

Individual support for a travel agent at the tour selection stage - great experience, knowledge of hotels and tourist reviews, advise or dissuade

The tour operator may go bankrupt and you will not get your money back

It is not profitable to buy a tour for unpopular destinations

Frequently used charter flights with poor food and uncomfortable seats

The travel agency must provide you with freevisa support. This service is required for self-registration visas. As a rule, documents for a tour - a voucher, insurance and air tickets - are sent to the tourist a few days before departure. When applying for a visa, the travel agency advises you on what documents are required for obtaining a visa, and also sends a complete package of documents confirming that you have booked a tour.

Self-guided tours:

Absolute freedom in the organization of recreation - happiness for introverts!

If you plan your vacation in advance, then it is much cheaper to buy plane tickets 29 weeks before departure - (according to Skyscanner).

Independence from other group members (in transfer or on excursions)

Many airline and hotel websites are in English

No transfer and insurance

Good ownership required English language, sometimes not only English (for example, in China, a very small part of the population speaks English)

In total, it is always cheaper to buy a tour for popular destinations, especially a last-minute offer. And this cheapness often covers all the possible disadvantages of a tour package. And for some, even the search itself becomes the beginning of vacation adventures - many are even ready to overpay, but organize their vacation completely on their own! Remember all the pros and cons that we have told you about in this article and make the right decision! 😉

There is nothing difficult about making your trip on a budget. A little planning and knowing a few savings secrets is all it takes. Flights, hotels, visas, transportation, meals, communications - all of these items can be reduced with a little effort. MAKE-TRIP shares a dozen with you useful tips, how to travel cheap. Hurry to find out!

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1. Travel on your own!

The first (and most important) law: do not be afraid. It's simple, it's fun, it's cheap. Some people do not even imagine that it is possible to travel abroad without the involvement of agencies and other organizations - they believe that this is the only way to guarantee their safety. And in the end, they either get a boring rest, mostly in a supine position, or spend unimaginable amounts on more or less non-standard rest. Traveling alone is not only possible, but necessary! Only independent trip can be considered a real journey, everything else is tourist vacation. Organize yourself great trip Anyone can, you just need to show a little independence. Look at our different countries and cities.

In our opinion, it is especially interesting to travel by car (personal or rented) - absolute freedom movements! If you are interested in this option, read our tips about. Traveling is amazing too!

2. Find the cheapest flights

The ability to find and book flights at the lowest price is the most needed skill for budget travel. The main rule that must always be remembered is that the earlier the purchase is made, the more chances find an affordable option. Ours will help you become a real master of finding the cheapest flights. It makes sense to keep track of the current ones on our website and see ours in a particular country or city.

Also, be sure to read about - in this article we talked about the schemes of budgetary entry into the Schengen countries through border Russia European countries. In addition, we advise you to find out about, which allow you to fly for amounts close to zero (buying tickets for 20/30/40 euros will not be a problem).

It is best to search for flights on the Skyscanner metasearch engine - it will find the best deals for you in any direction. This good helper independent travelers, since he is looking for tickets among hundreds of airlines and does not take a single ruble of commission from the buyer. The search engine makes it possible to view the cost of tickets to any country from all cities of Russia (or any other country) at once - a very convenient feature for budget travelers, it allows you to find an option at the best price.

(Photo by Rennett Stowe. Licensed cc by. www.flickr.com)

3. Make your own visas

Why resort to the help of an intermediary and pay him twice or three times as much for it? You do not turn to the help of agents if you want to buy something in a supermarket, and here you do not need to. After all, we are going to travel economically, and not to improve the welfare of strangers.

Find on the Internet information about the nearest consulate or visa application center to you desired country, collect all the required documents and go to them. Many people think that it is more reliable to do it through an agency, allegedly this way the probability of visa refusal is lower. This is a delusion, since the whole mission of these intermediaries is that they will take the documents to the consulate instead of you. Tips on how to prepare the right documents to improve your chances of getting a visa are easy to find on the Internet. Our site also has for a number of popular destinations.

4. Find and book your accommodation the right way

To make travel cheap, you need to find inexpensive accommodation. You can use the excellent metasearch engine Roomguru.ru and select the desired hotel according to your criteria and reasonable price. This resource compares prices among different booking agencies and finds the best deals. Large database of hotels, hostels, guest houses and so on. We recommend reading our tips on.

An alternative to hotels is a popular service for renting private accommodation Airbnb.ru. Try to find an apartment or house for your trip. It is much more comfortable and often cheaper (especially if you travel with a company or family). On service huge selection unique accommodation (beautiful apartments, villas and even residential boats and castles!), accommodation in which will make your trip much more enjoyable and memorable. Take advantage of the current promotion and get a discount - $25 bonus on your first booking.

To choose the perfect accommodation, look also for different cities.

And for those who generally want to live for free, the Couchsurfing resource is vital, where after registering and creating a personal profile, you can find people who are ready to host travelers. The network covers millions of users around the world.

(Photo by Phillip Pessar. Licensed cc by. www.flickr.com)

5. Travel light

Take only what you really need - do not burden yourself with excess luggage. As a result, there are a number of advantages: there is no need to wait a long time for baggage claim, there is no threat of losing it, you don’t have to pay for overweight (and with low-cost airlines in general, any baggage is always paid separately and can cost you up to hundreds of euros), and moving around the airport and in your destination will be much easier and more pleasant if you do not have to lug huge suitcases and bags with you. We even fly to Asia for semi-annual wintering with only one backpack per person.

Read also our tips on and formation. By the way, we recommend shopping on Aliexpress (we order there and tourist equipment, and equipment, and numerous accessories) - it turns out much more profitable than shopping in conventional stores. Pay attention to reviews to choose the best product. Another good store sports and tourist goods - Decathlon (there we bought a tent, hiking clothes and other equipment for trips to the Altai and the Caucasus).

6. Find out about airport transfers in advance

Taxi is always the most costly way transportation, it is much more profitable to use public transport: bus, metro, train. Read about all the possible options before departure - this way you will save a lot of money.

However, sometimes it is more convenient and cheaper to use private transfer- for example, when you travel with a large group and order a multi-seat car. For these cases, we can recommend a reliable service. Even better - rent a car right at the airport (find Best offer available on Skyscanner Car Hire).

(Photo by martinak15. Licensed cc by. www.flickr.com)

7. Night move instead of hotel

Night travel by trains and buses will make travel cheaper. This good opportunity save time and money on the hotel at the same time. It is better to take first class tickets - you will have to overpay a little, but then you will be comfortable and you will sleep well. It’s not so convenient to ride on buses, so it’s better not to overdo it and not plan daily night trips for yourself - your body will swear. However, in some places there are slipper buses, the peculiarity of which is recumbent soft shelves instead of standard chairs (we made night trips to these more than once). It's definitely a great option for budget travel without loss of comfort.

In Russia, it is also convenient to travel by train for short distances, picking up night crossings. For example, we traveled from St. Petersburg to Moscow, from Perm to Kazan - the journey took exactly one night, we slept well. There are many route options. You can find and book a train ticket at.

(Photo by Don McCullough. Licensed cc by. www.flickr.com)

8. Use discounts

Groupon gives you the opportunity to buy coupons with a significant discount on a variety of things and events: restaurants, shops, entertainment, attractions, leisure etc. If you are a student, a young teacher, or you are just under 30 years old, then it makes sense to get yourself an ISIC, ITIC or IYTC card. in Europe and North America on them you can get good discounts in the most different places- from cafes to museums.

9. Save on communication

Use Skype or Viber to communicate with Russia. Connect to local operators for local calls and 3G internet. By the way, using Skype you can call any landline and mobile phone numbers- these calls are paid, but inexpensive (for example, we used this opportunity to call from Vietnam to Russia and unblock a Sberbank card).

10. Use travel tickets

Learn about the system travel tickets to urban transport. As a rule, there are many types of travel cards, depending on the mode of transport, validity period and travel zones. Think about what type of ticket is best for you. If you want to save money and decide to travel like a hare, keep in mind that in many countries (especially in Europe) fines for free riders are very high.

Also in many popular tourist cities there are special museum cards, which provide discounts for visiting attractions and allow you to skip the lines.

11. Organize excursions yourself

It is always cheaper to get to the place you are interested in without the participation of agencies and guides, besides, you make your own visiting program - there is no need to adapt to a given schedule and rhythm.

(Photo by Moyan_Brenn. Licensed cc by. www.flickr.com)

12. Eat at local restaurants

Eat while traveling cheap and delicious at the same time! Tourist-oriented restaurants always jack up prices. And in the places preferred by the residents themselves, you will find a real national cuisine, the lowest prices and the most delicious dishes. If you see a lot of local visitors in some restaurant or cafe, it means that the food is excellent there - feel free to come in too!

Follow these tips, read the site and travel on a budget!

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