By Liam Isola One of the biggest barriers to traveling is the prohibitive cost. Flights, accommodations and food/drinks certainly add up quickly. One-week international trips can easily exceed $5,000 for two people, all expenses included. However, that’s not how we travel at Vacation Vulture. I’ve gone on two month trips for under $3000 total, and with these 10 simple travel tips to save money, I’ll show you how to do the same.
Armed with these strategies, money won’t hold you back from exploring the world.
Simple Travel Tips: 1. Travel Light
You don’t need a massive suitcase for a week-long trip – or even a checked bag. Leaving the checked bag and oversized carry-on at home can save you $50+ per flight.
Pack light and bring only the essentials. You can find a laundromat if you’re on a long-term trip. It’s not like there aren’t convenience stores and pharmacies in other countries either. If you can fit everything into a personal item, which could be a medium-sized backpack, you’ll end up saving the most money. Still, most international flights include carry-ons as well.
With just a personal item, you’ll be able to travel on budget airlines like Spirit and Frontier without paying for any extras. This also means you’ll be able to book Basic Economy fares on other airlines, which are often significantly cheaper than standard economy.
Simple Travel Tips: 2. Stick to Your Plans
Basic Economy fares significantly limit your flexibility with strict rules but they are by far the cheapest fares. So, the best thing you can do to avoid wasting money is to fully commit your plans once they’re made. Most Basic Economy fares are completely non-refundable, so you’ll want to make sure you can definitely take whatever flight you choose to book.
Tip: Delta’s Main Basic (Basic Economy) fare allows you to bring a carry-on bag and a personal item. So, as long as you can stick to your plans, their Main Basic fare is a great money-saving option.
3. Use Debit and Credit Cards to Your Advantage
While credit cards usually have fees, they often end up paying for themselves. For example
- Chase United Explorer ($95): Includes a free checked bag on all United flights, includes a carry-on bag on United Basic Economy fares. $100 in annual credits for stays booked through United Hotels. Also includes a credit for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS membership.
- Chase Sapphire Reserve ($550 to $795): $300 annual travel credit. Also Includes credit for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS. $300 in annual Stubhub Credits, $300 annual dining credit.
Plus, you’ll earn points or miles on plenty of credit cards like the ones above, which can be redeemed for future flights or hotels. Travel credit cards also offer no international transaction fees, which can save you a lot of money.
For cash withdrawals, use fee-free debit cards like the Fidelity Debit Card and Charles Schwab Checking Account. These cards can save you hundreds of dollars on fees and save you a trip to a currency exchange booth.
Tip: Always decline the currency conversion at foreign ATMs as there’s usually a big markup. You’ll get a better rate by just paying in the local currency and letting your debit card company sort out the rest.
4. Travel During Shoulder Season
Be strategic about when you take your vacations. Avoid peak seasons like European summers, when you’ll pay the highest-possible prices for flights and hotels. During peak season, cities are incredibly crowded. To save money and have the best trip possible, consider traveling during shoulder season.
In Europe, shoulder season is April to May and September to October. During these months, the weather is relatively pleasant, crowds are thinner and prices are much cheaper.
5. Use Miles Only When it’s a Good Deal
One of the most important simple travel tips is making sure you get the best value for your frequent flier miles. Not all mile redemptions are created equally. Treat miles like cash and use this tool from The Points Guy for the latest mile valuations for each frequent flier program.
It will let you know if it makes more sense to use cash or miles to book a specific flight based on the prices in both dollars and miles. If miles don’t offer a good deal, you can save them for a better value opportunity.
6. Be Strategic About Booking Flights
Another one of our simple travel tips is to strategically book flights. It’s typically much cheaper to travel from Tuesday-Thursday than it is to travel from Friday-Monday. So, you could save hundreds of dollars on flights if you can travel in the middle of the week.
Also, airlines frequently release deals on Monday nights so Tuesday is often a good day to book cheap flights. Skyscanner actually found that Thursday was the cheapest day to book international flights. Airlines routinely adjust their airfares overnight, so you may be able to snag a great deal by booking early in the morning.
Lastly, you should consider booking well in advance (3+ months) for the best deals on international flights. For domestic flights, two to three months out is typically when you’ll find the best prices.
7. Use Alternative Lodging Options
Hotels can be ridiculously pricey and are impersonal. That’s why I like renting local apartments on Booking.com, especially in Europe. You can save plenty of money on Booking and their Genius loyalty program gets me free breakfast, 10-20% discounts and free room upgrades at certain properties.
Booking has everything from hostels to hotels on their website and the best deals are on their app. Airbnb is another good option for saving money, especially if you’re willing to share a bathroom with your host/other guests. Meanwhile, Hostel World has a very wide selection of hostels. You’ll almost always be able to get a private room, which often has a private bathroom, at a nice hostel for cheaper than a hotel room.
Meanwhile, those who like to camp should take advantage of all of the free campsites around the US rather than paying.
If you absolutely must stay at a hotel, Chase Ultimate Rewards lets you transfer points at a 1:1 ratio to World of Hyatt. Hyatt has great deals when you book with points, often letting you redeem at three cents per point or more. Hotwire Hot Rates and Priceline Mystery Deals also allow you to save money by keeping the specific hotel anonymous until after booking.
8. Go to the Grocery Store
While you’re traveling, not every meal has to be a fancy one. For breakfast, especially in countries where it’s not a big meal, I like to go to a local grocery store and pick up in-season fruit and yogurt. It helps me start the day feeling healthy and I can indulge in local delicacies later on in the day.
In Europe, the quality of produce is almost always high. You can easily pick up some local products for a healthy picnic lunch for under ten euros.
Simple Travel Tips: 9. Take Public Transit
Figuring out how to take the metro or bus from an airport to a city center can save you a lot of money on a taxi or rental car. Sure, some destinations, especially national parks, are very difficult to reach without a car. However, if you’re traveling in cities, you should definitely do your research on public transit in the area.
Plenty of cities offer one day or one week transit passes, which could save you a lot of money. In Chicago, a CTA week pass is just $20, which is an excellent deal and lets you access both the “L” trains and buses. While public transit in the US isn’t always great, most European cities are very easy to get around in.
Simple Travel Tips: 10. Eat Where the Locals Do
One of the most important simple travel tips is to eat where the locals do. This is not only going to get you the most authentic food you could get, but it’ll also save a ton of money.
Take recommendations from people who actually live in the area you are staying in. In many Spanish-speaking countries, there are restaurants with “menú del día”. These are designed for locals to have a filling lunch at affordable prices. Especially in Mexico, I like going to local markets and eating the food from the stalls there.
Don’t get too caught up in what the highest-rated places on Google or Yelp are, as those reviews are frequently written by tourists. Get out of the tourist neighborhoods and find places that are delicious, authentic and affordable.