How to Travel on a Budget
As the holidays begin and we’re all traveling, things can start to add up quickly. Between travel arrangements, Christmas gifts, food, and activities, this can be the most expensive season of the year. Booking flights home or planning a road trip is a pivotal part of the holidays, but it’s a skill that’s applicable all year long. It’s hard to be able to travel and vacation when everything seems exorbitantly expensive. You don’t need to overspend to have a little getaway. Here are our tips for how to travel on a budget.
1) Plan, plan, plan – Traveling spontaneously can be super fun, but it’s also typically more expensive than planning a trip in advance. Flight prices tend to go up the closer you book to your travel date, meaning that you could save a good chunk of money just by booking early. Planning early also gives you more time to dig for discounts, you can find better deals when you spend time searching instead of just booking on a whim. Thinking about your trip before you leave gives you more time to budget for what you actually want to spend money on. Having some semblance of an itinerary can reduce surprise costs and ensure that you can easily plan for how much you can spend.
2) School’s out, don’t travel – Try to avoid booking trips that take place during school holidays. Peak travel times hike up the price because of the higher demand. You want to travel during the “off-season” when there will be fewer people traveling in general. This means that you’ll get a better deal and destinations will be less crowded. If you have to travel during a busy season, maybe consider traveling during the week instead of on the weekend. There will be fewer people traveling on a Tuesday than on a Sunday, and booking for the middle of the week may give you a slightly better cost than booking on the weekend.
3) Avoid tourist attractions – It might be a good idea to consider going to a smaller city rather than a more recognizable name. Chances are, if you know the name and think it’s paradise, many other people have the same idea. Small towns can be just as fun with better prices since things aren’t geared toward outside travelers. People often get lower prices on housing, food, and activities, versus when in a large city. It’s also possible that smaller towns have more historical sites and more to learn from the locals if that’s your thing. Less crowded destinations can make for a more relaxing getaway.
4) Think creatively about meals – Eating out every day for every meal is a good way to spend all of your trip budget. Try eating at smaller, more local restaurants, rather than ones that are super popular. It might be a good idea to get something small from a supermarket for lunches and then have a larger budget for dinners, this is a smart way to get to try local produce while also experiencing the dining scene. Additionally, you may want to consider just cooking some of your meals on your own, since in most places it's cheaper to buy ingredients than to buy a ready-made meal. Consider drinking water at meals rather than buying a drink, since those silly cocktails can quickly turn into a large expense.
5) Packing is your best friend – Packing is part of planning ahead. What’s the weather like at the destination? What toiletries will you need? An organized packing routine can make or break a trip. Strategically packing means that you’ll likely avoid buying unnecessary items on your trip, especially something that you forgot at home. Try to bring at least one pair of pants and a light jacket no matter where you go in case of emergencies. Important baselines are to only pack what you’ll need, and triple-check that you have all of your necessities before you leave.
Traveling doesn’t have to be expensive. Keep an eye out for deals and promotions on travel while you’re in the early planning phase and hopefully, you can find something you want at a decent price. Your budget and travel can be besties, you just need to make them see eye-to-eye.