Travelling is the only addiction in life for some who like to explore and not settle. One might say that ‘addiction’ is such a negative word. I beg to differ. I can say that travel addiction is fruitful, where travelling revives health and nourishes the soul. On the other hand, people also complain about travelling being a costly affair. But they do not mention that the cost includes a lot of their comfort and luxury, while the travel costs are always minimal. They forget that one can save money while travelling too. Saving money as you travel is not a new concept and is implemented by many travellers. It is some that do not understand the virtues of it.

People often have an undaunting love for exploring but end up facing financial barriers. Some students make their bucket list of travelling before they get caught up with life. However, they often face the same issue of having limited means in their pocket.

You need not spend a fortune to visit your favourite destination or put a check on your long-awaited trip on your’ go-to list’. Some specific planning tricks and strategies can give us a lifetime experience on a budget.

Can You Save Money Being A Traveller?

Asking yourself this question brings you to the first step of saving money. Questioning helps in understanding and figuring out the ways to replenish the emptied wallet while you explore a new place.

There are a lot of creative ways to save money while travelling. You need to be flexible, do a little bit of planning and develop an adaptable nature. It becomes easier when you are backpacking or on a solo trip or travelling with friends.

In that case, certain compromises if you make can also be fun, and you can save some amount. So, let’s talk about the definite ways to save money while travelling.

Tips To Save Money While Travelling

Flight Tickets To Your Destinations

If you plan a trip and book a flight ticket quite earlier, you can save up a lot. Certain airlines come up with many offers to buy tickets at a very cheap rate at a particular time. You can keep an eye on those offers.

You may often find tickets at a lower rate on weekdays, so I should opt for earlier days like Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. If you don’t have to return within a fixed number of days and have extra time, you can refrain from choosing direct flights. In this way, the journeys would become a bit longer but you can save some extra penny. You can also do a comparative check to which website is offering the cheapest ticket to your destination with the help of Skyscanner.

Apart from this, you can think of more ways like keeping the luggage as light as possible to don’t have to pay extra at the airport. You can also give up on choosing your favourite seat on the flight. I mean, come on, it is just a matter of a few hours; you can adjust, right?

While Travelling Within a Country

If you are backpacking in Europe, you can avail services like “Bla Bla Car“. Here you can share a cab ride with others headed towards the same destination. You would save a handsome amount while enjoying a road trip.

If you are out to explore, I am sure you would have enough energy to walk. Walking is the best option to explore a place with its every detail. Walking down the streets of an unknown city gives us the pleasure of observing people, their activities and every nook and corner of the new place.

A way to get the essence of a place is best to travel in local transport. Like if you are travelling across India, you can opt for local transport as it is cheaper, and you get the flavour of the livelihood of the natives.

When you travel between cities, you can take the night buses to save some money while travelling.

Accommodation

Couch Surfing And Bed & Breakfast

Couch Surfing is one of the greatest inventions for travellers across the globe. You can connect with new people and stay with them when you are headed to their city. It is a convenient and cheaper way to find accommodation in a new town and is very famous in Europe. It gives a pleasant stay at a more affordable rate and becomes an overall delightful experience to meet new people, eat, stay, and chat together.

Besides couch surfing, there is ‘AirBnB’. Locals rent their homes or extra rooms for travellers. It is a great option when away from a big city and it is cheaper as well.

The host often gives us warmth and a good vibe that feels like home, and you are very likely to make friends for a lifetime.

Also Read: How To Volunteer Travel In India?

Hostels

Hostels are places where you share a room or dormitory with other people. Often equipped with bunk beds or standard beds, It is always cheaper than staying at hotels. It is good to pre-book a hostel as they are always the best way to save many at lodging. Especially students find it to be the most convenient option while backpacking. There are plenty of sites on the internet to book hostels, like Hostelworld.com, Agoda.com, Booking.com and Makemytrip.com

Camping

If you are on a solo trip or even with friends, camping is an amusing choice. One must carry a tent and sleeping gear, and you can save a lot of money. Besides saving expenses, the most notable benefit of camping is it helps us stay amidst nature. One can feel the true spirit of a wanderer. Our nomad soul gets refuelled. For bikepackers, camping is a common thing. You can try out camping at places close to nature and, of course, where it is allowed, and I can assure the immature travellers that you would never regret it.

Homestay

Several homestays are available across every tourist destination and even at offbeat places, which provide a beautiful stay for travellers. Local people lend their rooms to travellers at a per day rent. It is an excellent option for solo travellers in terms of safety, and the tariff is less than the hotels.

Travelling Off-Season To Save Money

Many travellers prefer to travel to popular tourist destinations in the ‘offseason. Because the places are less crowded and from the accommodation to food, everything become visit in the mountains in winter because will see only snow and nothing else. We have to research well before as many tourist attractions remain closed in the off-seasons owing to harsh weather conditions and other reasons. Therefore it should be kept in mind when to visit which place.

It is safe to analyse the best seasons when the places are less crowded and may not go for a complete offseason. For example, if you visit Brazil at ‘Carnaval do Rio’, you will discover a different aura. Still, you may find everything a bit more expensive. Therefore, if you do not have that specific will to experience the carnival, we can opt for an offseason and travel at a lower cost and fewer tourists.

Apart from food and lodging, there are specific other ways to curtail your expenses while travelling.

• If we are staying at a hostel, we can cook our own food. We can shop groceries at local markets where rates are lower and avoid eating at high-cost restaurants. 
• Eating at local eateries can give us the actual flavour of a place because food directly connects with travelling. We have done nothing if we have not tasted the traditional dishes of the place we are staying at. Eating at local restaurants or with local people adds up to our journey and helps us save money.
• If you are a student, your student’s id can get you a discount at certain places like museums, historical monuments and other places. If you are studying in Europe, you can try to get yourself an ‘ESN Card’, which discounts students who are travelling. You can get all the information at the local ESN section.
• We should try to cut out on shopping to cut down expenses. We love to bring souvenirs from places we visit but let’s try to keep them till there. A small token is enough to remember a place after years. The real memories are those that we create while going places and meeting people, and those will be lingering in our minds all the time, right?
• It might sound funny, but I believe here, too, networking is essential. We should make friends so that when we are travelling to their part of the world we end up staying at their place and the entire cost of the hotel is done away with. However, don’t forget to promise your friend to do the same when travelling to your city.

You need to be aware and do a bit of research. You can have marvellous wandering experiences even on a modest budget. So, don’t just wait till your pockets are filled. Keep on increasing the pocket size with increased travel savings. You can always save money while travelling and can thank me later.