A common question I get asked is if my advice will work for families or older travelers. (It’s also

I'm thirty-two, classic car rentals toronto single, and mostly travel alone. These are things that probably classic car rentals toronto won't change anytime soon (though my mother keeps asking me when that second one will). classic car rentals toronto As such, most of the travel tips on this website tend to be focused on what I, a single traveler, learn about traveling better, cheaper, and longer.
My belief is that budget travel tips are universal because when we all touch down in London town, we all deal with the same costs. We may end up staying in different places and eating in different restaurants, but the methods classic car rentals toronto we use for saving money will generally be universal.
A common question classic car rentals toronto I get asked is if my advice will work for families or older travelers. (It's also brought classic car rentals toronto up in my reader surveys: "Matt, I wish you would write more for those with families or older travelers.")
There's a common perception that family and senior travel is an inherently different form of travel that requires special considerations. I know not everyone thinks that way, but I often feel that the question Can you write tips that apply to family/senior travel? implies that distinction.
Sure, when you're traveling with a family, you want kid-friendly activities, hotels and restaurants, or maybe you just won't stay in a hostel dorm, but is that really a whole new form of travel? I don't believe so. You re just looking for different things in the budget travel realm.
Not every tip applies to every traveler we all have different desires and needs and, since the question above is a very valid one, I wanted to show how you can apply the advice of this solo traveling nomad to your family trip (or, if you re older, highlight some different accommodation types and tour information).
(Disclaimer: I m not creating a go-to resource on this subject or pretending to know about how best to travel with children or the needs of older travelers. I don t. But since this is question classic car rentals toronto that comes up a lot, I just want to collate the tips and articles on my website to create a resource page that I believe can help in your planning.)
It's one thing to buy a flight for one person; it's another to buy flights for four or five people. That $700 flight suddenly becomes classic car rentals toronto $3,500 and that s just more money than most of us can or want to spend. Seeing that number just for the flights would keep me at home!! Here are tips to lower flight costs for your family:
Use travel credit cards to get points – Playing the travel hacking game is even more important when you have to buy multiple airline tickets. With very little work, you can accumulate hundreds of thousands of points classic car rentals toronto enough to get you and your family anywhere in the world you want. For example, the new British Airways Avios card offers 50,000 points on sign-up (up to 100,000 if you meet their spending requirements) and that s enough to get you and your family anywhere in the continental United classic car rentals toronto States.
Fly to less frequented destinations – Long-haul international flights are quite expensive, but flights to locations only a few hours from you won't be. Fly to a less-visited destination closer to you and get cheaper flights. Here are some good flight deal websites:  The Flight Deal ,  Momondo ,  Skyscanner , Airfarewatchdog classic car rentals toronto ,  Holiday Pirates classic car rentals toronto .
Visit a travel agent Believe it or not, travel agents can still be good for bulk flight discounts, especially ethnic travel agents that specialize in flights to their specific country. (For example, buying flights to China in Chinatown.)
Beyond using points or finding some amazing deal, there's not much you can do to lower the cost of flights (whether for a single classic car rentals toronto traveler or a family). Airline ticket prices are going up and we're all going to suffer. There are ways to avoid being the person who pays the most for their ticket but, without points, classic car rentals toronto there's no way to get free or very discounted flights.
Another big cost that doesn't need to break your bank. The biggest way to win: skip the hotel. Hotels are the most expensive form of accommodation. Luckily, classic car rentals toronto there are some great alternatives. Here's how you can overcome (or cut) these costs:
Stay in a family-friendly classic car rentals toronto hostel – Hostels are not just for young, classic car rentals toronto single backpackers. There are many hostels out there that are great for families (and tour groups) that don't have the party atmosphere normally associated with hostels. One of the best family-friendly hostels in the world is the chain Youth Hostel Association . They offer nice, quiet, clean rooms, and have hostels around the world.
Rent someone's home or apartment – Vacation rental sites can get you all the comforts of home while on the road and work out cheaper per person than a hostel or hotel. In many instances, you can rent a whole apartment for prices similar to budget hotels. Good rental sites include: Airbnb , VRBO , Homeaway , and Wimdu .
Use a hospitality network – Many of the hospitality networks like Couchsurfing , Hospitality Club , and Servas have numerous hosts who take families. There is often this perception these wesbites are for just young, solo travelers but many, many hosts take families (Hospitality Club and Servas more so than Couchsurfing). You get to know a local family with these websites and your kids will have other kids to play with, too! Win-win.
I imagine feeding a family is not very cheap (I know, I know Captain Obvious classic car rentals toronto over here, right?). When you re traveling, being budget conscious classic car rentals toronto becomes even more important as food costs can ruin your budget. Here are some tips that can help:
Cook – Obviously, cooking food will be cheaper than eating out. Visit local markets or grocery stores, get some food, and have a picnic or make sandwiches for later. When I don t have access to a kitchen, I buy a lot of pre-made meals at supermarkets. classic car rentals toronto They aren t world-class meals but they do the trick.
Get lunch specials – The best time to eat out at restaurants is during lunch when places offer lunch specials and set menus that are cheaper than dinner classic car rentals toronto time menus. This is especially true around Europe and in Singapore.
Food trucks/Street food - If you're in a place with food trucks or street food, eat there. Not only will these meals be cheaper, they will probably be very tasty too. Food trucks and street stalls are my favorite places to eat.
Don't eat near tourist attractions This is an important rule of mine. If you eat near a major site, food will be three times as expensive and probably three times worse. Walk at least four blocks away before you pick a restaurant. You ll get cheaper, more authentic local food this way.
Attractions Use city tourism cards to get discounts and free entrance into local museums and attractions. Tourism offices (think London Tourism, Paris Tourism, New York Tourism, etc.) offer these cards that give you free entry and substantial discounts to participating attractions and tours in a city, free local public transportation (a huge plus), and discounts at a few restaurants and shopping malls. classic car rentals toronto They last for a varying number of days and are one of the best ways to see many attractions on the cheap. (Remember, kids below 12 get into most museums for free.)
Moreover, student and youth discount cards are available for people over 13. These cards will give free or discounted access to museums and attractions around the world. You can get these cards at STA travel .
For older travelers who are looking to travel the world in a bit more comfort but not looking to spend a lot of money, many of the above tips will work too. But the most common concern I hear is that I write too much about hostels and most older travelers want an alternative. classic car rentals toronto Some of a my favorite non-hostel classic car rentals toronto options include:
Another question that gets posed a lot is how to avoid those expensive single supplements tour groups classic car rentals toronto charge for individual classic car rentals toronto travelers. To avoid those fees, use small tour group operators. classic car rentals toronto It's really only the large bus companies that still have that fee anyway (think Globus or Trafalgar tours). classic car rentals toronto Most small operators have discontinued the practice. My favorite small tour operator is G Adventures, but anyone who runs groups smaller than 15 travelers or offers a hop-on/hop-off style service won't require a single supplement.
Nothing is ever universal, but tips for solo travelers, couples, families, or older travelers are not mutually exclusive. They can be borrowed from each other and used as you see fit. I write as a solo traveler classic car rentals toronto who likes to save money, and while not all my tips are applicable to every type of traveler, most can be. So I hope this post addressed some of the questions you had about what tips on this site are relevant to family and senior travel.
Another tip I d add is to not get discouraged when searching for a flight using skyscanner.com you can search for the best time to fly all year, search for all airports in the country you re looking to travel to, and even search for the best tickets to anywhere in the world from your current classic car rentals toronto location.
A timely post Matt. In my experience I don t see planning for a family/senior trip to be much different from planning a trip for yourself only that ok, wild and crazy hostels classic car rentals toronto where the party never ends are out of the question (I can t stay in one of those for long either) and every other costs go in duplicate, triplicate or worse specially airfare. Best you can do is find a fare well in advance that you re willing to pay and that won t burn a hole in your pocket. I know because I m arranging for my family to meet me in Rio next month and return to our country 2 weeks later and, were it not for our savings and zero debt, we simply couldn t afford to do it. Airfare prices are crazy.
That said home/apartment rentals can do great for families classic car rentals toronto or seniors and the per person classic car rentals toronto cost can go down significantly especially when compared to a hotel room. Having a kitchen and nearby supermarkets helps cut on breakfast expenses, definitely (not to mention you can eat more healthy).
Good to hear single supplements are being phased out, especially classic car rentals toronto when most hotel rooms are sold by the room, not per occupa