The thing about multi-center holidays (which is simply another term for multi-city holidays) is that not only do they bring multiple doses of joy, excitement and culture, but also potential bumps in the road and scenarios of a less-positive nature. It’s really only a case of common sense – a standard holiday is anything but free of its potential perils here and therefore what is essentially a multiple holiday will see said perils increase in accordance with complexity of the trip.
And it goes without saying that one of the biggest examples of said perils is money – or lack thereof.
A multicenter holiday visiting a handful of places is never going to be as cheap as a bog-standard hop to one resort, but what you take home by way of experiences is priceless. And what’s more, there are plenty of simple and sensible ways and means by which you can make savings and see multicenter holidays becoming perhaps more affordable than suspected.
Consider All Season Peaks
Firstly, just because it’s low-season and thus cheap in one of the places you’re planning to go doesn’t mean it isn’t the busiest and most expensive at the next country on the list. As such, don’t ever fall into the trap of assuming that all nations and regions of the world have the same seasons at the same time – they very much do not. Instead, check out each place one by one and try to pick a route and an itinerary that rules out things like national holidays and festivals – the savings could be enormous.
Book with One Provider
If at all possible, booking through a single provider can lead to massive discounts you would not be able to make use of if booking each leg of the journey with someone else. If this isn’t possible, at least try to cover most of the journey with one provider, which along with savings also gives a single and accessible point of call should anything go wrong, which God-willing it of course will not!
Travel Light…Very!
Try to remember that every single country on the face of the Earth you’re likely to be visiting will have its own contingency of cheap shops scattered around. As such, it can often work out infinitely cheaper to travel as light as possible with hand-luggage only, rather than shelling out time and time again for hold baggage fees. Weigh up how much extra it would cost to get a large bag where you’re planning on going against the costs of picking up what you need when you get there. And of course, travelling light makes life so much easier.
Live Like the Locals
Last up, there’s a reason you’ll scarcely see a local hanging around the tourist traps built for a thousand and one visitors from Manchester and Birmingham – they’re overpriced, of lower quality and about as authentic as a fish n’ chip shop in Baghdad. In order to get a real flavour for anywhere you’re looking at going and also save a small fortune in the process, do your best to live like the locals – even if this means literally following them to see where they all hang out.
By Jade Grimes
Jade Grimes has always has a passion for holidays in Antigua but recently decided to spread her wings with a few very random journeys across the Caribbean and beyond. Now back on home soil in Stoke, she’s determined to blog every one of her musings and lessons learned along the way.
