Travel has always been a personal passion of mine. The ability to experience different cultures, climates, and cuisines has always been attractive to me. Like anything else, travel costs can vary widely. However, the ability to piece together an enjoyable vacation, while still staying on budget, can be a skill of its own. The travel world has evolved significantly and is forever changing. In order to pursue my passion of travel, without derailing my financial goals in the process, I have developed a few tips and tricks that have helped me along the way.
1. Flexibility: Flexibility of dates of travel and timing offlights can be significant money savers. Being willing fly on a Tuesday instead of a Sunday or be on the first/last flight out of the day can possibly save you hundreds of dollars, if not more. Airlines work on dynamic pricing so costs are always changing and unpredictable. Tip: Using a search engine ( Google Flights is my favorite) can help you price flights to and from your destination, determine if the cost is low, average, or high relative to available statistics, and provides a date grid that can give you combinations of dates that may bring the cost of the ticket down. Google Flights has even introduced a feature (for some routes) that will refund you the difference if there is a reduction in flight price. Using Google Flights has significantly improved my ability to find a reasonably priced flight across all major airlines (exception: Southwest- use their low fare calendar on website instead) without having to do the impossible task of manually inputting data into individual airline websites.
2. Shoulder Season: Shoulder season refers to the period of time between peak season ( “most desirable” time to be in the location) and off season (“least desirable” time to be in the location). It is a great time to travel to a particular location because it often offers a combination of enjoyable weather at reasonable prices due to lower tourism demand. Tip: Traveling in shoulder season can be a great option for any destination, but can be even better for particularly expensive destinations. Not only will you appreciate better pricing with lodging, but planning activities and meals likely will offer much greater availability due to less tourists flooding the area. A simple google search can reveal what is considered shoulder season for any destination you have in mind.
3. Credit Card Points/Airline Miles/Loyalty Status: The use of credit card/airline/hotel points is an amazing way to lower the cost of any trip. “Travel hacking”, as this hobby is referred to, has become an integral part of many travel lovers tool kits. Understanding how to best optimize these points can play an unparalleled role in reducing your travel costs as you begin to explore the world. Tip: I have recently spent a significant amount of time reading and taking free courses on how to best earn and redeem these points as I go about my daily spending. The goal of travel hacking is to maximize the earning of points through your existing, organic spend and maximizing the redemption of those accumulated points. Many people fall trap into spending more money to “get more points”. However, the optimal way to travel hack and preserve your existing budget is to understand which cards best suit your current line items in your budget and which return most points for that particular spend.
4. Free Activities, Tours, and Events: Many people assume that filling a day of travel translates to more money spent. In reality, many cities offer plenty of free activities, tours, and events. A simple google search will offer a plethora of resources to point you in the correct direction. Tip: One of the first things I do when building my travel itinerary is search for free walking tours of my destination. I try to schedule those for the day of arrival or day immediately following to help get my bearing of the city as well as an introduction to the history and culture of the country. Tour guides are also great at making recommendations for food and other events nearby. Always make sure to leave an appropriate tip!
5. Local Transit: Many countries have invested extensive amounts of money in making accessible and efficient transit. Public transit can be a reliable and affordable way to travel within a city, country, or even between countries. Researching the transit options to your preferred stops in a city before going can help you familiarize yourself with maps, stops, and costs beforehand. Tip: Google Maps is my go-to app when using transit abroad, as I’ve found it to be very specific and quite accurate. However, it is important to research any locally used transit apps that may enhance or simplify your experience in advance. Many countries will offer apps for transit that can be downloaded prior to your arrival. Familiarizing yourself with the navigation and use of these apps can be extremely helpful once you land in your new city.
Using some or all of the tips above can considerably help reduce your travel costs without having to compromise heavily on your actual experience. The key of money conscious travel is to preserve the joys of travel without having to face a hefty price tag. As you gain more expertise and familiarity in these aspects of travel, you will become significantly more comfortablefinding areas to save. Hopefully with these measurable savings, you can further unlock your travel passion while still staying track for your financial goals!
Disclosure: This site may receive compensation from the companies whose products I review. This site is independently owned and the opinions expressed here are my own.