Above-inflation hikes in UK train fares may just be coming to an end, but ticket prices are already making a dent in wallets up and down the country. So here are some ideas for making your pennies go further on train journeys with our tips for cheap train travel.

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Tips for cheap train travel at home

1. Split-ticketing: Splitting your journey each way and buying two tickets instead of one could save you a considerable amount of cash. This is in line with train companies’ terms and conditions, and you can usually stay on the same train and even in the same seat. Here’s an example by the Money Saving Expert: if you’re travelling from London to Manchester, buying a ticket from London to Stoke-On-Trent and another from Stoke-On-Trent to Manchester is likely to cost less than the actual London–Manchester fare. Both Money Saving Expert and Split Ticketing have great tools to help you find cheap train travel.
2. Scout out special offers: National Rail publishes a list of available concessions. Keep an eye on those as they’re updated regularly.
3. Anyone for £1 fares? Yep, we thought you might be. Check out Megabus’s cheap train travel on regular services by established rail companies. Remember to select the ‘Train’ option – unless you’d rather go by bus, of course.
4. Tesco customer? Double up on Clubcard points: Exchange your cash vouchers on the Red Spotted Hanky website and make them work twice as hard for you as they do in the shop.
5. Get a railcard: No, these are not just for students and the over-60s. Get a third off rail journeys in the south-east of England and further afield with a Network Railcard, or use one of a range of other railcards for cheap train travel.

And finally a quick nod to overnight sleeper buses. We know – it’s a bit of a departure from trains, but a great alternative for longer journeys, and easier on the wallet. Check out Megabus Gold and their comfortable, inexpensive beds. WiFi, power sockets and refreshments are included. Daytime services also available.

Cheap train travel abroad

Try Deutsche Bahn’s English-language site for quick access to timetables of services across the continent and often cheap train fares. And check out Seat 61’s handy guide to booking cheap train tickets online, with answers to frequently asked questions about European rail travel.
And there’s now a bus service offered by Flixbus with comfortable new buses and incredibly cheap fares, e.g. London to Paris from only £14.50, or London to Amsterdam from £19.00. We’ve tried the service and were very happy.

We hope you found our little guide to cheap train travel useful – bon voyage!

Last updated 27 June 2018

The post Don’t get taken for a ride – 5 tips for cheap train travel appeared first on Neals Yard Holidays Blog.

A recent trip brought home the need to plan ahead and be smart about spending money abroad.

A self-guided cycling tour across Europe towards the end of last year was quite possibly the best travel experience I’d ever had. It was also one of the most expensive. I was keen to find out about options for cheap holiday money.

Since bank statements now disclose transaction and cash charges for the use of debit and credit cards abroad, I became aware for the first time just how much using my British debit card was costing me. The cheap Euro, it seems, wasn’t translating into cheap holiday money in my case.

Here are two typical examples:

• Paying a €115 bike-service bill with Visa Debit cost me not just £91.63, but also a 2.99% non-sterling transaction fee of £2.73 from the card provider.
• When I withdrew €300 from an ATM in Germany, £239.40 left my account. So did £7.15 (for the non-sterling transaction), and a cash fee of £3.59.

Helping travel money travel further

The best way to swallow the painful memory of these additional charges was to avoid the same error on my next trip.

Using tips for cheap holiday money from Martin Lewis’s Money Saving Expert site – including a handy exchange-rate comparison tool – I armed myself with a pre-paid travel-money card.

It’s worth noting that pre-paid cards don’t offer the same spending protection as regular debit and credit cards. However, avoiding very large purchases, you are likely to find that disadvantages are far outweighed by the benefits:

• Pick your exchange rate: You have flexibility to choose where you exchange your money, instead of being locked in by your bank.
• Avoid unnecessary charges: Paying for goods and services in the local currency means you won’t get penalised by your bank or card issuer. And you’re cash will go further, making the most of the higher purchase power of sterling versus euro.
• Speed and convenience: no queuing at bureaux de change; buy your cash online from currency providers like Travelex, MoneyCorp or the Post Office as late as the day before your trip, then pick up your preloaded card from your nearest branch or at the airport (check availability first)
• Safety: A great alternative to carrying cash around with you, travel money cards – like regular debit cards – are protected with pin numbers and signatures.
• Never run out of cash: Reload quickly and easily online.
• More than one currency: currency providers like Travelex offer multi-currency cash cards so that you’re covered for all your trips and those travel money cards don’t pile up.

If you aren’t pushed for time, another source of cheap holiday money could be a high-street bank debit or credit card with good rates for payments abroad. This would stand you in good stead when you’re making online purchases in different currencies, too.

Last updated 27 June 2018

The post Don’t miss out on cheap holiday money appeared first on Neals Yard Holidays Blog.