Budget Travel: 29 Hacks for finding options to travel for cheaper
Updated: Mar 16, 2022
Get the Experiences, without the $$$. There are a lot of hacks to get around the hefty price tag that can come with traveling. Here are a few ways that we find discount travel, and hacks to travel while on a budget!
AutoSlash
AutoSlash helps you get the best possible price on a car rental. They do this by first applying coupons and discount codes to lower your rate. After booking, they continually monitor rates to look for better deals. We book a few months in advance when possible, and often have our rate cut in half as the trip approaches. Customers who use AutoSlash save an average of 30% on their rentals.
Don't rent your car at the Airport
. If you can take a shuttle or Uber/Lyft just to the pickup spot, a lot of times it can be $50- $100 cheaper per day to not rent from the airport directly. AutoSlash offers this option as well, which is how we originally discovered that it is cheaper to rent away from the airport.
If you do rent from the airport, aim to return your car back at the same airport. There can be hefty fees added on top to returning your car to a different Airport.
Also, if you know how to drive a manual car, they are often cheaper to rent than an automatic. This is especially handy in Europe.
We are an Expedia using Fam over here. We've used Expedia over and over again and can attest it is a tried and true source for us! You can use it to book vacation packages, flights, hotels, vacation rentals, rental cars, cruises, activities, attractions, and services.
Hotels.com is actually an affiliate of Expedia, but as I'm sure you guessed, only offers hotel rates. This specialization on their site finds the cheapest stays based on your needs, and can update you on upcoming deals for locations you are interested in! You can check out their website in the link Here!
2 out of 3 rule:
This is a traveling system that we came up with early on in our marriage. We split each trip into 3 categories. Your categories can be different than ours, but typically our 3 categories are lodging, food, and experiences. Each day on the trip we sacrifice one of the three areas and budget right in that area, and then allow ourselves to do whatever we would like in the other two areas. Depending on the trip and itinerary of the day which areas we prioritize and sacrifice change each day. For example, if we have a day with a lot of driving, we will probably not prioritize food and just eat snacks we brought or cheap fast food or gas station food, but then typically we stay at a decent hotel that night and if we see any experiences along the way that we want to stop and do, we pay for them. Or if we are camping outside of a city we are visiting, we will go all out on food and experiences in the city. This system works great for us to stay within our budgets.
Check multiple airports:
We are from Utah, so the two most accessible airports for us are the SLC International Airport, and the Ogden Municipal Airport. The Ogden Airport only flies to Phoenix, AZ and Burbank, CA. When we can't find good deals out of the SLC Airport, we will often check LAX and the Phoenix Airport. If we find the deal we are looking for there, we know we can easily fly from the Ogden Airport for about $50 to the Airport with our Deal. We also know we can drive the 7 ish hours to the Las Vegas Airport for deals we find there. From SLC Airport there are also often very cheap flights to Denver, CO. Denver has good deals at times, and so we will just book flights to Denver and then whatever flight we are wanting to take out of Denver.
Be flexible & Plan Backwards:
I would say one of the BIGGEST mistakes that I see when trying to find deals on travel, or to budget travel, is having strict non-negotiables in your head. This is the quickest way to shoot down finding a deal. Most people plan a trip in this order: Choose a place they want to go, Decide on dates when they are free, then go look for very specific flights and corresponding hotels/rental cars. Well, in all honesty, most people are only "free" to travel when you also are (weekends, holidays, summer/spring breaks). This is another reason why it's expensive during those times when you also want to travel, its the simple rule of Supply and Demand. I suggest planning in the totally backwards order: Be on the lookout for multiple deals. With a few in mind check the dates when said deals are valid for. Then, make your schedule work with it. It sounds harder than it is. Remember, it's all about priorities. The reason I suggest choosing multiple at first is in case you really do have something over one of the dates that you can't miss, like a wedding or having a baby. I also suggest this because your next step will be to check local lodging, and rental car prices as this can help you narrow down your decision.
Travel in the Off and/or shoulder Season(s):
Just as I mentioned above, travel is all about supply and demand. Everyone wants to go during the BEST time of the year, hence why it is so expensive. If you can travel in the off season it's almost always extremely discounted. BUT, if your destination really hinges on the attractions and seasonal availability of the location, then I suggest the Shoulder season. The Shoulder Season is within a few months before or after the main tourist season of that area. Things will either be opening up or staying open a little longer. This way you can catch everything you want to see, without the crazy crowds.
In Europe, fly small airlines instead of taking trains:
When planning our Europe trip, we first were looking into traveling by train through the various countries, thinking it would be cheaper. But when comparing the exact same train routes to plane routes on small European Airlines, the flights were 2-3X CHEAPER! And saved SO MUCH TIME. The train rides would have been 8-14 hours, while the flights are 1-3 hours long. SO WORTH IT.
Book individual night stays rather than the entire stay at once:
When booking say a 4 night stay at a hotel, rather than booking for days 1-4 in one checkout, book days 1-2. then 2-3, 3-4, etc. each as individual bookings. You won't pay until you get to the hotel anyways, so it will end up being one payment. Often times, your multiple one night stays add up to be a lot less than the full time stay being booked at once! You may have to switch rooms during your stay, but saving money is worth it to me!
Skyscanner and Hopper Apps:
Skyscanner and Hopper are both apps that find cheap flights and hotel stays. When you book flights through Hopper it often gives you major discounts on the hotels you will be staying at. You can also choose to "watch" a trip, and Hopper will let you know about any price changes, as well as it will predict if your price with increase or decrease with time and let you know when to book. Skyscanner often finds slightly cheaper flights and gives more airline options than Hopper, but both are honestly great options. I would suggest checking both before booking.
Flights from Home
For my Salt Lake City and Las Vegas friends, Flights from home is for you. Flights from home is an Instagram Page that posts cheap flights for their followers from the Salt Lake City and Las Vegas Areas. They also offer a subscription service where they email you as soon as the flights appear and tell you exactly which dates and how to book to find the deals! We've used flights from home to visit Europe, Denver, South Carolina twice, Arizona, and Boston.
Visit the City Information Booth
You're probably scratching your head at how this could save you money... Just hear me out! This is something that we randomly started doing on one trip, and now it is the first thing we do on every single destination we arrive at. Not only can the Information booth let you know other attractions to see that you may not have known about, they often have vouchers and coupons that save you money! The info booths almost always save us money on local tours, and because a local most likely works there, it often helps us find our favorite things we have done.
Free Parking
I promise you, it exists. You may have to search harder and park further away and walk, but parking can add up fast on a trip!! Finding free parking can easily save you $20 a day or more on your trip. Also, you most likely will be parking further away from main attractions which helps to avoid traffic.
Off Season Travel
Traveling in the off season is great for so many reasons, even beyond saving money. Due to demand being lower during this time of year, it often makes cost go down as well, which is to be expected. It also usually means that you will be one of the few tourists, which allows you to really authentically experience the area without crowds of visitors.
Carry On Only
I haven’t checked a bag in years on a plane. Truly, all you need is a backpack and a carry on rolling suitcase. Truth be told I am a MASTER packer, so this could be part of the reason why I only need such a small bag. If you use packing cubes and roll your clothes rather than folding them, you can do a lot with a little space. Also, put your shoes in the backpack you bring as a personal item, it frees up a lot of space in your suitcase! Pack items that you can mix and match and wear more than once. We also often stay at locations with a washer and dryer so we can do laundry along the way if needed. Here is a link to the carry on suitcase that I personally use on Amazon.
Mistake Fares
This is a more rare occurrence, but sometimes airlines make a mistake and list a flight price way below what it is actually valued at. You have to jump on booking these immediately when you see them, because when they catch the error they often do correct it to the right price. For those who did book at the low price, they often do honor that price, but may also refund you and cancel the trip. This is a very rare and volatile way to bank on trips, but it has worked before. I’ve seen $30 flights from SLC to Washington DC, $20 flights to Los Angeles, and $400 flights to Portugal. Most of these lasted less than 24 hours.
Sleep in a Tent
Alright now, the version of camping I’m talking about can range from “glamping” to absolutely roughing it. We’ve done both. Plenty of the destinations that we’ve visited we’ve thrown our $20 tent in the trunk, and popped it up anywhere and slept in it. We’ve found a lot of free (and legal) places to camp, as well as have used KOAs in the past too. (We personally consider a KOA to be our version of “glamping” because there are bathrooms and washer and dryers). If you’re willing to sleep on the ground in a tent, it can easily knock $500 off your trip, if not more. This also allows you to splurge more in the other area's mentioned in the 2 out of 3 rule.
Stay with People you know
If you are lucky enough to be visiting near family or friends, and if they are kind enough to allow you to stay with them, do it. This works well with the 2 out of 3 rule that I talked about earlier. This allows you to spend more in your other two categories!
Barter
We've found that when visiting local markets, both within the U.S. and in Foreign countries, many of the Artisan's are willing to negotiate prices with you, especially when you buy in multiple quantities from them. Obviously please do be respectful of the time, energy, and skills that go into creating the product you are purchasing, but all in all they will appreciate your business.
Price Compare before you buy
This goes for literally EVERYTHING!!! Flights, rental cars, hotels, airbnb's, tours, transportation, attractions, etc. This can take a lot longer but be oh so worth it in the end. For example, we've had tours leaving from similar locations where we simply walked to each stand and asked how much they were charging. When we circled back to the first booth, he offered us $20 off. Or, we once were visiting the Carrowinds amusement park. We found out that that day only it was $30/per person if you booked online ahead of time, but $70/per person at the gate! Always do your research and get crafty with where you look.
Hikes are usually free
We personally LOVE to hike, so we typically try to look for the best hike(s) to do while visiting wherever we are. We only once have had to pay to actually visit a hike as it was on protected land, but it was still only $12 per person. If you are planning to hike in a State or National park you will have to pay for entry, but the hikes within the parks are free. This is a great way to work up am appetite for a big dinner that night and try the local food, kill time, and get some movement in if you happen to be driving a long distance.
Airbnb
I suggest Airbnb with a grain of salt. Airbnb CAN save you a lot of money, but it also can cost you a lot of money. If you are willing to rent out a room/loft in a house rather than an entire space, this can often help you to save money. Make sure you are double checking what the cleaning and maintenance fees are, because this can be where they really get you. We have stayed in an Airstream in someone's backyard before, and it actually was BEAUTIFUL and so affordable. We've also stayed in people's basements and guest rooms.
Hampton inn Rewards
For about 6 months of our marriage, my husband Jayk worked at a Hampton inn while he finished his Masters. If you travel often, they have a great rewards program that allows you to gain perks over time as you stay with them. Most locations also offer a free breakfast which helps to save money as well. If you can find a friend or family member who works for Hampton, or if you yourself are looking for a job, Hampton has the best deals for employees and friends/family of employees. We were able to get $35 hotel rooms while working there as well as 60% off car rentals. For our friends and family the discounts varied by location but we were able to share a lot of deals with others through this!
Rewards Credit Cards
There are so many different credit cards that you can use that help you accrue points you can use towards travel. We personally use the Chase Sapphire card and have loved benefits, money back, and points we have been able to use again and again towards future trips! I know Delta offers a great card as well with great benefits.
*updated as of 03/2022* We have been using the Delta skymiles card with AMEX now for 6 months, and already were able to get $1,000 off of our flights to Europe from SLC, Utah! We are obsessed with the rewards we have gotten through this card!
Pack snacks
If you are like me, you get hungry about every 2-3 hours. And when I get hungry I get HANGRY. This can easily derail our trip, and can be hard when you are driving long distances, have a jam packed day with activities, or are rushing to your next flight. Also, airport food is ridiculously expensive. I am the QUEEN of always having snacks on me, and this has saved us a lot of money while traveling to not have to stop for a meal or overpriced food.
Walk or Public Transportation
Forget Uber or Lyft!! If you are in a city, you most likely can walk to anywhere you need to be. Uber/Lyft adds up so quickly!! In some cities you can find free shuttles/trams as well, or buy day passes for cheap. For example, in Boston and Seattle there are extremely affordable and accessible forms of public transportation.
Scotts Cheap Flights
This is another instagram page that finds flight deals and mistake fares with a subscription similar to flights from home. It's always a good idea to diversify where you look for deals before you book!
Search for flights using a VPN
I've heard this one debated back and forth as to if it REALLY does help or not, but I've personally used this one to book my own flights at a discounted rate, so I can attest that it does work. It won't always be cheaper by massive amounts but anything helps right? Make sure to use an Incognito Browser when searching.
These are great tips! A lot of things I didn’t know or had never thought of!
Tell me more about booking individual night stays vs the whole stay at once. Will the savings vary at different hotel chains and what is the average amount I could expect to save?
Awesome tips! Have you ever used Skiplagged? I never have so I’m curious how it works