Toronto is an amazing city with so much to see. You really want to see the aquarium, the zoo, the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Rogers Centre, but how do you do that without burning a whole in your wallet? The answer is that you have to plan everything around your main attractions with tact. You need to prioritize your spending so that you don’t spend your whole budget on transportation and bad meals. Here is how to plan a budget-friendly trip to Toronto.
- Don’t exchange your cash at the airport. One of the easiest ways to get ripped off is by exchanging your cash at the airport. The exchange rate is always the worst, and you can usually find much better rates just outside of the airport. If you plan on using a debit or credit card, make sure that you do some research to see if your bank charges large foreign exchange fees. If so, you may want to temporarily open an account at a bank that has branches in Toronto as well as your hometown.
- Find a hotel you can cook in. If you really want to save a lot of money, then you’re going to want to find hotels in Toronto that have small kitchens. Just because you’re not going out to tons of restaurants doesn’t mean that you won’t be trying the local cuisine. Look up some recipes for traditional Torontonian meals and cook them yourself in your room. You’ll probably want to have a few meals out, but you can certainly save a lot of money if you make a lot of your own food.
- Rent bikes. One of the most romantic ways to travel around Toronto is by bike. Not only is it a gorgeous city with numerous parks and charming quarters, but also you will really feel like you’re experiencing the city like a native when you’re navigating by bike. Renting bikes is definitely the cheapest way to get around any city, and you’ll be getting great exercise as well.
- Make a daily spending budget. There’s no sense in making a budget for your overall trip if you’re not breaking it down for each day of the trip. Your daily budget should include all the spending you intend to do, from food, to entertainment, to transport, to shopping. No matter what you may be shelling cash out for, you want it to be within your daily budget and you want to have a notepad where you can record all of your spending.
- Stay away from the tourist traps. There’s no better way to spend an unnecessary amount of money than by frequenting all the regular tourist traps. Besides, when you travel to Toronto, you want to see it like a Torontonian, not like a tourist. So stay out of the souvenir shops and the restaurants near all the tourist attractions, and do some research online to find out where the locals like to hang out.