Did you know..?
1. You can fly with a bicycle without paying any excess baggage.
The trick is to take it apart. Take of the wheels, the seat, and the handlebars, wrap ’em up in cardboard, and put them in a big suitcase with your clothes and stuff. If the check in desk asks what’s in your bag, you say “clothes and bicycle parts”. Most airlines will charge you a lot extra for a ‘bicycle’, but ‘bicycle parts’ can be included in general luggage. Cha-ching!
(Top pic: ‘What’s in the bag?’ – ‘bike parts..!’ My bike on it’s way to the airport.)
2. ‘Priority’ boarding is stupid.
Every time I get on an aeroplane, as soon as they get on the loudspeaker and announce that the “gate is open for boarding”, everyone leaps up and gets in line. Then everyone stands there, waiting for ages, shuffling through the gate onto the plane.
Do you really want to be first to board? The only reward for being at the front of the line is you get to spend more time sitting in the stuffy, cramped aircraft. Bonus.
I just wait until the last moment, then board when everyone else is done. What’s the hurry? We all gonna get plenty of time to suck in that sweet aeroplane air. I think I’ll just chill in the departure lounge and use the free WiFi a bit longer thanks.
3. Airports aren’t the only places you can get free WiFi.
Libraries, fast food restaurants, big computer and office supply stores, actually almost any big discount retail chain, and even supermarkets have free WiFi. At places that sell computers, you don’t even need your own device: you can just log into their demonstrator machines and check your Facebook.
4. There are free hot showers in some airports, and lots of other places too.
Public swimming pools, campgrounds, and even self storage warehouses!
That’s right, self storage warehouses.
I found this out by accident a couple of months ago. I was helping a friend of a friend set up a circus tent (another story) and we went to one of these big self storage places to collect all the gear and load it into a truck. I go to use the public toilets, and there’s a shower in there. I guess if you’re a harassed office worker, loading up boxes of archived paperwork, you get all sweaty and dusty and you want to have a shower and scrub up before you head back to the office, so the storage facility kindly provides a shower for you. Works for me.
(Below: you’ll need a shower after loading and unloading one of these suckers!)
5. You can take a heavy backpack as carry-on.
Got a smallish backpack that you can take as a carry-on bag, but it’s over weight? What you want to do is check in on the internet before you go to the airport. Print off your boarding pass and head straight to the departure gate. If you bypass the check-in counter nobody is going to weigh your bag.
There are heaps more tips for shaving your budget and travelling light here…
Got some cool travel gimmicks of your own? Comment below and share ‘em with us!
>> Share this on Facebook!
>> Check out the Raw Safari Top 9 Low-Budget Adventure Tips! Travel lighter and save a bundle!
>> What do you really need? Learn how to pack your bag for adventure!
