Top 4 Budget Travel Tips That Make Vacations Cheaper
- Ms. World
- May 31
- 5 min read
I'm in my home city now planning my next trip and today, I'm going to tell you how to travel on a budget without sacrificing the stuff you want to do.
I've learned a lot of tips during my adventures around the world and you can use all these tricks to lower costs, so you can start seriously planning your dream trip.
A Cheaper Way to Travel
Set your focus on keeping costs low, while still keeping your trip fun and stylish while you're in your dream destination. If you're looking for tips on how to get cheaper plane tickets and accommodations, look for that info in a separate post.
For today, we're focusing on how you can save money while you're actually on the trip, which can help you do more, see more and eat more while you're enjoying your destination.
Which brings us to tip number 1: Do free things.
Attractions are usually a big part of any travel budget, so you can significantly defray costs by going to places that are free. No matter where you go in the world, there are free things to do there and plenty of cool stuff to see that you don't have to pay for.
Many destinations around the world have free museums you can visit just about any time. London, England is a famous example of this. Many of their museums, including the massive British Museum, is free to visit.
Lots of cities also have free museum days. Paris in one example. If you schedule your trip to take advantage of free museum days, you can visit places like the world famous Louvre absolutely for free.
Parks, public gardens and outdoor spaces are often free to visit as well. Athens has an incredible National Garden that is enormous and completely free. There are statues and ancient ruins there, along with pretty plants and flowers.
Walking around is also free. You can always go explore scenic areas of your destination on foot, which is very budget friendly.
Walking around is the best way to really see and experience your destination. You can even put together your own walking tour, which is something I did for my trip to London. I created my own walking tour of the famous Whitechapel neighborhood where Jack the Ripper once lived.
There are tons and tons of paid walking tours you can purchase in London, but if you create your own route in Google Maps, you can see all the same stuff without costing anything.
Speaking of walking, that takes us right into tip number 2: Walk!
It is always the most budget friendly way to get around. Start planning to do a lot of walking before you ever leave home.
A month before your trip or two months before your trip, start going on walks. Try to do this at least once a week to get your legs and feet more conditioned to walking so that you'll be able to do a lot of waking during your trip. This is also a good way to break in any new shoes you might be wearing for your trip.
Walking is the cheapest way to get around no matter where you are, and you're going to be walking no matter what. You'll walk through museums and parks, maybe through art galleries or castles or zoos. You will walk, so start walking before you ever leave home. You will save a ton of money by just getting around your destination on foot.
You will always save money by following the next tip, which is number 3: use public transport.
That means take the bus, take the subway, walk right past the taxi cabs and get on public transportation that is way, way cheaper than going by car. Even using rideshare is more expensive than using public transport, and most of the destinations you visit should have some level of public transportation.
Use this as much as you possibly can. The only real exception to this rule is trains. A lot of Asian and European cities have very extensive rail networks that you can use to get around, but check the prices and compare that to buses and subways because sometimes, train travel can be a more expensive option.
You can use Google to look at different public transportation options and compare prices between taking a cab or a train against taking a bus or a subway.
Some cities even offer public transportation passes and bundle deals, which allow you to save a ton of money by paying just a flat rate and then, you can ride buses and subways as much as you want for that single flat rate.
Food is going to be your next big expense. Even when you're in your home city, eating at restaurants and paying for food is expensive.
When you're traveling, you usually won't have access to a full kitchen with a refrigerator full of food. You'll have to pay for everything you eat and drink and that really adds up.
Anything you can do to lower those costs is going to help, and that brings us to tip number 4: Eat cheap!
There are lots of little ways to save money on food and drink while you travel and I hope you will use them all to keep costs low and keep your travel budget on track.
First, bring a refillable water bottle. In many tourist destinations, you will find free public fountains where you can fill up your bottle. You can also go into restaurants and ask them to fill it for you.
Make sure the water in your destination is safe to drink! If it's questionable, go to a local grocery store in your destination. Buy large bottles of water and keep these in your hotel room or wherever you're staying and fill up a couple of bottles you can carry with you throughout the day.
While you're at the grocery store, pick up some small snack items. You will get hungry and you will get tempted by delicious smells.
As you explore around on your trip, having some snacks with you will keep you from buying snacks from street food stalls and cafes and that can save you a lot of money.
Look for pre-made sandwiches and plate lunches and ready to eat meals at grocery stores, too, because eating a few budget friendly grocery store emails can make a big difference in your overall travel budget.
You should also look for street food options. Street food is typically more affordable than going to a sidewalk cafe or a sit down restaurant and you can try a lot of amazing food this way.
You can also ask locals. While you're out and about, don't be afraid to ask people you see who look like they may be from the area if they can recommend a good, affordable place to eat in the area.
Talk to locals and other people you see while you're traveling. This can be a great way to discover places and it can lead to some pretty memorable interactions.
Now, some people may be jerks. We're human and everyone is jerky sometimes. And if being a jerk is your vibe, hey, that's just fine. But a lot of people won't be jerks and will genuinely try to be helpful. So, don't be afraid to ask.
Best case scenario, you'll discover a cool local spot with good food that's budget friendly. The worst case scenario is that you'll come away with an interesting story. So no matter what happens, you'll have a little interesting experience just from talking to people you see around you.
Travel Smarter
Use these tips, and I can promise you that you will spend less money on your trip, which means you'll have money for the next trip!
So keep planning, keep traveling and maybe I'll see you out there sometime.
Now, Voyager, sail forth to seek and find.
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