Balling on a Budget
We believe that traveling should be a joy & experience that is accessible to everyone. While some people have the affordability/lifestyle to take dozens of trips a year, exploration & travel within your state or country even once a year can be a great enjoyment. Throughout college & our early professional lives, we have had to navigate lower budgets when traveling and have learned some of the best ways to make it work.
Here are some of the tips and tricks to maximize your budget travel!
Be smart about your destination: Some countries & cities are inherently more affordable than others. Countries in Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, and parts of Central and South America often offer great value for money, even if they cost most money for your flight to get there. For example, it is much cheaper for me to fly from New York to London than it is to fly to Bangkok, but my dollar stretched so much further in Thailand than in the UK that the Thailand trip ended up being cheaper.
Shop for flights smartly: Instead of finding flights on an airline’s website or Google Flights, use optimized aggregators like Skyscanner or Hopper which show the best flight discounts. And always be sure to call the airline directly if you are seeing a cheaper flight somewhere besides their website - they’ll usually match it for you!
Travel Off-peak: Flight and hotel prices spike during peak tourist times, so we have definitely opted to wait till the prices cooled down to visit many places. While the weather may not have been perfect, there are less crowds which I think is a great tradeoff! But don’t take this advice too much to heart if it will ruin the entire point of your trip (e.g. if you want to be in New Orleans for Mardi Gras, don’t go 2 weeks after it ends just because it is a bit cheaper).
Find the best hostels: Especially if you’re traveling solo, hostels are a great way to reduce costs and genuinely meet great friends on your trip. Hostelworld is a great aggregator that shows you the best reviewed and most affordable hostels in a city you are visiting.
If you plan to stay for an even longer time, Workaway can be a great option to live at a host family’s place. In exchange for a few hours a day of doing chores to maintain their home, you get to live in a new city and really engage in a lifestyle, which sounds very fun!
Travel Light: This is the easiest and most efficient tip to reduce travel costs. By traveling light, you won’t have to pay check-in bag fees which can be exorbitant and you are more likely to commute via public transit.
Get Travel Insurance: It might seem counterintuitive, but having travel insurance can save you a lot of money in case of unexpected medical issues or travel disruptions. Especially if you are going to a country or partaking in an activity that puts you in some health danger, this is a valuable backup to have!