How to save money while traveling? 40 Great ways!

Do you want to travel more this year, but you don’t have the money to make it happen? Don’t stress! There are plenty of ways to save money while traveling. You can save money on transportation, accommodation, food, drinks, activities, and many other things. Here are 40 ways to save money while traveling. You’re welcome 😉

Transportation

– Share transportation

Nowadays there are plenty of amazing ways to carpool. Think about; Blablacar, Kangaride, or Rome2Rio.

– Use a cheap taxi service

When there is limited transportation and you can’t walk the distance, you can use one of the cheaper taxi services. Use Grab (mainly in Asia), Bolt (mainly in Europe), PassApp (in Cambodia) or Uber (mainly in Europe and America). Those are inexpensive and safe taxi services. Via the application on your phone, you can hire a private driver to pick you up and to take you to your destination.

– Travel during the night

If you can, travel during the night. Take a night-bus or night-train, and save money on accommodation.

– Walk

I love to walk and explore every sight by foot. When I do a city trip, I usually walk many kilometers a day and save a lot of money by not using the metro, bus, or train.

– Save money on train tickets

In Europe, it is easily the most cheapest to buy a train ticket two or more weeks into advance. When you are planning to travel with the train for many days and/or through many countries, you can also consider buying an interrail pass rather than buying single tickets all the time. One of the providers of an interrail pass is; Interrail.

– Utilize the cheapest public transportation 

Do some research about the public transportation. Sometimes you can get cheaper tickets by purchasing online tickets or by traveling during the non-peak hours. 12Go is a great website to compare public transportation options in Asia.

– Compare parking offers and reserve a spot in advance

I know how difficult it is to find affordable and convenient parking in big cities. Mobypark offers parking from companies, hotels, and individuals in many cities across the Netherlands, France, and Belgium.

– Use comparison websites for booking a cheap flight

There are plenty of websites to compare your costs for flights, so you can book a cheap flight. Think about Skyscanner. Here you can compare all airlines, dates, destinations, and airports for departure. By comparing these things, you are sure you will book the cheapest flight for your trip.

– Take a road trip

A road trip costs not that much as you think. Gas is nowadays very cheap, and when you bring your own food and can camp in your van or tent, it will be a very cheap journey.

– Spend your points and miles

There are a lot of frequent flyer programs (travel loyalty programs) where you can save points and miles for free travel.

– Fly on new budget airlines

Every year new airlines start operating in a new part of the world and start competing with the big national airlines. Usually they are smaller, operate in more hours, but are also cheaper!

Accommodation

– Swap homes

Do you have some relatives, friends, or family members who live abroad? Yes? Swap homes with them! It is free and fun.

– Go camping

Camping is definitely cheaper than staying a hotel. There a plenty of camping website where you can find cheap places to stay. One of my favorite is; Campinmygarden.

– Stay cheaper

Nowadays, we live in a sharing-economy and share a lot of things. Airbnb is a very popular platform to book a cheap apartment, room, or house, that somebody else rents out to you.

– Stay for free on a couch (or bed)

During my backpack trip through Scandinavia, I decided to join the Couch Surfing (CS) community to make my trip as cheap and enjoyable as possible. You will sleep at somebody’s else couch for free! Other nice websites are; Servas and BeWelcome.

Food and drinks

– Share food

There are many websites that will help you to find a cheap place to have dinner. Join that couple and eat Turkish, go to the Italian restaurant to enjoy a day deal, or learn to cook Mexican with the Mexican that is living in the same city as you currently are. Websites; Eatwith or Colunching.

– Buy from the local street vendor

Maybe a bit risky for the travelers with a sensitive stomach, but overall the street vendors know how to cook best. It is cheap and often very delicious!

– Use applications to find happy hours

Popular apps like Foursquare or Thehapphourfinder can help you to find happy hours and cheap places to get some food.

– Go cook yourself

The cheapest way to have dinner, is to go grocery shopping yourself and to cook your own dinner. Go get those noodles, pasta, or rice and become a real budget traveler.

– Walk some blocks

If you decide to go out for dinner, walk a few blocks away from the touristic sights. Restaurants, cafés and shops close to tourist sights are always higher priced and sometimes the food even taste worse.

Activities

– Find cheap activities

Some websites provide a platform where you can book a tour for a (small) fee. GetYourGuide and Viator are great websites to explore all the different activities.

– Use your student card

If you are still a student, do not forget to bring your student ID while travelling. Many attractions offer some discounts to students.

– Free cultural days

There are plenty of tourist attractions like museums, parks, or zoos, that offer a visit for free day. Do some research in advance and plan your itinerary accordingly, but keep in mind that those days are usually more crowded than other days and are best to visit in the early morning.

– Take free tours

Some cities provide free walking tours to explore the city and its suburbs. After the tour, you can give a donation if you want. It is a great way to meet new people and to learn more about the city for free.

– Buy tourism cards

If you are planning to stay for a longer time in a city, buy a tourism card. City tourism cards get you into many attractions for a cheaper price.

A good example of a tourism card in The Netherlands is the Amsterdam City Pass. This card allows you to visit museums and attractions in Amsterdam for free and gives you unlimited access to the GVB public transportation. Love it!

Booking behavior tips

– Travel low season

Travel in the low season. Traveling to the Caribbean or Mediterranean Sea can also be very beautiful in winter and in the same time you will save a lot of cash.

– Avoid public holidays

Prices go up during public holidays. Try to take some days off after or before the holiday season.

– Visit cheaper destinations

Usually traveling to South-America or Asia is way cheaper than when you travel to Australia or Europe. Or a trip to Warsaw will probably be cheaper than a trip to Paris. Reconsider the places you would like to visit.

– Use last-minute deal apps for flights, hotels, cruises, and airport lounges 

There are many last-minute deals for flights, hotels, cruises, and airport lounges. Think about websites like; OntheFly, HotelTonight, LoungeBuddy, or Cruisesheet.

– Go beyond the cities

Paris, Barcelona, NYC… Yes, they are all great cities, but maybe it is also nice to go beyond these cities and to stay in less known cities. Get off the beaten path and visit smaller, cheaper, and probably more beautiful remote towns.

– Book via low-budget tour operators

Famous low-budget tour operators in Europe are Holiday Pirates or Travel Bird.

General tips

– Join a Facebook and Whatsapp group

Yes, a Facebook and Whatsapp group… A Facebook group usually focuses on special deals, last-minute deals or destinations. Within this kind of groups, you will often hear about off-beaten track activities, discounts, or other nice deals. There are also Whatsapp groups available that focus on specific destinations.

– Make use of your social (international) network

When traveling to a country, think if you perhaps know a local? Even though you met a while ago, message or phone your friend, and perhaps you will have a free place to stay and a friend to hang out with!

– Work during your trip

There is always the possibility to travel the world and find work overseas to pay your journey..

– Write down your expenses

By writing down each and every expense, you know in the end of the month exactly where you spend your money. Via this way, you know exactly where you spend too much money on and on what you can or should save money the next month.

– Use a travel-related credit card

With a travel-related credit card you can accumulate miles without ever flying or spending more than you normally would. Great way to earn miles and spend them on a free flight!

– Do voluntary work

Even though these jobs do not pay, you will save money because often you will get a room or board in return. It will keep you longer on the road. Handy websites to find volunteering jobs are Working Abroad, Volunteer international, Grassroots Volunteering or United Nations Volunteers.

– Know your currency

The currency exchange rate changes constantly, so it is good to know about the current rate before exchanging your money. You could save a lot of money by exchanging before the currency value increases again.

– Always double-check prices

Sometimes two one-way tickets are cheaper than a return ticket. So, when booking a cheap flight, always check this and who knows you can save some money!

– Ask the locals

Ask the locals what something should costs. They know the standard price for products like tours, activities, but also for food and transportation. You can ask the people who work in your ho(s)tel.

– Buy local sim cards or an e-sim

Make sure you have an unlocked phone, so you can buy new local sim cards and keep phone costs low. The local rates are usually way cheaper than the rates of your provider.  If you want to avoid the hassle of hunting down local SIM cards once you arrive, buying an e-sim certainly is a convenient option.

Do you have any other money-saving travel tip? Please let me and the other readers know in the comment section below. Thanks and safe travels!

Author: Daphne

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