Márk's Travel Blog

Travel Advice #2: Buy Strategically

The biggest costs when travelling abroad are usually transport and accommodation. Other, more minor costs are for example attraction tickets, food or souvenirs. However, some places require you to buy or have many other things to complete your trip. These items/services are often vaccinations, SIM cards, currency exchange, special gear (eg. for diving, mountain climbing, safari, etc.) or other special accessories/clothes. The reality is that the price of these items or services can significantly differ in different countries, so it is always recommended to do a minimal research about where to acquire these things.

For example, I saved £25 just by buying my SIM card in Singapore instead of the UK for my Southeast Asia trip. I also saved £260 by getting my vaccinations for £60 in Hungary instead of getting the same vaccination package for £320 in the UK. When I went to Georgia (a country where you must have local cash), I tried to exchange the local currency in the UK, but due to its rarity the few places that had it charged 20-30%+ commissions, but I found out in 2 minutes that you can exchange the same amount after landing in the country for just £1 commission, right at the airport.

I have dozens of stories like these where I saved massive amounts of money just by looking around. What I want to highlight here is if you want to have a truly budget trip, you just have to do at least a bit of research about everything. But if you are like me, you can actually enjoy researching about these things and it also builds up your excitement ahead of the trip.