Do you desire to travel more, but your bank account seems to stop you?
Maybe you see people traveling the world, talking about budget travel; but you just can’t figure out how to make that happen for you.
We get it! We once only dreamed of travel and wondered how we would ever make it happen as a nanny and a young professional with student loans to pay off. Now we’re on a one way ticket around the world.
There are so many ways to save money while you travel, and earn money while you travel. Today we want to talk to you about 5 hacks we discovered to save money while we’re traveling!
1. Travel During Low Season
We discovered this genius travel hack in Italy this past January. There are a few downsides to traveling to some places in low season, mostly weather, but often times the benefits outweigh that small bump.
It was certainly cold in Italy in January, but 100% worth it. And trust me… if these two Floridians can handle the cold, you can too!
Not only did we save a ton of money on transportation, our flight from Ireland to Italy was only $20 (Thank you RyanAir). But the crowds… or lack there of… was what made this even more worth it!
On our tour through The Vatican we were in a group of 6 people, in Pompeii we maybe saw 20 other people all day. Go Google search ‘Image of Pompeii crowds in the summer’ and you’ll see the extreme difference…
2. Shared Airbnb’s
We were a little weary of this one for a while, but were so glad we made the decision to use shared Airbnb‘s or Private rooms on Airbnb in Scotland. It felt like being in a hostel with a little more privacy.
I would definitely say, it depends on the area you’re traveling to for this feature, and other factors. Like if you are a solo female traveler you may be more weary of the privacy in a shared Aribnb.
Both of our choices in Scotland for shared Airbnb’s are still two of our favorite stays to this day because we made some pretty awesome friends and… I mean, look at this view:
3. Google Flight Tracker
This is how we scored our famous $100 flight to London from Orlando. You read that right.
All you need for this is a date or a few dates you have in mind to go visit somewhere, it’s not great for spontaneous trips but if you have a few months to plan, it’s great. I’ve also found this works best for one way tickets, which we buy a lot of, but you can still use it on round trip!
We use this a lot if we’re debating between two different places and can’t decide. We’ll track both and wait for the lowest dips.
Go to google.com/flights
Search your locations
Check out the different prices on different dates, I like to find the cheapest window to track, then turn on track prices…
And you are all set, you’ll get price alerts sent right to your email and you can watch when the price dips and raises.
Can’t be afraid of a little risk taking using this one 🙂 When we saw the $100 flight, we had NO idea what plans we would make from there but knew it was too good to pass up.
4. Negotiate Prices
Such a simple hack that is easily forgotten.
We extended our stay in Thailand by asking the host if we could make a deal with him for x amount of days. Many street vendors are open to negotiation, even on tours. You never know if you don’t ask. The worst you will get is a “no,” the best… you save some dollars for your next stop!
5. Road Trip
Flights in the U.S. are some of the hardest to find a good steal on. We’ve flown in Europe and Asia for less than $20… in the U.S. we’re lucky to get a flight for less than $200!
Nevertheless, our “backyard” country is full of incredibly diverse landscapes and sights that are hard to leave off your bucket list.
Planning a U.S. road trip in a certain area can save you loads on transportation.
We traveled the West Coast in a rental car and were in awe the entire drive and our wallets were happy too!
BONUS Hack – Use Points and Miles!
This is a bonus hack, because not everyone will qualify. However, if you have a credit score over 700 and live in the U.S., then you can most likely benefit from this travel hack strategy.
While in Mexico we met a couple who was traveling the world purely on points and miles. Previously I had always thought that you had to travel or fly to earn miles and points. BUT I was sooo wrong!
Megan and I discovered that credit cards have sign up bonuses. These bonuses can be transferred to points or even miles. The points and miles can cover travel expenses such as flights, hotels, Airbnbs, excursions, and more!
The best thing is that, you don’t have to increase your spending or rack up a bunch of debt. Instead you can simply use your credit card for things that you already pay for such as; groceries, dining out, rent, mortgage, etc. Every time you use the card you earn more points that can be used towards travel!
Plus, many of these cards provide extra benefits like airport lounge access, airline credits, discounted travel portals and more!
Using these travel credit cards has allowed us to go on incredible trips like spending a week in the Maldives. And for only $650! Flight included!
We even flew in Virgin Upper Class, which has lay down seats and endless champagne, when we went to the United Kingdom for Megans Birthday – Full Video here
In total we’ve easily stayed saved over $25,000 in flights and hotels, and the experiences have been absolutely amazing.
If you’d like to step into the world of Travel Hacking with credit cards, then we recommend starting with our favorite card, the Capital One Venture X Card.
It does have a $350 annual fee, however, avoid letting that stop you, because you receive a $300 annual travel credit, airport lounge access, Global Entry, and 75,000 miles which is can be over $1000 in travel.
If you’d like to take a closer look at all the benefits of this card, then click here and check it out for yourself.
Final Thoughts
There are so many fun ways to make your life of travel an affordable one. It doesn’t have to be all $500 a night hotels, and frantic flight finds. You can create a life of travel that stays on budget with a “normal” life, we’re proof!
Happy Travels!
Looking for additional ways to save money? Check out these posts:
TrustedHousesitters Review: The Surprising Way To Travel The World For Free
WayAway Review: Earn Cashback On Travel
How I Paid Off $40,000 Of Debt While Traveling The World
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