They are incredibly popular, and if recent studies are to be believed, this isn’t going to change for a long time. Quite simply, city breaks are here to stay.
The problem is, at least in a lot of cities, these breaks have become much more commercial. The locals have caught on, and while this used to be a budget way to spend your annual leave, it’s now something that can eat into your budget if you’re not careful. However, fear not, there are ways to keep on top of costs when you venture away on one of these breaks. Here, we’ll take a look at some of them.
The old location, location, location cliché
Usually, this is a phrase which relates to the property industry. Well, for the purpose of today, let’s tie it into travel.
Put simply, the location you choose for your city break is going to have a massive impact on your wallet. No, we’re not talking about the differences between visiting Birmingham or Copenhagen – we all know that cities have different costs of living. Instead, we’re talking about what is on your doorstep. You might think you have saved money choosing a particular hotel, but in reality, it’s not near any attractions. It means that you’ve got to get transport to see everything every day, and this can add surprising expenses to your budget.
Plan everything down to a tee
No, this doesn’t have to be strictly regimented, but a degree of planning is required on any city break. If you opt to turn up “on the door” of any major attraction, you’ll be charged so-called on the door prices. These are significantly higher than their online, pre-booked alternatives, and can again eat into your budget.
Eat your main meal at lunchtime
This next tip might raise a few eyebrows, but as most travellers will testify, food can be one of the bigger expenses when it comes to these weekend trips. We don’t have our own kitchen available, meaning that we have to dine out most evenings.
One of the easiest ways around this is to eat your main meal at lunchtime. This should result in the more expensive, evening meal being a lot smaller, while it will also reduce the risk of you snacking on expensive street food through the course of the day.
Tap into the freebies
This will largely depend on where in the world you visit, but most places have freebies. In the UK, it’s museums, and if you were to look around, most of these are free to enter. While the city break has become far too commercial over the year, there can be hidden financial bonuses if you look hard enough and this is why planning in advance is such an important step. Granted, some destinations are better than others at handing out these freebies, but you can usually take advantage of one or two which can ease the pain on your wallet.
