Travel Smart with Skyscanner to Spain

As everyone knows by now, traveling is my passion. And when I am not actually on the road, then dreaming about my next destination is a favorite pastime. But if you travel as frequently as I do, then traveling smart becomes an essential element of the trip. So when I came across this travel contest on Indiblogger on Travel Smart with Skyscanner, I decided to preplan for my next dream vacation. 🙂

All set for the next dream vacation 🙂

For the “Travel Smart with Skyscanner” contest, we had to pick a destination that we would like to visit in 2014, and then share how we would travel smart to this dream destination. Though selecting one dream destination amongst my ever-expanding bucket list was a task, I still managed to zero in and decide that I would definitely like to visit Spain again. I had been to Spain, as a rookie traveler, early in 2006 on a one month sabbatical (and before the entire ZNMD fame) and had loved everything about it – its warm people, sights, multitude of cultures, food, tapas, and much much more. And now 8 years later I would love to return and fall in love with this gorgeous country all over again.

I shall travel smart by concentrating and carefully planning  on the 5 areas below –

1. Flights – First and foremost I shall be flexible on the dates, airlines and scan the internet for best fares available (as many times you tend to get cheaper tickets if you are ok to travel mid-week and at some odd hours). I shall also check websites such as Skyscanner that provide an option of checking for the actual dates when the lowest fares are available to any destination in that entire year. This feature shall ensure that I book the lowest fares possible. 🙂

2. Accommodation – For budget and city centre stay options, I shall check out the local hostels and hosts for couch-surfing. Both these options are highly cost-effective, convenient and provide an opportunity to mingle with locals and make many new friends (from across the globe). This also helps discover many new hang-outs and sights that don’t necessary make it on the tourist maps or guide books.

3. Local Travel during the vacation – For this trip, taxis and chauffeur driven cars are a definite “No”. I shall book an accommodation close to all the areas that I want to explore and then walk everywhere possible. This shall help me save money, loose weight and at the same time discover those hidden nooks and corners that only the locals normally see. In case I have to travel to places that are not possible on foot, then I shall check out the local city travel cards, group travel cards and other offers available.

4. Sightseeing – All cities and towns of Spain have a lot to offer but I shall be smart and shortlist a mix of both free and paid things to see and do. Many cities here have free walking tours that are good and only work on tips, so I’ll check them out and explore the city with them. There are also many beautiful sights that nature offers and are absolutely free – such as a gorgeous sunrise, a dip in the cold waters of a beach, etc etc. For the paid things I’ll decide on what is it that I would like to see and buy tickets for that in advance online. This will save me a lot of time (of standing in the queues) and at times help me avail any available offers.

5. Gastronomic Delights  – To save on eating out, I shall sample the local street food wherever I visit. This shall give an actual flavor of the local cuisine at nearly rock bottom prices. I shall also avoid restaurants near the tourist locations that are a complete rip off.  For example eating on the main road of Las Ramblas in Barcelona is a complete no, but I shall walk inside the small bylanes and check out the smaller local stores. Additionally I shall shop at local shops / stores for fresh fruits, yogurt, etc and the local bakeries for bread and pastries.

And now that the planning is complete, I am all set to travel smart and GET SET AND GO.