Smart travel hacks
Be flexible with your travel dates
Unless you’re planning to check ‘Sakura in Japan’ or ‘Spend New Year in Taipei’ off your bucket list, not limiting your travel schedule might just do your wallet some good.
Comparison shopping comes in handy when searching for the best flight deals too. Knowing how to cleverly use flight comparison websites such as Cheapflights, Traveloka and Skyscanner can save you a couple of ringgits or a couple hundred of ringgits. The trick is to monitor fares using an incognito browser, since most sites use cookies to track the destination and date that travellers are eyeing on.
This information then allows them to raise their prices when there’s an increase in search (hence high demand) for a specific flight, prompting customers to urgently buy now rather than later.
It might feel strange to plan in reverse if you’re a serial planner but try it! You will never know that you may break the habit if it means landing yourself the lowest flight prices across the board.
Craft your itenerary with social media help
Some tourist sights are notorious for their very expensive price tags. While there will be some that you just can’t miss, there’s certainly no need to revolve your itinerary around tourist traps.
If you think of yourself as an adventurous traveller, why not survey through social media for travel-related blogs, Facebook pages or Instagram handles to help you curate a list of unique, lesser-known attractions to visit?
On top of that, you might also find detailed, helpful travel information that only travel experts can provide. We Are Travel Girls Blog is a perfect example of a travel blog not just for the beautiful pictures but also for the travel tips that accompany each photo.
If you have time to spare, it doesn’t hurt to drop by local tourism offices to get additional information for your trip (you might just end up leaving with freebies too after you’re done).
Poket Wi-Fi, your travel companion
It can sometimes be depressing to realise that we simply can’t live without our smartphones and fast Internet connection in this digital age but having Wi-Fi with you while you travel can be seriously beneficial. How? It helps you figure your way around a foreign city if you’re lost and maps an ideal route to wherever you want to go, provided you’re armed with the usual Google Maps and Waze plus smart navigation apps like Citymapper and Rome2Rio.
Having a handy pocket Wi-Fi you can save yourself from a sticky and unfortunate situation. With the increasing demand for pocket Wi-Fi, you can rent one for a good deal with the competitive pricing amongst Wi-Fi rental services.
If you still like the excitement of travelling offline, use Google Trips to help you organise and map out half or full-day itineraries, and save them for offline access later.