The Bald Guy & Girl (Both)
- Nov 30, 2019

These 25 Tips Will Save You “Thousands of Dollars” On Your Travels In 2020

As a student, you had to watch in envy as your schoolmates with rich daddy’s sent them globetrotting across Europe for their “Grad-Trip”.

As a working adult today, cash still seems tight. Whatever salary comes in seems to go out just as fast. After-all, keeping up appearances, trying to look like you’ve got something going for you in life doesn’t come cheap. There’s always that car loan or a “lifestyle” you want to portray that’s draining your savings account.

Or maybe you just have a family, kids and elderly parents to pay for.

Regardless, you’d love to travel the world. The trouble is, you can’t afford to anything more than the occasional Bangkok getaway or a once a year vacation somewhere further away.

(Above) Enjoying a beer in Cartagena, Colombia

“The Girl” & I travel every 3 months to far flung destinations; Africa, Europe, even as far as South America. But what's baffling, is that we spend pretty much the same as most Singaporeans who make it their goal to travel to a far-flung destination at least once a year; just that in our case, we get to travel 4 times more, for the same amount.

As a ballpark I’d say we spend between S$10,000 – S$12,000 a year on vacations every year; not overly excessive. We have friends who spend that amount and more in just one trip. Considering we get 4 far-flung destinations out of that same amount; I’d say we’re doing pretty okay.

Today’s post is not about how to save money or get out of debt to travel. I already have a post on that.

“I saved S$100,000 In Just 1 Year To Travel The World. Here's How...”.

Rather, this post is for those of you who have already allocated funds to spend on your vacation in 2020. After reading this, it’s likely you’ll be able to score a few more vacations in a year just like what we’re doing. If you fall into this group, we have 25 great travel tips for you, from the planning stage till the end of your trip.

So, here goes.

[The Planning Stage]

1. The Hierarchy of Expenses

Your "choice of destination" is the largest factor that determines how much you save. Obviously I don't mean visit Asia instead of Europe. But if you are planning a vacation in Europe, I'm saying, instead of Switzerland, visit Georgia. And instead of Paris, visit Kiev. You get my drift. There are similar alternatives at 10 times less the cost.

"Air - Ticket's & your choice of accommodation" make up the next 2 biggest costs.

Choosing a flight with 1 stopover could be as much 70% cheaper than a direct flight. Not withstanding promotions, Singapore to LA costs an average of S$1,500 direct. Choose another airlines with one stopover and it costs as low as $750!

When we first started traveling, we cut costs by staying in Hostel dorms. Today, we too prefer to pay more for privacy. And I get it, who wouldn't want to have their own room? But considering you're going to be out sightseeing the whole day and likely won't be in bed till dark, how much is 8 hours of sleep really worth? Go for private rooms in hostels instead of hotels. They are at least 50% cheaper, and you still get your privacy. And yes, they are clean.

There's no need to cut corners on food or activities as long as you stick to this hierarchy. If you don't plan your trip with this hierarchy in mind, no amount of penny pinching in other areas will help you save anything significant on your next trip.

2. Mr & Mrs Right

(Above) Exploring the tobacco fields in the valley's of Vinales, Cuba

Right time, Right Place.

When choosing your next travel destination, consider if it is "Peak Period" or is it "off season". If you want to visit Kenya to witness the Wildebeest Migration, you obviously need to pay top dollar because you have to go during peak periods. But if your idea of a vacation is to take a selfie by the Eiffel Tower so you can post it on Instagram, you might want to go in the "off season" when prices are cheaper.

Regardless, there's always something to enjoy. Tell me, is Norway best visited in summer so you can should you can enjoy its magnificent Fjords or should you visit it in Winter so you can see the Northern Lights? The "Right Place" is what you make it out to be. Just plan it such that it falls within the off-season.

If January for instance was the only time you could go on a holiday. Instead of insisting on visiting say England, your dream destination where it would be dreary and cold; why not visit Portugal or Spain instead? Still off season, which means cheaper prices, but better weather and still a European vacation.

Oh, don't bother about the "right day" for booking flights. It's a myth that tickets are cheaper on a Tuesday or over the weekend. There's never been a substantial enough evidence to back up the "cheapest day" to book tickets.

3. Three Is Not A Crowd. Four Is The Best.

(Above) Guys road-trip across Kazakhstan.

As much as I advocate solo traveling, the truth is, traveling alone while a rewarding experience, almost always, results in more money spent. Traveling in a group allows you to share not just experiences, but also costs.

On a couple of my "all guys trips" to Africa and Central Asia, we were able to order a wide variety of food and share it among us without breaking the bank or wasting food.

I saved more hundreds of dollars on car rentals traveling together with friends instead of having to paying an obscene amount of money like I did when I had to rent a car in the Middle East on a solo trip.

The benefits of traveling in groups are not just limited to food and car rental. It applies to getting discounts on tours and even accommodation. I remember being able to cut the price of a tour to the DR Congo down from $900 to 700 because there were four of us, and if they didn’t give $200 discount per head, they’d be saying no to $2800. They budged.

When traveling, solo is good, but there is always “strength in numbers”.

4. Chose The “Correct” Travel Destination

(Above from left) Tunisia, Colombia, Ukraine, Cyprus, Georgia, Zimbabwe, Lithuania, Poland, Morocco.

There is obviously no “Correct” travel destination. But just as there are countries that offer “more attractions” than others, there are countries that “cost less” than others for a vacation.

The “Correct” travel destination, is the one destination that offers something relatively similar, but at a lower cost.

For instance, if you wanted to experience “sleeping in camp surrounded by sand dunes and a night full of stars”. You could visit Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Mongolia, Jordan, and even Australia. Each of those countries could offer you a desert camping experience that wouldn’t be too far off from each other. The key difference? Cost.

Unless you’re a professional skier on a quest to conquer the toughest ski slopes of the world, what’s the difference between European skiing holiday in Switzerland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Georgia, Italy, Ukraine, and in France? The snow covered slopes of all these countries are just as beautiful and offer a variety of slopes. The key difference? Cost.

5. Have An Actual Plan

Backpackers will say, “nah, an itinerary is too restrictive, I prefer to make things up along the way”. And we totally agree with that, we like to be spontaneous and make things along the way as well, else “A Girl & A Bald Traveller” would be about boring package tours.

But regardless of how rewarding “spontaneous” travel is, you must have a skeleton itinerary to work with. You could leave one or 2 days empty to “hang around the region”, but unless you’re like on of those people who quit their jobs to go traveling full time, an itinerary ensures there is less chance of you screwing up, missing a bus, a train, or even a flight; resulting in more money being spent, or worse, time wasted backtracking.

The above picture shows a simple excel sheet we used for our trip to Colombia. It’s states clearly the number of days we have and the budget we should keep to each day but doesn’t dictate exactly what we need to eat or do.

Poor planning can be costly. Ever missed a train in Europe which resulted in an extra S$100 spent buying another ticket?

We advocate being strict (with a plan) while remaining spontaneous (in your day). If you don’t execute your plan the way you were supposed to, you leave more room for screw ups. It’s a waste of time making plans you aren’t intending to keep. You might as well just buy your air tickets and start making your decisions on the plane.

6. Less Is More

Don’t take my word for it. Walk to any travel fair in Suntec city or tour agency in China Town and have a look at their “Itineraries”. The trouble with them is not simply because they cram 5 to 6 countries over a two week period, but because too much money (and time) is spent on getting around, and travel plans that span across a continent is purely dumb planning that’s bound to increase costs.

Now, “The Girl” and I do our share of country hopping, as well, but we limit our “country hopping” based on a few criteria. Just a fraction of our criteria related to “this particular point” would be;

How close are they to each other?

How many “key attractions/experiences” does that country have to offer?

How much time and money will I waste on transport?

How “direct” is getting from on country to the other?

Should I combine one “big country” with a “small one”?

The “top left” picture shows a sample itinerary offered by a certain “tour agency” in Singapore. This tour stretches from Italy, across Switzerland, Austria, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, before finally ending in Paris, France. 7 Countries in a 2 weeks, that’s insane.

The “top right” is proper country hopping planning, across Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia, all situated in an “oval”, with multi city flights available, no backtracking required, cheap, with direct overnight trains which save both time and money”.

The “bottom left” shows a straight line trip across the 3 Baltic countries, and “the bottom right” shows a round trip across South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland”, both which fit the above considerations.

That's how trip planing should be. Less is more.

7. The Early Bird Doesn’t Always Catch The Worm

There is this myth that those who book early are rewarded.Many people I know make the mistake of flights, hotels, months or even a year in advance. While there certainly are promotions for booking early, there are even BETTER promotions for booking late (as long as it isn’t peak period).

Think about it, a hotel with 20 empty rooms earns zero income. With each day that passes, it is less likely that the room will be filled (if it hasn’t been booked already). In Kazakhstan (and in many other countries around the world), we just walked into a hotel and bargained on the basis that the room would be empty anyway. If they gave us a 50% discount, they would earn something as opposed to nothing. We got the deal.

The same logic applies for flights, hotels, cruises, and even tour companies. The above picture shows a sample of last minute deal available on a Caribbean Cruise Line. Still think it’s best to book early? Think again.

[Pre - Trip]

8. Avoid Money Changers

(Above) The YouTrip Card we now swear by because of their fantastic rates.

I've seen Singaporeans queue anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour for the "Best" rates. Now, in one of my earlier posts, I did a comparison on the best and worst money changers in Singapore. And in short, the difference between a good rate and a standard rate is usually insignificant.

By insignificant, I mean you (indicatively depending on the currency) save around S$10 for every S$1,000. I don't know about you, but unless you're changing S$5,000 and above, it's pretty silly to queue for 30 mins just to save that measly amount. If a few tens of dollars was all that painful, you wouldn't be paying of S$200 for 8 hours of sleep in an expensive hotel.

On my recent trip, I remember being so busy with work that I forgot to change my SGD to USD. On the day of my flight, I simply walked to the nearest money changer, dug out S$1,000, and requested for USD. The money changer quoted me a spread of at least 300 basis points from spot rate, that meant that instead of getting USD 740 for my S$1,000, I received USD 717.

Fortunately, there is the YouTrip card. A card that lets you swipe for dinners, accommodation, tours, and pretty much anything while giving you a rate very close to spot. This means, no more long queues at money changers to just to save a pittance! No more receiving ridiculous spreads!

We only just started using it this year, in Colombia, Mexico, and the USA. It works, it’s safe, and best of all, we can carry less cash on us because you have to transfer the funds from your bank account first before swiping. It makes travelling safer!

9. Cash, Card, Pre-Payment

(Above) Left over currency from our earlier trips.

Before I travel, I create an excel sheet (you’d have seen in it my other posts) to give me a indication of exactly what I’ve already paid for, what I should be swiping a card to pay for, and how much cash I should be changing.

This sounds a lot like common sense; but sometimes, common sense isn’t common practice. I know many people who just change a ballpark figure on the pretext that “you’ll probably need to use it again someday on a future trip”.

Wrong. The more money you carry, the more risk you take, the more you’re tempted to spend (because on holiday means just whack) on things you don’t need, and unknowingly (but surely) having more cash in your wallet makes you “feel” more “laissez faire” with the way you spend on your trip.

So yes, decide on your payment modes and allocate/change your funds accordingly BEFORE your trip.

10. Pre Trip Checklist

(Above) The checklist we use to ensure we set off for vacation with everything in order.

You won’t realize it, but poor preparation BEFORE your trip creates mistakes that will cost you DURING your trip. That results in spending unnecessary money to “right those wrongs”.

“The Girl” and I created a “Pre-Trip” checklist for ourselves to ensure the chance of us making mistakes is reduced. For instance;

Not printing your air-tickets and having a physical copy on you could result in you missing your flight because you aren’t allowed to enter the airport without proof of ticket. Yes, some airports have this rule.

Forgetting to bring your yellow fever card to parts of Africa will see you spend an extra $50 USD to get a yellow fever jab at the airport.

Not remembering to buy your “International Driving License” before you fly could result in you not being able to get your car rental at your destination and force you to change plans.

Missing out on trip essentials like chargers, hat’s and sunglasses cause you to spend unnecessary money purchasing those items oversea.

And even more silly, forgetting to take care of home essentials or bills before you leave will cost you even more when you return.

A checklist comes off initially as a waste of time, but it certainly helps minimize unnecessary costs.

11. It's Cultural Homework Time

(Above) Fun with the local children in Rwanda

To tip or not to tip? Should you give money to hungry children asking for money? How much should you tip your guide on a safari? Are free tours really free? Are the police corrupt and you expected to bribe? If so, how much should the bribe be?

The answers to the above questions differ across countries and cultures. Doing “homework” on the culture of the place you’re planning to travel to will save you a lot of money (over tipping) and even potential embarrassment (forgetting to tip).

12. Keep Your Money & Card Separate

(Above) Visiting Europe's last dictatorship, Belarus.

“If you don’t get robbed or pick-pocketed, you’re saving”

In our 94 countries to date, a good number of them have been some pretty dubious destinations with a rather high potential of being robbed or worse. As such, “The Girl” and I take certain precautions with our money.

For instance, we limit the money to one ATM card, perhaps just a few hundred dollars to limit our loses in case of any unforeseen circumstance.

We also split up the location of our cash as an extra safeguard, say underneath the layer between our feet and the soles of our shoes.

More recently, we’ve been using the YouTrip Card, a sort of travel debit card with great rates. Only when we need the money, do we transfer it over from our bank account for that transaction. Because of that, we carry even less cash on us during our travel nowadays than we ever did.

[During The Trip]

13. Go For Free Tours

(Above) It could be Greece, but no, it's Tunisia.

Why pay for a tour when you can get it free?

Okay, so free tours aren’t really free. You are still obliged to leave a tip at the end of the tour. These tours are mainly city tours, and they help you make sense of the sights you’re looking at.

Start off your day with one of these 2-hour walking tours, take what you can from this buffet of information, and after the tour, return to your favorite parts for more pictures.

You could do it free and easy, but you just wouldn’t know the significance of what you’re supposed to be seeing. And of course, you could take a regular tour, but seriously, do you really need to shell out good $$ for a tour of the city and for some guide to explain history to you? Just go for a free tour.

14. Hostel Tours Are Cheap

(Above) "The Girl" strolling in the streets of Cape Verde

There are the standard tours available from tour operators, and “free tours” offered by locals. But in our opinion, tours that offer the best balance, are the “Hostel Tours”, basically those tours you get from a hostel’s tour desk.

In hostels though, they know most backpackers are a little more stingy with their money. Most of the time, hostels either provide discounts on actual tours by proper operators, or they consolidate the interest for various tours offered across various hostels and launch a “hostel tour” if there are enough people to go.

Even better, you can negotiate on pricing for these tours; especially if you’ve been actively making friends in the hostel common room. The larger the group, the more bargaining power you have.

15. A Good Nights Rest?

(Above Left) Luxury Tented Safari In Kenya. (Above Right) Hostel Mixed Dorm in Azerbaijan.

In the “Hierarchy of Traveling Expenses”, accommodation ranks as the 3rd highest cost. Make some cuts here, and you’ll save a lot of money. Obviously I’m not saying you should sleep on a bench, but you most certainly should consider the worth of what you’re paying for.

I don’t know about you, but when we travel, we spend most of our time OUTSIDE of the hotel, enjoying the country and what it offers. By the time we get back, it’s night. After a night of sleep, we are back out the next day at eight in the morning.

I understand privacy is important, and over the years, we’ve also moved from hostel dorms to private rooms with attached toilets. Unless the purpose of the accommodation is part of the experience itself, like how we paid USD $300 a night for a luxury tented safari in Kenya; we stay in hostel private twin rooms, budget hotels, or even pitch a tent.

I mean, are you holidaying in Europe to experience the different countries? Or are you there to have room service and a nicely scented toilet?

I'm not saying we shouldn't have standards and sleep in the dumps; we should. But if your "standards" cost you a S$100 a night when you could have gotten a decent nights sleep for S$15, then there is a problem. And that problem is YOU.

16. Sleep Traveling

(Above) A 3rd class couchette sleeper across countries.

Unless the “journey is itself” part of an unmissable travel experience, we never every travel during the day, always at night.

Travel at night via night trains or buses saves not just time, but money you would have spent paying for sleep in a hotel bed.

In most parts of the world, traveling over night is relatively comfortable. Trains have sleeping carriages, and even if that particular country doesn’t have proper train system, there are usually buses, or minivans which are comfortable enough.

You board, sleep, and when you awake, it’s a new day, new place, and best of all, you saved money on accommodation.

17. A Tourist For The Day

(Above) Riding in a retro Taxi in Armenia.

When in doubt, ask.

Being a tourist, we undoubtedly know less about how to get around, where the best places to eat are at, what the “travel hacks” about that particular place might be. The good thing? The locals probably do, same way Singaporeans know you don’t have to pay $30 for a plate of Chicken Rice at Mandarin Gallery’s Chatterbox when you get one of $2.50 at a hawker.

And that’s why we like to stay at hostels, their job is the answer your questions. Ask the tour desk, the concierge, even the waiter. Everyone of them knows more about their country than you do.

And if you’re too shy to ask, then walk to the tourist information and pay for one of those tourist cards, which undoubtedly give tourists some form of discounts. Besides opening your mouth, you can take simple steps to save money, such as bringing your own water bottle in your day pack so you don’t have to spend money buying an extra drink.

From experience, it’s good to make friends with locals though. In London, one of the most expensive cities in the world, we’d never have known about getting a “meal deal” picnic lunch for 3 Pounds or that the local pub chain Wetherspoon’s serves a beer, burger and fries for 8 Pounds. By London’s standards, that’s cheap. I bet you paid at least 15 Pounds for an unsatisfactory dinner the last time you were there.

18. Eat Like Locals, Drink Like Tourists

(Above) Steak and beer for 9.35 GBP at cheap local bar in England.

When it comes to food & drink on vacation, “The Girl” and I usually stick to a tried and tested formula – “Eat with the locals, drink at the tourist traps”.

I’m not saying to avoid touristy places. They are great places to people watch, soak up the ambiance, and they are usually genuinely amazing places which is why they wind up as popular attractions.

What I am saying is, you don’t have to spend a great deal to be among where the action is. For instance, lets take a European “Old Town” as an example;

We would suggest eating outside of the old town where locals eat. And once your bellies are full with reasonably priced food, you walk back into the “tourist quarter”, pay for an overpriced drink, then enjoy the ambiance of being in the “Old Town”. This way, you’ll still get to enjoy being a tourist without burning a hole in your pocket.

19. Santa’s List

(Above) We never walk into a supermarket blind.

Part of being human is to give in to impulses and to commit irrational decision making; just ask the people who queued up for more than 24hrs outside the Robinson’s store for a Black Friday Sale.

Or maybe don’t ask them. They would say “it was all worth it”, irrational decision making at play.

What we do, is to make notes of the essentials we need to take care of first. Once those items have been crossed out, we see how much we have left from the S$30 each a day that we allocated for ourselves. Left over? Now it’s time to splurge. Oh, and yes, we do keep track of what we’ve spent for breakfast, lunch, snacks, so we know how much we have left to spend for dinner. It isn’t being a scrooge, it’s called having a plan, a budget, and keeping to it.

90% of the people I know just sit down in at a restaurant on holiday without looking at prices or walk into a convenience shop not knowing exactly what they need to buy. They make their decisions as they see them, that results in unnecessary shopping.

On vacation, spend your money on experiences, not on an overpriced meal or an extra can of beer too many.

20. Nobody Cares For Your Magnet

(Above) "Our Magnet Wall" at home.

"Hmm, what should I buy for my colleagues in office? What do you think? Should I buy this, or that?"

It's YOUR holiday, worry about yourself.

Why on earth would your colleagues want; say a magnet or key-chain from Finland if they've never been there? Like they would give a damn; it just gives them an extra headache about where to chuck it so it doesn't seem rude.(Now, I'm not against buying the local tidbits to share in your office and for your loved ones; that actually makes sense and happens to be nice thing to do. Buying for the sake of buying does not)

Unless it's for a good buddy or someone important, don't waste your time. Do your shopping at the DFS for tidbits or whatever just before you fly off, it'll save you a whole lot of trouble; and useful cash.

21. Two Words. Walk Away

(Above) "The Girl" enjoying the beauty of Zanzibar, Tanzania.

I remember walking through the “Aladdin like” souks of Morocco and Turkey and going “Wow, that carpet/lamp/outfit is beautiful!”.

Fortunately, logic prevailed and assured me I didn’t need a carpet or new lamp in our home back in Singapore. When shopping overseas, we go by a rule, “don’t buy something the minute you see it”. Like how an angry person needs to take deep breaths for 10 seconds before raising his fists/voice, we suggest you “walk away”, go sit down for a coffee or lunch. Check out a few shops and then decide.

Buying tourist memorabilia is fine, and our choice are magnets (we buy a magnet from every country we visit). It’s easy to get carried away shopping on vacation though. And if you don’t learn to “walk away” often enough, you’ll find that when you return, “home” starts to look more like a souvenir shop and a year later during spring cleaning, you’ll find yourself saying, “now why did I buy that?”

[Mindset]

22. Don’t Be A Sheep

Planning for your vacations can be a lot easier by being a sheep (if you aren’t a sheep already). The “Herd Mentality”, that’s the way most people align themselves with.

After working and saving hard for a year, are you sure all you want to do is simply visit the tourist traps your friends and colleagues have gone to before and come back saddled with the bills they had to pay but didn’t tell you about?

This “way of thinking” leads you all over the world to some of the most overrated and expensive destinations on earth. If you’ve been following us long enough, you’ll know that some of the worlds most amazing destinations are also cheap, safe, and offer even more value for your money then if you allow yourself to be led by nose just because you’re easily influenced by the media, your peers and their travel choices.

I understand, some of the these “tourists traps” are places you’ve always dreamt of visiting. Sure, visit them and realize your dream. I enjoyed my time at some of those tourist traps too.

But you know that saying, “fool me once shame on you; fool me twice shame on me”. If you’re on your 3rd trip to Europe and still paying for that overpriced coffee in Paris, you certainly deserve that coffee.

23. Don’t Be A Brat

(Above) The Cliff's of Mohar, Ireland.

“The sheets are yellow on this side! It wasn’t washed properly! I’m not sleeping in this bed”

“I’m not eating here; it doesn’t look clean!”

“Never heard of this airline, I only fly Singapore Airlines.”

But you spent years sleeping in your university dorm, ate at roadside stalls in Bangkok and you accepted that. And if you’re well read or traveled enough, you’d know that Singapore Airlines isn’t the safest airline in the world. Great airline, and also my favorite airline; but there are others equally good.

It’s about perspectives. Stop being a brat. Is that S$200 hotel room really S$150 more worth it that a S$50 private room in a hostel? For 8 hours of sleep? Seriously?

And if you feel entitled because you worked hard and deserve an expensive holiday sleeping in luxurious rooms with down feather pillows, you’re not wrong, go ahead and enjoy that, you earned it. This post is for people who want to save money on their next vacation.

24. Don’t Be A Doormat

(Above) WWII Tank in Transnistria, Moldova.

When you travel with friends, which I assume most of you do because its easier to remain in your comfort zone, there’s always that one friend in the group that’s more opinionated. I’m not saying you should be bossy if that’s not your nature, but you shouldn’t be a doormat and let everyone force their plans and budget all over you.

When I travel with friends, I am transparent on what my budget is, and if there are any outlying factors, we discuss together how we can reallocate our budgeting. If my friend wants to stay in a S$100 a night hotel, I’d never go along with it. We’d probably compromise somewhere along S$80 at best or I’d sleep somewhere else and meet up again the next day.

And it’s not just friends, its you.

Don’t let your want’s trample and walk all over the budget that you set. You choose your budget, no one held a gun to your head to come up with it, so stick to it! If you spend according to the situation, it’s as good as writing a blank cheque for your holiday.

The bottom-line? Say no if you must. Here's a news flash, fun holidays don’t necessarily have to be expensive.

25. Anything In Excess Is A Poison

(Above) The Azure Swimming Pool, at Chernobyl, Ukraine.

Look, its good to bring extra money, but don’t over do it.

I blogged about something similar in an earlier post, if you have $10 in your wallet, the day still passes somehow, and all you've spent is just $10. Likewise if you had $50 dollars in your wallet, you'd have spent more than $10 simply because you got complacent. With $50 in your wallet, an $8 Ramen in a coffee-shop suddenly looks affordable. Me with $10 in my wallet? All I can afford is a $3 bowl of noodles.

I usually bring just S$200 more than the funds I allocated for myself in my budget in case of emergency. So far, I’ve never had to touch that S$200, I don’t even see that S$200 because it’s hidden somewhere only to be used in emergencies.

I apply this logic to credit cards as well. In fact, only credit card I carry is the card I use for my hotel bookings. And yes, that’s hidden as well so I never have the urge to swipe for something I don’t need.

[Final thoughts]

(Above) "The Girl" enjoying 8 USD Shisha in the souks of Doha, Qatar.

There are opinions, and there are facts.

The tips in this article aren’t random travel tips that I ripped off online and decided to recommend them as “travel tips”. These 25 tips actual travel strategies and mindsets that “The Girl” and I have subscribed to for every single one of our travels.

Here are some of our previous posts we show you what’s possible; and actual travel itineraries and plans that we have already experienced as a result of the above 25 tips.