5 travel hacks to stretch your holiday budget

When you’re planning a trip, you will look at all the ways you can save money, such as not paying for additional baggage or looking for low-cost carriers.

However, you should never, ever scrimp on travel insurance.

Travel insurance will save you money should you encounter any emergencies while overseas.

For example, if you have a medical emergency while travelling, you can seek treatment at the hospital without worrying if you can afford it as you will be able to claim part of the cost.

Buy the best travel insurance you can afford and make sure you read the terms and conditions to understand what it covers.

Ensure you read the small print carefully.

Unless you need to constantly be on call (and let’s be honest, that kind of defeats the purpose of a holiday), you don’t need to pay for a roaming phone plan or even a local SIM card.

You can just rely of free Wi-Fi that’s provided at most cafes and restaurants and at your accommodation.

With apps like FaceTime and WhatApp for texting and making calls, you don’t have to spend any money to keep in touch with people back home.

Check out our tips and tricks for helping stretch your mobile phone dollar further.

You don’t have to book expensive tour packages to enjoy your vacation.

Instead, look for cheap or free activities.

This is especially easy to do in larger cities.

London, for example, has over 23 free museums, such as the Tate Modern, British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

And the Museo del Prado in Madrid, Spain, offers free entry for the last two hours of every day.

Search online for more such options.

And there’s no better way to really get to know a place than to explore its streets.

You can check online for free walking tours that are usually organised by experienced guides.

You are free to tip the guide any amount you want at the end of the tour.

If money is no object, check out these 10 holiday activities that burn calories fast.

This is especially useful in cities where it’s expensive to eat out, such as Paris or London.

Even eating in just one meal a day can save you a significant amount of money.

The moment you settle in, go for a grocery run to buy ingredients for the duration of your stay.

Ingredients like milk, juice, eggs, bread and sandwich meats can help you put together a great and satisfying breakfast.

Planning a family trip or solo holiday anytime soon?

You may have booked your plane tickets and accommodation, but that doesn’t mean you’re all set to go.

Go through this travel checklist to make sure you’ve got everything planned.

If you do want to have a little splurge while on holiday, use apps that can help you locate good deals.

Sick of homemade sandwiches for lunch?

Treat yourself to a great meal in London by using Bookatable by Michelin.

The app lets you find good value set meals from popular restaurants and even those owned by celebrity chefs.

For example, you can enjoy a meal at a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant for under £28 (US$36), which is a steal!

Do some research before you reach your destination to find more such apps.

Check out these 5 clever mobile travel apps that will assist you on your next big adventure.