How to Save Money When Traveling

If you think traveling is always expensive, think again. There are more than a fair share of cheap places to travel. Some of the cheapest places to travel are the most beautiful, too!

We’ve traveled to over 85 countries, and while many may think only rich people can accomplish this it couldn’t be further from the truth. Across every continent are places that budget travelers can easily enjoy.

So which countries off the most value to visitors? Where can you get the most bang for your buck? Let’s dig in.

Traveling on a budget is all about how you travel

That’s right. Even the cheapest place in the entire world can turn expensive if you eat in the nicest restaurants, stay in the nicest places, fly business class, and are out on a paid activity every day. Staying cheap is all about how you go about saving your money. This post is all about maximizing your dollar in the most affordable destinations around the world. Because $50 spent in the Philippines goes a lot further than $50 spent in the USA. Here are some money-saving tips that apply to save money wherever you are at. And when we say the bare-bones price you can get by on in some destinations, it’s by using these tips.

Share your expenses

Traveling with a companion is not always possible, but if you can expand your group you’ll save money on just about everything. While you don’t save money on individual bus tickets, car rental costs are lower, as well as splitting gas prices.

Don’t want to sleep in the dorm bed of a hostel? Splitting a private room is obviously cheaper than just one person staying in a private room. This is where traveling as a couple has its advantages.

And then of course if you are with a group you’ll be more likely to go to the grocery store on your travels and cook a larger meal rather than always going out to eat and spending money on each individual plate.

Stay in hostels

For the first three years of our travels, we were in and out of hostels. If you are a solo traveler especially, staying in a hostel is the best way to keep your accommodation expense down, plus it’s a good way to meet people! A hostel bed usually costs anywhere from $10-30 per bed depending on where you are, which is often far cheaper than a private ensuite.

Eat local

Eating street food is the best way to save money on food when you travel, it’s also delicious and a good representation of local food. If you go out to eat at a nice restaurant every time it’s meal time you’re going to increase your expenses no matter where you are in the world.

Take local transit

Taking local transit like buses and trains is far cheaper than always hopping in a cab, especially if you are a solo traveler. It’s also the more adventurous way to travel!

Travel in the Off-Season

The best way to score deals on accommodation, rental cars, and flights is to travel in the shoulder or offseason. Make sure you plan our when you will be visiting accordingly. Most places have an ideal time to visit and a less desirable time to visit. The less desirable time is typically the cheaper time.

Travel Slower

One of the biggest expenses you can incur when you travel is transportation. The more you hop around a destination the more money you are going to spend on moving from place to place. Staying in one destination longer not only helps you gather a deeper meaning for the place, but will also save you money.

This also goes for country hopping. Traveling from saying Vietnam to Greece is going to be very expensive (and bad for the environment). Try to focus on regional travel. Rather than flying across the world and spending a lot on airfare focus on local and regional. If you’re already in Vietnam, see what the cost to get to Laos or somewhere closer is rather than jet setting across the globe.