Cut Your Travel Expenses in Half
Traveling makes life wonderful. To throw oneself into a completely new area, culture and people causes you to see the world a bit differently than before. You meet new people, see new sights and experience new adventures. So why wouldn’t we want to travel more?
There are plenty of ways to make travelling simply a part of your budget, not a once-a-year activity. But sadly, travel is mostly perceived to be an expensive activity.
That perception is wrong. Expensive travel is expensive. Traveling is not. Here are my 5 ways to cut your travel expenses completely in half so that you can travel more, based on my personal trips all around the world.
Eat & Buy Local
It’s very tempting to want to go out to eat when you’re in a foreign city. It’s an experience in itself, but if you’re trying to travel cheap, food is probably the biggest money drainer there is.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t experience the culture through food. Instead, shop where the locals shop. In Bergen, Norway, there was a fresh fish and meat market around every corner. When we could have spent $25 for a meal at a Norwegian restaurant, we spent $7 for fresh goat cheese, newly baked bread and sliced turkey at the local deli that lasted us for the rest of the day. You might not have a glamorous Instagram story of your professionally made meal, but you saved money and got a more authentic experience.
Another strategy I use on all my trips is the 3 food combo that quite literally will last you your entire trip.
1 large jar of peanut buter
2 boxes of crackers/whole grain bread
A bag of apples
And maybe throw in some high protein nuts like almonds or pecans. In my trips through Iceland, Yosemite, and Norway, the above list was 90% of my diet. The peanut butter fills you up and gives you incredible energy throughout the day, the apples are a nice balance and give you the sweetness that you find yourself craving, and the nuts keep your stomach full. The most dangerous thing you can do for your budget is be hungry around expensive food.
Keep your body full and energized and your budget will stay low. Load up on expensive snacks with no protein and you’ll find your food expenses skyrocket.
Flexible Travel Dates
The largest (and first) expense of any trip is transportation, specifically airfare. If you can cut this expense down, that not only means you’ll have more money for the trip itself, but it also means you’ll have more money to put towards a future trip.
While you should always shop around multiple airline websites, including flight conglomate websites such as Expedia or Skyscanner, you should also check direct airline websites like United.com. Occasionally there are special deals on flights that the airline doesn’t offer to third-party websites.
However, the single most important factor is cutting down airline cost is having flexible travel dates.
This means being able to vary your trip dates by 2 to 3 days each way. Here’s an example.
Below is the cheapest flight from JFK to KEF, which is Reykavik, Iceland, from September 12th to September 19th.
Flight screenshot from Skyscanner.com, Sept. 12th — Sept. 19th
Shift the same 7 day trip back to September 10th to September 17th (off of weekend dates) and your flight is $233 cheaper.
Flight screenshot from Skyscanner.com, Sept. 10th — Sept. 17th
It takes some time and research to play around with the dates, but you’ll find it usually rewards you with the cheapest possible option.
If you have strict travel dates, your options will be restricted. If you have flexible travel dates, you’ll be able to find and choose the cheapest option.
Car Camping
Being able to sleep in your car is essentially a super power. Not only does it allow you not to have to spend any extra money on accommodations (like an Airbnb or hotel), but it also allows you to sleep wherever.
Yes, you should research local laws on restrictions on where you can park for long periods of time, but when you are in the more remote places of a country, being able to just pull off to the side of the road, sleep, wake up, and be on your way again is something that is truly overlooked and undervalued.
A couple tips before you sleep in your car.
If you’re somewhere that it gets cold, make sure to research how cold it gets at night and ensure you have a sleeping bag that is warm enough.
Never sleep with your car on. It’s dangerous with potential carbon-monoxide leaks.
Have sleeping in mind when you are choosing your rental car. If you’re able to sleep by just putting the seat back or stretching out in the back seats you can get away with a smaller rental and save some money. If you need some more space, rent a larger one where the seats completely collapse in the back, allowing you to stretch out completely.
You will be sacrificing money for comfort. But if that allows you to travel more, I say it’s worth it.
Tourist Locations
Some places in the world are expensive and some places of the world are less expensive. That’s just the way the world works. Sometimes the desintaiton itself will determine whether the trip will break the bank. Famous, well-developed urban cities such as Paris, London and New York are going to be expensive no matter how you play it.
But if you are able to strategically locate yourself in the suburbs or countries around these major cities and experience them in a day trip it will significantly decrease your spend.
Additionally, there are plenty of countries (specifically Asian countries) where you can get food and accommodations for less than $10 a day. Again, it all depends on personal preference, but getting off the beaten path that every other tourist follows will not only save you money, but also open you to more raw cultural adventures.
Conclusion
I hope these tips helped you and gave you some inspiration to start planning your next adventure! Remember, choosing your destination strategically, buying local, having flexible travel dates, and trading some money for comfort are sure-fire ways to cut your travel budget in half from what it was before.
I’d love to see where you’re off to next — hit me up on Instagram to connect!