Budget Travel Tips | 10 Tips and Tricks To Save You Money When You Travel - ItsAllBee | Solo Travel & Adventure Tips (2024)

CONTENTS

• 1 Top Tips For Traveling On A Budget
  • 1.1 1. Be Loyal, Because Loyalty Pays
  • 1.2 2. Charity Begins At Home
  • 1.3 3. Booking Hotels Early – Early Bird Gets Catches The Worm
  • 1.4 4. There Is Strength In Numbers – Make Group Bookings – Hostels And House Rentals
  • 1.5 5. Seek out Opportunities To Travel For Work
  • 1.6 6. Be An Opportunist
  • 1.7 7. Travel and Earn Money While You Travel
  • 1.8 8. Watch Where Your Money Goes – Buy Experiences, Not Things
  • 1.9 9. Have Great Flight Search Skills – I’M Like A Bird, I Wanna Fly Away.
  • 1.10 10. See Things For Your Self – It’s Better To See Something Once Than To Hear About It A Thousand Times

1. Be Loyal, Because Loyalty Pays

I travel quite a bit for work. My longest project was in Peterborough for about a year and about 6 months of that, I basically lived at the Marriott Hotel. So I signed up for their rewards scheme. In a period of a few months, I had racked up 250,000 points! Guess what that got me. That got me 10 beautiful days in Hong Kong!

My colleague who was on the project longer than me had racked up enough points to go to the Maldives with his then-girlfriend(now wife), that’s flights and hotel for a week for two people. ALL FREE! Also getting to Peterborough was by train from London to Peterborough via East Coast Trains at Kings Cross, now run by Virgin Trains. I signed up for their rewards as well. I earned enough points to go to travel to Edinburgh via first class too. Not mention I still had plenty more points to spare.

You can read my post on Top 10 Things To Do In Edinburgh for more. Also when a train is late/delayed/ cancelled I don’t even get upset anymore because if it’s late/delayed for 30 minutes, you get half your money and 1-hour plus, you get your full price back in vouchers. To use whenever you please. So sign up for those loyalty schemes if you want to travel. These will allow you to either use for travel or other things like spa days, flights, hotel stays or voucher to use in retail stores.

2. Charity Begins At Home

If your parents, your sister, brother or cousin is travelling, help them book their flights or accommodation. If they are not on a loyalty scheme then you get to charge their points to your account. My boyfriend’s recent trip to Cuba was booked by yours truly. Same thing when it came to his flight to India via Emirates airlines. All his points went to my account because he doesn’t have a rewards account with them.

I was with him for the first 5 days of his trip to India, in addition to his 20+ days stay in India at Marriott. Guess what? Between points earned while staying in India for a month and those I earned while on a project in Liverpool at the beginning of the year, I now have enough Marriott points to cover at least 4-5 days FREE stays in China, Panama, Qatar, South Africa, Turkey, Russia, El Salvador, Malaysia or even Malaysia. Leaving me with just hunting for a cheap flight to get to my chosen destination.

3. Booking Hotels Early – Early Bird Gets Catches The Worm

This doesn’t really apply here, in away. Of course, book early so that you get a better choice in where you stay. My favourite hotel booking site is Booking.com. This is because of their hustle-free booking and free cancellation. For my recent trip to Greece, I needed a place for myself, my sister and her friend. We were travelling to Santorini and Athens so I needed hotels for both cities.

I booked several options. Each time I saw a place I liked I booked it! As the trip date got closer and closer I narrowed it down by cancelling a few that weren’t close to what we were going to be doing. The trick here is to keep a close eye on the deals for the same hotels you have already booked. My stay in Athens, I had booked at the Radisson Blue and as the weeks passed there were more deals being added for the same room I booked. About 2-3 weeks before we were due to leave they had more deals for the same hotel and room that we had already booked for about £60 lower than the price of my booking.

I booked it and cancelled the previous booking. That was a good chunk shaved off our total. That’s also a little trick I use all the time. Book whole bunch and watch them bring the prices down. So book on the cheaper price first before you cancel the first booking. You can also compare your deals with other sites but make sure they offer the same flexibility when it comes to free cancellations.

4. There Is Strength In Numbers – Make Group Bookings – Hostels And House Rentals

I am not a big fan of hostels but I am starting to turn over a new leaf as hostels have stepped up their game in the last few years. I have also been challenged by YHA Hostels to go on a weekend staycation for under £100 for two people! So watch how that unfolds in the next 2 weeks. If you are budget conscious then don’t overlook them as there are some really good ones out there.

Yes, even for those like me that don’t like sharing rooms, bathrooms and such, with strangers. There are hostels out there that have single/double occupancy rooms. You still get to have the “community” feel of travel where you meet other travellers in many of the events or pub crawls that most hostels host and still have your own space. Another way to save money is renting a place. I have found this to be a great way to save money if you are going as a group.

My friends and I rented a villa in Malta for a friends birthday trip. For a total of seven days, we paid about £110 each. Can you imagine how much seven days would cost if we all had to have our own hotels rooms(even if we shared)? It would definitely cost a lot more.

Above, I also told you about the studio rental in Copenhagen. So you can also rent out a place and still save money. Sites like Airbnb, HomeStay, HostelWorld, Expediaas well as Booking.com, Trivago all have some crazy deals too. So compare those and get the one that suits budget and needs. You can also rent out your place on Airbnb while you are away so you have money when you are back from your travels. In a way recoup your travel costs.

5. Seek out Opportunities To Travel For Work

If your work involves a little travel then make the most of that and explore the places that it takes you to. I had been sent for Sitecore training(IT stuff for those not in the know) in Kronberg, Germany which was starting on a Monday and ending on Wednesday. The tickets were already paid for so it didn’t matter that I got there on the weekend as Saturday expenses would be my own while Sunday night was paid for as I had to arrive by Sunday in order to start at 9am on Monday. So what did I do? I flew in on a Friday night! I visited Dusseldorf on Saturday, Sunday I was in Cologne, and Monday morning I was in Kronberg!

It always helped that I have a friend living in Dusseldorf so exploring with his car made it all that much easier(see point 6). While I was in Kronberg, in the evenings I explored the town. You can read about my explorations and how I found myself in a castle on my own in Kronberg here. Straight after the course, I was back at the airport and back in London in about 2 hours! Also, note that if you travel for work try and keep to one hotel group and add your stays to your loyalty scheme accounts.

You can also check out my Instagram/Twitter posts of my explorations of places in Peterborough, Port Sunlight in Liverpool where I took advantage of fact that I was there for work and explored the city. I have also been to Madrid for work and managed to have some of our Spanish colleagues take us out on the town to see where the locals’ watering holes are(think bars!).

6. Be An Opportunist

Take advantage of the fact that you may have friends and family overseas. Go and visit them and hopefully they are kind enough to let you lounge in the spare room or couch. You will only be spending money on your ticket and maybe food. I was in the USA a while back and spent most of my time at my sister’s in Columbus Ohio, before going to lounge at my brother’s so I could explore Michigan.

The only hotels I paid for was when I went solo to Chicago and Seattle. I forgot to mention that Seattle was paid for with my Marriott points. Plus I had views of Mount Rainer from my room – Score! My exploration of Croatia’s Zagreb was also while visiting a friend who offered me a spare room. Her mum also managed to cook for us one afternoon and hey presto, less money to spend on food.

My trip to Dusseldorf and Cologne I mentioned above, were made easy because my friend drives so I had my very own personal guide in the city. My next opportunity is by way of Alissa who is going to be my personal guide and host when I visit Australia end of the year. So again unless we leave her home city of Melbourne the accommodation bill will be much lower then say, if I would be staying at a hotel.

Now I am not saying you should now just start being a fake friend just for the sake of travel, but make sure nurture your distant friendships around the world as you may need them just like your friends may need you when they are coming towards your city.

7. Travel and Earn Money While You Travel

This one doesn’t really apply to me as I have a full-time job at the moment, in addition to the demands of this blog, but think of other ways to earn money while you travel. Below are a few ideas to help you earn money if you do extend your travels. In saying that, if your job isn’t time demanding then these can also help you earn money in addition to your current job where ever you are. The money can be used towards home and away travels.

1. If you are good with your camera then consider photography(will do a post on how to improve your photography soon). You can take event photos for small/local companies in the city you are visiting.
2. Manage a social media account for a local company.

3. Teach kids or even adults computer skills(we take things for granted in the developed world sometimes). Teach someone to use your laptop’s basic functions like, sending an email to their family,job searching, these skills may sound stupid to you but will mean the world of good to someone who can then move on to using a computer at their nearest library.

4. Do you dance, do yoga, or are into health? Then how about you teach it the next time you are in a new place?

5.We all have transferable skills, most of which we can earn some money from. Teaching any other skill not mentioned above giving marketing or business advice to local business in your new town. This can help you pay for your next destination. Failing that you can find a local farm and see if they need any picking and packing.

6. Don’t take your job hunting skills for granted! How about teaching people how to write the CV and cover letter or even helping people find jobs abroad. Or any interview and job hunting skills you already know.

8. Watch Where Your Money Goes – Buy Experiences, Not Things

Do you really Need That? For those that shop for the sake of “oh my gosh, it was on sale and I just couldn’t resist”, then this one is for you. If you are a lover of ridiculously expensive things then weigh things up. Is that *insert brand name here* going to give you the same experience as witnessing the sunrise on Table Mountain or watching leopards elegantly walk across your path(post to come) in Botswana’s Okavango Delta? Then put that expensive purse, sneaker, clothing item down and head for the next airline ticket desk instead. If you cannot stop then buy elegant, quality and timeless pieces.

Those things do not go out of fashion and if they are good quality they will see you through many destinations looking as fierce as Naomi Campbell strutting the catwalk. I am sure some of you have seen my Vivienne Westwood bag feature in a lot of my pictures on the blog. I have been travelling with that old gal for years and she still looks as new as the day I laid eyes on her. In my best co*ckney – Quality Mate!

I am a lover BIG statement jewellery pieces and handbags, but I don’t buy them as much as I used to, so now only buy if there really is a real need(or crazy ass sale) because travel experiences for me have taken more of a priority than having the latest purse. BUT, I trust me I wouldn’t decline one if Gucci, Prada or even Michael Kors was to have one delivered to my door.

9. Have Great Flight Search Skills – I’M Like A Bird, I Wanna Fly Away.

Yep, Just like Nelly Furtado, I am like a bird that constantly wants to fly away. By far the most expensive part about travel is the flight, but most of the time its not as expensive as you think it is. Want to travel to Kenya or Tanzania’s Serengeti for a safari but think its expensive? Do you want to visit Brazil but think its expensive? It’s not.

I love markets because I love the thrill of the haggle, it’s the same when it comes to flights, in that I love me a BARGAIN. Check out Google Flightsas that will show your flight prices for various destinations leaving from your city or your chosen starting point. You can even choose a destination based on how cheap it is to fly there. Another site that has AMAZING deals is Secretflying.com.

I watch this site like a hawk. I have come across flight deals to Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Panama, China for well under £300 for a return! They have deals from the USA. Someone from the travel group I am a part of on Facebook travelled to Kenya from the USA for under $500 including flight and accommodation. One deal that still haunts, for not taking it last year was a flight to Brazil for £182 return!!!

Yes, I still cry every night for missing out on that deal. Other sites include Flyonous.com in addition to your Expedia, Flight Scanner, and Momondo. If you can’t wait for deals then bear in mind which days you travel, as some days cost more than others. Wednesday and Sundays, are apparently the cheap days to fly on. Also take advantage of flights with stopovers. If your flight has a stopover this is an opportunity to get a taste of a new city without investing too much time or money in it.

If you like it you can come back for longer. Also consider going directly to airlines like Norwegian airlines, Icelandic airline as they do flights between Europe and USA for under $100. That’s a steal if you are in the Euro/Pound zone. Also, search the low budget airlines where you are. I cannot stand RyanAir, and each time I say to myself, “Never again Bee”. They are like a drug with those deals making me ache just for one last hit.

Did I also mention that the same flight to Copenhagen I booked for £10 each way, I found a week later for £2! Yep, so how can one travel addict resist?! I think I need rehab, seriously. The more you save on flights and accommodation the more you get to splurge on maybe a little shopping combined with your exploring or spending on culinary experiences, theatre experience or whatever your vice is.

10. See Things For Your Self – It’s Better To See Something Once Than To Hear About It A Thousand Times