21 Extremely Effective Ways to Travel on a Budget

This post is all about how to travel on a budget.

Interested in travel but don’t want to spend your entire life savings? Here is my guide on how to travel on a budget. As a young woman working as a freelancer, the last thing I want is to spend all the money I earned on extravagant trips. But I still want to travel the world.

After years and years of traveling on a student budget, I have created some great tips to help you get started on planning your next adventure. Whether you’re planning a road trip or flying away to a foreign destination, there are tons of ways to save money.

There are three steps I usually take in terms of budgeting my trips, so we’ll go through each section and all the different tips I have for each one. Let’s get into it!

PLANNING: How to Travel on a Budget Blog

Before you even head out on your trip and even before you start booking hotels and flights, you need to come up with a plan. And how do you do that? Research! 

If you’re like me and are trying not to spend all your money on one trip, then this is where it starts. Booking the big stuff is where the majority of your money is spent, so it’s where you have to be the smartest. 

Flights:

There are a million people out there saying they have the secrets to booking the cheapest airfare. I’m not going to claim to be one of those people, but I do have some helpful tips when considering flights.

Sign up for an airline credit card (your everyday spending becomes miles to spend on flights.)

If you are comfortable using credit cards, then why not choose one that gives you money towards your travels? Most airline credit cards have sign on bonuses which give you thousands of miles just for signing up! Did someone say free airfare?

Look for flights 6 months in advance with a flight scanner

I always. ALWAYS. Start looking for flights early. Even if I don’t book right away, I plug it into one of these flight scanners, so the app can do the heavy lifting for me. They notify you on when prices drop, and even when prices are expected to rise.

I personally love Hopper since it’s a free and easy app to download right onto your phone. FareDrop is a paid for service but caters specifically to you which is awesome if you are truly looking for the cheapest option. And Skyscanner is always a good go to where I always double check that I am getting the cheapest deal. For more recommendations, check out my recommendations page!

Choose the layover over nonstop

This can seem like a no brainer, but you can save hundreds of dollars by simply choosing the flight with a layover rather than flying nonstop. Personally, I have never flown nonstop for trips abroad simply because nonstop flights can sometimes be outrageously priced.

Try to fly out of bigger airports

Even though layovers can be cheaper, flying out of major airports also helps lessen the price. For example, I fly mainly out of Philadelphia, but I always check prices for JFK and BWI since major airports can have more options when considering flights.

However, you should also consider the money and effort it takes to travel to those bigger airports. For example, I have only ever considered JFK if the prices were more than $300 cheaper than flying out of Philadelphia, since JFK is an over three-hour drive.

Pack light (don’t pay for checked bags)

Prices for checked bags can sometimes be included in tickets, but sometimes you’re paying up to $50 for one bag! If you’re able to, I highly recommend just packing all your stuff in a carry on. Plus, it’s saves you the hassle of lugging around extra weight that you didn’t actually need.

Risk it and don’t pay for refundable tickets

Now this one is all up to you. I only started buying the refundable options for airfare during covid because flights were getting cancelled left and right. But if you know that you’re definitely going to go on the trip, I suggest booking the refundable ticket that gives you credit instead of your money back. 

Accommodation:

Private Rooms on Airbnb

I love this option on Airbnb! I have used it a bunch of times especially on road trips where you are only staying one or two nights. Just look at reviews and find what you are most comfortable with. I have found that I prefer a private entrance, but I have had great experiences with meeting my hosts and having them show me around the space.

Hostels

Hostels are just such an amazing idea. Especially if you are young and traveling solo or with a small group. Not only are they incredibly affordable, but you meet so many amazing people along the way. Most hostels have lots of options depending on your comfort level. So whether you want to share a room with ten other strangers or have a private room all to yourself, hostels are usually always your cheapest option.

Sales on hotels on Booking.com

If sharing space while you are on vacation isn’t your thing, hotels are you next best bet. Booking.com has amazing deals when it comes to finding the perfect rooms. Not only that, but they give you more benefits the more you book through them. Totally free of charge!

Excursions:

Viator / Get Your Guide / Airbnb

Coupons, Coupons, Coupons! These are my go-to places to book my tours and other fun activities while I’m traveling. Even though they are cheaper than other places, you should still be googling coupon codes!

Look at passes that include tours or entrances to multiple things

Make sure to read the specific details of your tours because sometimes the tours you book won’t cover the admission fees to whatever you’re planning on seeing. On the other hand, some cities have amazing passes that give you entrance to multiple experiences such as museums and historical buildings!

And of course, you should really consider the hop on hop off buses in whatever city you are traveling to. Yes, they’re touristy, but the amount you can see in a day and the loads of information you receive is incredible! I highly recommend taking the tour on one of the first days you arrive at you destination, so you get the lay of the land. 

Even better, you can sometimes pay for an extra day at a cheaper rate and just use it as transportation! My best friend and I used this to our full advantage when traveling around London and Dublin.

Ask hosts for recommendations!

Booking a trip can be overwhelming with the amount of decisions you have to make and the endless choices to choose from. Most Airbnb hosts and hotels have recommendations they give to everyone, and a lot of the time you can either get discounts by booking through them or find hidden gems that most tourists have never heard of. 

Don’t be afraid to skip stuff.

If you are going on that expensive tour to that well known castle isn’t really your thing, don’t sweat it! Spend your money on the things that really matter to you. A lot of blogs will say that you have to do this, or you have to do that. But if you’d rather just wander the streets of a city than take that bus tour to the famous waterfall, don’t waste your money! You will have so many more memories and stories to tell if you tailor the trip to you and not to the average tourist.

TRAVEL ON A BUDGET TIPS AND TRICKS:

These tips and tricks on how to travel on a budget are for when you are actually traveling! The last thing you want to be thinking about is how much you’re spending when you should be having a great time on your trip.

So here are a couple of easy ways to save that extra bit of money here and there.

Transportation:

Choose Second class on trains

Most of the time there is truly no difference between first and second class. But there is almost always a huge difference in price. This is another great way to save some of your hard-earned cash for something more exciting than a little extra leg room.

Public transportation instead of Ubering

Ubers can be super expensive! And most of the time there is public transportation that will get you there just as easily and at a fraction of the price. Most European cities have amazing public transportation but some of them (*cough cough Paris*) can have a bit of a learning curve when it comes to navigation. 

My advice is to see if there is an app for your desired city’s public transportation or research which routes you are going to want to take before you head out. You will save so much money this way I promise!

WALK!!!

Is a mile really that bad of a walk? Well maybe if you’re climbing uphill like in Edinburgh, but most of the time, walking is the perfect way to get around. And the best part is that it’s completely free!

Food:

Check prices of restaurants before you go so you know how much things will cost

Not only am I always checking restaurant menus for vegetarian options, but I’m also checking the prices. Knowing how much you’re going to spend on specific meals always makes me more confident in my budget planning. 

Go to grocery store instead of eating out every meal

Just because you’re traveling doesn’t mean that you need to treat yourself to every single meal you eat. It is so much cheaper to grab some easy meals at the grocery store. Think about it! Maybe get food for breakfasts and then eat lunch and dinner out. Or even pack your lunch to go, so you don’t have to depend on a reservation!

Bring your own water (don’t spend money on water)

Europe charges you for water! If there is one thing, I hate in this world it is that fact that you have to pay for water. So, to avoid spending any money on basic needs, bring your own. Whether that’s filling up from taps or springs (when it’s safe) or bulk buying water at the grocery store to pack on your adventuring days.

Spending:

Avoid souvenirs you don’t really need

Honestly, just avoid all of tourist trap shops altogether! Every t-shirt and trinket is overpriced, and your family can do without a silly souvenir that’s massed produced. If you are looking to buy something to remember your travel buy, look for local artisans or craftsmen/women to buy from. I promise it will be such a better souvenir than another “I heart NYC” shirt.

Don’t be afraid to haggle with people in certain places

Depending on the country you are visiting, it is expected that you haggle with the salespeople to get the price of the items or goods you are trying to buy. This is popular in most markets.

ORGANIZE:

I know some people don’t like going over their finances. Some people like to budget in the beginning and then never look back at how much they actually spent on the trip.

On the other hand, I love tracking every single penny I spent because it helps me figure out how to save money on my next trip! So how I do this is with my handy dandy spreadsheet. Please feel free to download this adjustable spreadsheet to get you started

How to Travel on a Budget

And that’s some of my secrets on how to save money while you travel the world! I hope this helped and gave you some new ideas if you haven’t already been budgeting as excessively as I have!

I would love to know if there are any tips and tricks for traveling on a budget that I missed or that you love to use yourself! Let me know in the comments section below!

This post is all about to travel on a budget.