Travelling on a Budget - Tips & Tricks!
Hi again!! Hope you’re all wellll. In this post I’m going to share some travel tips that I’ve learned during my adventures and how to budget/save money while travelling!
First offff, my first tip would be to travel with friends. This way you can split a lot of costs! Food, hotels, taxis/ubers, renting a car, gas - you get the idea!
If you’re planning on travelling alone, HOSTELS will be your best friend. Hostels are a fantastic way to meet new like-minded people and make some friends! A lot of hostels also have “common areas” where you can relax and chill. This is also a great place to meet people from all around the world!
Hostels are similar to hotels, except you generally pay for 1 bed in a shared room. A lot of hostels have “female” and “male” rooms, but its usually cheaper if you stay in a “mixed” room. I get that the idea is sketchy at first, but I’ve stayed in many hostels and I haven’t had any issues. Everyone is there for the same reason. Usually all backpackers on a budget. A lot of hostels also have lockers, so BRING A LOCK! (Tip #2) You really never know when a lock is going to come in handy. For our 1 month Europe trip, I travelled with Alex and Jordan, so thankfully we were able to stay in a lot of hotels and split the cost 3 ways. It ended up being cheaper than a hostel and generally just more comfortable and spacious. Because we were on a really fast paced trip we wanted somewhere quiet to sleep because we didn’t have a lot of time to do that :)
My favourite website for booking hotels/hostels is hotels.com. For every 10 nights you book, you get one free, which is nice because you’re saving already on your nightly costs AND getting rewarded from it. If you’re planning a long trip getting a couple nights free here and there can really come in handy! They also always have some sort of PROMO CODES floating around for some sort of discount. Right before paying for my booking I literally do a google search for “hotels.com promo codes.” You usually have to try a couple before you find one that works, but spending an extra 2-3 minutes could save you some money!
This leads me into my next tip. SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTERS! I know they can be annoying, but they can be worth it! I have a separate folder in my email where all my “important” junk mail goes. I’m subscribed to a bunch of airlines, hotels.com, getyourguide.com (which I’ve mentioned in a previous post and will touch on more in this post, restaurants and so on. Whenever I’m about to book a flight, or a hotel, I also check this folder to see if they’ve emailed me any deals or promo codes. When looking for somewhere to eat, I again, check this folder to see if any chain restaurants are having any promos. Websites also sometimes give you a “new customer” discount when you subscribe, so if you are booking multiple things, subscribe with multiple emails! :)
My next tip/ money saver is to book through budget airlines. Most of these airlines are NOT boujee, but if you’re flying through Europe its likely that your flight won’t be any longer than 2 hours anyway. My favourite way (and the most effective way I’ve found after trying many different sites) to find the cheapest flights is good ol’ google. The thing that I love about finding flights through google is that there’s no extra “fees.” It takes you directly to the flight website and lets you book your flight as you normally would.
Just type into google: destination A to destination B flights. Then adjust the settings (how many people, round or one way trip) then it will show you when that flight is the cheapest and if that price is normal/ going to change before your date of travel.
In my opiniom, this next tip is one of the most important ones. ONLY BRING A CARRY ON! This one is so important to me for a couple different reasons. Firstly, MOST budget airlines allow you to bring a carry on for free (Ryanair does not.) and secondly, you don’t have to waste time waiting for your luggage to come out on that carousel thing. If you’re on a fast paced trip like I was, every second counts! Instead of spending 20 minutes waiting for your luggage you could already be checked in to your hotel or hostel!
I know it might seem a little intimidating trying to fit enough stuff for a long trip into such a small suitcase, which brings me to my next tip! FIND A LAUNDROMAT/ DO LAUNDRY! As I mentioned in my previous tip, there are so many positives to only bringing a carry on with you on your trip. If you’re going on a longer trip, laundromats will be your best friend. That being said, this usually is a pay per use service, BUT it will end up saving you a lot of money in the long run. A lot of hotels/hostels provide a laundry service, but if you’re staying at one that doesn’t, there is most likely a laundromat somewhere around you.
Another packing tip I have is to buy reusable toiletry bottles! You can find these at the dollar store and they are so handy. You can only bring liquids in bottles up to 100ml in your carry on, so buying the empty bottles and filling them up with shampoo/ body wash that you already have is going to save you a few dollars! What I did on my trip, is I bought a cheap bottle of shampoo (about halfway through the trip) when I was staying somewhere for 3+ days. I refilled my 100ml bottle and used the larger bottle until I had to get on a plane again. (If you’re travelling with friends this is a good opportunity to split on a bottle of shampoo and refill all your 100ml bottles!) Shampoo was actually the only thing I ended up running out of, but there are cheap pharmacies all over Europe where you can find pretty much anything you need!
I’ve mentioned this website in a previous post, but getyourguide.com is an amazing place to do a ton of tourist stuff for huge savings!! For example, entry tickets at Auschwitz were $30. Not including the 2 hour ride there and back. For $31 on getyourguide.com, I got an entry ticket, AND transportation there and back. I’ve used this website in Canada, the UK and Europe and I’ve never had any issues (except the one from my previous post, BUT their customer service is amazing and I ended up getting a full refund.)
My final tip for this post is all about USING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION!!! Almost 99% of the time, public transportation will save you money! Rather than renting a car or taking a taxi, download some train/bus apps and look into buying day passes whenever possible. Google maps is also super good when it comes to travel planning with public transportation. By utilizing public transportation, you get to dive deeper into the everyday lives of the locals, so in my opinion it makes the experience that much more authentic. We visited Santorini, Greece during the “off season” so there were literally no busses running at the time. We ended up renting a car (you do need an international license to drive in Greece) for super cheap, and split the cost 3 ways. For 3 full days we paid around $50/$60. So if you do find yourslef in a situation where you have to rent a car in order to experience everything that place has to offer, I recommend researching all of your options to get the best bang for your buck! Another alternative to taking a taxi is to WALK!!! You see soooo much when you just walk around. Things you wouldn’t normally “go out of your way to see” - might end up being the coolest part of your trip!!
Alright guys, well that pretty much sums up everything! If I think of anything else, I’ll add it in another post :)
Thank you so much for reading, and I hope to see you in my next post!!
