Seeing The World For Less: Tips For Traveling On The Cheap
Travel can be one of the most incredible human experiences, but far too often, we negate traveling too far as it is often expensive, and many of the invaluable experiences we'd otherwise experience have been lost for lack of money. But while money is necessary to travel, you don't have to break the bank to travel well and have incredible experiences that you'll remember forever.
Here are tips on how to see the world for less and travel on the cheap.
Fly Off-Season
There are peak travel times for every country on the planet. No matter where you're going, it's possible to visit at a different time of year than peak tourist season. While you need to watch out for weather events (like flying during monsoon season), it's almost always cheaper to fly there during the off-season and still have a wonderful trip, whilst saving yourself hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars in the process.
Check A Different Airport
If you're traveling to a major center, it's likely that they have more than one airport, and it can't be that much of an inconvenience to fly into the cheaper airport. Just plot your route out of that airport on public transit or Uber more carefully.
Be Flexible
One of the most important aspects of travel is that you are flexible. Travel plans change and flights, trains, and buses get delayed all the time—be prepared to have some flexibility in your travel plans and plan your travel budget accordingly, allowing extra funds for an emergency Airbnb somewhere.
Choose Public Transportation Over Uber, Lyft, Or Taxis
No matter where you are in the world, the public transportation system will almost always be cheaper to use than a taxi or a service like Uber or Lyft. As these are funded by the state, they're often several dollars cheaper (per trip) than calling a cab.
If Possible, Walk Anywhere You Can
Walking is free and good for you and it'll allow you to see a country and meet the people at your own pace. If it's possible to walk to your hotel from the airport without it killing you to cart luggage around (if you're living out of your backpack, for example), or if it's not going to take you all day to get to your hotel/motel/hostel, then a good walk from the airport never hurt anyone.
Obviously, if you're arriving late at night in a strange city, it's best to be safe and get that Lyft/Uber/Taxi or public transportation.
Anastasiia Lopushynska, Pexels
Stay In Hostels Rather Than Hotels
Even in some of the cheapest places on earth, hotels will always be more expensive than a hostel. While you'll want to do your due diligence and book ahead when finding a hostel to stay in—and make sure the reviews are solid—hostels can be found for $25 to $40/night (during peak seasons) versus staying at a hotel or motel, which will easily be $90/night or more.
Work Exchanges Are Great Options
Websites like WorkAway or Worldwide Opportunities On Organic Farms (WWOOF) are wonderful options for those looking to save money on accommodations. Working in exchange for your room and board is fairly 'old hat', but also a great way to save money and give back to your gracious hosts. Some may even give you a small stipend either before or after your stay as a thank you.
Considering Using Couchsurfing
Couchsurfing.org is a global network of travelers who've opened up their homes to travelers like them, allowing them to 'couchsurf' with them, usually for free or very cheap, or in exchange for help with certain household tasks. If you're going anywhere for a few days and don't know where to stay, consider couchsurfing as an option. Do your due diligence and check out the host's reviews before you reach out, and be safe, always.
Housesitting Or Pet-sitting Might Be Just The Ticket
If you're looking to stay somewhere for a few weeks, or any longer than a couple of days, it might be cost-effective to sign up for a house or pet-sitting website and see whether people are looking for someone to house or pet-sit in the area you're traveling to. Sometimes, people go away for more than a month and just want someone to look after their house! This is the perfect opportunity to save some money while you're traveling and also have a nice house to stay in.
Cook Your Own Food
No matter what your weekly food budget is for your trip, it's always more cost-effective to cook your own food. And, by cooking your own food, you may avoid an unfortunate bout of food poisoning, not even counting the expense involved in eating out all the time. Your hostel or living accommodation may give you access to a kitchenette or microwave, allowing you to make microwaveable meals or even cook on the stovetop.
It sounds simple, but eating out all the time, despite the allure of fantastic new food, is a great way to literally eat through your entire trip's budget very fast.
Shop Local
Whether you're in a major city, or a quaint little town, finding the local farmer's markets or town markets are fantastic ways to save money and get good-quality food at a reasonable price. You also won't be supporting a major food chain, but instead a local farmer or baker who needs the money more than the giant corporation.
Eat Street Food
Some street food is legendary: like Jamaican jerk chicken, Polish pierogis, or Bunny chow in South Africa—you simply must give the local street food scene a chance. Even if you just take a small dish, you're likely to pay less than a restaurant and can rack up multiple small dishes for reasonably cheap, even if you find a couple you don't really like.
Drink Local
Drinking imported beverages, whether alcoholic or not, is a quick way to spend a lot of money. In a similar vein to sampling the local cuisine, drink the local drinks, too! Whether that's Saudi Sobia, an Italian Negroni, or many other local beverages. Even if you're at a pub, remember: Imported will cost more than local brews.
Andrew Bossi, CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
Pack For Comfort
One of the most important things you'll learn quickly when traveling is how important it is that you are comfortable, rather than being fashionable. Packing a nice outfit or two is fine, but you want to be comfortable almost every day of your trip, rather than bringing out the stilettos and suits. Consider where you're traveling to and what activities you plan to do once you get there.
Bring A Travel Pillow
As someone who has traveled across Canada and back by train—in Economy class—I can't stress enough the importance of a travel pillow. While you don't have to break the bank on one of these, a good-quality travel pillow may save you hours of aching shoulder and neck pain because you slept awkwardly in your seat. Your stuffed-up jacket isn't a substitute. A good travel pillow is a must for any long-haul train or flight journey that requires sleep.
Buy A Universal Travel Adaptor
Not all countries work on the same types of power plugs—many are the old British-style plugs, so buy yourself a good-quality universal travel adaptor that'll allow you to plug your laptop or phone into any type of plug, regardless of where in the world you're going to.
Look For A Debit/Credit Card Without Foreign Transaction Fees
Many credit and debit card companies will offer no-fee cards for foreign transactions. While cash is still an acceptable form of payment in much of the world, you don't want to be carrying around large amounts of cash. Getting a debit or credit card with no foreign transaction fees is a great way to save money on the small transaction fees that can add up enormously over the course of weeks and months.
Get A Travel Credit Card
While you're busy saving money in free foreign transactions, you can also be racking up points to use on flights with a travel credit card. Choose one that best suits your needs and you might be able to pay for your next trip with all the points you've accumulated from this one! In reality, it may take a couple of years before you're able to pay for a flight with points, but hey, a free flight is a free flight.
Withdraw Foreign Cash From An ATM
While you don't want to be walking around with boatloads of cash, walking around with no cash is also not a good idea. Withdraw a modest amount of cash from the ATM, rather than using the convenient but expensive airport money exchange, who'll often charge a commission on top of their high exchange rates.
You Don't Need A Tourist Visa Everywhere
You may think that just because you're traveling somewhere, you need a visa to stay there—this is true for much of the world after a 90-day period. If you're staying somewhere for less than three months, you don't need to pay for and receive a travel visa to enter and stay. However, if you plan on staying somewhere for more than three months, make sure your visa paperwork is in order.
Travel Insurance Is A Good Option
Depending on where you're going and what you're doing, you may not need travel insurance. Headed somewhere for a two-day conference wherein your entire excursion will be airport>hotel>conference>hotel>airport? Probably not necessary to get travel insurance. But, if you're taking any kind of unnecessary risks to your life or health whatsoever, then travel insurance is a must. While it can be expensive, it may be far less expensive than the cost of receiving care in that country.
Find Free Attractions
Because tourists spend so much money elsewhere in their cities, many countries have made certain tourist attractions completely free to use/see/access. For example, London's museums are completely free, as are Italian art galleries and museums on the first Sunday of each month. Free attractions will stop you getting caught in the expensive tourist traps of the world, while allowing you to have some pretty amazing experiences for nought.
Bring Your Student ID
If you're a traveling student, it's a good idea to have your student ID with you. This may save you some money on certain attractions, where students get discounted entry fees. Depending on how vigorous the checks are at the entry gate/desk, they may not notice that your student ID isn't from a university or college in their country. Or, their policy may be for all students, regardless of where you go to school.
Make Use Of Free Wi-Fi
These days, almost every café, library, public train/bus station, airport, and even some touristy buildings have free Wi-Fi. If you don't have to pay for extra data—don't! The roaming fees will be extortionate, far more than you might pay for your coffee to make use of the café's Wi-Fi for a couple of hours.
Use Paper Maps Instead Of Your GPS
Yes, paper maps still exist—and no, you won't have to go to the archives to find them. Even if you did pay for data to have access to a GPS, using a paper map that's as current as possible might be a fun challenge, but also a unique way to see a country. You could even start collecting paper maps from wherever you go in the world as a fun little keepsake.
Limit Souvenir Spending
While it can be easy to get wrapped up in the world of souvenir purchases, you can't take everything with you—it all has to fit in your suitcase. Most touristy places tend to increase the price of their souvenirs to extortionate levels anyway, so save your money and buy a lovely croissant on the way out or something.
If you're going to buy a souvenir: nothing big, nothing bulky, but something memorable.
Buy Souvenirs From The Locals
We mentioned above that tourist traps will jack up the prices of their souvenirs, so why not buy a souvenir of something hand-made by a local instead? Chances are, you'll remember who you bought it from and where you bought it and all of the experiences that went along with that trip, far more than you'll remember the keychain from that touristy store in downtown Banff. Buying from locals keeps the money local and might help feed someone's family for another day.
Talk With Other Travelers
Alongside the benefits of making friends for life, you may also gain some interesting insights into what it's like to travel in the country you're visiting, which can include helpful tips on where you can find a great deal on certain foods or what's happening for free in the city but isn't very well-advertised.
I once found a ride to Canmore, Alberta from Jasper because of a conversation in a hostel—which ended up costing me about $120 less than the bus ride would have. And, I made a friend for life.
Bargain With The Locals
Depending on where you are, bartering or bargaining with a local seller isn't always viewed disrespectfully—in fact, it may be part of the culture. If you really want something, but aren't prepared to pay their asking price, bargaining is sometimes perfectly acceptable. It's always worth researching the place of bargaining in a society before you enter into it, though.
Buy Your Drinks From A Supermarket Or Store
Rather than going out bar-hopping, it's worth saving that money and buying your drinks from a grocery store, or 'off-license', as they may sell drinks for cheaper. Additionally, drinks like wine in Paris will be ridiculously expensive at a winery or bar, so try and avoid purchasing from places like that.
Eat Simple Meals
While eating is important when you travel, particularly if you're doing any sort of strenuous activity, you can save money by eating simple meals that are easy to cook, but don't have to be full of processed garbage. Eat simple meals that don't require a full kitchen, but still provide enough nutrition to keep you going.
Use Local Or Regional Rail Passes
In Europe in particular, different localities and regions have full rail passes that will allow you to see more of the region without having to pay for extra passes—or spend more money upfront and get a Eurail Pass for $1,000 for three months, which offers you continuous travel on European trains.
Bring A Good-Quality Water Bottle
Not only will having water on you force you to drink more water, buying a good-quality bottle that you can clean and reuse easily will cut down on the amount of plastic water bottles there are in the ocean and can be refilled from any water fountain or refillable station. In countries where tap water isn't drinkable, you may have to rely on bottled water.
Travel With Friends
One way to cut down on your overall expenses is to encourage friends to join you on the trip and agree to split the costs. This can be a great strengthener of any friendship and create memories that you'll all remember for a lifetime.
Use Skyscanner
Skyscanner is a mobile app that finds the cheapest flights for you, including your favorite budget airlines that Google won't show you. Simply plug in your destination and it'll show you the cheapest available flights for your dates selected. It's an easy way (on top of flying outside of peak season) to cut a couple hundred dollars off your trip.
Travel Carry-On Only
If you can, travel only with your carry-on luggage. This may mean packing light (as we've said above), but will save you money when flying, particularly as airlines change their luggage pricing fairly often, so policies may have changed since you last flew.
Travel Somewhere Cheaper
You will be amazed at how far your money will go in places where the cost of living is like $10/week versus $100-$200/week. Traveling somewhere that's cheaper doesn't necessarily mean you have to miss out on experiences, just that those experiences will be different and new, rather than falling for the same old tourist traps that everyone does. You'll also find that your money will go much further.
Work Remotely
If your job is one that will allow you to take your work with you wherever you go, it might be worth turning your holiday into a 'working holiday', so as not to miss out on necessary income. Given the prevalence of Wi-Fi, you also don't need to worry about hugely expensive data plans, but may want to invest in a virtual private network, or VPN, for additional security.
Plan Ahead
Try to start planning your journey well ahead of time. This can generally mean buying flights months in advance to take advantage of low prices. Booking hotels and motels well in advance to save money is another good idea. However you travel, by planning ahead, you can reduce unexpected surprises—and unexpected expenses.
Beware Of Tourism Scams
One final word of caution is to beware of tourism scams. There are an unfathomable number of scams out there from people looking to make a quick dollar off unsuspecting tourists. Check online for advice on the specific location you're visiting and scams to beware of. Always have your wits about and if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
One particularly famous scam occurred on Booking.com in Australia, where hackers compromised the website and sent phishing emails to those who'd signed up for the site's newsletter, totaling a 580% increase in scams and resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses to unsuspecting Booking.com users.
Do you have a favorite "travel for cheap" experience you'd like to share? Head down to the comments section to let us know how you saved money while out in the big wide world.
