20 Ways To Save Money While Travelling The World
Want to go on your dream vacation? Or want to take an epic lifetime trip with your loved ones? You don’t have to be rich or a super saver for the same, only you need some agendas or plans to plan the trip. Here’s how I do it. I love to travel and here are my 20 ways to save money while travelling the world.
1. Eat like a Local
When I travel to a new place, I prefer to eat like locals at the local shops instead of fancy dining. This practice helps me to cut my money and connect more with local people. For example, if I travel to a new city instead of Starbucks I prefer to have a chay from a local tea shop while having a good conversation with them. It saves my pocket and helps me to know my neighbourhood.
2. Opt for Offseason
This is one of the valuable tips, I always follow. When we travel to a place in peak season or festive season the food, stay and commute cost would be much higher than in the offseason. Also, the trip value or satisfaction won’t be great due to the high crowd.
3. Join Walking Tours, Use Local Transport
The best way to save money (which I did on my Australia trip) is to avoid cabs and start using your legs. Walk as much as possible to cherish the locality and get the vibes. Also, most countries provide travel cards that can be used in any local transport like bus, train, ferry, metro, and all. Research before you go to a new place and buy the transport card accordingly.
You may like – (First Time In Sydney – The Important Checklist You Need To Follow)
4. Stay at Homestays, Hostels or do Couchsurf
Airbnb and couchsurf are very common words these days where you not only can get good deals for the stay but also get the opportunity to stay with locals and know the culture well. I stayed in hostels before and trust me the bond I have made with other roomies is priceless. Also, save money while travelling globally.
5. Have Brunch – No Breakfast, No Lunch
Generally, when I travel, I prefer to have a big and tummy-full brunch instead of breakfast and lunch which helps me to wake up at noon and save some extra bucks too.
6. Use your Hotel Room wisely & Save Money While Travelling
In most cases, hotels provide minibars full of wines, beers, food, chocolates and mineral waters. Intake those according to your pocket as in most of the cases these are on extra charge(which basically are pretty costly). To avoid late-night snacking in hotel rooms.
You May read my 5* hotels review here
7. Start a Dedicated Travel Fund
If you are planning for your dream vacation, it is advisable to start saving from scratch. Trust me, it will save you from the last-minute crisis. Make it a habit, make it real and you will see the result in the end.
8. Visit Free Spots
There are tons of museums, churches, parks and amusement zones available in every city and you can avail of them without spending any penny. Do your research, as some paid zones also provide free access on certain days. Some zones also provide corporate, and student discounts so if you fall for any of those categories utilize your power.
9. Work on those Extra Hours
It’s important to work your ass off as money is very important in every case. Either you travel or go out or shop anything. So pick a job, work extra hours or work some freelance work to save money for travel.
I have a full-time job and apart from I earn from freelance work (blog, videos, social media) to fulfil my travel thrust.
10. Sign up for Travel Related Newsletters
Different types of countries have their own festivals and special days. If you sign up for travel newsletters of different airlines, hotel chains or country tourism newsletters you can easily crack the special deals which they often publish in their newsletters. These hacks are really very useful and budget-friendly.
11. Refrain from any kind of Addiction
It’s ok to have alcohol or smoke sometimes but refrain from the addiction. Trust me, alcohol or any other addiction is not only harmful to your body but also very expensive to maintain. Save that money for your travel and travel more miles with that money.
12. Carry Reusable Water Bottles
This can help you to prevent buying water from the shop and also save mother nature from plastic. Carrying a reusable bottle is always advisable while travelling which is sustainable and responsible.
13. Track your Spending
Keep track of your spending while saving money on a monthly or weekly basis. It is important to understand that savings only can not save you from a long-term travel plan and you need to work on your spending too. Buy the stuff you only need.
14. Cook more, Go out less
We generally spend money on food while having dinner or lunch outside. If you really want to save money for travel, you need to practise cooking at home which not only saves all those service charges, and tips but also creates a healthy lifestyle side by side.
15. Reduce your Utilities
Start practising turning down the switches of the fan, ac and light when you are not available in the room. Unplug gadgets when not in use. Start implementing these small habits in your daily lifestyle and you will see the result on your utility bills.
16. Go for a Group Plan instead of a Solo Plan
If you are a die-hard fan of GOT, Money Heist or other series available on Netflix, Amazon Prime or Hotstar then consider making a group of friends or family and setting up a family account of the online binge-watching sites. You’ll cut down considerably on how much you’re spending every month if everybody agrees to contribute a few dollars to the same account month-wise.
17. Buy Local Brands while travelling
There is a proverb said that give your society back whenever possible. Try local brands for food or souvenirs instead of branded shopping. It is budget-friendly and also a nice initiative to support locals while travelling.
18. Find Ways to Work and Travel together
Have you ever considered working while travelling to make some extra pennies? There are lots of sites that provide remote part-time or freelance work. Also, if you have some unique skills like teaching English, playing music or cooking skills you can exchange your skills with free food or stay.
19. Share Meals with others
It’s amazing if you can share meals with your fellow travellers and do a contribution to the bill! Everyone needs to eat, and many of the people you’ll meet at hostels or while travelling will be in the same position as you — they’ll need to eat on a budget. So, go ahead and ask them for group lunch or dinner and save money while making friends for life.
20. Carry Small notes and a Credit card
Small notes remind us how much we have to spend on any shopping or Caffe. In any foreign country, every currency has different values. So, keep the changes and keep different types of notes to avoid mistakes. Carry an extra credit card for the safer side.
Bonus Points:
If you are travelling for a long time span with a layover in between try to take a long layover so that you can cover the layover country too. Few countries offer free tours (Changi airport provides free Singapore tours without any cost or visa).
Also, if you are covering two places via train or bus, then use a night bus or train to save your day trip and also the night hotel charge.
So, when are you planning for your next trip?
Let me know if you want to add some more points…
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Very good post about the ways to save money while traveling the world. Highly informative for travellers and nicely written. Keep up the good work.
Couldn’t agree more on these points. I absolutely love to eat like locals, these points makes one travel more deeper too in addition to saving money. Great list
Thanks for the well-compiled list and most of the things mentioned in the list are doable without much problem. If luxury is not in mind, then anyone can travel easily on a limited budget.
All the points are so great. Among them all, I liked most the eighteenth point as it’s a great way to walk parallel with passion and profession. Your post should be saved for future purpose. These tips are gems for travel lovers.
These are some helpful pointers for sure.. I feel eating like local and home stay is the best way to save money and make the most of good experience during the trip
All the tips are on point. If anyone has a limited budget, will definitely try all these tips to travel easily. Let me bookmark it.
What a timely post with the economy crashing everywhere!
Totally with you on this
Most of these points not just help while traveling but also while you’re trying to hustle, make ends meet, and create a beautiful future. Thanks for these points Pam!
People have this strange misconception that traveling is expensive. Your very helpful tips just prove that it does not have to be. I hope more people read his post, with suggestions that very few think of, before they plan their next trip.
Very well written and very informative post. If people like to travel in a budget friendly way then by following these useful tips they can save a lot.
Nice post with many practical tips. However, offseason visits can have a drawback too. Many of the local attractions in some countries close down during the off-season. So that needs to be researched too to avoid visiting a place but having none of the famous attractions to see or enjoy.
Yes I have signed for newsletter & I didn’t knew Singapore provide free tour while layover.
Very good post with lots of important points
For regular travellers and travel lovers, these are such amazing tips on saving money and still be able to have an enriching experience in life. I agree that we should just be like locals and focus more on experience rather than on spending.
These are some really practical and sensible tips for saving money while traveling. Traveling off-season saves a lot of money in terms of cheaper flights and accommodation, plus the bonus is that the places too will be less crowded.
These are a simple, practical, and very doable pointer. Another idea could be thrift store shopping which can save money if shopping is on your mind. It’s so nice how you’re managing your full-time job with your passion for travel.
Sone really good ideas for travel!! Reading this blog i got all charged up to plan a trip soon !!!
These are some really good tips to save money. Planning in advance and doing the booking early on helps in reduced prices of air tickets, as they tend to become costlier towards the date of departure. Sandy N Vyjay
Great post for youngsters…we oldies need our comfort and hostels, CouchSurfing is not for us. How I wish I was young again and could backpack the world.
All your pointers are exceptional and I’ve tried a few so can vouch that they definitely work. Eat local bring one of the best for foodies and save some bucks as well.
Liked all the expert pointers here. The post will come in handy when I plan for my next trip:)
these are some great and doable tips to enjoy the places on a shoestring budget.
These are really easy and practical tips. Some that we do know but generally don’t follow. I totally agree about eating like a local. That is where you get authentic local food.
I totally agree with all your points. When my husband and I travel we also try to stay in budget by following these points specially eating brunch and staying in homestays, travelling local.
So many points to pick up again – some forgotten so a refresh is useful and some we may have to junk considering that ‘those’ days are long past – But most of the points still redeemable!!!
I love to explore new places…. But sometimes I have to stop myself from travelling …. Sometimes season, sometimes finance…. This blog gave me a lot of ideas regarding less expenses….. Thanks for sharing
This is indeed quite a comprehensive list of tips. And also quite doable. The best way to enjoy a holiday is to eat, travel, and shop like a local. It is where we discover those hidden gems.
Perfect crisp guideline to prepare yourself to enjoy your trip to the fullest by being easy on your pockets. The bonus point suggestion is a cherry on the cake. I hope that things get better soon to bring back the fun of traveling to our life.
One of my dreams is to travel the world. Thanks for sharing such wonderful tips. They are very helpful.
These tips are so helpful to save for traveling. Thank you Pamela for making it easier for me to plan and save for travels
Very good pointers for those who travel often . I can pick few suggestions for sure that can let me be more relaxed and enjoy my travel without being stressed about money.
Traveling is something that we are all.waiting for. Carefree travel is a bliss. And thanks for the tips. They are really heloful
I travel a lot and trust me these points are really helpful. These things help actually.
There’s no doubt that we are is looking for ways to save money. Great realistic and practical ways to save money for travel.
Very good post and useful tips. I do follow most of them and I also go for budgeted airlines and light weighted mostly so I can save money on flights.
I think it is even crucial now with all the things happening that everyone starts using these tips to save money while traveling. There are many ways one can cut corners and save up money.
Your pointers are so well explained and it also makes us aware of all the options that are available yet we may miss them, Thanks for consolidating all pointers, shall start on saving for the travel plans that will take place after a year or so.
Now when i come to think these pointers can actually pull off my budget ideas of travel & keep me afloat all through the sojourns
These are really great tips and I will use them wisely. I still haven’t tried sign for newsletter,this is really great information.
This is an excellent list Pamela! We too use most of these to save to travel the world!
Thanks for the lovely read. Very good tips for a solo traveler. Not sure these tips work when you’re traveling with family.
This is hands down one of the most effective and easy to use tricks for traveling …….. thanks for sharing and beautifully writing it.
No gyan just to the point stuff
Very nice article Pamela. We usually follow most of the points you mentioned here. Helpful points to save some money for any kind of traveler.
That’s very helpful tips for saving money while traveling. Like the idea of traveling in off season to cut off the extra expenses
These are great tips that you have shared. I remember for my euro trip, we did the same, no breakfast, go for brunch. And also walk walk walk and some more walk to save some bucks and also explore the place by foot.
Oh yes whenever I am travelling I try to eat local and shop local stuff so that it helps promote the tourism of the destination further. Also I try to visit famous spots that are free.
Pretty nice inputs…In fact relatable
Good thinking