WEBVTT - Travel Tips For Affordable Adventures 0:00:00.780 --> 0:00:04.170 Hi. Kia here. If you follow me on social media, 0:00:04.200 --> 0:00:06.840 you will know how much I love to travel. In 0:00:06.840 --> 0:00:09.240 the last year, I've been to Spain, New York and 0:00:09.240 --> 0:00:12.449 Zanzibar. But while we all love to visit new places 0:00:12.450 --> 0:00:15.660 and have a break from the daily grind, money inevitably 0:00:15.660 --> 0:00:18.269 plays a big part in how elaborate our plans are. 0:00:18.870 --> 0:00:21.390 So whether you're a solo traveler or holiday with others, 0:00:21.810 --> 0:00:25.440 going on travel adventures is a big expense, especially these 0:00:25.440 --> 0:00:28.470 days. We want to find clever ways to head abroad 0:00:28.679 --> 0:00:32.159 without it feeling too much of a splurge. Welcome to 0:00:32.159 --> 0:00:34.528 another episode of A Little Bit Richer, brought to you 0:00:34.529 --> 0:00:37.620 by my friends at Legal & General. Here to help our 0:00:37.620 --> 0:00:40.708 money go further is the woman behind Big World Small 0:00:40.710 --> 0:00:44.010 Pockets, Steph Parker. Welcome to A Little Bit Richer, Steph. 0:00:44.159 --> 0:00:45.450 Hi. Thanks for having me. 0:00:45.479 --> 0:00:47.639 Thank you for coming on. Right. So I want to 0:00:47.639 --> 0:00:50.670 get straight into this. As you heard, I love travel, 0:00:50.670 --> 0:00:53.190 but I want to start by asking you what sort 0:00:53.190 --> 0:00:55.350 of holidays offer better value? 0:00:56.250 --> 0:00:58.230 I think there's two ways to think about this. So 0:00:58.230 --> 0:01:00.750 I think you've either got one option, which is stay 0:01:00.750 --> 0:01:03.029 in the UK so you keep your actual travel costs 0:01:03.030 --> 0:01:05.849 down, but you've probably got a bit of a pricier 0:01:05.849 --> 0:01:09.179 accommodation. Cost of living is a bit higher. Or you 0:01:09.179 --> 0:01:11.219 splurge a bit more on a plane ride and you 0:01:11.219 --> 0:01:13.980 go somewhere else where the cost of living might be 0:01:13.980 --> 0:01:16.680 cheaper. That's one key way to do it. The other 0:01:16.680 --> 0:01:19.679 thing to remember is that the more research you do, 0:01:19.709 --> 0:01:23.639 the less you pay. So for example, I tend to 0:01:23.639 --> 0:01:27.928 avoid using tour operators. Instead, if you can plan your 0:01:27.929 --> 0:01:32.130 flights, your accommodation, your airport transfers yourself, you're going to 0:01:32.130 --> 0:01:34.289 save a lot of money. And then if you still 0:01:34.290 --> 0:01:37.500 want to do some tours to particular sites when you're 0:01:37.500 --> 0:01:40.740 in a destination, that's totally fine. There's loads of sites 0:01:40.740 --> 0:01:42.959 like Get Your Guide or Via Tour that offer day 0:01:42.959 --> 0:01:45.719 or multi- day shorter trips, and that is a great 0:01:45.719 --> 0:01:47.850 way to keep your budget down then going with a tour 0:01:47.850 --> 0:01:48.931 for the whole of your holiday. 0:01:48.931 --> 0:01:52.200 Absolutely, and I agree with what you said, booking it 0:01:52.200 --> 0:01:54.870 separately. As someone who's traveled a lot like you have, 0:01:55.500 --> 0:01:57.480 you can see the difference in the price when you 0:01:57.480 --> 0:02:00.360 book a package versus splitting it up and you see 0:02:00.360 --> 0:02:02.129 you save a lot more money when you actually go 0:02:02.130 --> 0:02:04.619 and seek out, let's say the flights and the accommodation 0:02:04.619 --> 0:02:07.680 and the transfers separately, it can all add up when 0:02:07.680 --> 0:02:08.340 it's all in a package. 0:02:08.340 --> 0:02:10.620 Absolutely. Because you're happy to do your research. It does 0:02:10.620 --> 0:02:12.900 take a bit of time, but you can find some 0:02:13.290 --> 0:02:16.049 real deals. And don't forget, you're cutting out the middleman 0:02:16.050 --> 0:02:19.139 cost. If you are not using a travel agent, you're not having 0:02:19.139 --> 0:02:22.529 to pay for them. So doing research yourself, using price 0:02:22.529 --> 0:02:25.589 comparison websites, they're great ways to save on holidays. 0:02:25.770 --> 0:02:28.560 Absolutely amazing. This is a question that I'm sure you 0:02:28.560 --> 0:02:31.710 get a lot because I'm going to ask you, is 0:02:31.710 --> 0:02:34.469 there a best time to book a holiday to get 0:02:34.469 --> 0:02:37.559 the best deal and can you suggest some ways that 0:02:37.559 --> 0:02:39.089 people can find the best prices? 0:02:39.450 --> 0:02:41.609 When you're thinking about going to a destination, the first 0:02:41.609 --> 0:02:45.811 thing is forget school holidays. If you don't have kids- 0:02:45.811 --> 0:02:45.812 Oh, out the window. 0:02:45.812 --> 0:02:47.880 If you don't have kids and you don't have to travel in school holidays, 0:02:47.940 --> 0:02:51.480 don't. They're always much more expensive. I also really love 0:02:51.480 --> 0:02:53.820 traveling in what I call the shoulder season. So that 0:02:53.820 --> 0:02:56.398 kind tends to be the couple of months either side 0:02:56.400 --> 0:02:59.490 of the peak season. So when we are thinking about Europe, might be 0:02:59.549 --> 0:03:04.139 May, June, September, October time because normally the weather's still 0:03:04.139 --> 0:03:07.290 good, but there's way less crowds and prices are cheaper 0:03:07.290 --> 0:03:10.020 as well. So shoulder season for the win. And then 0:03:10.020 --> 0:03:13.860 when it comes to booking flights, yes you might find 0:03:13.860 --> 0:03:16.379 a flash sale down the line, but by and large 0:03:16.379 --> 0:03:18.299 you are always going to get the cheapest flights by 0:03:18.300 --> 0:03:21.690 booking as early as you can say two, even three 0:03:21.690 --> 0:03:25.290 months in advance, especially for long haul. The reason is 0:03:25.290 --> 0:03:28.320 airlines have tiered tickets, so once they sell out of 0:03:28.320 --> 0:03:30.960 the cheapest tier, those seats are gone and you move 0:03:30.960 --> 0:03:33.179 up to the next tier in the pricing ranking. So 0:03:33.480 --> 0:03:38.070 doing it early is always better. With hotels, it's the 0:03:38.070 --> 0:03:42.270 other way round, which is a sneaky tip because say 0:03:42.360 --> 0:03:44.970 your holiday's coming up in a few weeks' time. If 0:03:44.970 --> 0:03:47.790 those hotels have still got rooms available, they want to 0:03:47.790 --> 0:03:51.089 shift them. They want to sell those nights. So booking 0:03:51.089 --> 0:03:54.240 as last minute as possible that you feel comfortable with 0:03:54.240 --> 0:03:56.820 when it comes to hotels is definitely the best way 0:03:56.820 --> 0:03:59.580 because they'll start dropping their rates the nearer it gets 0:03:59.580 --> 0:04:01.050 to the time that you want to stay there. So 0:04:01.050 --> 0:04:04.829 hotels late, flights early is the best combination. 0:04:04.830 --> 0:04:06.450 That's the best combo. Do you know what? When it 0:04:06.450 --> 0:04:08.520 comes to booking hotels late, I'm glad you said that. 0:04:09.000 --> 0:04:11.670 I think the latest I've ever booked it, which did 0:04:11.670 --> 0:04:13.890 give me anxiety, I want to put it out there, so I wouldn't 0:04:13.890 --> 0:04:16.529 recommend it for people, was when I was in the 0:04:16.529 --> 0:04:20.308 airport about to get my flight and I had no 0:04:20.309 --> 0:04:22.289 accommodation. This when I was going to Thailand, I had 0:04:22.290 --> 0:04:24.178 no accommodation booked and I was out there for 11 0:04:24.178 --> 0:04:26.789 days. I had no plan whatsoever and I was traveling 0:04:26.790 --> 0:04:27.960 with my friend and I said to her, " I'll handle 0:04:27.960 --> 0:04:30.000 it. I'll do the accommodation." So we got to the 0:04:30.000 --> 0:04:31.290 airport, she said, " Okay, where are we staying?" I said, " 0:04:31.290 --> 0:04:33.690 I have no idea. I have no idea." So we 0:04:33.690 --> 0:04:36.120 were trawling online, literally like an hour or two before 0:04:36.120 --> 0:04:37.529 I had to board our flight, but I got a 0:04:37.529 --> 0:04:37.710 really good deal. 0:04:37.710 --> 0:04:38.880 Well, there you are. I was going to say, did you get a bargain? 0:04:38.880 --> 0:04:40.890 But, I will say, it was a bit prickly. 0:04:41.849 --> 0:04:44.040 Yeah, that's bold. I think I might've done that when 0:04:44.040 --> 0:04:46.738 I was younger. Now not so much. Yeah. And if you've 0:04:46.740 --> 0:04:49.620 got the luxury of time, say you're backpacking for longer 0:04:49.620 --> 0:04:51.390 or traveling for a few months, yeah, you can be 0:04:51.390 --> 0:04:53.851 a bit more flexible. If you've got a week, you might- 0:04:53.851 --> 0:04:57.150 I was pushing it. I was pushing it. I was very much, and I can 0:04:57.300 --> 0:04:59.190 hold my hands up. I was definitely pushing it so 0:04:59.190 --> 0:05:01.349 I wouldn't recommend it, but like you said, last minute's 0:05:01.349 --> 0:05:03.059 always good. Maybe a couple of days before, not the 0:05:03.059 --> 0:05:03.960 day of. That's what I- 0:05:03.960 --> 0:05:04.799 A couple of days sounds reasonable. 0:05:04.800 --> 0:05:10.469 A couple of days is good, yeah. Okay. And what about ideas to consider when actually 0:05:10.470 --> 0:05:13.620 looking for accommodation? You mentioned obviously you want to book as often 0:05:13.620 --> 0:05:15.210 as possible to get the best deals, but when you're actually 0:05:15.210 --> 0:05:19.020 looking, there is so much choice out there now. Before it 0:05:19.020 --> 0:05:20.849 used just to be you got to book a hotel, but there are so many 0:05:20.849 --> 0:05:23.999 different variations of accommodation. What should people consider when they're 0:05:24.000 --> 0:05:24.779 looking for accommodation? 0:05:24.869 --> 0:05:26.219 I think you really need to think about the type 0:05:26.220 --> 0:05:28.710 of holiday that you want to have. If you're happy 0:05:28.740 --> 0:05:30.839 to self- cater, which can be a great way to 0:05:30.839 --> 0:05:35.010 save money, then Airbnb's apartments awesome choice for you. There's 0:05:35.010 --> 0:05:37.919 actually a new company called Vrbo. They're like Airbnb. You 0:05:37.920 --> 0:05:39.630 might have find some better deals on there as well. 0:05:40.020 --> 0:05:42.539 Hotels, if you really want to relax. If you don't 0:05:42.540 --> 0:05:44.219 want to do the washing up, if you don't want 0:05:44.220 --> 0:05:46.618 to go to the supermarket, think about that because if 0:05:46.620 --> 0:05:48.540 it's your holiday of the year and you want to 0:05:48.540 --> 0:05:50.760 have a good time, it might be worth spending a 0:05:50.760 --> 0:05:52.620 little bit more to go in a hotel if you 0:05:52.620 --> 0:05:54.688 don't want to do all the other tasks, cooking and 0:05:54.690 --> 0:05:57.599 cleaning and all those sorts of things. House sitting's great 0:05:57.599 --> 0:06:00.178 if you're on a longer trip. So if you're traveling 0:06:00.180 --> 0:06:02.190 for perhaps a few weeks or even a few months, 0:06:02.190 --> 0:06:04.410 then house sitting can be a great option as well. 0:06:04.650 --> 0:06:06.720 People will give you their house to look after for 0:06:06.720 --> 0:06:09.178 free if they've got pets or they just want someone 0:06:09.178 --> 0:06:12.599 to stay there and they're verified. There's review systems. It's 0:06:12.599 --> 0:06:14.279 that kind of process and you can do that all 0:06:14.279 --> 0:06:17.100 online as well. So it's really about thinking about the 0:06:17.100 --> 0:06:20.130 type of holiday that you want to have and matching 0:06:20.130 --> 0:06:24.240 accommodation for that and thinking that sometimes when you spend 0:06:24.240 --> 0:06:26.279 a little bit more, you might get more of the 0:06:26.279 --> 0:06:29.339 experience that you're looking for and that is actually good value. 0:06:29.460 --> 0:06:32.580 Absolutely. I think it's not all just about the numbers. 0:06:32.910 --> 0:06:34.948 This is the cheapest and we're going to go for that. It is like you 0:06:34.949 --> 0:06:37.049 said, do I want to relax? Have I had a 0:06:37.050 --> 0:06:39.210 stressful time at work and I just want to put 0:06:39.210 --> 0:06:42.150 my feet up? Maybe Airbnb and figuring out breakfast, lunch 0:06:42.150 --> 0:06:44.099 and dinner isn't the way to go. Maybe I will 0:06:44.099 --> 0:06:45.988 go for a hotel. Like I said, it is personal 0:06:45.990 --> 0:06:48.660 circumstances. I've done pretty much all of them and they've 0:06:48.660 --> 0:06:51.480 all offered different experiences. It's just figuring out what kind 0:06:51.480 --> 0:06:52.349 of holidays do I want. 0:06:52.529 --> 0:06:53.129 Exactly. 0:06:53.250 --> 0:06:55.589 So for anyone looking to get a good deal, what 0:06:55.589 --> 0:06:57.090 about price comparison sites? 0:06:57.330 --> 0:07:00.150 Always use a price comparison site to start. They're a great 0:07:00.150 --> 0:07:03.510 place to begin your research for budget travel. When it 0:07:03.510 --> 0:07:07.410 comes to flights, top tip, remember to use an incognito 0:07:07.410 --> 0:07:10.109 browser when you're searching because it is true that they 0:07:10.109 --> 0:07:12.209 track your cookies and the prices go up the more 0:07:12.209 --> 0:07:15.540 you look so incognito browser. And if you're flying with 0:07:15.540 --> 0:07:18.840 a budget airline, I always go direct to their website 0:07:18.900 --> 0:07:22.050 because it's cheaper to add baggage on at the end 0:07:22.050 --> 0:07:24.630 of the booking process rather than one of the packages 0:07:24.630 --> 0:07:26.580 that you get priority boarding and all these things that 0:07:26.580 --> 0:07:29.249 you don't need to add on, just add the luggage 0:07:29.250 --> 0:07:31.500 and it's best to do that for budget airlines direct 0:07:31.500 --> 0:07:32.010 with them. 0:07:32.250 --> 0:07:33.570 Amazing. What about hotels? 0:07:34.050 --> 0:07:37.500 Hotels, I use it for research. So I always look 0:07:37.500 --> 0:07:40.080 on a price comparison website like booking. com or hotels. 0:07:40.200 --> 0:07:42.389 com to find the kind of hotels or places that 0:07:42.389 --> 0:07:44.280 I want to stay. Lots of them do Airbnbs or 0:07:44.280 --> 0:07:47.160 apartments now as well. But then I go direct to 0:07:47.160 --> 0:07:50.040 the hotel. And the reason is the hotels have to 0:07:50.040 --> 0:07:53.970 pay these price comparison sites a commission, so that can 0:07:53.970 --> 0:07:56.910 be up to 17%. So if you go direct, you 0:07:56.910 --> 0:07:59.940 can normally negotiate a discount of around 10%. 0:08:00.000 --> 0:08:00.450 Wow. 0:08:00.450 --> 0:08:03.330 And everybody's doing better on that. So yeah, give them 0:08:03.330 --> 0:08:05.669 a call or an email and you can normally work 0:08:05.670 --> 0:08:07.200 a better deal with hotels straight. 0:08:07.350 --> 0:08:10.800 Amazing. So what's some of your favorites but more affordable 0:08:10.800 --> 0:08:11.730 places to discover? 0:08:12.030 --> 0:08:15.150 Long haul if you're looking for a Safari, which I 0:08:15.150 --> 0:08:16.559 think is probably on everyone's bucket list- 0:08:16.559 --> 0:08:17.309 For mine as well. 0:08:17.309 --> 0:08:20.580 And it's one of my favorites too. South Africa is 0:08:20.580 --> 0:08:24.239 a real bargain right now. There's parks there where you 0:08:24.240 --> 0:08:26.790 can do south drives that make it really cheap, but 0:08:26.790 --> 0:08:29.160 otherwise cost of living there is quite affordable and it's 0:08:29.160 --> 0:08:32.760 such a diverse and amazing country to visit. Park entrances 0:08:32.760 --> 0:08:35.249 are cheap. So if you were looking for a budget 0:08:35.250 --> 0:08:39.540 Safari, South Africa is my tip. Across in Asia, Sri 0:08:39.540 --> 0:08:43.230 Lanka is one of my absolute faves. 0:08:43.380 --> 0:08:43.500 Really? Okay. 0:08:43.500 --> 0:08:45.150 I went there for the first time last year and 0:08:45.150 --> 0:08:48.750 I was blown away. And again, super affordable. If you're 0:08:48.750 --> 0:08:51.929 say looking for a luxury honeymoon, you can get five 0:08:51.929 --> 0:08:54.929 star hotels there for a fraction of the price that you would 0:08:54.929 --> 0:08:59.728 in Europe. There's beaches, the food's amazing, there's tea plantations, 0:08:59.730 --> 0:09:03.510 epic train rides. It's an all- round gem. So yeah, 0:09:03.510 --> 0:09:04.978 Sri Lanka, highly recommend. 0:09:05.010 --> 0:09:07.170 Wow. Now I have to ask you, Steph, what are 0:09:07.170 --> 0:09:08.969 some of your personal favorite places to visit? 0:09:09.540 --> 0:09:10.050 I'm going to give you my top five. 0:09:10.050 --> 0:09:12.869 Okay. I want your top five. I'm ready for the list. Let's go. 0:09:12.960 --> 0:09:14.280 It's Ethiopia. 0:09:14.309 --> 0:09:14.639 Okay. 0:09:14.790 --> 0:09:15.510 Lebanon. 0:09:15.809 --> 0:09:15.838 Oh. 0:09:16.109 --> 0:09:16.949 Georgia. 0:09:17.010 --> 0:09:17.490 Yes. 0:09:17.549 --> 0:09:20.760 Peru and Sri Lanka, which we've talked about. 0:09:20.760 --> 0:09:22.559 Yes. That's a good list. But just to circle back, 0:09:22.559 --> 0:09:24.270 Georgia, we're not talking about the state. 0:09:24.450 --> 0:09:26.429 No, right, we're talking about the country. 0:09:26.429 --> 0:09:27.570 The country, okay. 0:09:27.570 --> 0:09:29.670 Yeah, so on the edge of Europe, just the other 0:09:29.670 --> 0:09:32.790 side of Turkey. Again, I think I love these countries 0:09:32.790 --> 0:09:34.799 because they're really diverse. They're a bit off the beaten 0:09:34.799 --> 0:09:38.700 track, very affordable to travel. Georgia has amazing food and 0:09:38.700 --> 0:09:42.810 wine, mountains for hiking or skiing in the winter. History. 0:09:43.260 --> 0:09:46.199 It's just beautiful. The people are so friendly and it's 0:09:46.200 --> 0:09:50.159 still in Europe, but it feels quite different and feels 0:09:50.160 --> 0:09:52.469 a bit unique and it's still a bit undiscovered as 0:09:52.469 --> 0:09:55.110 well. So get there before everybody else does. 0:09:55.170 --> 0:09:57.630 Well, I'm booking my trip after this. I have to 0:09:57.630 --> 0:09:59.968 get there first now. So thank you for that insights there. 0:09:59.970 --> 0:10:03.660 Thank you. Travel insurance, how can you make sure you 0:10:03.660 --> 0:10:05.160 get good value on your policy? 0:10:05.550 --> 0:10:08.339 First of all, check if you already get travel insurance 0:10:08.340 --> 0:10:11.280 with your credit card or debit cards, anything else that you 0:10:11.490 --> 0:10:13.439 might be a member of if you get travel insurance 0:10:13.440 --> 0:10:16.260 there. If not, use a price comparison website to shop 0:10:16.260 --> 0:10:18.718 around and get the best deal. Special offers run all 0:10:18.720 --> 0:10:21.958 the time, so hop onto those if you can. Think 0:10:21.960 --> 0:10:24.120 about your cover, the two main points that you want 0:10:24.120 --> 0:10:26.489 to make sure are covered are the most common things. 0:10:26.490 --> 0:10:29.190 So is it your electronics getting stolen? That might be 0:10:29.190 --> 0:10:31.590 a big thing for you. Is it baggage delay? Make 0:10:31.590 --> 0:10:34.679 sure the most important things to you get covered. Look 0:10:34.679 --> 0:10:37.320 at the excess. No point going for a cheaper policy 0:10:37.320 --> 0:10:39.719 if the excess is huge because you're going to have 0:10:39.719 --> 0:10:42.599 to pay that if anything happens so often it's worth 0:10:42.599 --> 0:10:45.180 paying for a little bit more for a lower excess. 0:10:45.420 --> 0:10:47.490 And if you're not heading to the US or North 0:10:47.490 --> 0:10:50.700 America, make sure you get a policy that doesn't include 0:10:50.700 --> 0:10:55.199 these countries because that will significantly reduce the price because 0:10:55.200 --> 0:10:57.779 medical health insurance tends to be a lot more expensive 0:10:57.780 --> 0:11:00.420 in those countries. So choosing an insurance policy that doesn't 0:11:00.420 --> 0:11:02.820 include them, it's automatically going to be lower. 0:11:03.000 --> 0:11:05.880 Amazing. How can you manage your spending while abroad? 0:11:05.969 --> 0:11:09.150 First of all, do not eat in touristy areas. That 0:11:09.150 --> 0:11:11.309 is my 101. So even if you want to go 0:11:11.309 --> 0:11:13.410 out to a nice restaurant, often walking just 5, 10 0:11:13.410 --> 0:11:15.300 minutes away from where you're staying, you can get a 0:11:15.300 --> 0:11:18.270 much more local place, much better deal. If you're self- 0:11:18.270 --> 0:11:21.689 catering, same. Do local supermarkets. Make best use of those. 0:11:22.139 --> 0:11:26.309 Think about walking, particularly in European cities, free walking tours. 0:11:26.370 --> 0:11:29.458 Use Google Maps to get around really easy. If not, 0:11:29.490 --> 0:11:32.040 use public transport where you can. Don't get a taxi 0:11:32.040 --> 0:11:34.649 from the airport. There's often transfers or shuttles. You can 0:11:34.650 --> 0:11:37.439 research that online before you go. And find out if 0:11:37.440 --> 0:11:40.199 there's any travel card deals. Like you can use public 0:11:40.199 --> 0:11:43.468 transport for two, three days and you've got an unlimited 0:11:43.470 --> 0:11:46.858 card. Loads of places do that, and that often works 0:11:46.860 --> 0:11:47.880 out cheaper as well. 0:11:48.090 --> 0:11:50.760 Brilliant. And now what are some of your favorite more 0:11:50.760 --> 0:11:51.959 affordable places to discover? 0:11:52.410 --> 0:11:55.260 I'm a big fan of a budget travel hack. So 0:11:55.620 --> 0:11:58.978 instead of Croatia for example, which is growing really popular, 0:11:58.980 --> 0:12:03.990 think about Montenegro. Similar experiences, but for much less price. Same, 0:12:03.990 --> 0:12:08.250 instead of going to Scandinavia, Norway, Finland really expensive, just 0:12:08.250 --> 0:12:12.030 a few kilometers away, Estonia, an amazing Nordic country for 0:12:12.030 --> 0:12:15.689 half the price. So I always think is there a 0:12:15.690 --> 0:12:18.718 cheaper country that offers the same kind of experiences, but 0:12:18.720 --> 0:12:19.320 for less? 0:12:19.530 --> 0:12:23.069 So when you're abroad and you come to pay, it's always 0:12:23.070 --> 0:12:27.120 that thing, right? Do you pay in the local currency 0:12:27.120 --> 0:12:29.190 or do you go the conversion for example that is 0:12:29.190 --> 0:12:31.020 offered to you? What's the best thing to do when 0:12:31.020 --> 0:12:31.500 you come to pay? 0:12:31.590 --> 0:12:33.900 Always go for the local currency. So if you've just 0:12:33.900 --> 0:12:36.059 eaten dinner and they've come over with a card machine 0:12:36.059 --> 0:12:39.360 for you to tap and pay, do not select pounds. 0:12:39.390 --> 0:12:42.120 Always select the local currency because what happens is the 0:12:42.120 --> 0:12:44.789 banks will convert it for you at less good rate. 0:12:45.030 --> 0:12:47.309 So yeah, if you pay in the currency and you've 0:12:47.309 --> 0:12:49.650 got a card that has a great conversion rate on 0:12:49.650 --> 0:12:52.409 it, which you should, that is definitely the top tip. 0:12:52.590 --> 0:12:55.650 Amazing. Lastly, I want to ask you, what are your 0:12:55.650 --> 0:12:58.650 three top tips on traveling smarter? 0:12:59.580 --> 0:13:02.130 When it comes to traveling smarter, my three top tips 0:13:02.160 --> 0:13:04.710 are, first of all, check your roaming charges on your 0:13:04.710 --> 0:13:07.230 phone. If the country that you're going to isn't covered 0:13:07.230 --> 0:13:10.920 by free roaming, get an eSIM. They're amazing, work really 0:13:10.920 --> 0:13:14.819 well. Top hack. Tip number two is check your debit 0:13:14.820 --> 0:13:18.840 card. Don't use it abroad if there's transaction or bad 0:13:18.840 --> 0:13:21.989 conversion fees. Get a card that allows you to take 0:13:21.990 --> 0:13:24.510 money out from the ATM or spend abroad for free. 0:13:24.840 --> 0:13:27.089 Take a spare card, leave that in your room in 0:13:27.089 --> 0:13:29.338 case one gets stolen, and always take a credit card 0:13:29.340 --> 0:13:31.620 if you plan to hire a car. And the third 0:13:31.620 --> 0:13:35.640 tip is a filter water bottle. These are so good 0:13:35.970 --> 0:13:39.598 for just stopping the plastic waste and as well saving 0:13:39.599 --> 0:13:41.429 your budget a little bit on bottled water that you 0:13:41.429 --> 0:13:43.349 keep have to buy. You can fill them up from 0:13:43.349 --> 0:13:45.419 any tap in the world. They've got inbuilt filters and 0:13:45.420 --> 0:13:47.280 it means you can safely drink the tap water anywhere. 0:13:47.400 --> 0:13:48.689 Game changer. 0:13:48.690 --> 0:13:51.300 Game changer. I co- sign that one. I've been doing 0:13:51.300 --> 0:13:55.080 that as well. Amazing. Steph, thank you so much. Travel's 0:13:55.080 --> 0:13:58.080 on everyone's mind and you've given us some tips and 0:13:58.080 --> 0:14:00.600 gems that we can take to book our next holiday. 0:14:00.630 --> 0:14:02.218 So thank you so much for coming on the podcast. 0:14:02.219 --> 0:14:03.899 Thank you so much for having me. It's been great. 0:14:04.740 --> 0:14:07.020 Next time on A Little Bit Richer, we're looking at 0:14:07.020 --> 0:14:10.140 scams and what to watch out for. Don't forget you 0:14:10.140 --> 0:14:12.510 can rate, review and subscribe to the podcast so you 0:14:12.510 --> 0:14:16.020 never miss an episode. 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