Are you a travel junkie? If yes, then we totally relate to you! After all, there’s nothing better than exploring new places, meeting new travelers, gorging on different cuisines and engaging in adventurous activities. Traveling not only adds memorable experiences to your life, but also gives you that break and solace you’ve been yearning for. Luckily for you, we’ve got your back when it comes to hacking your way through travel. Let us take you through the 7 travel hacks for your next trip.
Use Private Browsing For Cheaper Flight Tickets
If you’ve already made your travel bucket list, the first thing you’ll probably do is figure out your mode of transportation. When it comes to booking flight tickets, you might compare the prices of different websites. As a traveler, every penny you save counts! But wait, what if we told you that you’re actually missing out on a very important step?
Google has a private browser function which is its incognito mode, and this can help you get a fair and good deal on flights. It shouldn’t come to you as a surprise that most websites use cookies. When you visit a site to book a ticket repeatedly, the site knows that you intend on booking a flight because it collects cookies with every visit. As a result, the next time you’re on the page, the cost of the flight ticket will be higher than before. Now you know that the prices you see on various sites may not always be the lowest prices available to you.
All you have to do is turn on ‘private browsing mode’ while searching for flight tickets. This should help maintain the initial cost you see even while switching back and forth between websites.
Plan Your Trip During The Off-Season
You must already know about the idea of traveling in ‘peak season’. If you’re planning a beach vacation you’ll most likely consider going during the summertime. Likewise, those of you planning adventurous activities like skiing may consider winter to be the best time to travel. But did you know that the season you travel in can also increase or decrease your travel budget?
First of all, traveling in peak season means you’ll have to deal with crowds everywhere. Whether it’s a restaurant, hotel, tourist spot, or even the streets, you’ll find flocks of tourists wherever you go. Let’s not forget that flights can be very expensive during peak season. That’s why planning a trip off-season will not only save you money but give you surprising experiences. You won’t even have to worry about any strangers photobombing your Insta selfie! Staying in social hostels like goSTOPS, trying local street food and taking public transit are other travel hacks you can use to cut down on costs.
Do Smart Packing
Planning and packing for a trip may certainly lift up your spirits. But the horrors of it can totally be a mood-killer. Let’s consider this, you pack all of your favorite clothes, shoes and other travel essentials for your trip. For your Insta posts, you stuff all of your clothes in your bag. You lug your heavy bags around everywhere, struggling more than getting into that travel vibe. After reaching your hotel, there’s so much luggage that you can’t decide what to wear and end up wasting time instead of going out and exploring. So, what would you rather do? Give in to that temptation to pack up everything or only pack essentials and enjoy your trip?
Depending on the duration of your trip, you need to make a list of belongings that you’ll be needing and actually using. Whether it’s clothes, shoes, toiletries or gadgets, you need smart packing to help you out. Plan your outfits well, and try to pair several tops with a pair of jeans or pants. Worried about space? Well, we have one of the simplest and most effective travel hacks for you. When packing clothes, you can just roll them inside your suitcase. It’ll make more space in your suitcase.
Email Yourself Scanned Copies Of Important Documents
The first things you should pack are all your important documents. But it’s always good if you email yourself their scanned copies as well. It’s so much easier to have digital copies of important documents like your passport or Aadhar card instead of carrying printouts everywhere. And it is possible that you either forget to back one of your documents or lose it somewhere. That’s when your scanned copies will come in handy.
You can email yourself scanned copies of important documents like your passport, Aadhar card, travel insurance, license, Pan card, etc. Let’s not forget the dangers of pickpocketing and thievery while traveling. Imagine yourself waking up in the morning or getting back to the hotel just to realize that your wallet is missing! It may have been stolen at the restaurant you may have visited or at a movie theater. So, to save yourself from such trouble, you can carry a dummy wallet to fool pickpockets while your real wallet remains safely tucked in your bag or backpack.
Download Google Maps Offline
Every traveler’s best friend is Google Maps. It just makes your journey very easy. If you want to look for hotels or restaurants in a new location, the map will provide you with suggestions. You’ll also find the telephone number, website and opening timings of different restaurants. Another interesting thing about Google Maps is that it lets you save locations and shows you a timeline of your travels. And if you’ve saved something on your desktop map, it’ll automatically appear on your phone as well. Just see to it that you have logged into the same account.
There are several reasons why Google Maps is the best tool for travelers. But the one thing to remember is that you need to be online to access it. This can prove to be quite a problem when you’re in a strange new place with little to no internet connection. To prepare for such circumstances, ensure you download route information on a map from Google Maps. This is one of those travel hacks that can potentially be life-saving in dire situations.
The process of downloading maps on your phone is quite simple. All you have to do is open the app, select the place you want to visit and then download the map. The app lets you select how much of the region you want to download, and accordingly also shows you much much space (GB) it will occupy.
Always Carry A Portable Charger
Nowadays we use a phone for everything. Right from access to different forms of entertainment to paying bills online, smartphones have made things much earlier for us. But what if your phone dies when you’re streaming your favorite movie while traveling? Or worse, when you need to make an urgent call or access Google Maps? Wouldn’t that be really frustrating?
That’s why it’s best to carry a portable charger. Let’s be real, if yours is a long journey, you’ll need your phone to keep you entertained. Whether it’s to play your favorite game or binge-watch F.R.I.E.N.D.S, you’ll need your phone to be alive. At times like these, a portable charger will come in very handy for you. And if you’re planning a trip overseas, don’t forget to carry a universal adapter. You can then be at ease regardless of which part of the world you’re traveling to.
Download All Your Entertainment In Advance
Thanks to technology, you don’t have to worry about getting through a long flight or surfing through those basic cable channels in your hotel room. Now, every form of entertainment is at your fingertips! Regardless of whether you’re going on a business trip or for pleasure, some form of entertainment is a must.
If you’re planning a road trip to an offbeat destination, there are chances you won’t get proper network. A road trip without a travel playlist playing in the background seems incomplete, right? That’s why it’s best if you download your favorite songs before you hit the road. You can actually turn your mobile phone into a movie theater by downloading all your favorite movies. That’ll keep you engrossed and entertained during your long hours of flight. What’s more, you don’t even have to worry about burning your data!
Conclusion
Traveling to a new place surely can do wonders for you. It’s definitely a great way to get out of that monotonous routine of yours and do something different for once. Now that we’ve taken you through the 7 travel hacks for your next trip, we hope you have an amazing trip ahead. Just in case you’re worried about your stay, we at goSTOPS want to remind you that our hostels are available in 20 locations across India. The best thing about staying in any of our goSTOPS hostels is that you are likely to bump into like-minded travelers and enjoy sharing travel experiences with them.
FAQs
What Are The Easy Travel Hacks?
Some of the easy travel hacks are using private browsing to book flights, planning a trip in off-season and smartly packing luggage. These hacks will make things much easier for you and you can assure yourself of a great trip ahead.
How Can I Travel Cheap?
One of the best ways of traveling cheaply is planning a trip during the off-season. You won’t have to deal with crowds and pay extra for a hotel suite. Otherwise, you can always choose to stay in any of our goSTOPS hostels for a budget-friendly stay.
What Are Some Traveling Hacks?
Some of the traveling hacks that’ll help you plan your trip are as follows:
- Use private browsing for cheaper flight tickets
- Plan your trip during the off-season
- Do smart packing
- Email yourself scanned copies of important documents
- Download google maps
- Always carry a portable charger
- Download all your entertainment in advance
What Is The Best Way To Travel Around India?
One of the best ways to travel long distances in India is through trains as they are comfortable and available across the country. Otherwise, if you want to travel shorter distances, you can always hop on in the ST buses in the country.
