Nightmares of going cheap and how to deal with it

Cheap online travel deals have been making rounds in the past few years. Frequent travelers find it a better alternative because of budget constraint. With low rates and a long list of seemingly irresistible perks, who wouldn’t be travel-obsessed?

However, these “cheap” travel deals have their own fair share of drawbacks and it can catch you off-guard. The good thing is, it’s manageable. And the nightmares of going cheap travel packages can be counteracted, here’s how:

Hidden fees
If you think that that cheap rate is all you’re going to pay for — think again. Those fees just barely scratch the surface of what else you have to pay. There are insurance costs, terminal fees, travel tax, luggage fees, and other expenditures that are still not part of the cheap deal you have availed.Counteract: Ask your agency for a budget breakdown so you will see the cover of your travel package. There, you can prepare what fees are yet to be paid then you can make financial arrangements ahead. No more surprise fees for you.

No hotel reservations
If you are a backpacker or a spontaneous traveler, it’s expected that you wouldn’t have made advanced reservations. You do it the minute you arrive at your destination. The problem is, you’re not. You bought a cheap travel package that falsely said it includes a hotel reservation for you. It appears that you are a nowhere man in a very strange place.Counteract: Have a quick phone call with your reserved hotel prior to your flight. Verify the hotel details that your travel agency has given you; ask if that travel agency is accredited by the hotel and if they have really booked a room for you. You see, assurance is better than cure.

Missing out on famous attractions
Since you have paid for a cheap package, chances are the entrance fees for the famous attractions are excluded. Most of the time, cheap travel packages include only the plane ticket and agency service fees. Accommodations and tourist attraction entrance fees are usually charged separately. It’s like traveling without a cause, since the very reason you travel is to see the greatest attractions around the world.Counteract: Lay out specifically a fund for entrance fees and for other miscellaneous charges. It’s better to be prepared than to miss out on the best places for your vacation.

Cancelled flights
Cancelled flights happen upon your arrival at the terminal and learning that the trip you have been waiting for, a few months or maybe a year ago gets rescheduled. A two to four hour delay can be tolerated but a cancelled flight is a different story. You can complain to your travel agency, but beyond that, everything is already messed up.Counteract: Call the airlines a week prior to your flight and ask for an update. It may be time-consuming but, you’d rather hang around the phone for a few minutes rather than look forward to nothing.

Discomfort
Cheap flights are more tedious than regular flights. There are long lines that take forever. There are no delightful meals, no comfortable blankets, no freebies, no personal music players during flights. The travel agency paid for an economy class seat and these circumstances are foreseeable.Counteract: Just simply deal with it. After all, you can sleep it off during the whole trip. Or you can book a travel package with Marsman Travel and feel what it’s like to be treated like a king.

Fake travel package
The worst of all. As cheap travel packages become rampant these days, the number of online travel scams also intensify. Those fake travel agencies create dubious websites and offer the cheapest travel plans that everyone can’t resist to avail. They overwhelm you with several perks and giveaways, but when the get your credit card details they vanish.What to do: Double or triple check the reputation of the travel agency before making a deal. If you have seen it somewhere online, look for its physical store. Ask for previous transactions made by them and probe its legitimacy. Read reviews and feedbacks from past clients. You got to do your research in all ways possible so you won’t be the next victim of this horrendous fraud.

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It’s easy to pay cheap and pretend these drawbacks can be endured. Though it defeats the very purpose of traveling: to relax and unwind. Even so, the dreams of traveling at ease might do the complete opposite. With these upsetting travel nightmares and with the little amount of money at risk, it is really worth it going cheap?

References: http://travelsquire.com/travel-nightmares-and-what-to-do/ http://www.tripbase.com/articles/travelnightmares/