MAY I COME IN?
The simplest thing is to buy a visa from a travel agency that specializes in this, but in that case the price will jump almost double. Cheaper will be asked by companies that sell a "ticket plus visa" package. Even cheaper is to get it yourself, armed with an invitation. Recently, many consulates accept a fax from the hotel with a booking confirmation as an invitation (a request to the hotel can be sent by fax or email). But the situation is constantly changing, and in each specific case you need to check with the consulate what rules it plays by today.
It should be noted that right now many consulates have tightened the conditions for issuing tourist visas, because they are again afraid of our non-returnees.
BY REINDEER, MAYBE, IT'S BETTER,
BUT BY PLANE – FASTER
There are several ways to get to a country. For example, you can walk completely free of charge, but it will take a lot of time. Plus, the soles will wear out. You can hitchhike for the same price, which is what clever young people do. But in the vastness of our Motherland, this method cannot be considered the safest, so you will have to use public transport, at least to the border.
Public transport includes scheduled buses, trains, and planes. All this is obvious: by bus it's uncomfortable, and more often impossible, by train it's long, by plane – it's good. On long European routes, the cost of train and plane is quite comparable – if you consider that on the train you will have to spend money on food, and for ordering a plane companies get an additional discount.
The system of airline discounts is impossible to understand. One thing is clear: charter flights are cheaper than regular ones. But both have different fares. On regular flights, these are APEX, PEX, group, youth, child, senior, weekend, and so on.
In addition, there are promotional sales, when you can fly with Aeroflot to America for $200 or with British Airways to the Caribbean for $300, seasonal discounts on unpopular routes, and various additional benefits. For example, if you fly with Transaero to Frankfurt am Main, you get a discounted train ticket to any city in Germany.
The only way available to an ordinary person to understand how it is more profitable to fly is to find out different fares. First, you need to find out which airlines fly to the desired point on the globe. Then ask those airlines themselves how much the heavenly oats cost nowadays. You need to clarify what days of the week you are flying, when and for how long. The earlier you buy tickets, the cheaper they are (as a rule). For APEX and PEX fares, it is important to include weekends. Then you need to inquire about prices from travel agencies that sell tickets of different airlines – prices may be lower than those of the carrier itself, because companies buy blocks of seats. It is most profitable to buy charter tickets from travel agencies that organize that charter.
HOW IS "TRANSFER" DIFFERENT FROM A TAXI
The next stage of the trip, for which you will have to shell out money, is the way from the airport to the hotel. Travel agencies call it the scary word "transfer" and include its cost in the tour package. Organized transfers can be different. The most expensive is VIP. This is when a white limousine comes personally for you. Medium expensive is individual, when some other car comes personally for you, and the driver in a white shirt can say a couple of words in English. In terms of price, both are usually higher than a taxi. The cheapest transfer is group, when a large bus arrives at the airport, a person with a sign meets all clients of his company and takes them to their hotels. This is often cheaper than a taxi, but more expensive than public transport.
There are few travel agencies that do not try to "fleece" clients at this stage of the trip. Therefore, even when buying the entire package of services, ask how much they want to charge you for the transfer. It would be good to find out in advance how many kilometers from the airport to the hotel. Then, when the manager explains "it costs $60 because it's 50 kilometers," you can object: "Not 50, but 25." And proudly refuse this service, saving your money.
However, the first movement in an unfamiliar place, especially after a plane, and with luggage, is exactly the case when instead of saving $20 you can get a bad headache. It makes sense to refuse the transfer only if you are either sure that a taxi will be cheaper, or you know exactly how to get to the hotel by public transport.
Undoubtedly, public transport is the cheapest way to get out of the airport. From London Heathrow to the city there is a subway, from Gatwick – a train that will take you straight to the center, to Victoria Station. You can get cheaply and quickly from the airport to the city in Paris (by train to the center), in New York (by shuttle bus), and in all other major cities of the world. The pattern is this: in developed countries, public transport from all airports is well organized, while in Asian, Southeast Asian, and African countries, taxis are cheap.
HOW MUCH DO THE STARS SHINE
With hotel prices, everything is even more confusing than with airline fares. As a rule, the highest prices are set by the hotel for those who come "off the street." Travel agencies that fill the hotel are given significant discounts, so it is often cheaper to buy a hotel from a travel agency. But not always. And not everywhere. In some countries (for example, Croatia), hotels set one price for companies and another for individuals, and then it is more profitable to rent a room yourself.
The second important point: travel agencies, as a rule, do not offer the cheapest places to stay; their options start from two-star hotels.
Recently, hotels are happy to communicate with clients via the Internet, some give discounts to everyone who books a room virtually.
Hotel prices strongly depend on the time of year. In the off-season, they drop significantly. Going to Europe in winter to breathe the sea wind, do not be afraid that you will be the only guests. Resort hotels are full all the time: in the off-season, citizens of wealthy countries, mainly elderly Britons, Germans, French, Italians, vacation there at the expense of their social funds.
There is probably only one universal rule for saving on accommodation: in a city, the hotel is cheaper the farther from the center; by the sea, the farther from the beach.
In European capitals, big discounts – up to 50% – occur during Christmas and Easter holidays, but only in good hotels where businessmen stay. At this time, you can live in a 4-5 star hotel for the price of a three-star.
Besides hotels of different categories, there are also villas, apartments, boarding houses, hostels, dormitories, campsites, and simply rented rooms and apartments. In all countries, these concepts have their own meaning. There are countries where it is much cheaper and more pleasant to rent a private house on the seashore – for example, Croatia. The cheapest vacation option in this country is to find an address of a rented house on the Internet, book it, get confirmation by fax or email, and buy a charter ticket to the nearest airport. The booking will serve as sufficient grounds for the border guard to let you into the country.
In Thailand, the cheapest and most pleasant place to stay might not be a five-star hotel at $100 per night, but private bungalows with a shower and toilet, standing right on the beach under palm trees. The owner will prepare breakfast for you in the morning, and the ocean at high tide will come right up to the doorstep. And all this – for a maximum of $15. It is especially easy to rent a bungalow on the islands: many hospitable owners gather at the scheduled ferry from the mainland, who will immediately show on the map the location of their "hotel," haggle over the price, and take you by car – completely free.
In cheap countries, it is better not to risk with two-star hotels, take three-star ones, the price difference will be small. Two stars can be taken only when there is an opportunity to see them – it is too unreliable.
In Europe, there is a huge network of very cheap hostels. They are often called youth hostels, but they accept everyone. You can find out about them from information brochures or advertisements, from acquaintances, on the Internet. Usually, all information can be obtained right at the airport. In Prague, for example, there are city maps with hotel chains marked on them. Choosing this option, do not forget to clarify the living conditions – many hostels offer overnight stays in shared rooms with facilities in the hallway. This costs very little: $5-10. If you come to a hostel that is fully booked, they will definitely advise you where else to go and give you the address of a similar establishment.
In some countries, there are certain peculiarities, if not oddities. For example, in the Czech Republic, any hotel costs twice as much for a foreigner as for a Czech. Therefore, it is cheaper to pay not the hotel itself, but some local travel agency that will rent it for you.
LOOK LEFT, LOOK RIGHT...
The next expense item is excursions. Here, too, everything strongly depends on circumstances. There are countless travel agencies that assure that buying an excursion directly from them, right in Kyiv (Lviv, Kharkiv, Donetsk...) is much cheaper than paying for it on the spot. After which they shamelessly charge $15 for a visit to the British Museum. And only in London does the tourist find out that you can get to the museum for one pound, and entry is completely free.
Most European museums do not charge entry fees on certain days of the week. Most often – on weekends. In Greece, for example, on Sundays, viewing all cultural treasures is completely free. You do not need to pay for entry to churches, except for the most famous ones. However, all these rules are constantly changing. Not long ago, you could freely enter Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's Cathedral in London, but now you have to buy tickets.
Before entering a museum, study the tariffs – in Europe, discounted prices for students and seniors, cheap family tickets for parents with children are common. The age of children who can be admitted free varies from 6 to 18 years in different countries and museums. In some cities, "museum cards" are available – these are passes that give the right to visit all museums and exhibitions. Such cards exist in Luxembourg, Paris, and other good places.
The best way to see something in general and save money on it in particular is to read about the country in advance, determine for yourself what you want to see, and then independently, without haste, in a completely private manner, arriving by metro or train, fulfill your dream. The pleasure will be incomparably greater, and the costs most likely much lower. If you are in Rome and you are offered to go see Naples for only $70 – it's so far! – you will snort impolitely, get on the train, and in two hours you will already be enjoying the view of the legendary bay, having spent ten times less.
If it turns out on the spot that you can only see the desired ruin as part of a group, you can always buy an excursion right at the hotel. And you can even choose a cheaper one – different travel agencies have different prices. So, being in Tunisia, you will most likely want to go to the desert, and you will immediately find dozens of options: individually or with a group, by jeep or by bus, for 2 or 3 days, with cheap or expensive overnight stay.
You still need to get to any museum or ruin. Therefore, you will have to find out which mode of transport is more profitable and convenient to use. Italy along the entire "boot" (and from time to time – across) can be traveled on a cheap and convenient train. From Liguria, the same train will take you to Nice and Cannes. Stunning views of mountain peaks, ancient villages, and medieval castles are guaranteed. In Spain, there is also a cheap coastal train, you can ride it from Malgrat de Mar to Valencia and along the Costa del Sol.
Each country has its own areas of savings and its own areas of increased pressure on the wallet. We will continue this topic and in the following issues will try to reveal the secrets of saving in different tourist countries. But you, dear readers, can also help us in this difficult task.
We will be grateful to everyone who writes to us about their discoveries, about everything that helps to reduce the cost of a trip to any country at least a little. Write – we are waiting.
Also read material on the topic: TRAVEL WITH A DISCOUNT