7 Smart Ways to Cut Travel Expenses and Maximize Your Experience

If you’re feeling that call to broaden your horizon and see the world, you’re certainly not alone. Many people head off on their travels to experience new cultures, cuisines, and landscapes. However, traveling has the potential to cost a fortune, which is what puts many people off. Fortunately, we’ve got you covered with these seven smart ways to cut travel expenses.

Be Flexible with Dates

The prices for accommodation and flights are always more expensive during peak periods, but there’s no real pattern as to when the cheapest options will be during this time. Therefore, you should have flexibility when searching online. For example, instead of putting exact dates in for a week away, you could search across a whole month and simply book the cheapest dates. As accommodation and flights will make up a large portion of your total spending, it’s a good idea to learn how to find the cheapest flights and accommodation.

Find Budget Accommodation

If you don't set some boundaries, you’ll find that your accommodation will consume the majority of your budget, leaving you with very little to enjoy yourself. Therefore, you should learn how to find cheap accommodation options. For example, instead of staying in lavish hotels, search for hostels, Airbnbs, and homestays. In most cases, these options will be considerably cheaper - often saving hundreds of dollars across the duration of the trip.

Find Free Things to Do

Some activities will cost a lot of money, but there will be a lot more to do at very little cost. For example, instead of walking around the niche art show, explore the free museum or roam around a local park. If you’re stuck for inspiration on where to go, you can look at the walking tours and follow the route yourself. In most cases, you can find all of the information provided by the walking tour operator online.

Eat Where the Locals Eat

People need to eat, and popular tourist destinations know this, which is why you’ll find inflated prices. Therefore, when it’s time to enjoy a meal, head off the beaten track and find restaurants frequented by locals. Not only will you save plenty of money, but you’ll also have a unique cultural experience that you won’t find in a restaurant full of tourists.

Avoid Using Taxis or Renting Cars

When traveling within your destination, you’ll find that using taxis or renting a car will be fairly expensive. Whereas, if you’re willing to spend time observing a timetable and waiting for trains, trams, and buses, you’ll save a fortune on travel and have more money to spend on activities. If you’re visiting large cities like Paris, London, and Amsterdam, you’ll find they have incredible and affordable transportation networks.

Register for Newsletters

If you’re planning your trip well in advance, have a look online for travel-related newsletters to sign up for. As well as receiving useful travel information, you may be sent exclusive offers for attractions, flights, and accommodation. Even though newsletters will fill up your inbox, you can organize them into a dedicated travel folder and set exclusive notifications for incoming emails.

Consider Volunteering

If you’re heading out for a long traveling experience, then consider volunteering for an incredible experience. Even though you won’t get paid for volunteering, many placements will pay for travel, provide food, and even accommodation, which means you can spend more on other elements of the trip.

If you don’t budget and think about ways to slice travel costs, you’ll end up falling short of fulfilling your wanderlust. With these smart money-saving strategies on your side, you’ll be having that much-needed escape in no time.