Travel Hacks, How to Really Travel on a Budget
Flights, Let's Go... Somewhere
No matter how you slice it, travel is expensive because, existing is expensive. Flights, food, transportation, travel insurance and unexpected cost are all apart of the game! Though it is totally possible to get a big bang for your buck.
First up, flights. My motto is not "Where do I want to go," but rather, "Where will google flights take me?" If you are not using google flights to book your trips you are doing it wrong!
Step one, enter your departure location and then input a region of the world. For example, your Where to? should be Europe, Asia, South America etc. Take some time to zoom in, zoom out, hop around and compare prices. You can input hard dates, or flexible dates. This allows you to vye for the best possible prices. You can also do a oneway, look at the price grid and see what combination of departure and return dates are the least expensive. If you are, however, set on going to a specific location, never book right away. Turn on the price tracker, and google will notify you when to book!
Step two, you should be booking ALL your travel with the Capital One Travel Card. Click the link and sign up right now, I mean it, right now. This is a great starting travel card. Just by signing up I was received $255 towards airfare. Additionally, there is NO annual fee, you get 5x points back on travel related expenditures (to put towards more travel) AND (my favorite part): NO international transaction fees. These fees add up quickly, so this is an excellent benefit! Having the Capital One Card also allows you to track flights in addition to flight protection drops. This means that if Capital One tells you to book your airfare, and then the price drops, you will be refunded the difference. Talk about saving $!
Thirdly, if you are traveling to Europe from the US, the cheapest locations to fly into include, Iceland, Madrid, Barcelona and London. If you are planning on doing a tour of Europe, do not book a round trip flights, but rather oneway legs. Summer 2023, my Europe tour includes flights from Boston to Iceland, Iceland to London, London to Munich, Venice to Berlin, Berlin to New York for a whopping total of about $6oo, or about $120 per flight.
Tourist season and holidays are also pricey times to travel. Check the weather, research locations etc. The best prices are undoubtedly in the offseason. January 2023 I headed to Iceland with two of my girlfriends. It was cold but we got great prices on lodging and were even upgraded to better rooms because there were less people at the hostel.
A Place For ZZZ's: Lodging and Accommodation
Okay ladies, listen up! First things first: join the Host A Sister Facebook Group, if you don't have Facebook... what are you doing!? This group is a great way to network with kind souls from all over the world and find free accommodation in return. Some people open up their homes, and other times you will request to be hosted! It's a wonderful community and I highly recommend joining!
Let's talk about AirBnB. I LOVE AirBnB, but figuring out how to use it can really save you $$. If you are solo traveling, I recommend booking a room in household. Again, I personally prefer staying with women, though I have had great experiences being hosted by men too! Staying with a person who knows the area is a great way to get local recommendations, and cultural perspectives of the region you're in. While I love staying in hostels, it's not incredibly common to meet individuals from that country. If you're looking for a more authentic experience, I recommend airbnbing it! My first solo trip, I stayed in the Canary Islands with Carmen my host. We got along so well, and before I knew it she was showing me around the island! We shared meals together and I learned so many things that I otherwise would have not had the opportunity to know, if had stayed in a hostel or hotel.
Next up, HostleWorld! This is a great way to find your perfect hostel accommodation. My first ever hostel experience was at Kex, in Iceland. Not only are hostels great for budget travel, but also for meeting people from all over the world. At Kex I met people from 10+ different countries. I highly encourage researching that your hostel has a communal cooking area and zones of relaxations.