Travelling costs money – that’s an unavoidable fact. Flights often chew up a large chunk of your travel savings, while accommodation, transport, food and excursions all add to the expense. With the cost of living at an all-time high, making your hard-earned dollars stretch a bit further is a massive bonus. There are simple ways to save money while you’re on an adventure, without having to sacrifice comfort. Here are five things we do to get the most out of our travel funds.
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1. Accommodation
Ways to Save While You Travel
Everyone needs a place to stay while they’re away from home. After flights, it’ll be accommodation eating into your budget at a rapid rate. Decent hotels and guesthouses can cost a fortune, with standards not always reflecting the price. Sure, you can share a dorm at a hostel, or couch surf someplace, these are great ways to save a dollar or two. But for us, those days are over.
As a middle-aged couple, we like a bit of comfort. For this reason, we use Airbnb whenever possible. We book self-contained local apartments, for one week or more. By making a seven or more-day booking, you can take advantage of the weekly discounts of 5-10% offered by many Airbnb hosts. Additionally, a one week stay avoids more booking and cleaning fees. Find a place with a washing machine, kitchen, and Wi-Fi. This eliminates laundry bills, while a kitchen means you can save hundreds of dollars by preparing some meals at home.
Having your own local accommodation not only saves you money, it also supports a local person. What’s more, staying in a local apartment often means living in a real neighbourhood, giving you the chance to immerse yourself in everyday life. Utilise the host at your Airbnb, they’ll have plenty of great local tips to save you money, support the community, and make your trip even better.
It’s all about living like a local, not like a tourist. It’s the best way to truly experience a place and, often, the most budget-friendly too.
2. Meals
Ways to Save While You Travel
Eating out three times a day for the duration of your trip would cost an arm and a leg. Unless you are made of money, it’s simply too expensive when travelling for longer periods of time. By renting an apartment with a kitchen, you can make one or two meals at home each day. Shopping for fruit and vegetables at local markets and grocery stores, with the locals, isn’t just fun – it’s a cost-effective way to experience daily life. We make a smoothie bowl every morning for breakfast, using fresh local fruits, along with a local coffee. We love it. Preparing breakfast at your apartment can save hundreds of dollars per week. Brewing your morning coffee will leave more money in your wallet for activities during the day.
Grocery stores and supermarkets are an excellent place to buy local food. Some have cafeterias, others have delis loaded with handmade food. They’re the perfect place to grab lunch for a park picnic. Packing a picnic lunch is a great idea. You can learn a lot about a country while eating lunch in a local park or garden, watching residents go about daily life, Do you eat out for three meals a day when you are at home? No way! You would need a second job.
Of course, it’s great to eat out and try local dishes when you’re travelling – it’s one of our favourite things to do. The key is to find local places, not Western tourist areas charging high prices. You won’t find locals eating there. Traditional restaurants are everywhere, often tucked away in local neighbourhoods, far from tourist sites. Ask around. Watch where locals go during their lunch break – they always know where the best value and tastiest food is. And don’t overlook street food – it’s often fresh, authentic, and budget-friendly.
Drinking at bars and partying every night is the fastest way to go broke. Do a little research, nearly everywhere has a happy hour. If you like to relax with a drink each day, grab some alcohol when you come through duty free. You can’t beat relaxing on your Airbnb veranda, sipping a gin and tonic after a busy day exploring.
Cooking with local produce and eating at small local restaurants are simple ways to save money, connect with local people and enjoy authentic food.
By being adventurous, there’s not only money to be saved, there’s special moments to be had, that money can’t buy.
3. Getting Around
Ways to Save While You Travel
Living like a local means jumping on public transport. Buses and trains are usually cheap and one of the easiest ways to get around. Using public transport is not only cost effective, it also allows you to immerse yourself in daily life. Travelling with locals is a lot of the fun. It’s not always smooth, but that’s part of the experience.
Of course, there is no charge for walking, it’s free. Wandering the streets of a foreign city, checking out the sights and meeting the local residents are some of the most memorable parts of any trip. You miss so much in a taxi or car. Walking is our favorite method of transport during our city stays.
Many airports are connected to the city by a bus route, allowing you to get into the centre far cheaper than a taxi. In Georgia, a one-hour bus ride from the airport into central terminal was fifty cents! The airport is the worst place to hail a cab, as you really have no idea of exchange rates and fair costs, unless of course you have been there before. Ride sharing apps like Uber and Pick-Me will have an airport surcharge, as will a hire car collected at the terminal. Anything to do with airports is expensive.
Hiring a car is a great way to explore a country. A destination has much more to offer than its cities. Car hire is not always affordable, however, there are ways to save money. Booking in advance is always cheaper, with discounts available for rentals of five or more days. Also, look for local hire companies. They can be half the price of the bigger international ones. They will always go the extra mile to help you, including bringing the car to you, and coming to collect it at your desired location, for no extra charge.
If you’re not keen on navigating a busy foreign city, choose a pick up and drop off spot in a neighbourhood on the outskirts, in the direction that you plan to travel. This means you can be on your way much easier. For drop off, make it the airport, when you are due to fly out, super convenient. Cash discounts often apply, just ask. Always hire a car with unlimited kilometres. Car insurance can be excessive. It’s much cheaper to have hire car insurance included on your travel insurance before you leave home.
Using public transport is not only an affordable way to get around, it also offers a genuine glimpse into local life and turns everyday journeys into part of the adventure.
4. Payment Method
Ways to Save While You Travel
The days of travelling with large sums of cash are long gone. Almost every country on the planet has an ATM these days. Some small and obscure destinations like Sao Tome may have ATM’s that don’t accept all foreign bank cards, so it’s important to check before you depart. Using your bankcard from home is common in a lot of countries now, you simply go to an ATM and withdrawal cash, or pay by card at the store. It sounds simple, because it is, but you will be charged cross border and currency exchange fees by your bank. The exchange rate will be poor, with these fee’s quickly adding up. You may also be charged for using a different banks ATM, or the ATM can charge you a usage fee. All these fees are not only unnecessary, but avoidable.
International currency cards are what regular travellers use. We use the Wise Multi-Currency Card. It has over forty international currencies available. You simply transfer funds onto your card and convert it into your desired foreign currency. That means whenever you use your card while travelling, you will be spending in the local currency and withdrawing in local money. There will be no fees. Do a quick google search to confirm which local ATM’s have no withdrawal fees before you take cash out.
Wise helps you save on travel – grab yours here and support our journey.
Using a Wise Multi-Currency Card and paying in local currency can help you avoid hidden fees and make your travel budget go further – all while living more like a local.
5. Destination
Ways to Save While You Travel
Choosing an affordable destination is one of the best ways to keep travel costs down. Countries like Australia, New Zealand, the USA and many in Europe are more expensive than ever before. Much of Asia remains inexpensive, as do many countries in Africa, South American, and Eastern Europe. Your money goes a long way in destinations like Sri Lanka and Laos, and airlines frequently offer deals to make these trips even more affordable.
By avoiding over-crowded and expensive European destinations, you can enjoy a longer holiday. Spending more time in a country gives you the chance to live like a local, fully immerse yourself in the culture, and make your budget go further – especially in countries with a lower cost of living.
Moldova and the Caucasus region are both incredibly affordable and highly rewarding. With regular connections to Europe’s main transport hubs, reaching this part of the world isn’t difficult or over-priced.
Shop around for flight deals. The Skyscanner site is excellent and simple. All you need to do is enter your destination and dates, and within seconds hundreds of sites and airlines have been searched for the best deals. Flying outside of the peak season always has better deals. Be flexible.
Choosing destinations with affordable flights or a lower cost of living can make a huge difference to your overall travel budget.
Final thoughts on ways to save while you travel
There are plenty of simple ways to save while travelling – whether its staying in local accommodation, cooking your own meals, using public transport, picking destinations that fit your budget, or being smart with how you spend. Living like a local is our favourite thing to do, and is what travelling is all about for us. By being adventurous, there’s not only money to be saved, there’s special moments to be had, that money can’t buy. Travelling is immersing yourself in strange and different lands. This is true travel. When you take the time to immerse yourself, connect with people, and support local communities, you’ll often walk away with new friends – and that’s what real travel is all about. Ultimately, living like a local not only assures you of an authentic and rewarding trip, it saves you money.
We’d love to know – How do you save when you’re on the road?