8 Tips to Travel & Still Be Cheap

If you ask someone about what they wish they had more time and money to spend, more than likely, you would hear something like, “I wish I could travel more” or “We’re trying to save up for a family vacation”.

This makes a ton of sense—the appeal of a new culture is obvious, not to mention sampling delicious new foods. Case in point: ALL of the British puddings. They’re delicious!

Even though most people want to travel, money is typically the barrier. Right? Right.

My husband, Cully, and I just took our honeymoon (yes, we did get married nearly four years ago).  Does it still count as a honeymoon if you’ve been married more than a year? Who knows.

Regardless, we saved up to go to England, Scotland, and Ireland for 11 days. As you’ve probably guessed, it was not NEARLY enough time to really experience these countries and their cultures. However, we wanted to keep the trip as cheap as possible and had to be back from our trip a certain day.

The trip was absolutely worth it and we saw some gorgeous places. I mean, check out this view we had one day for lunch:

Casual, right?

So, regardless of where you’re wanting to travel and how many you’re hoping to travel with, there are some ways to pinch those pennies. Here are some tips that we’ve used in travel or that we wish we would have known sooner:

 

For Flights

Travel at a “Weird” Time.

If you can make it happen, try to not travel in the summer months (here’s looking at you, June and July). We took our trip in May because it was significantly cheaper to fly then (we’re talking hundreds of dollars saved) rather than in prime vacation months.

This will also benefit you once you arrive in the country: Not going during summer or holiday months could mean shorter lines to tourist attractions, as well as lowered fees once you arrive in country—all because of the month or season you’ve chosen to travel!

Be Flexible.

Again, this may not be possible for you, but if it is, you will see definite fluctuation in airline fees simply because of the day of the week. So, if you can be flexible, plug in and tweak different dates to find the lowest price. This has yielded savings for us many times! Sometimes prices only change slightly based on the day, but we’ve seen changes up to $40 per person—which can obviously really add up!

Another tip regarding this is to turn off your computer’s cookies if you’ll be searching for flights multiple times before going ahead and ordering plane tickets. It’s an unfortunate reality that, because you searched for a flight yesterday but didn’t book it, you may see an increased price the very next day (as a penalty for not purchasing right away). Turning off cookies while you’re researching different flights and dates can ensure that the price won’t be increased simply because you’ve already searched it before.

Utilize Facebook and Pinterest.

Have no shame in asking for suggestions on Facebook and searching Pinterest specifically. You never know if someone will give you a great suggestion that you wouldn’t find elsewhere or offer you a free place to stay! Also, Pinterest is a great search engine-esque tool that allows you to look up incredibly specific information that gets funneled for you—all you have to do is type and click! Use it to your advantage, and search Pinterest using specific terms, like “free attractions in London”.

As You Plan

Beyond securing plane tickets, there’s of course the need for figuring out WHAT you want to do once you reach your destination (this is the fun part)! Here are a few tips to save you some money in the process:

Decide what kind of a traveler you want to be.

Do you want to see everything touristy? Do you want to try to live like a local? Think through what sounds more appealing to you, or how to do a combination of those things.

In Ireland, we were able to do both, and it was awesome. We spent a few days at an Airbnb over an hour outside of Dublin, and got to live in the Irish countryside for a few days!  After that, we stayed closer to Dublin and experienced city life.

All of this is to say that it’s important to think about what you want your trip to be as you plan it. It sounds obvious, but this is especially key if you’re traveling with someone—you may have very different ideas of what your trip should be, whether relaxing or packed fully of activities (or a mix of both). Thinking through this will also help immensely once you start packing for the trip!

Plan it yourself.

This is probably the best tip for saving money on a trip. We originally looked into a tour package, which would have been nice, but MUCH more expensive. There is obviously something to be said for not having to think through details yourself and leaving it to a company, but there are obvious (and understandable) costs associated with that. The company we almost booked with would have DOUBLED the cost of our trip—and that was something we just couldn’t stomach.

Again, it’s all about prioritizing and tailoring your trip to fit what you want—if you’d rather pay more in order to remove some planning stress, go for it. But we actually loved getting to plan the trip ourselves (beyond just the money we were able to save). It enabled us to be very flexible and cater toward exactly what we wanted to do—which meant more free options that most tours offer. We also had the freedom to take a nap if jet lag was kicking our butts, rather than feeling guilty because we had booked something in advance that we’d be missing out on.

Learn to love AirBnB.

I’m a big fan on Airbnb.

It’s a wonderful mix between a hotel and a hostel, and it gives you a really personal and authentic touch. If you’re unaware of what it is, here’s a brief overview: People from all over the world can offer their apartment, treehouse, yurt, mansion, or whatever as a place for you to stay. You can select certain options, such as having the home to yourself vs. just having a private room in the space.

We have been big fans of every encounter we’ve had with Airbnb. Be aware that every listing offers different amenities, but one thing that has been pretty consistent is good communication with the host—providing directions to their home and many times, suggestions for things to do in the area where you’re staying. Sometimes they even make your stay extra special, like one of our hosts in Ireland who made us fresh bread and brought us eggs from their hens!

It was GREAT.

One way to make sure your stay at an Airbnb is safe is to only stay with hosts with the ranking “Super Host” to ensure that the host has great reviews from people who have already stayed with them. It’s a great tool to make sure you have a great experience.

If you want to try Airbnb for your trip but don’t have any account already, use this link: www.airbnb.com/c/carmeng7335

It gets you $40 off your first booking, and gives me $20 for referring.

Airbnb is also great for the planning process in terms of WHAT to do—they have experiences listed on their website and things to do in whatever city you plan to visit.

 

Once You Arrive

Get Creative with Food.

Eating while on vacation can get reaaaally expensive. Typically, you end up eating out for most meals, which can add up quickly. One suggestion to help with this is think about what types of food you actually want to try. For us, we wanted to try all.the.desserts. In order to do this and not spend tons of money, we would sometimes share one entrée and one dessert. That way, we got to try way more desserts than we would have if we’d both been ordering entrées at every meal.

You might be thinking, “what if we’re still hungry”. Touché. One thing we did that helped with this was packing tons of snacks, like granola bars, pretzels, and fruit snacks to supplement meals or to have as a snack on days we were out and about. This definitely saved us money!

Another tip is to cook some meals on your own (especially dinner, since dinner prices are higher). This, of course, is dependent on where you’re traveling and whether or not there are convenience stores near you. If you can easily access a grocery store, though, cooking some meals on your own is a great way to save money and have a unique experience in a new place! Maybe try cooking with an ingredient you’ve never used before, or something very particular to the region you’re in—there are a lot of options!

*With this tip, it’s important to know what the space you’re staying in has as far as oven, microwave, stovetop, fridge, etc. If you’re staying at an Airbnb, ask ahead of time what kitchen appliances your accommodation will have!

Be Prepared for Transportation Costs.

This is a big one. Make sure you think about how much public transportation or rental cars will cost as you budget for your trip. Often times, you can find these prices on line (Google “cheapest way to get around in Scotland). Also, be aware that in some places (I’m looking at you, Edinburgh), paying in cash means paying exact change. The principle here is to look into this ahead of time, especially if your Airbnb is close to public transportation.

 

Travel can often feel out of reach, but my hope is that saving some money can make travel more possible. I’d love to hear other travel tips that have saved you money—tell me below!

 

Carmen