If I could, I would travel somewhere every month. Unfortunately, I can’t. For two reasons: 1) I don’t have near enough vacation days, and 2) it can get very costly, very quickly. Now, for the first of the two reasons, sadly I don’t have an answer. But as for the second, I think there are a few ways to work around that. And because I think these problems aren’t unique to me, here are 12 simple ways to travel on a budget!
1. You don’t have to go far away
One very simple way to travel on a budget is to stay close to your area – one might call it a staycation. Yes, going on a luxurious trip to some tropic island is very cool, but is it really necessary to travel far away for every single trip? I don’t think so. You might be surprised to see all the lovely areas that are much closer to home. And, because getting there likely doesn’t take as long, you get to spend more time at your travel destination. Win-win!
By staying closer to your home town, the main way to save some money is by mode of transport. Instead of flying, you could most likely just hop on a train, or even take the car and drive there. Long-distance busses are also a great alternative.
2. How to get there
Continuing from the points mentioned above, another simple way to travel on a budget is to check different ways to get there. Even though flying is usually the most expensive way to get somewhere, I think it doesn’t hurt to check different airlines. The website I like to use to do is Skyscanner. (I do realize that this sounded very sponsored but sadly is not). Traveling by train or long-distance bus is usually more budget-friendly. Make sure to check if bonus cards for the train/bus are available, like the BahnCard for the German railway. You might also want to check different departure times, as prices vary throughout the day.
If your traveling as a group, sometimes the most affordable way to get to your destination is by car. Because with public transport you obviously have to buy a ticket for each person, whereas you only have to fill up one car with gas. However you chose to go, just make sure to compare different travel methods.
Another thing to consider is the day you’re traveling: Bus, train and plane tickets are usually cheaper during the week. Being flexible with your departure date can save you a lot of money!
3. Where to stay
Accommodations can be one of the most costly factors when traveling. And once again, it makes sense to compare different offers. If you’re traveling on your own, a bed in a shared hostel room is probably the cheapest option. My favorite website to search for hostels is Hostelworld. However, if you’re traveling as a couple, and want a bit more of a romantic vacation, a shared room probably isn’t right for you. Of course, there are also private rooms for you to book in hostels, but most of the time those aren’t much cheaper than actual hotel rooms.
So when my boyfriend and I travel somewhere, we usually stay in hotels. But for us, the room/hotel doesn’t have to be super fancy. Because being who we are, we don’t spend any time there anyway. We tend to leave the hotel at around 9-10 am, and usually don’t return until after dinner. So why spend a lot of money on bougie hotels if you’re never there anyway?
Another great way to keep the cost down, especially if traveling as a group, is to get a holiday rental/AirBnB. And the more people you are, the cheaper it gets. The more, the merrier.
Before booking anything through big platforms, also check the prices on the website of the hostel/hotel/AirBnB itself. Sometimes, those prices differ from those of search engines and you can save some money.
4. Where to eat
Another big bonus point of staying in an AirBnB or hostel: you usually have a kitchen, meaning you can cook your own food. And we all know, that eating out every day can be quite expensive. Even if you just prepare some of your own meals, that can massively help to reduce the overall cost. Which leaves more budget to spend on another vacation. Or a fancy dinner on your last night.
5. Airplane Luggage
Something that is getting more and more expensive each time I travel by airplane is the checked luggage. At least that’s what it feels like. And a lot of airlines don’t include checked luggage in their regular tickets, making you pay extra for any bags. So what my boyfriend and I do is a pretty simple way to travel on a budget: We buy two separate plane tickets, one with and one without checked luggage. Then we just share a suitcase, at a nice and fair 70-30 ratio. I’m not a light packer.
If you’re just going somewhere for a couple of days, you probably don’t even need to check a bag. And, as of right now, carry on-luggage is free of charge with most airlines (let’s enjoy it while it lasts). Just make sure you stick to their guidelines for carry on, i.e. size and weight. If you’re allowed one carry on and one personal bag, I would recommend putting the heavier items (such as cosmetics) in your handbag/backpack. Simply to avoid having to pay extra because your carry on is too heavy (if they do happen to weigh it). Another big plus of not having checked luggage: You don’t have to wait for it and it can’t get lost.
6. Pick your travel destination wisely
Even if you’ve taken all of the above mentioned tips into account, your trip could still end up being more expensive than you thought. Because there definitely are destinations that are much more expensive than others. To get to best bang for your buck, you probably want to avoid major cities like London, Paris or Munich. Do some research into places that have a cheaper cost of living, or maybe have a different currency to yours with an exchange rate in your favor.
7. Consider the attractions you want to visit
When in a different place, you obviously want to visit some of its attractions. Be careful though: some are much more expensive than others, and some are outright tourist traps. Before booking an adventure on TripAdvisor, let’s say going to Capri from Naples, check if there are cheaper alternatives. Public transportation is usually much cheaper than doing a guided tour.
A lot of places also have attractions that are completely free to visit. A great example for this is Paris: European citizens under the age of 26 can visit all of the museums etc. for free. Unfortunately, Paris itself isn’t cheap, but at least you don’t have to pay to see the Mona Lisa. If you’re under 26 years old, that is.
8. Check special offers
In a perfect world, this is what I would do all the time. But of course, this world is anything but perfect. And while specials offers are a simple way to travel on a budget, oftentimes it doesn’t work out for me. Because you may have to leave on a specific date, or from a specific airport. If you are a student or working remotely all of the time, this might be a great tip for you. Places like Urlaubspiraten are amazing to find great deals.
9. Avoid peak seasons or travel against the stream
This simple way to travel on a budget isn’t going to work for all of us. Because if you’ve got kids in school, you unfortunately have to stick to their holidays to travel, and it’s likely going to be much more expensive. But if you don’t have kids, definitely try to avoid the high seasons during the summer months. Or, if you don’t have any other choice than to travel during high season, try to pick destinations that aren’t frequented as much during these months. For example, you could go to Abu Dhabi during the European summer. Just be prepared to be roasting hot.
10. Clear your cookies or use a VPN before booking anything
Have you ever noticed that plane tickets get more and more expensive each time you check? To avoid paying more, delete all your cookies before booking something or do so using a VPN. Travel providers track how many times you search for a specific destination and adjust their prices accordingly. Lovely. Let’s not give it to them by clearing those cookies beforehand!
11. Collect memories, not things
I love buying souvenirs. And I do buy at least one in pretty much every place I travel to. But those usually aren’t things that just stand around somewhere and collect dust. I love to purchase art work from street artists that portrays the place I visited. Yes, it’s a souvenir, and it brings back all of the memories. But it also supports a local artist.
Things that I steer clear of are the typical touristy souvenirs, like post cards, bags with the name of the city written on it, etc. Those tend to be of poor quality anyway, so you’re not going to be able to use it for very long. Instead, take your own “postcard” pictures and send them to the ones you love.
12. Walk, walk, walk
The last, very simple way to travel on a budget is to do all your adventures on foot. Especially if you’re in a city, most attractions are fairly close together. Instead of getting on a bus/tube to go there, see if you could walk. I think I have an average of 20.000 steps per day when I travel. And not only does it save some money. It also means I get more ice cream. Love it!
Let me know your best hacks to travel budget-friendly! Do you plan way ahead or do you make use of those last minute offers?
Lots of Love,
Lena
Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored.