8 Simple Tips to Help You Save Money While Traveling - Nikki On Her Way (2024)

Here’s the scenario: you’ve booked your cheap flights and done your itinerary planning. You’re so excited to see the places you’ve been researching for months, but now you’re wondering how in the world you’re going to keep from blowing your budget in the first few days of your trip.

We did every one of these things I’m going to mention and were able to keep our budget under $150/day (most days!) for two people while traveling for 6 months.

Want to learn how we save money for travel before we leave for a trip? I wrote a whole blog post about how to save money for travel and how we saved $30k for our 6 month trip.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something I may earn a commission, at no additional cost to you.

1. Walk Everywhere You Can and Use Public Transportation

Walking is the only truly free way to get around and if you’re up for it, it’s also one of the best ways to see the place you’re visiting.

I’ll be honest, it isn’t always the most convenient, but it can be an easy way to save some money if you’re in a very walkable place.

Pair it with public transportation, and you’ll be spending next to nothing on getting around. Plus, it’s good exercise! By the end of your trip I bet you’ll have legs like Carrie Underwood. In my opinion, the last resort is using a taxi or ridesharing service.

2. Stay in a Smaller Neighborhood

Finding affordable accommodations, especially in bigger cities, can be a real challenge. But, staying in a more up and coming neighborhood of town can help you find some real deals.

I like to hit up Booking.com and start exploring! It will give you a good idea of the average hotel prices in each neighborhood, and from there you can do a bit more research on the ones that look affordable.

Of course, hostels are a great way to save money on your accommodations, but not everyone likes or feels comfortable staying in hostels. If that’s the case, look at all your options on multiple websites and find the ‘budget’ neighborhoods.

Tip: wherever you stay, be sure that there is good public transportation within walking distance so getting into the popular parts of town is a breeze.

4. Find Free Activities

Look for free or cheap activities in your destination to really save money while traveling. Maybe the city you’re in has free or discounted museum entry on Sundays.

There might be some free beaches rather than beach clubs that charge an entrance fee. Free or self-guided walking tours? Just walking around and seeing where the day takes you can sometimes be the best activity of all!

There are always free or cheap options, you may just need to get creative. I find a quick online search of ‘free activities in *fill in the blank city*’ comes up with some decent options.

Sometimes, there are activities that are just too good to pass up on, no matter how much they cost. The trick is to only pay for the activities you don’t want to miss, and pass up on the ones that just don’t seem worth the money. Not a museum person? Pass up on them! You get to make your vacation what you want it to be. Here is your permission to do so!

3. Eat With the Locals

Avoid tourist restaurants at all costs. Seriously. They usually just aren’t very good and they’re more expensive than the local spots. That’s a double whammy for me.

Instead, try asking a local where they would eat or walk down a smaller side street that isn’t the main tourist drag. You’re going to get a more authentic food experience and save some money at the same time. BINGO!

Bonus points if you grab some street food instead of a sit down meal (super easy to do in Asia).

5. Never Pay for Foreign Transaction Fees

These suckers can add up! Luckily, it’s easy to avoid foreign transaction fees with a Charles Schwab checking account.

While we travel, we use our Charles Schwab checking account when we pull money out of ATM’s and they reimburse any fees we get charged.

While traveling in Thailand for a month, Charles Schwab reimbursed us $76 in ATM fees. That is a ton of money going right down the drain if your bank doesn’t reimburse fees.

In addition to the fees, another important thing to remember is to always choose the local currency when withdrawing money. You are likely to get a really poor exchange rate from the ATM if you withdraw in your home currency.

Tip: if a cashier ever asks you if you’d like to pay in the local currency or your home currency after you swipe your card, always choose the local currency to avoid bad exchange rates, no matter what card you’re using.

6. Travel Light

We traveled Europe and Asia for 6 months with just a carry-on suitcase and backpack each. It can be done, and it will save you money when you fly and make it easier to get around once you get to your destination.

If your bag is lightweight and small, it will also save you money on taxis because you’ll be able to walk and take public transport to your hotel rather than get a ride.

Worried about packing in just a carry-on? I wrote a blog post about how to pack efficiently in your carry-on bag to help you master such a feat.

7. Hit the Local Grocery Store

Food can often be one of your most expensive categories when it comes to travel budgeting. We’ve found that one of the fastest we can save money while traveling is by picking up breakfast and lunch on the go. Rather than having a sit down meal 3 times a day, I would much rather spend my daily food budget on a really good dinner.

The best on the go lunch? A picnic of meat, cheese, and fruit from the grocery store enjoyed at a local park or scenic spot. These have been some of our favorite ‘dining’ experiences because lunch with a view is never a bad thing.

8. Cut Down on the Alcohol

No fun, I know. But as your friend, I’ve got to tell you that it can add up! Look for local drinks as imported beer and wine tends to be more expensive.

Or, pick up a few drinks at the local convenience store or grocery store and bring them along on your journey. It will be a lot cheaper than sitting down at a restaurant or bar for a drink.

In Dubrovnik we went to Buza Bar, which is a very popular drinks and sunset spot right outside the walls of the old city. People go there for drinks and further down you can also jump off the rocks into the Adriatic. Instead of buying expensive drinks there, we brought cans of our own to enjoy while swimming and jumping from the rocks. It saved us a couple bucks and made for a fun experience!