Travel Tips: How To Travel On A Tight Budget

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Growing up, I always had a love for reading. There was something about settling into a good book, exploring the relationships between unique characters, and adventuring into another time or culture that simply could captivate me for hours. Even now, the thought of spending an afternoon reading a fascinating book with a hot cup of tea sounds delightful. As I have gotten older, the same intrigue and delight that I have found in a good book has spilled over into the worldwide arena of travel. As I travel, I also can adventure into another culture, explore the relationships between unique local characters, and become immersed into learning about another way of life. There is a beauty to being able to explore a wilderness, new activity or culinary delight while having your eyes opened to someone else’s part of the world. Travel in many ways is like walking into the storyline of a book and finding yourself as the main character.

But, unlike a book that you can find at the library, travel does not come free.

Or can it?

There are occasions in which travel could come pretty close to being free. And if not free, at least much reduced from the typical costs associated with taking a vacation. Over the past few years, Charlie and I have spent many a night researching the best ways to travel and experience new places without breaking the bank. These next categories are the tips that we have found most helpful in majorly reducing our spending while allowing us to travel on a tight budget.

TRAVEL ON A TIGHT BUDGET: INITIAL PLANNING

Consider Your Destination

Deciding on where to travel is not only the first step of the vacation process, but also the step that will most likely affect the stretch of your budget. It is very important to think through your destination before making any set plans that might blow your budget, but especially when related to covid restrictions, the setting and seasonality.  Selecting a destination that is very exclusive and hard to reach will likely become more expensive, while more traveled areas typically come with additional deals to attract travelers. Similarly, going in an off-season time might help to lower the costs, however you want to be sure that the region still operates during their off season and that no seasonal weather patterns (ex. hurricane season) will disrupt your vacation. Lastly, in relation to the Covid era in which we live, be sure that you are welcome to visit your destination and that you will not have to add a quarantine to start your trip. Likely, staying an additional 10 days would not work in your budget’s favor.

To read more on key destination considerations, check out our post on it HERE!

TRAVEL ON A TIGHT BUDGET: Transportation

Likewise, if you are open to a variety of vacation experiences, selecting a “multicity” flight can sometimes be more cost effective than even a round trip. For our anniversary trip, Charlie and I found that a “multicity” trip flying into Rome and out of Barcelona was much more cost effective than just round trip into Rome. Keep in mind that even airports within the same city can be considered “multicity” so playing around with both the Google ita Matrix and/or Skyscanner can save you big bucks on your flight costs. We have both of these sites bookmarked on our computers and frequently use them to help decide which destination options (that we already have narrowed down) are going to be the most cost effective for our vacation.

How Can You Fly For Free?

One of the biggest questions when it comes to traveling on a tight budget is how can you fly for free? While Skyscanner and Google ita Matrix will help you find cheap flights, they are not free. On the other hand, if you have airline loyalty, you can use the points/miles that you accrue over time to purchase flights. Typically for Delta, flights range anywhere between 9,000 and 150,000 points/miles per one-way, round trip or multicity flight, however each airline has its own scale of points/miles per redeemable flight.

Even with redeeming your points, you still will have to pay taxes, but hey, paying $15 to $100 for flight taxes instead of hundreds or thousands of dollars is definitely worth it. Charlie and I were able to book our flights to Rome and Barcelona for less than $200 for both of us round trip by using loyalty rewards. Typically, those flights would have cost about $1,800 a piece, so using loyalty rewards can be a HUGE cost savings if you are operating on a tight budget. So how can you join loyalty programs? I am glad you asked.

Capitalize On Airline Loyalty

In the process of deciding on your flights, consider airline loyalty. Within their loyalty programs, most airlines provide not only sign on bonuses, but also bonuses for being a loyalty member. Delta, United and American Airlines all provide bonuses for being a loyalty member and/or having their credit card.

Delta –

With Delta, you can become a SkyMiles member in which you can gain “SkyMiles” and increase your Medallion status every time you fly or buy flights through Delta. It is free to join, and you even can gain miles not only through Delta flights, but also their partner airline flights like Air France, Virgin Atlantic, Aeromexico etc. While you do not have to have a Delta credit card through American Express to have a SkyMiles account, having one of their credit cards is the easiest way to earn miles. When you sign up for one of their credit cards, you will typically get anywhere from 30,000 to 100,000 bonus miles (depending on the sign-up deal and credit card option selected at the time) added to your account. If you consider how some flights could be redeemed for 9,000 miles, just your sign-up bonus alone could provide multiple free flights. Not only that, but with many of the cards, you will also get your first checked bag free (as well as for your companions) and you are able to accrue miles on the money you spend on everyday purchases. Your SkyMiles never expire and can be redeemed for flights at any time. I believe the credit card is one of the fastest ways to gain SkyMiles for flights, however you certainly can have a SkyMiles account to gain SkyMiles for the flights you take already without the credit card.

American Airlines –

American Airlines has a very similar program to Delta which allows you to earn AAdvantage Status within their loyalty program. Like Delta, while you do not have to have a credit card to be a part of the program, it certainly helps. If you sign up for their Citi credit card, you can earn bonus miles (50,000 right now) for signing up, in addition to getting your first checked back free for you and your companions. With their recently revamped Loyalty Points program, you can also earn points for AAdvantage credit card purchases which can in turn be redeemed for flights. If you are curious about their AAdvantage program, you can check it out here or you can find out more about their Citi credit cards with this link.

United –

Just like the Delta SkyMiles and American AAdvantage program, United has a program called the MileagePlus Program. You can gain status, miles and PlusPoints by buying and flying with United. To capitalize on their program, they also have a credit card available through Visa. Each credit card level comes with different rates of gaining miles on your purchases, with a variety of sign-up bonus mile awards and free checked bags.

The biggest overall takeaway is that it is free to be apart of these loyalty programs which can benefit you for years and save you TONS of money by capitalizing on the money that you already spend. Whichever airline you prefer, join their program, and capitalize on the rewards. It is great to be able to fly primarily through one airline, but if not, you might consider holding one credit card for one airline and have a typical loyalty account with another airline, so that you are not missing out on free miles every time you fly. Even children can have a free account to gain miles, so if you are traveling as a whole family, I would highly recommend signing them up too. This account will follow them through life and set them up well if they want to take free flights in the future. Talk about a major graduation present that just keeps on giving!

Evaluate Rental Cars vs. Public Transportation

Now that you have considered your flight options, you must process how you will explore your destination throughout your vacation. Deciding on whether you want to rent a rental car or use public transportation can come with a variety of factors.

What Is Your Age?

If you are under 25, you likely are going to incur additional charges for being young. Seeing this, if you are wanting to really stretch a limited budget, I would recommend opting for a destination that is a unique component in a large city or at least has great transportation. Eliminating the need for a rental car by using the subway, bus or train systems can be a great way to save money and will also prevent you from spending your time and money trying to find/pay for parking.

How Far Are You Wanting To Travel?

The second consideration is how far you are wanting to travel. If you are in Europe, you still likely will be able to use public transportation and/or another flight to travel an extended distance, however if you are wanting to explore certain areas of the United States, a rental car might be in order. To maximize your budget, if you do decide to rent a car, really explore the areas beyond where you are staying. If you are thinking of checking out a unique part of town or the state for only part of a day, you might consider looking into an uber instead of renting a car for your entire trip. Similarly, if you do decide to rent a car, a great option is the Airbnb of cars, Turo. Turo applies the concept of Airbnb to cars and allows you to rent someone else’s car for your given time frame. With a variety of car options and price points, you frequently can get a less expensive solution delivered to you without sacrificing roadside assistance or professional booking.

How Large Is Your Group?

Lastly, when considering renting a card vs. using public transportation, think of your group size. If your group has several people in it, sharing the cost of the car and gas becomes an easy way to save money throughout your travels. This especially can become the case if you decide to venture on a road trip, are traveling with kids or have extended sightseeing excursions. Just be sure to plan out how the costs will be distributed before your trip to make sure everyone is on the same page.

TRAVEL ON A TIGHT BUDGET: Lodging

Research Your Hotel Options

After you have figured out a way to effectively get to your destination, you must decide where you will stay. Traditionally lodging makes up for a good portion of a vacation budget, so be sure to do some research about the options for the area in which you are going. Several items to consider include hotel loyalty, boutique options, specials and Airbnb/VRBO availabilities.

Consider Airbnb or VRBO

Is An Airbnb (or VRBO) Cheaper Than A Hotel?

As you are researching hotel deals, also keep in mind Airbnb or VRBO. To answer the question of which is cheaper, you must think through a variety of items. Largely it depends on the location and quality of the Airbnb or VRBO in question, but also it depends on the fees and cost benefit analysis that is associated. Both companies are known for having a decent amount of fees, so be sure to check almost all the way out to fully understand what your “per night” rate will be. Similarly, is your vacation rental location going to make you have to rent a car or eat out every breakfast? If so, that could add cost to your trip if the hotel option you are considering is within walking distance to your attractions and provides breakfast within a reasonable nightly rate.

On the other side, if you have a large group to split the cost and you plan on eating many of your meals in, a vacation rental can provide you with a great cost savings. Just largely think through how you want to spend your time, what you want to experience and be realistic with yourself. If you don’t enjoy cooking, don’t plan on eating all your meals in just to save money. Use one of the other options that we discussed above and let food (or attractions etc.) be a part of the vacation experience that you are looking forward to.

TRAVEL ON A TIGHT BUDGET: Activities

Final Thoughts

When it comes to vacationing on a tight budget, you must first envision the vacation that you are saving for. Are you dying to try every experience when you travel, or do you primarily want to enjoy your surroundings and just be a in new environment? Planning out what kind of vacation you want and where you want to allocate your budget, is extremely important. If you can save tremendously on your flights and hotels through loyalty programs or cheap flights, perhaps you can go all in on all the food and attractions that you want to see. Or maybe you want to be completely beachfront and know your hotel is going to be an investment, but once you get there, you primarily will sit and soak up the sun. Be realistic with yourself when planning and after a bit of research and these travel tips, you can create a vacation that rivals your favorite book.

Happy traveling!

Chloe