Image credit: TristanB, August 2004

There are tourist traps in every country that work in pretty much the same way.  We believe in letting your buck go further and in line with that, here are a few suggestions for saving money.

Airport duty free shops

There is no automatic saving in duty-free shops, and in many cases we have found that the prices are the same as in high-street shops.  (In some airports such as Heathrow, direct price comparisons are regularly conducted to ensure that you are paying no more than you would at a shop in the city.)

The bargains that are to be had in duty-free are on articles with high levels of duty, which are generally in “luxury” goods such as alcoholic drinks, and fragrances.  If you are a devotee of luxury goods then duty-free is probably going to work out well for you.

Airline duty free

When you are flying with Emirates and Qatar you have an option to put a sticker on your seat-back top which has a sleeping face, then they will skip you when they come around with the duty free cart.  If you want to save money, that is the way to go.  Airline duty-free prices are not usually all that wonderful because their profit margins are often fatter, but if you know the price elsewhere then you may be able to score a rare bargain by comparing prices.

Tourist attraction curio shops

These are often the worst offenders in charging top dollar.  One way that you can tell if a place is a tourist trap or not is by finding out if the locals buy there.  For instance the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul is supported mainly by tourists.  By contrast, however, the Egyptian or Spice Market is frequented by locals buying their spices for use at home.  The quality is spoken of (positively) in hushed tones, and the prices are keen.

If you want to support the local economy by buying trinkets you will often get the same thing from a local supermarket, or even a street vendor, at substantially lower rates than at the shop at the airport.

Of course, you may have forgotten to get gifts for relatives or friends, in which case if you remember in time you can buy them a present at the airport, but then you should be prepared to pay for the convenience.

Restaurants

If you eat the local cuisine you will pay less than if you go for foods that are exotic in that location.  For instance, in Hong Kong there is a wide variety of fare from all over the world.  But even in a touristy place like Victoria Peak you will pay Yuan 50 for Chinese food, and probably over Yuan 100 if you want an Italian-style meal.

The author also experienced this in eating at a German-themed restaurant in Dalian, Northern China.  Expensive!  If you want more bang for your buck, get your teeth into the local cuisine and enjoy what the country you are visiting has to offer your palate.  After all, if you wanted to eat food from home, you could simply have stayed at home!

The key to not being caught as a tourist is to shop and eat where the locals do, where it is safe to do so.

With the cost of  an exotic vacation now having become deadly expensive, staycations, where one remains either in your home town, or in your country, are becoming popular.  They need not be dull.  I guess that the old-fashioned term for this is “day trips”.  You have all the comforts of your own home, and you get to sleep in your own bed at night.

A nice house for a staycation
[Dr James Merriman House in Hilliard, Ohio, picture by Wdzinc, 10 July 2011]

The first advantage for stay-cations is that you are already at your destination!  No crowded terminals, long uncomfortable flights, or unfamiliar languages.  Since getting there and back accounts for most of the stress and a huge proportion of the costs, holidaying near home can be more relaxing, as well as cheap.  And you do not lose a day or two in travel at the start and at the end of your break.

Many people find it key to achieve the following before time off can be regarded as a vacation:

• Break the tyranny of chores
• Break from one’s regular routine
• See new sights
• Eat in new places
• Do new and interesting things

Factors that can spoil any sort of holiday

• Being unemployed (you do not have income)
• A threat of unemployment (you are scared of losing your income)
• Family debts (you already spent your money)
• The price of fuel
• The cost of transport

The common thread between all of these is a lack of funds, for whatever reason.  The good news is that one can usually still have a vacation on the cheap.

If you need a successful vacation at little or no cost then instead of money, you need to invest your time in doing some research and planning.  A number of people find this to be an enjoyable part of the break, and it can mean good quality time together for couples or families.

Though research is necessary, it need not be tedious.  There are very few places that are unremittingly dull.  If you live in such a place, and your research does not turn up anything fresh and new, then you will be left with no choice but to travel, unless of course you enjoy a very quiet holiday.  With stress in the workplace as high as it is, quiet relaxation is attractive to many more people.

Things to do, places to see

All too often you will find that the places in your home town that you would like to see are open and uncrowded when you are at work, so if you time your holiday at home correctly you will be able to take your time about seeing the sights, instead of feeling rushed.

The activities that you could indulge in depend on what is available locally at the particular time of year that you take your time off.  Local newspapers often print schedules of events.  A visit to your local visitor’s Information Centre may reveal things that you never knew were on the go.  Museums, galleries and other attractions may have special shows or events planned, particularly around the holiday seasons.

A number of hotels keep their event centres busy with shows or interesting activities.  Tasting various types of alcohol or alcohol/ food combinations is a perennial favourite.

If your town is host to a brewery you may find that there are organised tours, that culminate in sampling their wares.

You might want to try restaurants in a different part of town from where you normally eat, or a restaurant specialising in different cuisine.

Avoiding the traps

Chores, routines and the invasion of work can spoil ones stay-at-home holiday.  If you leave things to their own devices then it is almost an inevitability.  Planning is needed.

As far as chores go you have basically three options: leave them until after your break, schedule a specific and limited time slot each day, or swap around duties with another family member.  If you are saving enough money from staying at home then maybe you can get paid help.

To prevent your regular routines from taking hold, you need to plan temporary new routines while you are off work.  While you will not find it relaxing to run your schedule like a railway timetable, if you block out your day differently you may find it more pleasurable.  For instance, your bedtime may normally be constrained by the time you need to get to work.  When you are off duty perhaps your personal inclination is to go to bed later and get up at a corresponding time.  Or you would like to get up really early some days and watch the sun rise.

The ugly intrusion of work can be a problem.  While it may take a bit of acclimatisation, a lot of  people find that they do not truly relax until they drop off the network.  Some ideas for this include putting you mobile phone off, except for specific times each day.  Keep your Internet use to a minimum, so that you do not spend your time tracking events or data trends, your Facebook page, or Tweets.  The more you can reduce the number of things that you have to track mentally, the better able you will be to relax.

Have fun!

[*] The actual country of Romania has wonderful, unspoiled scenery and heaps of historical places and is worth a visit.  But that probably would not be a cheap holiday unless you already live there.