Holiday planning, whether it’s a tranquil beach getaway, a bustling city break, or an adventurous exploration of foreign lands, can be both exhilarating and stressful. From ensuring you’ve packed all the essentials, arranging transport to and from your destination, to remembering your passport, there’s a multitude of things to consider before embarking on your journey.

Fortunately, the internet is brimming with useful advice to make any holiday smoother. One Reddit user recently shared six travel hacks that they claimed “made my trips way cheaper and smoother”. The useful hints ranged from packing tips to how to get flights at the lowest price possible.

The first tip is to book flights online using your web browser’s incognito mode. This feature allows you to surf the web without storing history or data, meaning websites you visit won’t have any information about you and adjust prices accordingly.

The Reddit user advised: “Check the same route on your phone’s browser, prices sometimes differ.” To activate incognito mode on Google Chrome, click the three dots in the top right and select New Incognito Window. Other browsers function similarly, reports the Mirror.

The second piece of advice was: “Save the offline version of your Google Maps area before you even leave home.” This enables you to navigate using your phone without needing internet access, and without consuming data abroad, which can be expensive.

The next tip was: “Carry a cheap carabiner, hangs bags, locks zips together, secures stuff in hostels.” And the fourth suggestion concerns one of the most crucial aspects of travelling. The user said: “Eat your big meal at lunch – same food, half the price in most cities.”

Something leaking in your luggage can be a nightmare, and this can be doubly frustrating whilst travelling as you might not have a way of containing it or cleaning it up. The Reddit user has a solution for this. They said: “Always pack a ziplock bag: wet clothes, snacks, leaking toiletries, you name it.”

The final recommendation read: “Last one: When you arrive somewhere new, take the first hour slow, no rushing, just orienting. Saves mistakes and money.”

Reddit users contributed their own suggestions in the comments. One said: “Always bring safety pins! They can fix so many different problems and/or help other travellers.”

Another wrote: “My essentials case is small sewing kit (I collect the ones from hotel rooms), 5cm wide cotton adhesive tape (find it more versatile than duct tape), and superglue. Can fix almost anything with that.”

Someone else said: “Keep all important information in a small notebook. Key addresses, directions, passwords, etc, in case your phone battery goes dead, or your phone is lost or stolen. Have heard so many stories of people having major travel problems due to a dead or missing phone.

“Saves a lot of time, money, and stress. If traveling with a partner, never keep all wallets and phones in one bag in case one is lost or stolen. I’m a huge fan of traveling with Ziploc bags, packing blocks, bandannas, small fabric shopping bags.”

Another savvy traveller suggested: “Book hotels that offer breakfast if you are in an expensive city such as Reykjavik, Iceland. I stuff myself with good, delicious food that last me for the day.

“In between, I have tasting samples of baked goods or something very light to snack on. It’s well worth it since breakfast can easily cost about £22 ($30) per person anyway.”