[0:00] You've seen me in Tokyo, Athens, New
[0:02] York, Toronto, Paris, Bil Bao, Kov,
[0:06] Athens, Stockholm, but I'm not rich. I
[0:09] don't work remotely, and I don't have a
[0:11] secret trust fund. And I'm going to tell
[0:13] you how I do
[0:16] it. Yeah. When you see how often I
[0:19] travel in some of the places, I'm not
[0:20] being funny, Tokyo, and New York.
[0:22] They're most people's bucket list.
[0:24] You're assuming that I either work
[0:26] remotely, I'm absolutely minted, or my
[0:28] credit cards are bursting at the seams.
[0:31] The truth, I work a regular job, I live
[0:33] in the UK, and my expenses are the same
[0:36] as everybody else. In fact, mine are
[0:38] slightly higher cuz I live away from
[0:39] home during the week. I just plan
[0:41] smarter. I usually aim to spend under
[0:44] £120 a person for a three night European
[0:46] break. That's around €140 or $150.
[0:51] I've even done Canada and New York for a
[0:54] week, including flights for
[0:56] €350, which is
[0:58] $410 or $440. And my twoe trip to Tokyo
[1:03] was €1,100. And that was a package with
[1:06] British Airways, decent hotel, decent
[1:09] luggage allowance, the whole shebang,
[1:11] which comes in at $1280 or
[1:14] $1370. Obviously, you're only going to
[1:16] get those prices if you fly from the UK,
[1:19] but anywhere in Europe similar. Flying
[1:21] from the States, slightly more. And
[1:23] here's the main reason I have to do it
[1:25] on the cheap. I'm usually paying for
[1:27] some blood sucking, sorry, a somebody
[1:29] else. For example, one of my kids, both
[1:32] my kids, or in the case of Athens, my
[1:34] mother. That budget has to stretch twice
[1:37] as far. And a lot of people think what
[1:39] I'm spending in total for two people is
[1:42] what I'm actually spending per person.
[1:44] I'm not rich. I'm just careful. I use
[1:47] tools. I hunt deals. And most
[1:50] importantly, I research. Research is
[1:53] everything but making a note of your
[1:55] research. Get yourself a pen and paper.
[1:58] If you want to save money, if you don't
[1:59] mind splashing a bit, get a
[2:01] notebook. Let me show you how. And if
[2:04] you stay till the end, I will run
[2:06] through something I actually found today
[2:09] that I think will blow you away.
[2:12] [Music]
[2:13] Here's the first secret. Timing is
[2:16] everything. I rarely book flights solely
[2:18] based on when I want to go. I book when
[2:21] it's cheap to go. Midweek flight, half
[2:23] the price. Shifting by just one day, can
[2:26] save you 6070 or more. And these aren't
[2:29] all random offseason trips either.
[2:32] Paris, that was during the UK school
[2:34] holiday in August, peak time. However,
[2:38] for some reason, Paris isn't that busy
[2:40] in August. Most of the Parisians choose
[2:42] that time to go on their holidays. KCKO,
[2:44] we went during February half term.
[2:47] That's a peak time, especially for
[2:48] people looking to get away from the
[2:49] bleak British winter. Even though it's
[2:51] cold in KCO, it's still getting out of
[2:53] the UK in the winter. Toronto and New
[2:55] York, that was during the May half term.
[2:58] I will admit we did leave a day early
[3:00] and that particular year the Welsh half
[3:02] term was out of sync with the rest of
[3:04] the UK. However, that can sometimes work
[3:06] the opposite way as well. I don't avoid
[3:08] holidays. I just plan smarter. I use
[3:11] Google flights, Skyscanner, even Jack's
[3:14] Flight Club, but also the airlines
[3:16] themselves. Whiz Air are always cheap
[3:18] and I search differently. Instead of
[3:20] Rome in July, I search anywhere.
[3:23] Cheapest month. You just got to learn to
[3:25] play with it and what works for you. The
[3:26] map function in Google Maps is quite
[3:28] good. The magic of budget travel starts
[3:31] before you even click book.
[3:36] My next trip is Travel Light and Book
[3:38] Smart. I haven't checked a bag in almost
[3:40] 3 years now, other than long haul. So,
[3:42] you get no baggage fees, no standing at
[3:45] carousels, and definitely no dragging a
[3:47] suitcase through a crowded baggage hall
[3:49] or cobbled streets at 2:00
[3:51] a.m. And this is the bad boy I always
[3:54] take with me. It cost me £12 on Amazon.
[3:57] It's made by Narway. This thing has been
[3:59] on every trip, even the ones with the
[4:01] big baggage allowance. It folds into
[4:03] this pocket here and it is a good
[4:07] size, 12 quid. So, even my baggage
[4:09] purchases a budget. You can get it in
[4:12] more imaginative colors. Suin's got one
[4:14] with elephants on it. The wife's got one
[4:15] with flamingos on it. On all my European
[4:18] trips, that is the only luggage I've
[4:20] taken. Might have taken a coat with some
[4:22] fairly stuffed pockets, but everything
[4:24] goes in there. And bear in mind, I take
[4:25] cameras and an iPad. It's a little bit
[4:28] different for sewing cuz she likes to
[4:30] take a bit of makeup. That's what her
[4:32] pockets are for. And she pinches a bit
[4:34] of space in my nar way bag. I do wear my
[4:36] heavier stuff to go on the flight. So,
[4:38] in other words, if I'm going somewhere
[4:40] warm, but I want some jeans as well, I
[4:41] wear the jeans, might wear a jumper,
[4:43] might wear a shirt, and obviously a
[4:45] coat. Sometimes I don't even use the
[4:47] coat, but the coat's like an extra bag
[4:49] with the pockets. Bingo. Uh, for Canada
[4:52] and New York, we both took similar size
[4:54] bags and we paid for one overhead. I
[4:57] regretted it. cost too much, but we were
[4:59] going for a week. Do I look like a
[5:02] fashion blogger? No. Do I save 80 quid
[5:05] on baggage allowance? Absolutely. Do I
[5:07] blow 100 quid on a fancy bag that I then
[5:09] have to pay to check? No way. In fact,
[5:12] now way. But smart travel isn't just the
[5:14] bag, it's booking, too. Cheap flight
[5:16] isn't always cheap once you add luggage,
[5:19] seat fees, and check-in chaos. For
[5:21] example, a10 flight can become 60 70
[5:25] pound by the time you've paid to select
[5:26] a seat and put a bag on it. So, always
[5:29] check what's included. And sometimes,
[5:32] for example, British Airways, even on
[5:34] their short hall, are a little bit more
[5:36] generous. You get a personal item that
[5:38] goes under your seat and an item of hand
[5:40] luggage. Book is going to Canada in June
[5:43] and they've got more than enough luggage
[5:45] space. Might ask them to bring me back
[5:47] some duty-free. And the same goes if
[5:49] you're going longer hall. A package
[5:51] sometimes works out well. For example,
[5:53] with Tokyo, we were allowed two 23 kg
[5:56] suitcases each. God knows how we'd have
[5:57] got them anywhere. A overhead bag and a
[6:00] personal item. We're not crazy. We took
[6:02] one suitcase, one personal item, and I
[6:05] think we took a spare small rucks sack.
[6:08] We were well within the limit. However,
[6:10] you brought that as separates, you would
[6:12] have paid for the baggage. And let's
[6:14] face it, if you're going for two weeks,
[6:16] you do want a bit of space, but with
[6:19] Tokyo, you need that space for bringing
[6:20] stuff back. Budget travel's great, but
[6:23] only if you're getting what you actually
[6:24] pay for or what you actually
[6:26] [Music]
[6:28] need. Let's talk places to stay, cuz
[6:31] accommodation can often make or break
[6:33] your budget. If you get it wrong, you'll
[6:35] pay a fortune, but it can also make or
[6:37] break your holiday. There is no point
[6:39] staying in a doss house unless you're
[6:42] prepared to stay in a doss house. But
[6:44] here's the one thing for Europe. I
[6:46] rarely spend more than £40, $50, $50 a
[6:50] night, and I'm studying decent clean
[6:53] hotels with a location. Location is
[6:56] everything when you especially when
[6:57] you're only going for a short break.
[6:59] Take Athens. The first time I went, I
[7:01] went with Book and we stayed in the
[7:02] hotel Pergamos, which was in Ammonia,
[7:05] which unfortunately isn't famed for
[7:08] being the nicest part of Athens. We
[7:10] actually had to walk through a red light
[7:11] district. However, we were close to the
[7:13] main metro station and it wasn't bad.
[7:16] Books are streetwise, early 20s. I've
[7:19] traveled the world and I've seen worse.
[7:21] It wasn't bad at all. There was a really
[7:23] nice takeaway nearby, a restaurant
[7:25] nearby, and the hotel was clean. That
[7:27] was the main thing. But more
[7:28] importantly, the location worked. I've
[7:30] seen that one down as low as £20 a
[7:33] night. I mean, you're close to the
[7:35] action. Sometimes closer to some action
[7:37] than you'd like to be, but 20 quid a
[7:40] night. You can go even cheaper if you're
[7:41] willing to stay in a hostel, but the one
[7:44] thing in a lot of cities is the
[7:46] location. When I went back to Athens
[7:47] with mom, I found a slightly nicer hotel
[7:50] a little bit further out. It was the
[7:52] other side of Ammonia, but the criteria
[7:54] for me there was mom's not overly
[7:55] mobile. We needed to be right next to a
[7:57] train station, which we were. And we had
[8:00] a balcony cuz mom likes a cheeky vag.
[8:02] Again, that one kicked in at just over
[8:04] £30 a night. Boom. We could have had
[8:06] much nicer and stayed in Sintagma
[8:09] Square. You're talking £100 a night for
[8:11] a similar size room with a posh dorman.
[8:13] Do you really need a posh dorman if
[8:15] you're only going for a weekend?
[8:17] Probably not. But if that's what you
[8:18] want, go for it. Now, this is where
[8:21] Google Maps really kicks in. You need to
[8:23] know how are you going to get there from
[8:24] the airport and how are you going to get
[8:26] from there to the things you want to do.
[8:28] The crazy thing was we booked a long
[8:30] 15-hour coach trip and the pickup for
[8:33] that coach trip was next to our hotel.
[8:35] The people that were staying at the £150
[8:37] a night places were getting up an hour
[8:39] before us to go on the same trip.
[8:41] Sometimes cheapest it really is best.
[8:44] But another important thing is to scroll
[8:46] the reviews and learn how to read
[8:48] reviews. I would say half the bad ones
[8:50] are people who didn't get the upgrade
[8:51] they wanted or thought they were getting
[8:54] five star when they were paying twostar
[8:56] budget. If there's a few good ones
[8:59] recently cuz that's the other thing is
[9:00] the place can go downhill and the good
[9:02] ones are in the majority. ignore a lot
[9:05] of the bad ones unless they're really
[9:07] bad. You know, they're talking multiple
[9:09] complaints of staff stealing and that
[9:11] sort of thing. And the beauty with Trip
[9:13] Adviser, people who are hacked off will
[9:15] always show their worst pictures. I'll
[9:17] be honest, some of the worst pictures
[9:19] are nicer than some of the worst places
[9:21] I've stayed. You've got to pay, you
[9:22] know, you pay your money and you take
[9:23] your choice. But I've just I've been
[9:26] just as unhappy in a £100 a night hotel
[9:29] as I have in a 20 a night hotel. But you
[9:32] can do a lot to make yourself happy with
[9:33] the 80 quid difference. But I'm not
[9:35] suggesting you stay in deaf traps or
[9:38] ratinfested hell holes. I I haven't yet,
[9:40] but I just haven't spent big bucks. Go
[9:43] for something that's slightly less
[9:45] modernized, but still in great condition
[9:47] as opposed to something that's all
[9:48] marble. And that that'll be falling
[9:51] apart in 4 years as well. The only
[9:53] exception was when I went to Tokyo. The
[9:55] best located hotels had small rooms. I
[9:57] was traveling with my child. We wanted a
[9:59] twin room, which isn't that common in
[10:01] Tokyo. So, we downgraded to a
[10:03] businessgrade hotel, and I think we got
[10:05] a better hotel than a lot of the ones in
[10:07] Shinjuku, and it wasn't a bad price. I
[10:10] think the hotel worked out as about £50
[10:12] a night, which for Tokyo is a steal. It
[10:14] was still well located. We were next
[10:16] door to Ryoko train station, and we were
[10:18] walking distance from Aexa. So, to sum
[10:20] up for a break, if it's less than £40 a
[10:23] night, the location works and it's
[10:25] clean, it's a 10 from me.
[10:30] Next up, it's the little things. This is
[10:33] where budget travel goes from bare
[10:35] minimum to actually brilliant. I don't
[10:37] just save big, I save small, but I save
[10:40] small over and over again. For example,
[10:43] a pinchos tour in Bill Bao. You're
[10:45] combining drinking and eating and
[10:47] getting a bit of exercise. £20,
[10:50] £25, $26. Bilbao also has the Barrett
[10:54] card which is one of the cheapest ways
[10:56] to charge up a card because the public
[10:58] transport system there is so
[11:00] unbelievably cheap. A lot of journeys
[11:02] work out as about
[11:04] 5050 including something you would
[11:06] normally consider touristy like the
[11:08] bridge and the finicular. A free course
[11:10] meal in Sophia you can hit them for
[11:12] under £10. Go two streets back from
[11:14] where it looks trendy that 500 yen which
[11:17] is about £350. temporet meal in Tokyo
[11:21] still lives rent free in my head. I've
[11:23] just been out tonight. I have just paid
[11:25] for a similar meal £16 in Birmingham and
[11:30] it wasn't as good. And don't overlook
[11:31] transport passes. They're not always a
[11:34] great deal, but in most cities they are,
[11:36] or at least it puts a cap on what you're
[11:37] going to spend. For example, in
[11:39] Stockholm, you can get all around the
[11:40] city for 72 hours for £20, and that
[11:43] includes your airport transfers. Very
[11:45] seldom does the most popular way of
[11:47] getting from the airport. Work out the
[11:48] cheapest. For example, in Stockholm, the
[11:50] Islander Express is amazing. It's about
[11:52] 20 pound ahead. It's fine if you're on
[11:54] your own. Bit of luxury. Save you 15
[11:56] minutes on getting into the city. When
[11:58] you're paying for two freeloaders, I
[11:59] mean, children, you better get on a
[12:01] flick bus. It takes 10 minutes longer,
[12:03] but it's only 4 quid. Boom. In Dublin,
[12:05] the leap card, £7 covers all your
[12:08] transport for 24 hours. you get on the
[12:10] airport, um the official ferry bus from
[12:13] the ferry's terminal, that's £8. You
[12:15] only got to use a well, you don't have
[12:17] to use a bus at all. You're already in
[12:18] front by the time you get into the city.
[12:20] The other thing is look for your bank,
[12:22] your travel packs or deals with your
[12:25] credit card. I use Barclays. I've got a
[12:27] And this is not sponsored. I subscribe
[12:30] to their travel pack. I get six free
[12:33] airport lounge visits a year. If you're
[12:35] paying for them out your own pocket,
[12:36] that's 40 quid. I get me RAC cover
[12:39] including Europe and I get multi-rip
[12:41] travel insurance for the whole year or
[12:44] anywhere in the world for me and any
[12:46] dependent children or children under 21
[12:49] that are traveling with me and my wife.
[12:51] The only thing it doesn't cover is my
[12:53] mom because she's over 70. She's
[12:55] actually 15 years over 70. Yeah, we have
[12:57] to stump up for that. None of these are
[12:59] flashy, but they all add up. For
[13:01] example, yes, eating out's nice.
[13:03] However, in Japan, the mini mart, you
[13:06] know, the gambinis, the meals there are
[13:08] amazing and they're pennies. Um, in
[13:11] Greece, I think it's law there, they
[13:14] can't seem to charge more than £5 for a
[13:16] girros. A girros is like a kebab with
[13:18] chips inside. It's unbelievable. Even in
[13:21] a restaurant, you'll get a girros for
[13:23] about £7. Boom. That's nothing. That's
[13:25] less than a Big Mac meal. There was one
[13:27] night in Greece. Me and Book were back
[13:29] late, so we just couldn't be bothered to
[13:30] look for a restaurant. Yeah. Two jeros,
[13:32] two cans of pop, and two bottles of
[13:34] water for a trip in the morning for £8.
[13:37] That's about £650 for a meal for two.
[13:40] Sometimes staying in the shitty area
[13:42] pays
[13:44] off. And I think the biggest thing I've
[13:46] learned that you can take as a tip or
[13:48] just listen is I stopped treating travel
[13:50] as a luxury and started treating as a
[13:53] habit. It's something that I really
[13:54] enjoy doing. I think it broadens the
[13:56] mind. My kids are 21 and coming up on
[13:59] 18. were in those twilight years of them
[14:02] actually wanting to come on holiday with
[14:03] their dad and I don't think I did enough
[14:05] of it when we were young. That's why I
[14:07] want it to become a habit. Book is an
[14:09] art student. I've taken them to MoMA,
[14:11] the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
[14:13] They've been to the National Gallery of
[14:16] Bulgaria. More interesting than you
[14:18] think. They've seen some of their
[14:19] favorite art pieces in Tokyo. Now, how
[14:22] does that complement an art degree?
[14:23] You're giving them an investment in
[14:25] travel. I build my year around it. I
[14:28] skip impulse buys. I keep a notebook of
[14:31] prices and flight alerts and I plan way
[14:34] ahead. For example, if you look at
[14:36] British Airways, they release their
[14:38] prices 355 days in advance for their
[14:41] packages and they often start them off
[14:44] at a low level, sell the first few
[14:45] seats, see how it's going before you do
[14:47] your pricing. Um, some of the more
[14:49] obscure airlines like Air China, 3
[14:52] months in advance is a sweet spot there.
[14:53] You've got to, it's like anything in
[14:55] life, you've got to learn about it to be
[14:57] able to do it. Whiz Air about three
[14:59] months are the sweet spot and with
[15:01] EasyJet you have to keep an eye on when
[15:03] they're releasing their flights but
[15:05] that's usually I think they do it three
[15:06] times a year but I for some reason I
[15:09] don't seem to fly easyJet very much. For
[15:11] example for the kids this year as a
[15:13] Christmas gift I bought a trip to
[15:15] Stockholm to go to the ABA Museum and
[15:17] stay in Jumbo Stay. So glad we did. It
[15:20] doesn't exist anymore. It went bust a
[15:21] couple of weeks ago. They can tell the
[15:23] mates they have stayed in a converted
[15:25] 747. It's quirky. It's different and
[15:28] they've done it. They've been to the ABA
[15:30] Museum. They've danced in the subways
[15:32] under the amazing subway art. They've
[15:35] also had meatballs made from bears.
[15:38] Where else can you do that? Books
[15:40] managed to go within 3 months of passing
[15:42] their driving test. They had an
[15:44] international driving license and they
[15:46] were racing a Mario Kart through the
[15:48] streets of Tokyo. Once in a lifetime
[15:50] experience before they're even 21. For
[15:52] mom, for Christmas, I bought her a trip
[15:54] to Athens. We hadn't been on holiday
[15:56] with for ages. It didn't cost me a
[15:58] fortune. I think it was £96 each and I
[16:00] took my mom to another country when it
[16:02] was warm in March. Not only that, I got
[16:05] to spend three quality days with my
[16:07] mother. Don't forget I live away from
[16:09] home during the week. Don't see her as
[16:10] much as I should and I should invest in
[16:12] putting time in. She's going to cherish
[16:14] that. She told everyone where we when we
[16:16] were there. This is my Christmas present
[16:18] for Miss Hunt and she loved it. It's all
[16:20] about memories and investment in
[16:22] spending quality time with the people
[16:24] you care about. This isn't about being
[16:26] rich. It's about dragging the most out
[16:29] of life as you can. And it doesn't have
[16:31] to cost a fortune. Don't forget, I've
[16:32] just said Stockholm was £70 each. I've
[16:35] just been for dinner with bulk. We spent
[16:37] nearly £40. Don't get me wrong, it was
[16:40] worth it. Two dinners with your child is
[16:42] the same as taking them away. What gives
[16:44] you more value? I spent 2 hours with it
[16:46] wasn't even 2 hours. It's was probably
[16:48] an hour and a half, including the time
[16:49] walking from book's place to the
[16:51] restaurant and back. Now, isn't 72 hours
[16:54] of quality time more valuable? You don't
[16:56] need to wait for the perfect moment or
[16:58] go big budget. You just need a plan and
[17:01] a bit of nerve. And don't discount
[17:02] holidays in the UK. Xede is an amazing
[17:05] tool. You can find a hotel in instead of
[17:08] staying in central London, stay in Shaw
[17:11] Ditch. You can still get to central
[17:12] London very quickly. I've seen hotels
[17:15] there more a cross between a part hotel
[17:18] and Airbnb for a family for about £60 a
[17:21] night. Book went down there for a comic
[17:23] con mediocre and I mean mediocre hotel
[17:26] still had their own room. Still had a
[17:28] private bathroom £26 a night and that
[17:30] was in the
[17:33] summer. Now surely the experiences I've
[17:36] talked about are better than putting
[17:38] £200 a month away to go to Spain for a
[17:40] Fortnite all inclusive. Don't get me
[17:42] wrong, if you enjoy a week in a Fortnite
[17:43] in Spain, all inclusive, do it. But I
[17:46] think getting as many places in as you
[17:49] can across the year is much better. You
[17:51] know, let's just take a look at the last
[17:52] 12 months for me. Athens twice, Kov, Bil
[17:56] Bao, Paris, Sophia, Tokyo, New York. You
[18:00] add all that up together, I have spent
[18:02] less than £2,000 ahead. And look at the
[18:05] holidays I've had.
[18:08] So, to recap, no, I'm not rich, but I
[18:11] travel more than most because I make it
[18:13] a priority, or as I said earlier, a
[18:15] habit. I go when flights are cheap. I
[18:17] travel light. I pick smart hotels. I
[18:20] don't waste money on fluff. I grab the
[18:22] little savings that save up and stack up
[18:24] into something amazing. And that's the
[18:26] real key for me is if you can save, for
[18:29] example, instead of having a soft drink
[18:31] with every meal, ask for a glass of
[18:33] water. You're saving £3 per person per
[18:36] meal across two meals a day. That is
[18:39] three six 912 a day. I know it's minor,
[18:43] but that's an extra12. That would cover
[18:45] your travel pass. That might cover lunch
[18:46] the next day. It might cover entry into
[18:48] an attraction. But you adapt that
[18:50] attitude to everything without coming
[18:52] across as tight. The kids want an ice
[18:54] cream, buy them a bloody ice cream with
[18:56] the 12 quid you save by drinking water
[18:57] instead of Coke. Simples. And I'm not
[19:00] doing anything that any one of you can't
[19:02] do. I've just figured out how to make it
[19:04] work. And if you stuck around, I said
[19:06] I'd show you an amazing deal I found
[19:08] this morning. I was sitting in the
[19:10] coffee place. I was only drinking normal
[19:11] coffee. They were drinking cappuccino.
[19:13] I'm still saving a quid for my next
[19:14] holiday. I found five nights in
[19:16] Marrakesh in June. Flights and hotel for
[19:20] round about 120 a person. That's in
[19:23] June. Just so happens that Sen finishes
[19:25] college, 20th of June. Weather's
[19:27] amazing. Then there's a bit of a sweet
[19:28] spot before the prices go up, before the
[19:30] kids break up for the summer. Bingo.
[19:32] You're going in the summer, but you're
[19:34] paying winter in Blackpool prices. And
[19:36] this is what budget travel really looks
[19:38] like. And it's better than you think.
[19:40] Don't get me wrong, there are going to
[19:41] be things if you want to do a safari in
[19:43] Kenya, that's going to cost. Do a safari
[19:46] in Kenya if that's important to you.
[19:47] We'll see you soon. And there'll be
[19:49] another video very soon. Thanks for
[19:51] watching.
[19:53] [Music]