Have you recently been bitten by the travel bug? Do you find yourself constantly day-dreaming about your next trip? Do you have documents and documents of planned (albeit, failed) vacations? Well, join the club! More and more people are becoming passionate about the thought of travel – and for all the right reasons. People are choosing to spend their money on experiences that will last with them forever instead of material goods that add no value to their lives.
I can go on and on about the advantages of travel but I am pretty sure you already know them if you’re reading this article. If you’re passionate about travel but think (emphasis on think), then buckle up, because I am going to take you on one hell of a ride!
If you want to travel like the pros, then you’ve pretty much come to the right place. Pinch your pennies, people, I know the tips and tricks that’ll help you travel around the world using the least money possible.
Look, if you aspire to be a self-proclaimed modern nomad – you need to learn how to travel efficiently. Whether that’s learning how not to spend a fortune, or having a few money-saving tricks up your sleeve – efficiency is quite important.
The key to being able to afford a vacation is not money (although, that definitely helps). It’s about going on some serious bargain hunting, being flexible, knowing where to look, and a lot of careful preparation.
I’ve compiled a list of tried and true tips and tricks that will help transform even the most expensive trips to a super cheap one!
While booking:
1. Don’t depend on airline sites only.
When it comes to booking a flight, don’t just depend on the main airline sites. Use every search engine available and always makes sure to use ones that help you compare between different dates & airlines. This is probably something you do already – but here’s a little trick for you. Use Skyscanner to filter by the whole month instead of just a certain date and you’ll get results that span the entire 30 days. You can easily save up to $200-$300 that way.
2. Low-cost carriers are your new best friends.
Yes, you won’t be getting meals on board (unless you pay extra) and you only one carry on luggage, but focusing on low-cost carriers will save you a lot of dollars. They honestly offer great value for money (not long-term if you’re looking to save some airline miles), and they’re not as bad as you think. I’ve traveled all around Europe with Ryanair and Easyjet, and honestly – the differences are very minuscule.
3. Tweak the foreign currency.
If you’re booking an international trip, try changing the airline’s foreign website before checking your own country’s website for that airline. A ticket price could be significantly lower when you use the country’s local currency. However, make sure you learn about how much your card chargers for currency conversions.
4. Use Rome 2 Rio.
Rome 2 Rio is by far the best search engine when it comes to checking out all types of transport from one destination to the other. It’s going to give you a list of what type of destination is the fastest, cheapest and which is the most convenient!
5. Travel off-season.
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
This obviously goes without saying – the further you venture away from peak-seasons the more you can score some incredible deals. A lot of hotels and airlines dramatically reduce their prices to attract tourists.
6. Do you have an .edu e-mail? You’re in luck!
Enjoy over 50% on attractions, transportation, hotels, and hostels. Even if you have just graduated, you can most definitely get by with an old e-mail address or an expired I.D. if you still look young!
7. Save on travel insurance.
It’s much more affordable for you to actually a multi-trip, one-year-long travel insurance plan than it is to pay insurance multiple times. This only works if you plan on traveling multiple times in the year.
8. Don’t book travel and accommodation together.
A lot of people mistakenly think that booking a travel package is cheaper. While that may look like it’s right at first, it definitely isn’t. Always try to book travel and accommodation separately because you can make use of discounts, flexible dates, and a few search tricks here and there.
9. Fly or drive?
I’ve encountered a lot of people who think that taking the train is cheaper than taking a flight. It would surprise you how much cheaper low-cost airlines can be when compared to trains.
10. Get free flights with credit cards.
Getting a credit card that offers you travel-related reward points is the best investment you can make. It depends on your spending habits – but if you sign up for multiple travel cards, and keep piling up and collecting miles, then you’ll find yourself getting an insanely cheap (or even free!) flight sooner rather than later.
11. Fake your computer’s I.D or use a VPN.
You would be surprised at how much flight prices differ from country to country (even if it’s the same exact destination). You could pretend you’re booking from Egypt, for example, instead of the U.S. to collect those better deals. The one thing you need to focus on is making sure your card doesn’t have high foreign transaction fees because you’ll be paying in the local currency.
12. Give hidden city ticketing a try.
This is basically a theory that says that booking longer routes and skipping the last destination is cheaper.
For example:
NYC – Houston – Los Angeles (and skipping LA) is cheaper than NYC – Houston directly. This means that you will be booking two one-way tickets instead of a roundtrip.
13. Use the 8-week-rule for flights.
Photo by Lucas Davies on Unsplash
The magic number for when you should be book your flight is 8 weeks in advance. Anything more than that and the flights will get even more expensive again.
14. If you’re not in a hurry…kill two birds with one stone and book a super long layover.
I am talking 48-hour layovers in cities! Not only will you be getting literally half of the price off but you’ll also get the chance to explore a whole new city without having to pay for a flight to there.
15. Using the right tools!
Use Hopper to analyze prices, Skyscanner for monthly prices and comparisons, Hipmunk for different date ranges…and much more! The options are endless.
16. Be flexible with your destination.
Don’t be dead-set on going to one destination at one certain time. This is a surefire way to lose money. Instead of deciding you have to go to Madrid in January, change it up a little bit and go somewhere off the beaten track. Or look for destination-specific deals instead of date-specific deals.
17. Get a rail pass if you’re traveling to Europe.
Photo by Jack Anstey on Unsplash
Railpasses are the holy grail when it comes to saving money on train travel. A train pass will generally cost you much less than if you’re booking individual trips, so you get to travel more and pretty much pay less.
18. Make use of fare mistakes.
Use a website like Secret Flying to make use of glitch fares.
19. Subscribe to newsletters.
There are plenty of travel-related newsletters, airlines websites and third-party sites that can send you direct last-minute flight information and prices straight to your inbox. It’s a great way to snatch deals – even when you’re not looking.
20. Book during the afternoon.
Booking during the afternoon (specifically at 3 p.m) has been proven to be the most cost-effective method. This is because during the morning, most business travelers are booking their flights and during the night 90% of other travelers are booking their flights.
21. Check one-way fares….then combine them.
I know that round-trip tickets are so easy to book (are you really looking for easy?), but they’re sometimes the most expensive. Sometimes purchasing two one-way tickets from different airlines then combing them gives you a better price than booking normally.
22. Go incognito.
Airline websites use cookies that save your browsing history basically and increase the price based on how many times you visited the website. Go incognito for the unaltered flight prices. Google Chrome browser has an ‘Incognito Mode’ for this purpose.
During your trip:
1. Volunteer to be bumped off.
This is only useful for when you’re not in a rush. If you’ve got time to kill and you want to make some money on the side, as well, then this tactic would work perfectly for you. Most planes get overbooked during peak season or holiday seasons – and they usually end up asking for volunteers who would be willing to skip the flight and take another one. Now you might be thinking – why would I ever do that?! Well, sometimes they offer cash vouchers that go up to $400, gift cards, free hotel stays and much more.
2. Invest in a city tourist card.
If you’re planning to go all out at a tourist destination and you want to see every single attraction – it’s much more budget-friendly to actually invest in a city card. I literally saved $100 in Paris by investing in a museum card. What can I say? A girl needs to see her attractions!
3. Travel slow.
The slower you decide to travel around, the cheaper it’s going to be for you. The more flexible you are with your timings, the more you’ll get to save.
4. Never change currency at the airport.
Unless you want to be losing hundreds of dollars in the process, don’t change currency at the airport. In fact – don’t even convert currency at all at your destination. The most effective way to get the best rate is to either do that through your local bank or take money out of ATMs at your destination.
5. House-sit.
If you seriously cannot afford to pay for accommodation, then try house-sittings. There are plenty of websites that you can sign up for and you’ll be matched with people who need their houses “watched” while they’re traveling. This gives you a chance to travel, stay at a decent house and not pay anything at the same time.
6. Take public transport.
Taxis can literally drain your wallets in no time. Instead of spending close to $200 on taxis (minimum) for a few-day trip, you can instead choose public transport. After all, it also feels authentic and more adventurous and will give you a much more local feel towards the city.
7. Make sure lunch is your largest meal.
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If you’re in Europe, make sure your largest meal is during lunch time because that’s when you’ll be utilizing the “daily specials menu” that can save you anything from 20% to 50%.
8. Carry snacks and a reusable water bottle with you.
This little trick can save you up to $100 per trip. Do you really want to be spending $4 on a bottle of water every day? Or 3EUR for a small bottle of water every hour? You really don’t.
9. Teach your language in exchange for room and board.
You can always travel to destinations where English isn’t well spoken and teach students there in exchange for room and board. You can also find similar services at hostels (cleaning or organizing events in exchange for room and board.)
10. Street food over fast food.
You’re never actually saving that much money by eating at fast food chains. Instead, opt for local streets food – every city has it’s own cheap & filling dish that you can find at local stalls far away from tourist traps. Not only do you get to save money, but you also get to experience the country through its culture and food.
11. Always remember the five-block rule.
Keep this rule of thumb on your mind whenever you’re traveling. This basically says that you should be avoiding all businesses (whether food, entertainment or shopping-related) that are within five blocks of the city’s touristic areas. You can easily save up to 50% of a meal by walking 10 more minutes.
12. Shop like the locals.
Photo by Héctor Martínez on Unsplash
Instead of eating out, try choosing hostels or apartments with kitchens in them and then cook your meals. For the lowest prices, see where the local markets and shop from there. It will also give you an incredibly intimate connection with the city’s culture.
13. Take part in free activities.
Always research what sort of free things are going on (maybe your hostel or hotel even offers some!) and participate in them.
14. The sharing economy is your new best friend.
Want to stay at someone’s place for prices less than hotels? Airbnb. Want to get discounted and low-priced tours by locals? Use Vayable. Want to carpool to destinations outside of the city? Use BlaBlaCar.
So next time you want to travel and you’re thinking of how much you can’t afford it – think again! It takes effort, a little bit of time, and a lot of planning – but you can’t tell me it’s not absolutely worth it!
