We all love traveling and the major barrier we face is expenses. Sometimes, we want to travel more, but savings are not enough. Although, saving your money for the sake of an adventure is wonderful.
World travelers are experienced enough to travel more with less. They can travel more with low savings as they know how to make travel cheap.
I have been traveling for quite a long and learned some hacks to reduce travel expenses. Those hacks helped me travel with only a few bucks saved. I’ll share some effective tips that will eventually help you travel cheaply.
Hacks to Travel Cheap
1. Start with Planning
I am not gonna ask you to take a notepad and write down the destinations you love. Rather, by planning, I mean to consider the factors like timing your travel. Don’t just plan; plan with perfect timing for the destination.
Let me explain this with an example:
You have an idea about summer vacation, there’s a lot of buzz around and everybody is traveling to visit tourist attractions across the globe. The June/July months are the busiest months for travel. As the vacation spots get crowded, an increase in accommodation and transportation charges is observed.
To avoid extra charges, time your travel when destinations are not that crowded, like in September or April.
2. Look for the Cheapest Flights
There’s a belief that booking tickets a few weeks earlier gives you a discount. Somehow, it is valid but the contrary situation is far better. Booking your tickets late, like a few hours before the flight departs, can give you extra perks and discounts. You might get an upgrade, too.
I use Airfare Watchdog for fare drop alerts. You can use their services to find cheap flights.
3. Use the Sharing Economy
Making use of the sharing economy to find free local tour guides, cheaper accommodation, rideshare options, and home-cooked meals with local chefs is another great hack to lower your expenses. You can bypass the traditional travel companies with sharing economy platforms and connect with locals using their assets and skills to run small tourism companies straight from their homes.
Other benefits like locals knowing which supermarket is the cheapest one, which store offers discount bazaars, and where to find quality meals at a minimum. When you are staying at a local place, you can get access to that knowledge.
These websites have transformed the travel industry and made travel more accessible for everyone.
Here are some of my favorite websites:
4. Cook Your Meals
As we’re looking to travel for cheap, cooking your own money can save you a lot. This hack works fine when you’re Couchsurfing; your host will probably have a kitchen, as most hostels, guesthouses, and campsites do. In my last travel to Europe, I spent $50 for a week’s worth of groceries instead of an average of $15 per meal from the food street!
That’s a saving of $160, man!
If your place has got no kitchen? Pack your food container and silverware to make some salads and sandwiches on the go. Every meal doesn’t require a stove, you know it! 😀
Just because you are not living in your area, it doesn’t mean you have to eat outside every time. You won’t ruin your trip to Australia if you decide not to eat out one day!
It’s up to you whether you choose to save some bucks on food or not, but it can reduce your expenses to a great extent.
5. Sleep in Large Dorms
Large hostel rooms are called dorms, and staying in dorms is the cheapest paid accommodation option. If Couchsurfing or staying at a restaurant isn’t suitable for you, this will save you a lot for a place to sleep. Larger dorms are cheaper. Dorms have a capacity of 4-6 beds in general, a 12-18 bed dorm will be the most affordable. It’s up to you whether you stick to a 4-6-bed dorm to have some privacy or a larger dorm to save more!
In my early days, I used to stay in Large dorms to save money and make cheaper trips. As accommodation is the major expense in your travel, choosing a more inexpensive option to stay can make your travel affordable.
6. Use Student and Other Discount Cards
This is a bonus hack! If you’re a teacher, a student, or under 26, welcome to the universe with 50% off on major tourist spots.
All you need is a teacher, a student, or a youth card to take advantage of. Even if you’ve recently graduated, and your card is eligible (it hasn’t expired yet), you can enjoy a plethora of discounts.
Always ask if there are discounts available for youth or students. If the market doesn’t owe discounts, you’ll get recommendations for student discounts from there. This is a simple yet effective strategy to have more spending less.
7. Get City Tourist Cards
Most countries do offer tourist cards to promote tourism. These cards offer you discounted or free access to major museums and attractions, as well as free public transport. On my trip to London, I saved over 100$ with the London Pass, 50$ with the Helsinki card, and 80$ with the Paris Museum. Tourist cards can give you access to most of the tourist attractions for free. You can have discounts when you stay at the government’s guesthouse.
To get a tourist card, head over to the local tourism office to find out what cards are available. When you get to use a tourist card, you’ll find out its effectiveness when the trip ends.
8. Take Free Walking Tours
Rather than going for the transport options, it’s good to have a walking tour to explore the city. You can learn about the city and visit the major sights for free. Free walking tours are available in almost every European state, Australia, New Zealand, and in a few Asian states.
To find out about free walking tours, contact your hostel staff, or local tourist office, or Google “free walking tour + “city name”.” Just make sure to tip your guide in the end. Free walking tours worked for me and it’ll work for you, too!
That’s all!
That’s all from my side on how to travel cheap. Do you have any effective tips to share? Share in the comments below. Happy travel!