The In's and Out's for Traveling on a Budget

One of the reasons why people don’t travel is because it can get pretty expensive. Flights, hotels and transportation can cost you $1000 dollars easy if you are traveling internationally. I remember when I was in the states I would take one to two getaways a year. These trips were mostly flights to New York or California and after the flight and hotel the trip would end up costing more than my budget allowed. I had no idea about how to find the best deals or how these different apps can save me hundreds on one trip alone. Long story short, everyone wants to travel and there is no reason why you shouldn't!

Flights

When you are planning for a vacation the first thing to look at is the flight. Sometimes you may have to take a flight that is less convenient. Maybe it’s a low cost carrier or the flight has a layover of 10+ hours. 

These options often times can save you 200 to 300 dollars a plane ticket! If the layover is 10+ hours, you get a chance to go out and explore where you are! It’s like two vacations built into one vacation!

If the carrier is low cost bring food on the flight and make sure to bring movies and shows to keep you entertained. More often than not, low cost carriers charge for everything and do not have tv’s for you to keep yourself occupied and food can be well... inedible. Bring a neck pillow and blankets so you feel a bit more comfortable on the flight as well! 

Use apps like skyscanner and hopper! Skyscanner tells you the cheapest destination to fly to during your specific travel dates. It’s like closing your eyes and pointing to a map! Maybe you don’t have a specific place in mind but you just need a getaway? Skyscanner will tell you where you should take your vacation according to the cheapest destination right from where you are!

Hopper is another great app! It looks at all the flights once a destination has been selected and tells you when to buy your flight for the best price or if you should wait on the flight and book at another time. It will send you notifications to your phone or email when prices go up and when they go down!

Accommodations

Accommodations can get really pricey and let’s be honest sometimes the hotel itself may not be as important to you considering that you might only use it to sleep. Personally, I would rather use my money to do excursions and adventures so I tend to use AirBnB or  3-star hotels.  For a completely free option, Couch Surfing is a great way to meet people and get a free night’s stay out of it!  Make sure you look at the reviews beforehand, reviews say a lot about the hosts as well as the location!  Lots of the time couch surfing can also turn into a free camping trips depending on the destination! Hostels and  Hostel world is another great way to save money on accommodations! ​​​

Package Deals

Another great app, Expedia!  If you don’t have an account make sure to sign up!  When you’re shopping on the site make sure you look for the package deal option that includes a flight and a hotel!  Most of the time you end up getting a free night at the hotel because you booked both together and on the same website!  Disclaimer*** this is not always the case on the website, so make sure that you do the math! I have gotten some great deals from Expedia-$250 dollars for both flight and 2 nights in a hotel in India compared to booking separately for 500, however sometimes it ends up being the same. In that case shop around and find something that fits more within your budget!