July 15, 2025 • 21 mins
Every budget traveler has faced that moment of frustration—the cheap hotel that feels unsafe, the bargain flight with endless layovers, or the too-good-to-be-true deal that actually wasn't worth the hassle. As someone who lives by the philosophy that spending less on one trip means affording more adventures overall, I've made plenty of costly mistakes in my quest to travel economically.
In this candid episode, I pull back the curtain on five significant budget travel blunders that actually ended up costing me more money, time, comfort, and peace of mind. From enduring a 24-hour return journey from Portugal with multiple exhausting layovers, to discovering my "bargain" Belize Airbnb had no air conditioning in 80+ degree weather, these experiences taught me valuable lessons about when saving money becomes counterproductive.
You'll learn practical strategies to avoid these pitfalls, including how to use Google Street View to assess a neighborhood's safety before booking, why checking your credit card's travel benefits could save you from paying twice for rental car insurance, and how to evaluate whether that super-cheap flight with three layovers is really worth the savings. I also share my new approach to flexibility in bookings, specifically why I now only book accommodations with reasonable cancellation policies.
Whether you're planning your next budget adventure or simply want to travel more mindfully, these hard-earned insights will help you find that sweet spot between saving money and preserving your travel experience. Because sometimes the cheapest option isn't actually the best value. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts if you've found these tips helpful—I'd love to hear how they've shaped your own travel planning!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Have you ever purchased an item and then one
week later, it's now on sale andyou just get so frustrated and
angry?
Or you see a really good traveldeal that might actually be too
good to be true and don't jumpon it and you miss that
opportunity.
There's a frustration alongwith that, and sometimes you can
(00:22):
feel like you've been conned aswell.
Well, in today's episode, I'mgoing to share with you five
mistakes I have made trying totravel on a budget.
Welcome to Solo TravelAdventures.
I'm Cheryl Esch, your travelcoach and budget traveler, so
I'm here to share some of themistakes I've made trying to
(00:44):
save money while traveling.
I am all about saving money.
This may or may not be you, andif you like luxury and you have
the funds to book those kind oftrips, great For me.
My mindset is the less I spendon a trip, the more I could
(01:04):
spend on additional trips.
Meaning, you know, let's say Itake $2,000.
Could I get two trips out ofthat instead of one?
So that's sort of my mindsethere, and I have made some
mistakes in trying to be frugal,and so I'm going to share what
those are so that you can, andI'll give you some antidotes to
(01:27):
how to avoid that.
The first thing that I have done, that I am known to do, and
only in the last year have Ireally been like kicking myself
because as I get older it gets alittle harder to travel this
way.
But one thing I'm known to dois I will book a cheap flight.
They just entice me, I can'thelp it and I follow Going,
(01:52):
which used to be Scott's CheapFlights.
I will also show a link that,if you want to join, it sends me
daily emails and notificationson inexpensive flights and I
love it.
I get so enticed by it.
But the reason why they areoften cheap is because there are
multiple layovers usually andeven long layovers.
(02:16):
So I have experienced that andyou know the past year, even
though I have dealt with itbecause I was more interested in
the cheaper flight, it hastaken longer to either get there
or get home, depending on thesituation, and more than one
lever, and sometimes I'm okaywith that.
It really depends on how longthe layover is.
(02:38):
For me I would rather be ableto get out of the airplane every
few hours and stretch my legsand walk around and use a proper
bathroom at the airport, butinstead of being stuck in an
airplane, in a tube, not beingable to really walk around or
stretch in for like 12, 13 hoursat a time.
(02:58):
So sometimes I'm okay with that.
But I'll give you a coupleexamples of you know some
situations that were not so funin having those long layovers or
multiple flights.
So the first one that I recallvery strongly was when I went to
(03:20):
Peru, lima specifically, and wehad a layover in Mexico City
and I think it was maybe itmight have been on the way home,
I can't quite remember, but itwas one of those long overnight
layovers as well, before we getback to the US, and so we did
(03:43):
have to pick up our backpacks.
So I was traveling with my sonat the time.
We had went to Machu Picchu andwe had our backpacks.
So we were we couldn't getchecked in either for the next
flight to the US because it wastoo early, right, we couldn't
give them our backpacks, so wehad to hang on to them until I
think it was like a three or twohour minimum before we could
(04:06):
actually go through the gatesanother security check to get to
the portion, the part of theairport that we needed.
So we were kind of like in thisholding zone kind of like where
all the food court is.
Some shops were there and wewere just kind of hanging,
hanging out.
You can only do so much in anairport, right?
(04:26):
You can only eat so much, youcan only shop so much.
And we're sitting on a benchand my son and I are just kind
of hanging out there and thisgentleman, an American vet, sits
down next to us and he gives usthe story he shares, that he
had tried to sleep in thatairport and actually got his bag
(04:47):
stolen.
So he was stuck in, definitelystuck in the airport because in
his bag.
So he was in Mexico City tohave he has a prosthetic leg, so
he was there to get a new one,and they actually had stolen
that along with his passport,while he was sleeping in the
(05:10):
airport.
So after hearing that story,you know, we gave him some of
our food that we actually hadand I really didn't have any
money, unfortunately, because wewere, I think, on our way home.
That's why usually at thatpoint I were pretty dry out of
money.
So I took it as a warning.
Like you know, we hadconsidered, you know, just kind
of laying down.
We saw a lot of people layingdown in the airport, you know,
(05:33):
sleeping away, and that storywill make you not want to sleep
because there was no way Iwanted to have my I didn't care,
what was, you know, in mybackpack stolen, that didn't
matter too much.
But of course no one wantstheir passport stolen.
So we didn't sleep reallyhardly at all, maybe dozed a
little on a chair while one ofus watched.
(05:54):
I know I didn't sleep, so thatwas one sort of disadvantage of
taking a cheap flight, havingthat long overnight layover.
Another example was morerecently, last fall, my return
trip from the Caminos.
I was coming back from Lisbon,portugal, back to the States.
(06:15):
I did have two layovers.
Again, I had a reallyinexpensive flight flight but it
did.
I did have some layovers andagain the whole trip from the
time I left Lisbon to the time Iarrived back in the US.
It took 24 hours and you know,after getting back from walking
(06:38):
the Camino I was fairlyexhausted.
I had been gone three weeks andI had told myself at that point
that I getting too old to dothis.
I can't do this again.
I have to just be moreconscientious about booking my
flights, even if it means I paya little extra for maybe one
less stopover.
I don't mind one, but two isgetting probably a little much.
(07:02):
Now I did recently have apositive experience, knowing
ahead of time and it was onlyone layover, so it was not a big
deal.
I went to Iceland, as you know,in April and I was able to get
to New York City and fly out ofJFK, because the flight from JFK
(07:23):
to Iceland is very inexpensiveexpensive I think it was $400,
maybe slightly less round trip.
But I had to get to New YorkCity and you know, no one wants
to miss an international flight.
The timing just wasn't perfect.
I did book that flightseparately because of wanting to
(07:43):
use a certain airline withpoints and such, but I used it
positively.
I had not been to New York Cityin years, probably since the
90s and I wanted to see what thecity landscape was like Again.
My nephew actually lives therenow and so I used that time to,
(08:05):
you know, get to see the city.
I actually left the airport.
I had enough time to leave theairport that's kind of key.
And then the way back, samething.
I use that time to spend timewith him and his new girlfriend
and did actually get to sleep intheir apartment for a few hours
before I had to head out.
But so now I just want to share,you know, booking those cheap
(08:25):
flights.
If that's kind of what enticesyou a lot, just make sure you're
aware, if there are multiplelayovers, how long it will
actually take you.
Is it worth your time to dothat?
So you have to sort of evaluatethat for yourself.
So in some cases, as long asI'm using it positively, I'm
(08:47):
okay with booking a cheap flight, like I did to Iceland.
Plus, the travel time from NewYork City to Iceland was only
five hours and 50 minutes Not abad flight.
Being in a plane, I loved theshort time frame.
Number two I booked a cheapAirbnb only to discover that it
(09:08):
did not have air condition in ahot climate, and so what had to
happen is, because it had no AC,I had to pay more to rebook
somewhere else.
Our last two days I was inBelize again with my son and
found a really cute Airbnb,really inexpensive for the.
(09:33):
I think we were supposed to bethere six days, I believe, in
Belize, and it had no AC, and Ithought in April I would be fine
, but I miscalculated that byApril.
In Central America it is hotand humid and it was 80s even in
(09:53):
the evenings.
It never dropped below 80 inthe evening, so it was very
uncomfortable to sleep andhaving, you know, being right in
like the height of my menopausejust really really experiencing
already hot flashes at thispoint in my life and my hormones
were really out of whack.
I just I couldn't bear it anylonger, and so we ended up
(10:17):
having to pay more, obviouslybecause I'm not getting my money
back from that Airbnb to bookour last two days somewhere else
.
Now, granted, it did work out, Ithink, a whole lot better
because at this little tinybeach resort, a whole lot better
because at this little tinybeach resort, they actually
offered this was in 2021, theyoffered on the premises COVID
(10:44):
test because we needed to havethose before we left the country
, before we can get back to theUS and the other place.
We would have had to somehowtaken a taxi to go somewhere at
a medical center and have thatdone.
So, all in all, it did work out.
But my recommendation to you,as you look at you know,
vacation rentals, whatever siteyou use, read the description
(11:05):
carefully, be aware of what'sincluded, what's not and keep in
mind your comfortability ofwhether you're willing to
sacrifice that or, you know,look at the location as well,
but that's one way that Iactually paid more on that trip
(11:25):
for our accommodations than Ianticipated.
Number three I booked a cheaphotel only to feel very unsafe.
Okay, so, as a solo traveler,we know this is important.
So luckily, in this particulartrip, I was traveling with my
son, so I had a male adultfigure with me and if I had
(11:51):
truly been alone and being itwas only one night, I definitely
would have rebooked or gonesomewhere else.
I would have told the taxi tojust keep going.
There's no way I'm staying here, not sure where I would have
gone, but so when you book yourhotels and you're looking for,
(12:12):
you know it was cheap.
I was like oh yeah, this isgreat, you know, um.
Two things you can do is ask forrecommendations from other
people and you know you're goingto a specific place or city, um
, go online, ask other people.
Number two this is something Istarted doing after this
(12:34):
experience.
I hadn't really thought aboutit until I experienced this, and
what I do now is, before I booka place, I will see if I can
gather the address Sometimes.
Sometimes they're not.
They won't give you the exactaddress but they might give you
an area.
It just depends Hotels.
They definitely give you anaddress.
(12:54):
But I now go on to Google and Iget the satellite street view
of the place to get a betterfeel of what's around it and so
with that feature you can kindof do a 360 kind of view.
You can look across the street,you can look around, see what's
(13:14):
next door and that might giveyou a better feel for what that
place or area is like and maybethat'll explain why it's a cheap
accommodations in a capitalcity of all places, right?
So that is something I do nowand that was something that was
(13:35):
a bit unnerving and luckily,again I felt a little safer with
my son with me.
Okay, number four I have beenscammed in a way, I guess, to
purchase unnecessary travelinsurance or car rental
insurance.
(13:56):
I do recommend travel insurance,but especially car rental
insurance.
If you live in the US, check tosee if your policy will cover
you.
Most times it won'tinternationally, but definitely
domestically.
It would Also check to see ifyour credit card this is where I
(14:22):
got sort of scammed recentlywith a paying extra for a
additional car rental insuranceand they always tried.
You know the car rentalinsurance place always tries to,
you know, get you to pay extraand, you know, make you feel
like, oh my gosh, I'm going tohave to buy this car if I'm in a
little accident.
So don't let them scare.
Use the scare tactic right.
Check to also see.
(14:43):
You know I now have a creditcard that will cover that in my
travels.
So I have the Chase Sapphirepreferred and within the
benefits of that credit card.
As long as I'm using thatcredit card to, say, pay for my
car rental, that is actuallyincluded and so there's no need
(15:04):
to purchase extra travelinsurance.
So check to see what otheroptions you have before you pay
double, essentially right or payunnecessary travel insurance or
car rental insurance prices.
Number five I booked an economytype accommodations, which I am
(15:25):
known for, that did not includebreakfast and paid for
overpriced, bad coffee or abreakfast meal elsewhere.
So I do tend to find, you know,cheap accommodations and most
of them will not includebreakfast.
The ones that have, I have beensurprised and very elated in
(15:50):
having that included.
Now, I'm not a huge breakfastperson.
Couple reasons I am allergic todairy and cheese and eggs, all
those wonder, and oats, allthose things that entail a lot
of what we call the Americanbreakfast items, and I just I
can't eat that.
(16:11):
So for me, I have a specialyogurt that I eat that's
non-dairy, which I can't findelsewhere, right?
So I can't really travel withthat.
So typically when I travel, Idefinitely need a good cup of
coffee, and that's not alwayspossible and I'm kind of a
coffee snob these days, Isuppose.
(16:31):
And I'm kind of a coffee snobthese days, I suppose.
So finding a good cup of coffee, even if I know it's not
included in my accommodationssometimes, is very disappointing
.
I might pay for, you know, Imight go to a coffee shop and
pay, you know, I don't know,five, seven dollars for a coffee
that is awful, and so, keepingthat in mind, if that's
(16:56):
something you want to include ormake sure you have as a part of
your accommodations, manyhotels will actually include
breakfast, which is a nicelittle perk, and so, if that's
important to you, just be awareof some of those economy type
accommodations.
For example, a hostel, not,they're not all going to include
(17:19):
any kind of breakfast, mostlynot A bed and breakfast place or
a guest house.
Now I stayed in some guesthouses in Iceland which all
included a breakfast, whichfabulous so, and it was things.
There were things I could eatin those breakfast buffet areas.
So that is something toconsider when you book your
(17:43):
accommodations.
Don't just go for the cheapestone and then have to pay in the
end for other things that youmight've needed in your
accommodations.
So some other things that tojust be aware of.
So if you're again, you're abudget traveler and you tend to
do some of these things that Ihave done, now I have not been
(18:07):
sort of scammed or had thesemistakes, but they have happened
to other people.
So one thing obviously isbooking a non-refundable flight,
cruise or tour and then findingyou have to cancel.
Now I do book non-refundableflights, often cruises I just
(18:31):
did a cruise, often cruises Ijust did a cruise and I have
never had to cancel, thankfully.
So if that is important to havethat flexibility in your
booking, then do not book anon-refundable flight, cruise,
tour etc.
Because then you are losingquite a big chunk of change,
(18:52):
typically on those types oftravel bookings, and that also
goes for accommodations.
There's sometimes, for example,airbnbs.
Often to a certain point, theydon't allow cancellations.
I only book rentals that allowme to cancel and give me about a
(19:17):
week, two weeks out where Icould still cancel and get my
money back.
If I book it three months outand they want full payment and
it's non-refundable, I will notbook with that place.
(19:37):
I like to have a little bit offlexibility when I'm booking
something so that if the, whenthe time gets closer, I do have
the option to cancel.
Now, I've never had to, so I'vebeen fortunate, or I've been
within that timeline when Ineeded to change accommodations
particularly.
But that is something to beaware of, something that would
cause you to not stay within abudget point.
(19:58):
So, if you are a budgettraveler, be aware of those five
mistakes I've made and thatsixth one that I have thankfully
not had to experience, but I'veheard other people getting hit
with that when they've bookedsome you know, non-refundable
accommodations, flights, allthat.
So I want you to, you know,find what works best for you as
(20:23):
far as your travel budget.
Be aware of these items thatmight catch you by surprise, so
that you can stay within yourbudget and not come home from
your trip maybe having to haveput things on your credit card
and feeling yucky about thatbecause you weren't able to stay
(20:43):
within your budget.
It does happen, but if you'reconscientious about these
mistakes I've made, thenhopefully you won't make those
mistakes as well.
So, sister travelers, I wouldlove to have you support the
show and give me a review.
I'd like to bring up those theSEO in this podcast so it can
(21:07):
get higher rankings, but I wouldlove to also just hear how this
podcast has benefited you andlove to hear those reviews.
So go into an Apple podcasthopefully you have an account
there and leave a review for theshow for me.
I would greatly appreciate that.
Sister travelers get out thereand have those adventures, but
(21:32):
save money.
Don't do what I did.
Have you ever purchased an item and then one
week later, it's now on sale andyou just get so frustrated and
angry?
Or you see a really good traveldeal that might actually be too
good to be true and don't jumpon it and you miss that
opportunity.
There's a frustration alongwith that, and sometimes you can
(00:22):
feel like you've been conned aswell.
Well, in today's episode, I'mgoing to share with you five
mistakes I have made trying totravel on a budget.
Welcome to Solo TravelAdventures.
I'm Cheryl Esch, your travelcoach and budget traveler, so
I'm here to share some of themistakes I've made trying to
(00:44):
save money while traveling.
I am all about saving money.
This may or may not be you, andif you like luxury and you have
the funds to book those kind oftrips, great For me.
My mindset is the less I spendon a trip, the more I could
(01:04):
spend on additional trips.
Meaning, you know, let's say Itake $2,000.
Could I get two trips out ofthat instead of one?
So that's sort of my mindsethere, and I have made some
mistakes in trying to be frugal,and so I'm going to share what
those are so that you can, andI'll give you some antidotes to
(01:27):
how to avoid that.
The first thing that I have done, that I am known to do, and
only in the last year have Ireally been like kicking myself
because as I get older it gets alittle harder to travel this
way.
But one thing I'm known to dois I will book a cheap flight.
They just entice me, I can'thelp it and I follow Going,
(01:52):
which used to be Scott's CheapFlights.
I will also show a link that,if you want to join, it sends me
daily emails and notificationson inexpensive flights and I
love it.
I get so enticed by it.
But the reason why they areoften cheap is because there are
multiple layovers usually andeven long layovers.
(02:16):
So I have experienced that andyou know the past year, even
though I have dealt with itbecause I was more interested in
the cheaper flight, it hastaken longer to either get there
or get home, depending on thesituation, and more than one
lever, and sometimes I'm okaywith that.
It really depends on how longthe layover is.
(02:38):
For me I would rather be ableto get out of the airplane every
few hours and stretch my legsand walk around and use a proper
bathroom at the airport, butinstead of being stuck in an
airplane, in a tube, not beingable to really walk around or
stretch in for like 12, 13 hoursat a time.
(02:58):
So sometimes I'm okay with that.
But I'll give you a coupleexamples of you know some
situations that were not so funin having those long layovers or
multiple flights.
So the first one that I recallvery strongly was when I went to
(03:20):
Peru, lima specifically, and wehad a layover in Mexico City
and I think it was maybe itmight have been on the way home,
I can't quite remember, but itwas one of those long overnight
layovers as well, before we getback to the US, and so we did
(03:43):
have to pick up our backpacks.
So I was traveling with my sonat the time.
We had went to Machu Picchu andwe had our backpacks.
So we were we couldn't getchecked in either for the next
flight to the US because it wastoo early, right, we couldn't
give them our backpacks, so wehad to hang on to them until I
think it was like a three or twohour minimum before we could
(04:06):
actually go through the gatesanother security check to get to
the portion, the part of theairport that we needed.
So we were kind of like in thisholding zone kind of like where
all the food court is.
Some shops were there and wewere just kind of hanging,
hanging out.
You can only do so much in anairport, right?
(04:26):
You can only eat so much, youcan only shop so much.
And we're sitting on a benchand my son and I are just kind
of hanging out there and thisgentleman, an American vet, sits
down next to us and he gives usthe story he shares, that he
had tried to sleep in thatairport and actually got his bag
(04:47):
stolen.
So he was stuck in, definitelystuck in the airport because in
his bag.
So he was in Mexico City tohave he has a prosthetic leg, so
he was there to get a new one,and they actually had stolen
that along with his passport,while he was sleeping in the
(05:10):
airport.
So after hearing that story,you know, we gave him some of
our food that we actually hadand I really didn't have any
money, unfortunately, because wewere, I think, on our way home.
That's why usually at thatpoint I were pretty dry out of
money.
So I took it as a warning.
Like you know, we hadconsidered, you know, just kind
of laying down.
We saw a lot of people layingdown in the airport, you know,
(05:33):
sleeping away, and that storywill make you not want to sleep
because there was no way Iwanted to have my I didn't care,
what was, you know, in mybackpack stolen, that didn't
matter too much.
But of course no one wantstheir passport stolen.
So we didn't sleep reallyhardly at all, maybe dozed a
little on a chair while one ofus watched.
(05:54):
I know I didn't sleep, so thatwas one sort of disadvantage of
taking a cheap flight, havingthat long overnight layover.
Another example was morerecently, last fall, my return
trip from the Caminos.
I was coming back from Lisbon,portugal, back to the States.
(06:15):
I did have two layovers.
Again, I had a reallyinexpensive flight flight but it
did.
I did have some layovers andagain the whole trip from the
time I left Lisbon to the time Iarrived back in the US.
It took 24 hours and you know,after getting back from walking
(06:38):
the Camino I was fairlyexhausted.
I had been gone three weeks andI had told myself at that point
that I getting too old to dothis.
I can't do this again.
I have to just be moreconscientious about booking my
flights, even if it means I paya little extra for maybe one
less stopover.
I don't mind one, but two isgetting probably a little much.
(07:02):
Now I did recently have apositive experience, knowing
ahead of time and it was onlyone layover, so it was not a big
deal.
I went to Iceland, as you know,in April and I was able to get
to New York City and fly out ofJFK, because the flight from JFK
(07:23):
to Iceland is very inexpensiveexpensive I think it was $400,
maybe slightly less round trip.
But I had to get to New YorkCity and you know, no one wants
to miss an international flight.
The timing just wasn't perfect.
I did book that flightseparately because of wanting to
(07:43):
use a certain airline withpoints and such, but I used it
positively.
I had not been to New York Cityin years, probably since the
90s and I wanted to see what thecity landscape was like Again.
My nephew actually lives therenow and so I used that time to,
(08:05):
you know, get to see the city.
I actually left the airport.
I had enough time to leave theairport that's kind of key.
And then the way back, samething.
I use that time to spend timewith him and his new girlfriend
and did actually get to sleep intheir apartment for a few hours
before I had to head out.
But so now I just want to share,you know, booking those cheap
(08:25):
flights.
If that's kind of what enticesyou a lot, just make sure you're
aware, if there are multiplelayovers, how long it will
actually take you.
Is it worth your time to dothat?
So you have to sort of evaluatethat for yourself.
So in some cases, as long asI'm using it positively, I'm
(08:47):
okay with booking a cheap flight, like I did to Iceland.
Plus, the travel time from NewYork City to Iceland was only
five hours and 50 minutes Not abad flight.
Being in a plane, I loved theshort time frame.
Number two I booked a cheapAirbnb only to discover that it
(09:08):
did not have air condition in ahot climate, and so what had to
happen is, because it had no AC,I had to pay more to rebook
somewhere else.
Our last two days I was inBelize again with my son and
found a really cute Airbnb,really inexpensive for the.
(09:33):
I think we were supposed to bethere six days, I believe, in
Belize, and it had no AC, and Ithought in April I would be fine
, but I miscalculated that byApril.
In Central America it is hotand humid and it was 80s even in
(09:53):
the evenings.
It never dropped below 80 inthe evening, so it was very
uncomfortable to sleep andhaving, you know, being right in
like the height of my menopausejust really really experiencing
already hot flashes at thispoint in my life and my hormones
were really out of whack.
I just I couldn't bear it anylonger, and so we ended up
(10:17):
having to pay more, obviouslybecause I'm not getting my money
back from that Airbnb to bookour last two days somewhere else
.
Now, granted, it did work out, Ithink, a whole lot better
because at this little tinybeach resort, a whole lot better
because at this little tinybeach resort, they actually
offered this was in 2021, theyoffered on the premises COVID
(10:44):
test because we needed to havethose before we left the country
, before we can get back to theUS and the other place.
We would have had to somehowtaken a taxi to go somewhere at
a medical center and have thatdone.
So, all in all, it did work out.
But my recommendation to you,as you look at you know,
vacation rentals, whatever siteyou use, read the description
(11:05):
carefully, be aware of what'sincluded, what's not and keep in
mind your comfortability ofwhether you're willing to
sacrifice that or, you know,look at the location as well,
but that's one way that Iactually paid more on that trip
(11:25):
for our accommodations than Ianticipated.
Number three I booked a cheaphotel only to feel very unsafe.
Okay, so, as a solo traveler,we know this is important.
So luckily, in this particulartrip, I was traveling with my
son, so I had a male adultfigure with me and if I had
(11:51):
truly been alone and being itwas only one night, I definitely
would have rebooked or gonesomewhere else.
I would have told the taxi tojust keep going.
There's no way I'm staying here, not sure where I would have
gone, but so when you book yourhotels and you're looking for,
(12:12):
you know it was cheap.
I was like oh yeah, this isgreat, you know, um.
Two things you can do is ask forrecommendations from other
people and you know you're goingto a specific place or city, um
, go online, ask other people.
Number two this is something Istarted doing after this
(12:34):
experience.
I hadn't really thought aboutit until I experienced this, and
what I do now is, before I booka place, I will see if I can
gather the address Sometimes.
Sometimes they're not.
They won't give you the exactaddress but they might give you
an area.
It just depends Hotels.
They definitely give you anaddress.
(12:54):
But I now go on to Google and Iget the satellite street view
of the place to get a betterfeel of what's around it and so
with that feature you can kindof do a 360 kind of view.
You can look across the street,you can look around, see what's
(13:14):
next door and that might giveyou a better feel for what that
place or area is like and maybethat'll explain why it's a cheap
accommodations in a capitalcity of all places, right?
So that is something I do nowand that was something that was
(13:35):
a bit unnerving and luckily,again I felt a little safer with
my son with me.
Okay, number four I have beenscammed in a way, I guess, to
purchase unnecessary travelinsurance or car rental
insurance.
(13:56):
I do recommend travel insurance,but especially car rental
insurance.
If you live in the US, check tosee if your policy will cover
you.
Most times it won'tinternationally, but definitely
domestically.
It would Also check to see ifyour credit card this is where I
(14:22):
got sort of scammed recentlywith a paying extra for a
additional car rental insuranceand they always tried.
You know the car rentalinsurance place always tries to,
you know, get you to pay extraand, you know, make you feel
like, oh my gosh, I'm going tohave to buy this car if I'm in a
little accident.
So don't let them scare.
Use the scare tactic right.
Check to also see.
(14:43):
You know I now have a creditcard that will cover that in my
travels.
So I have the Chase Sapphirepreferred and within the
benefits of that credit card.
As long as I'm using thatcredit card to, say, pay for my
car rental, that is actuallyincluded and so there's no need
(15:04):
to purchase extra travelinsurance.
So check to see what otheroptions you have before you pay
double, essentially right or payunnecessary travel insurance or
car rental insurance prices.
Number five I booked an economytype accommodations, which I am
(15:25):
known for, that did not includebreakfast and paid for
overpriced, bad coffee or abreakfast meal elsewhere.
So I do tend to find, you know,cheap accommodations and most
of them will not includebreakfast.
The ones that have, I have beensurprised and very elated in
(15:50):
having that included.
Now, I'm not a huge breakfastperson.
Couple reasons I am allergic todairy and cheese and eggs, all
those wonder, and oats, allthose things that entail a lot
of what we call the Americanbreakfast items, and I just I
can't eat that.
(16:11):
So for me, I have a specialyogurt that I eat that's
non-dairy, which I can't findelsewhere, right?
So I can't really travel withthat.
So typically when I travel, Idefinitely need a good cup of
coffee, and that's not alwayspossible and I'm kind of a
coffee snob these days, Isuppose.
(16:31):
And I'm kind of a coffee snobthese days, I suppose.
So finding a good cup of coffee, even if I know it's not
included in my accommodationssometimes, is very disappointing
.
I might pay for, you know, Imight go to a coffee shop and
pay, you know, I don't know,five, seven dollars for a coffee
that is awful, and so, keepingthat in mind, if that's
(16:56):
something you want to include ormake sure you have as a part of
your accommodations, manyhotels will actually include
breakfast, which is a nicelittle perk, and so, if that's
important to you, just be awareof some of those economy type
accommodations.
For example, a hostel, not,they're not all going to include
(17:19):
any kind of breakfast, mostlynot A bed and breakfast place or
a guest house.
Now I stayed in some guesthouses in Iceland which all
included a breakfast, whichfabulous so, and it was things.
There were things I could eatin those breakfast buffet areas.
So that is something toconsider when you book your
(17:43):
accommodations.
Don't just go for the cheapestone and then have to pay in the
end for other things that youmight've needed in your
accommodations.
So some other things that tojust be aware of.
So if you're again, you're abudget traveler and you tend to
do some of these things that Ihave done, now I have not been
(18:07):
sort of scammed or had thesemistakes, but they have happened
to other people.
So one thing obviously isbooking a non-refundable flight,
cruise or tour and then findingyou have to cancel.
Now I do book non-refundableflights, often cruises I just
(18:31):
did a cruise, often cruises Ijust did a cruise and I have
never had to cancel, thankfully.
So if that is important to havethat flexibility in your
booking, then do not book anon-refundable flight, cruise,
tour etc.
Because then you are losingquite a big chunk of change,
(18:52):
typically on those types oftravel bookings, and that also
goes for accommodations.
There's sometimes, for example,airbnbs.
Often to a certain point, theydon't allow cancellations.
I only book rentals that allowme to cancel and give me about a
(19:17):
week, two weeks out where Icould still cancel and get my
money back.
If I book it three months outand they want full payment and
it's non-refundable, I will notbook with that place.
(19:37):
I like to have a little bit offlexibility when I'm booking
something so that if the, whenthe time gets closer, I do have
the option to cancel.
Now, I've never had to, so I'vebeen fortunate, or I've been
within that timeline when Ineeded to change accommodations
particularly.
But that is something to beaware of, something that would
cause you to not stay within abudget point.
(19:58):
So, if you are a budgettraveler, be aware of those five
mistakes I've made and thatsixth one that I have thankfully
not had to experience, but I'veheard other people getting hit
with that when they've bookedsome you know, non-refundable
accommodations, flights, allthat.
So I want you to, you know,find what works best for you as
(20:23):
far as your travel budget.
Be aware of these items thatmight catch you by surprise, so
that you can stay within yourbudget and not come home from
your trip maybe having to haveput things on your credit card
and feeling yucky about thatbecause you weren't able to stay
(20:43):
within your budget.
It does happen, but if you'reconscientious about these
mistakes I've made, thenhopefully you won't make those
mistakes as well.
So, sister travelers, I wouldlove to have you support the
show and give me a review.
I'd like to bring up those theSEO in this podcast so it can
(21:07):
get higher rankings, but I wouldlove to also just hear how this
podcast has benefited you andlove to hear those reviews.
So go into an Apple podcasthopefully you have an account
there and leave a review for theshow for me.
I would greatly appreciate that.
Sister travelers get out thereand have those adventures, but
(21:32):
save money.
Don't do what I did.
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