People often think that travel has to be extremely expensive, but it really doesn’t. It is possible to travel on a budget. As long as you are willing to not pick the most luxurious options, you can be exploring new countries without breaking the bank. I am from the United States where accommodations and food are very expensive, so I could honestly spend time in another country on a longer trip and spend less money than I would at home. Then, I am able to try new foods, learn about new cultures, and gain more life experiences.

Personally, I do not like to spend my money, but travel is the one thing I can justify spending money on. The experiences and memories are worth the money! I definitely find ways to make my trips cheaper so that I can go on more trips, so keep reading to find out how I save money when traveling.

Accommodations

Although your accommodations should be clean and comfortable, I choose not to spend a ton of money on a luxurious hotel room. I spend most of my time exploring the city anyway.

Hostels are a super cheap option for accommodations when trying to travel on a budget. Some people think hostels are dirty and cheap hotels where you are forced to sleep in a room with a bunch of strangers, but there are countless fancy and luxurious hostels you can find. Although some hostels should be avoided, there are beautiful and clean buildings where you can book shared rooms or get private rooms for under $25 a night! The hostel experience is something special too if you stay in a social hostel and embrace making new friends and participating in the group activities. To hear about my first hostel experience, check out my blog on this. If you are interested in the hostel route, check out Hostelworld to find hostels around the globe.

Although staying in hostels can save you hundreds of dollars, I recognize that hostels are not for everybody. Airbnb has endless options for accommodations around the world as well that can help you travel on a budget. Of course, sharing accommodations is always helpful when trying to save money. Overall though, I feel like there are Airbnb options that you can find that are cheaper than the main hotel brands. To be mindful of your budget, enter your maximum amount of money per night in the filter section on the search bar for Airbnb.

If you strictly stay in hotels, be sure to get bonus points through your hotel of choice or get the hotel’s credit card. You can get free stays fairly frequently if you travel often.

Food

Going out to eat when traveling can add up really quickly. To save money, buy your snacks and some food for meals at a grocery store. Having some food on hand will help you to not aimlessly buy food when you are out. I still like to go out to some restaurants when I am traveling though, because who wants to cook every single night when on vacation?! Like I said, I don’t like to spend much money, so when I do go to a restaurant, I often stick to one of the cheaper items off the menu. I enjoy trying some new local foods and finding memorable restaurants, but I think a lot of restaurants have overpriced food now. Being mindful of your spending on coffees, meals, snacks, and desserts when abroad can limit your overall costs drastically.

The cost of food also depends on where your destination is. For example, I have had to be more cautious of my spending when traveling in big cities such as Paris, France and Positano, Italy, but when traveling in Bali, Indonesia, the food was much cheaper. In certain countries, you may spend a small fraction of the cost on food when compared to your home country, so this alters how much you may feel comfortable spending.

Transportation

Transportation costs add up just like they do at home if you are paying for public transportation or gas. When traveling, know all of your options. If you are going between cities or close countries, buses are often cheaper than flights. I have ridden in an overnight bus to save a lot of money. Doing this also allows you to eliminate a night of accommodation expenses as well. Public transportation such as trains and buses are usually cheap. I try not to order taxi cabs, Ubers, and similar driving services in order to save money. Public transportation is often cheaper than renting a car and paying for all the gas. In certain countries though, car or motorbike rentals may be super cheap. For example, I ultimately chose to rent a motorbike in Bali, Indonesia for just $5 per day, so just know your transportation options before making your final decision.

We all know that flights are quite expensive. Don’t buy your flights last minute. Time the flights and watch the prices. For a travel tip, I recommend putting your phone on incognito when looking at flight prices, because your phone can monitor how often flights are looked at otherwise, and the companies tend to increase the prices when there are more people looking at those flights. Also, be flexible with your vacation dates if possible. This gives you the freedom to pick the cheapest tickets.

Souvenirs

Another thing that travelers spend a lot of money on is souvenirs. Personally, I do not buy many souvenirs. Occasionally I will buy something small if it is a good price, but I feel like most people buy little trinkets when traveling that end up sitting in a pile or in a drawer at home. My souvenirs are all my photos and memories from the trip.

Excursions

Of course, when you are traveling, you need to spend some money on memorable experiences! I have splurged on a couple of more expensive excursions over time that have been worth it such as sleeping on a sailboat in Ibiza and going on a hot air balloon ride in Barcelona, but there are ways to save money when it comes to excursions.

Exploring the city is the best way to get to know your destination, and it is free to walk the streets! When it comes to specific activities or events, buy your tickets online in advance to travel on a budget. Also, if you are willing to go on group tours, you can save a lot of money and usually meet some cool people from around the world. For example, I went on a group boat tour along the Amalfi Coast in Italy and have no complaints. There are a lot of free things to do though, so I choose to limit the amount of activities I buy tickets for in order to travel on a budget.

Conclusion – How to Travel on a Budget

There are ways to make traveling possible without breaking the bank, but it is important to be mindful of how fast random purchases add up. Stick to your budget and save when you can so that you can travel more in the future!

Thanks for stopping by. To find my other blogs, check out the destinations tab on my website. Cheers to gaining new life experiences and making connections around the world!