If you and your family are planning to travel locally over the next few weeks or months, you’ll be happy to know that there are a number of ways to save bucks while doing so – if you know where to look. We’ve taken out some of the work for you and put together this handy guide on five ways to save money when travelling locally.
Sign up to newsletters
We can almost hear the groan of “Another newsletter to fill up my mailbox?” Don’t be put off by newsletters because of the useless ones that you’ve signed up to before. Many tourism products and accommodation establishments release newsletter-only deals or first announce their best prices in their marketing newsletters. The stunning Kruger Shalati: The Train on the Bridge, as an example, uses its newsletter to highlight discounted accommodation packages. So, look up your favourite accommodation and tourism products and sign up to their newsletter if they have one. You might miss out if you don’t!
Use a flight aggregator website
Sometimes the most exciting part of the trip (except when you actually get there!) is the planning of it all. You can tailor your next getaway exactly to your interests, while sticking to your budget. Logging on to a global flight search and travel deals website like Cheapflights gives you the power to be your own travel agent. You can find cheap flights, cars for hire, stays and things to do without having to leave your couch.
You’re also able to create your own profile and check back into your dashboard to pick up on the recent searches you’ve done, ensuring that you don’t have to start from scratch every time you log back in. Travellers can also start searching for travel deals on their mobile, save the information, and then return to the same search on the desktop.
Look for new hotels or products
Despite the blow that COVID-19 has dealt to the tourism sector, products continue to open and give hope to the industry. There are a number of new hotels and offerings that have opened or are opening soon. With new openings, one can almost always expect opening packages that won’t come around soon again. Radisson RED Rosebank, for example, is opening within the next few weeks. As only the second RED In Africa and the only one in Johannesburg, there is a lot of excitement surrounding this soon-to-be new kid on the block.
Sanctuary Mandela is another hotel that’s set to open later this year. This five-star property was once the home of the late South African President and will boast nine upmarket curated rooms for guests to stay in plus stunning exhibitions hosted throughout the year.
Use visitor guides
City and country visitor guides are not only for international visitors. Locals can benefit from these too. Visitor guides highlight the best of a destination and often feature ideas on free or cheap things to do in the destination. Cape Town Tourism launched a digital version of its 2021 visitor guide a couple of months ago, so it’s easy to just keep on your phone and access on-the-go. Wherever you are going, look into the guides that will help you find your way around and explore the area – no matter what your budget.
Have a day-cation
If you’re not planning a big trip, but you still want to feel as though you are on holiday, then a day-cation is the answer. This is when you explore whatever is close to home and within your city – just for the day. You will be surprised at what deals you can score to get a few hours of that holiday feeling. Check out hotel group websites to see what they offer across brands. Radisson Hotels, for example, has listed a number of delicious food and beverage specials across the country. There’s dinner and drinks to suit every palate.
Radisson Blu Hotel Waterfront has a curry and wine pairing special for guests to enjoy or there is a 28-day aged perfectly grilled beef rump at Radisson Blu Gautrain Hotel in Sandton. For those wanting to celebrate an occasion or just grab a round of delicious cocktails, Radisson Hotel & Convention Centre OR Tambo has a special for just 50 Randelas.
We might miss overseas travel right now, but there is so much to see and do in our own country, too. And it clearly doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg.