15 Insanely Brilliant Ways to Save Money While Traveling

You don’t need to own the world to see it, you can own a little & see the world!! Who wants to spend a fortune? Who wants to get crazy for spending money? You don’t have to call off your trip or narrow down your bucket list for the lack of money. You’ve nurtured the love for exploring different places & different cultures — you should not let it go because you think you do not have enough money to pay for it. You don’t need to be rich to travel, you just have to smartly optimize the uses of the cash you have.

 

In this article, we’ll quickly take you through some insanely brilliant tips to save money while traveling. You’ll get to know how you can save money by pinpointing the hidden charges and how easy it is to save money while you travel. 

 

15 Brilliant Ways to Save Money While Traveling

 

By the end of this article, you’ll supposedly be well prepared to pack your travel bags several times without draining away all your savings. 

 

1. Plan Your Trip During the Off-season

 

 

At a number of tourist destinations, hotel booking rates & other rates are lower as there are fewer crowds during off-seasons. Owing to the drop in tourism, you can easily save a huge part of your expenses if you are planning the vacation during the off-season. And, there are plenty of reasons for not tripping during the off-season, the major being weather conditions. So, when you’re among those few people traveling in the off-season — everything from accommodations to activities fee to the air tickets, everything will be cheaper. 

 

2. Head off to the Right Destination & Know it!

 

 

Of course, some destinations would be more expensive than the others — for instance, New York City will cost you more than Alabama. This does not mean, you’ve to drop the idea of going to your favorite destination, anyways an alternate will never satiate that craving. So, even if you’re choosing that high-end destination, make sure that you’ve estimated the overall cost of going to the destination. You should look up the cost of grocery staples, other everyday expenses & the cost of going to the top tourist spots ahead of time. The general idea is, you must consider staying away from the coastal areas & the big cities to save some more bucks during your travel. You should gather every possible information even if the trip sounds cheap on paper— you never know, even going to the National parks, in some countries, could be too expensive. 

 

3. Look for Free Activities

 

 

The idea is — to get in place the hard-researched facts in advance. If you’ve scoured several websites through days and nights (for information on your vacation spot), you would know there are plenty of activities in the area that are being offered for free. There are community calendars you can search out for the activities being organized during the time you’ll be there. In addition to that, a number of museums offer discounted admission prices or sometimes a ‘pay what you can day’ every week — know about these discounted prices and when they are being offered. 

 

4. Rent a House or a Condo

 

 

If you’re renting a condo, you’ll end up getting your accommodation prices adjusted at a much lower price than the high-end hotels. In addition to the reduced prices, you’ll enjoy having fun around with absolute privacy all through. And, you’ll also save money on food — you can cook your meals on your own & save money by avoiding going to those expensive restaurants. There are local markets in the vicinity from where you can buy grocery staples. Renting a condo would cut down costs & save money while traveling in a number of ways.

 

5. Be Flexible with Your Travel Dates 

 

 

Being flexible with your travel dates could get you several exciting deals offering an opportunity to save money while you travel. The more flexible you are, the better are the chances of ending up in that deal. Based on certain essential factors like demands & customer preferences, airlines keep making changes in their prices — you can grab that reduced price at first. So, certainly, you’ve more leeway to book your tickets when the prices are reduced if you are open with the travel dates. On the other hand, if there is no room for flexibility with dates, you’ve no chance to save on the cost of your flights.

 

6. Cook More and Eat out Less

 

 

If you’re choosing to cook than to eat out in the high-end restaurants! Eating out adds up to several dollars before you even know it — there are extra charges in the form of tax, tip & more. Almost everywhere around the world, the cost of cooking is much lesser than the cost of eating out. And, you can always learn a local dish, get the ingredients easily from the local market, and learn something new. Eating out is now an old fad, get some new ideas, learn to cook new dishes, cook your meals & save money while you travel. 

 

7. Open a Bank Account for Travel

 

 

Get a bank account that does not charge every time you withdraw money abroad. Don’t use an account that has hidden charges & other extra charges for using the ATM on a foreign trip. This might look trivial, but you don’t know how many times you’ll be withdrawing money & making the transactions. And, if you’re using a chargeable account, you’ll not even know what mess you have done with your money. That’s not a big deal...just get a new bank account for your travel. Be a smart traveler!

 

8. Stick to Your Budget

 

 

When you have written your budget in stone ahead of time — you’ll save some extra bucks for sure. So, with your budget at hand right from the beginning, you’ll have a clear picture of where you can invest your money & when it's time to save. While you’re on your dream vacation, of course, you should be treating yourself to some luscious food, going to those top tourist destinations. But when you have an overall idea of spends and savings, you could instantly make decisions on what to do & what you must skip. 

 

9. Stay Away from The City

 

 

One of the major factors for the increased cost of your accommodation is the location — obviously, if you’re living somewhere in the middle of the city, you’ll have to pay more. On the other hand, if you’re staying away from the area where most of the top tourist attractions are located. This is not a big deal even if your accommodation is located a little far from the attractions — you can always go back to your place to sleep. 

 

10. Look for Group Programs

 

 

You can avail some exciting benefits if you are traveling in a group. These group benefits might range from discounted air tickets to discounted fees for different activities and accommodation benefits. So, before you are booking your vacation package, make sure you’ve researched the group benefits and any other group travel programs. You can keep an eye on the latest articles at Leisure.com to know more about group travel benefits & programs. 

 

11. Get Your Plan Written in Advance

 

 

 

If you’re a traveler, you’re definitely a person who loves that element of spontaneity. But you cannot always incorporate that feature into your travel plan — you’ll only end up making for some expensive scrambling if you do not have a plan written in advance. You cannot miss out on your food, fuel & place to sleep. Make sure, you’ve your plan ready in advance so as to avoid any kind of pricey expenses!

 

12. Go to the Local Farmers’ Markets

 

 

Be it for grocery shopping or anything else, always go to the local farmers’ market. This will not only save you some extra bucks but it’s also one of the best ways to contribute to eco-friendly travel. In addition to that, you’ll get an opportunity to taste some local cuisines without having to pay those extra bucks in the expensive restaurants. Talk to some local people, get from the best recipe of the place & try cooking it on your own. 

 

13. Book Activities in Advance

 

 

Whether you’re booking a tandem paraglide flight in the Alps or a raft trip in Slovenia — booking in advance is always good when it is about saving money while traveling. Book ahead in advance to grab cheaper deals. In some countries in Europe, you can get some group discounts even when you’re not traveling in groups. So, book online in advance if you want to cut on the cost of your vacation. 

 

14. Don’t Collect Souvenirs, take Pictures Instead

 

 

It’s better you learn to take pictures (as a token of remembrance) instead of collecting souvenirs & shopping insanely everywhere. If you really want to save some more money while you travel make sure you are not shopping incessantly at every other spot. You’ll only end up collecting these souvenirs & watching them collecting dust. And, whether you’re buying the most expensive gift for your mom or for your sister — they are anyway not going to use it. So, whether you’re buying something for yourself or others — it’s not a great idea if you really want to save money while traveling. You can click a couple of pictures as a token of remembrance for the trip! Once you’ll STOP Shopping, you’ll know how fast it has been draining away all your money. 

 

15. Try Boondocking!

 

 

Boondocking is a way to keep camping easy & cheap — with no neighbors, no assignments, nothing to do. Boondocking, dispersed camping, or dry camping, whatever you might call, it’ll be much cheaper than any other option. While camping fees might be much lesser when compared to hotel accommodation — it might add up to make the trip cost much higher than you might have imagined. While the resort campground might be a little more comfortable, Boondocking brings about so many other opportunities for fun. Beginning from finding the spot for camping to learning to conserve water & power — everything is fun. On top of that, finding spots where you’ll have to pay minimum fees will surely save some extra money. Boondocking is one of the best & fun ideas to save money while you travel.