How to Save Money on Travel

The following is a guest post from Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

People always ask me how I can afford to travel so much.  What is my secret? And I tell them all the same thing- travel is not as expensive as you think. Expensive travel is just a myth perpetuated by travel companies to get more money out of you.   Luxury hotels, luxury cruises, luxury this and that- they are all designed to make you believe you have to spend money when you traveling. Thus people think the most they can afford is that expensive week in Cancun. But that’s not true. There are plenty of ways to travel without breaking your bank or sacrificing comfort.

• Eat lunch not dinner.  The world is filled with delicious restaurants we want to eat at when we travel. And there’s no reason not too. However, don’t eat dinner at them, eat lunch. Most restaurants around the world, and especially in Europe have a special lunchtime menu at a fraction of the price as their dinner menu. Same delicious food, cheaper price. 

• Cook.  Yes, that’s right cook or get a simple grab and go meal. My approach to eating overseas is that I didn’t travel to eat ramen noodles. But I also come to eat how the locals do. You don’t eat out every night of the week and neither do the people in the country you are visiting.  Head to one of the markets or supermarkets and grab some fresh and local food and make yourself a nice dinner.  Or grab a ready made meal, set up in a park, watch the locals, and the city go by.

• Buy city passes.   If you plan to do a lot of sightseeing, get a city pass. They pay for themselves many times over. Most city passes cost about $30 USD and offer discounts of 10-40%, depending on the activity. Some even offer free admission into museums.  These passes become worth the cost if you plan to see many attractions and do many activities. Most people balk at the cost. But after my Amsterdam Pass saved me over 70 dollars, I became a believer. 

• Check city sites for free events.  City tourism websites are often an overlooked source of information. People tend to focus on guidebooks when they travel but those books don’t have up to date information. Most information in guidebooks are a year old. City tourism websites have a long list of current activities, events, and deals that cost little or no money. Before you go, make sure you use them.

• Couchsurf.   Couchsurfing couchsurfing.org is a global phenomenon where people offer other travelers a place to stay for free. The site has over 2 million members and you can stay with families, couples, males, females, whatever you feel comfortable with. Many people will host families and couples- you don’t need to be a solo traveler.  This not only provides you with free accommodation but also gives you a chance to meet the locals and get local tips on what to see, do, and how to save even more money.

• Stay in hostels.  When people here the name hostels, they think of dirty dorm rooms and backpackers living in filthy conditions and bathrooms where it’s cleaner to not shower than shower. That’s not true anymore. Hostels have grown up. They are clean, offer breakfast, provide free Internet, private rooms, double rooms, and, of course, dorm rooms. They are not the hostels of TV or memory.  Picture them as cheaper hotels. For booking hostels, I use Hostelbookers because they don’t have a booking fee.

• Buy flights for off-peak days or seasons.  One of the biggest travel expenses is flying. The deals of the past just don’t exist anymore but there are still ways to cut down the cost of flying. If you travel off-season, you’ll find cheaper flights. Visit Europe in the spring or fall instead of the summer.  Tickets are cheaper if purchased mid-week and flights are also cheaper if taken mid-week. Moreover, think beyond Expedia and Kayak. I like the site Momondo as they search websites around the world (not just the U.S.) and usually find much better deals.

• Rent an apartment.   If you plan on being in a city of awhile or are traveling with a group of people, skip the hotel. Using a site like Home Away and rent an apartment. The math will work out cheaper, you have your own living room and common space, and there is a kitchen where you can cook. Hotels are grossly over priced and you can get the same luxury at a fraction of the price with an apartment rental. They are an especially good alternative for families.

• Buy packages.  Sometimes buying your hotel and airfare separate is the worst thing you can do. Some destinations are built around packages. Hawaii, Vegas, Mexico, and the Caribbean- these destinations should always be bought with a package tour.  A 4-day package to Jamaica was $483 on Expedia but if I had booked separately, the flight was $379 and the cheapest 4 night hotel stay was $320. Booking as a package would have saved me $200 dollars.

Saving money is important. I read finance websites like this because I’m a saver. I don’t like wasting money. And just because I am traveling doesn’t mean I can’t bring that philosophy on the road too.  When I travel, I don’t live on cheap food, bread, nor stay in huge dorms rooms. I like to enjoy my holidays. Budget travel doesn’t mean cheap travel. It doesn’t mean sacrificing. It simply means traveling smart and being penny wise.

Comments

[KP]

Couchsurf - Now that's something that I never heard of. Although I wouldn't personally consider doing it, its nice to know the option is out there.

[john]

everytime i travel i opt for holidays rental ... staying in a hotel makes you spend 50% of your budget.

[Jamie]

Good tips. When I travel with my family of 5, we limit our dining out to one meal a day, and it's usually a late lunch. For the other meals, we do just as you suggest - ie. take a supermarket meal to the park. It really helps us reduce the food expenditures. When traveling with a family, you're somewhat limited with these strategies to save on lodging (ie. My teenage daughters are not couchsurfing,) but renting a house and finding budget packages online really help to save.

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