18 Excellent Tips To Save Money While Travelling?

“You don’t have to be rich to travel well.” ~Eugene Fodor

Can you imagine a trip from Delhi to Munsiyari via Kausani, Uttarakhand of 5 days and 6 nights for just Rs. 5000 !!

Sounds interesting, right?

Before moving ahead let me ask;

Are you a traveller? 

If yes, you might be getting bored and thinking to get out of your day to day routine life and travel to explore. 

Isn’t it true?

But what if you have tight budgeted pockets and want to save money while traveling? 

Yes, generally, the budget is the first and foremost determining factor as it definitely matters!

But in my case, I think of a place from my bucket list and then decide some easy ways to reach there by spending less and carrying more of beautiful, sweet memories with me. Savings are always good, but having fun and living experiences are equally important!

Smart money habits and skilful budgeting are some of the most important skills in life. We all want to cut short our expenses and have larger savings to travel more. Travelling for me is a necessity and I can find numerous ways to save money.

Before revealing the ways let me share why I save money and travel? 

Why I save money and Travel

1. It boosts my street smartness
2. Adds more experience while travelling 
3. Supports visiting many more places by saving money 
4. Improves me as a person 
5. Brings the habit of managing the budget and save money
6. Encourages me to meet people from different cultures 
7. Helps collect the priceless memories
8. I save money to plan my next trips

Let me share some proven best ways to save money while travelling for the long-term.

1.Travel in Off-Seasons to save money

You might have heard people saying it’s the season to travel, trust me there is no season to travel. Even hill stations have some timings like October to February but some places become more expensive during Christmas and New Year’s, during winters and during spring breaks.

 If you avoid these times of the year, you’ll find the best hotels that want to fill up their properties that may discount prices in order to draw visitors in the off-season and lower flight prices. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are often the cheapest days to fly, so you can save many round trips and can save money just by hacking your vacation schedule.

2. Join Local Social Media Groups 

There are hundreds of groups available on Facebook, Instagram, Quora and Telegram. After deciding a place, search these groups and start connecting to local people, ask questions and reviews. These reviews and answers would be genuine and can guide you about the actual weather conditions and other important timings to travel. 

3. Use your own Social Networks

Always remember your network is a treasure you have. Ask your mutual friends whom you might have connected in your past or present even from social media. They will warmly welcome you at their place. It will help you in many ways as they will welcome you like their own guest, you will know each and everything about that place to visit, and many more such things. It might cost you a few beers but you will enjoy this trip to the fullest. It won’t feel like just another tourist and you’ll make friends for life. This is how a true traveller travels and save money.

4. Compare Booking Portals to Get Best Prices to Save Money

All Booking Portals have something very unique to offer you, don’t just follow any particular portal, visit most trusted few sites like Make My Trip, Yatra, Cleartrip, Goibibo, Expedia, etc. to get crazy offers and deals and save money.

5. Take Overnight Trains and Buses 

Planning is the most important part of any travelling. One of the important plans is to travel overnight and reach places in the morning to visit. you’ll get where you need to go and save money on a night’s worth of accommodation by enjoying your journey. Overnight journeys are more suitable in summers as in the morning it takes more hours to travel due to heavy traffic and warm weather. So, it’s soothing and cost-saving to travel at night.

6. Be Flexible with your Plans

This is something we should learn from western culture. Travelers come to India and live here for at least 6 months to 1 Year.  They explore a place more than even we could. It’s true that if you want to travel to a particular place, be flexible about the timing or else have a full proof plan beforehand. If you want to travel a certain time, be flexible about the location. Choose one — not both. Otherwise, it would become a more stressful journey than a peaceful journey.

7. Shop Less, Click More Photos and make Vlogs

Shopping is always our favourite but sometimes we end up buying unnecessary things just for the sake of being at this place. We buy things for ourselves as well as for others. Make a small budget for shopping and click more pictures and make vlogs, as I consider that a picture says it all. Invest in a good action camera and other useful gears. Trust me you will love it more as photos give you pleasure for longer times and don’t weigh down your luggage, and they definitely don’t spoil, rot, collect dust or break. Above all, once you stop shopping, you’ll notice how much you can save money.

8. Travel in Public Transportation to Save Money

Using public transportation while travelling is always an adventure. It opens eyes to a different culture and a glimpse of how locals live. Also, it’s not only an affordable way to see a new destination but a sustainable one as well. The most important thing to know while travelling local is to stay informed. 

9. Live in Hostels

Hostels are good for your budgets, one can even spend a month and it’s the best effective way to save your pockets. Like Zostel, goStops, The Hosteller and Backpackers. Such hostels are a place to make connections, to meet new people from other parts of the world, to have access to the helpful staff, to take part in group outings and to learn together.

There’s one more option known as Youth Hostels which is a joint venture of the Central and State Government. Youth Hostels have been built to promote youth travel within the country by providing low-cost budget accommodation and facilities to students and youth groups travelling on excursions or study tours. The aim of the scheme is to encourage youth travel to enable the youth know more about the diversity of India’s culture and people. 

Must Read – 38 Ways to save money while traveling 

10. Eat Loca to Save Money

Eating at expensive and famous restaurants can make you sick, follow the locals to eat the food. Street food and small single-dish restaurants have tastier, much cheaper food and if there’s a crowd of locals out at the door, you’ve much less chance of getting sick than when you’re the only person in an empty hotel restaurant and paying large bucks.

11. Use Discount Coupons, Deals and Credit Cards

There are times when we can get exciting offers through some vouchers and deals for our travel and accommodation, just a thing required is to stay updated and use the opportunity. Credit cards have some deals which can save some charges and fees on different restaurants and cafes. 

12. Meet More Local People 

Anywhere you go, locals know each and everything of it. Meet locals and they will help you for sure. They will share ways to travel and suitable timings about any attraction found in the place. There is a higher chance of getting homestays to live in. Those people only demand love and respect and sometimes little money for their service which is enough for their livelihood. 

13. Walk and Explore more 

We all must have seen the movie “Jab We Met” of Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor and the song “Hum jo chalne lage” actually shows the true travel leisure walking on roads, eating and enjoying the journey by feeling these roads now seem better than the destination; it is something I felt myself while travelling. If the destination is not so away we can walk rather than taking a taxi. If it’s a little far we can consider mass transit. Mass transit is more environment-friendly and usually saves money (especially if travelling solo). Overall, walking and figuring out the other modes of transportation like bus, subway or train routes helps us to avoid hefty prices on taxi travel.

14. Always Withdraw the money and never exchange 

Your Bank account has some good offers and currency exchange rates always if you are travelling abroad. You don’t need to spend much extra on exchanging the currency. You can use an ATM to withdraw your cash. 

15. Always carry your IDs to Save Money

Sometimes your identity can help you get some discounts especially if you are a  student. It happens in some of the ancient monuments’ entry fees like City Palace of Udaipur, Amber Fort of Jaipur, and many similar places. So carrying your ID can save your entry fees. 

16. Try renting bikes to travel within the city (only if walking isn’t possible)

I understand that walking isn’t possible for all and at all times. For this, there is an option to rent bikes and explore places within the city. Renting bikes is generally a cost saving option rather than opting for cabs, and it benefits you as it’s just like your own vehicle which you can take anywhere and enjoy rides to better know the city and experience different ways to visit many places.

Pro-Tip 

17. Stay far from financially irresponsible people!

Travel with likeminded people if you really want to explore and save money, if your aim is to experience a journey but spend less, and you have people who think to spend more on luxury or possess more likeness towards spending more on costliest hotels, AC rides, expensive foods etc., then it’s better not to travel with them. They might surely be people who love only luxury travels, but if your pocket is oozing to stay strictly budgeted then find a way to say a NO to such people unless your aim is to travel this way and you can also be as good in spending large bucks.

18. Always have some extra saved money as a reserve deposit

Having a reserve deposit while you are travelling can help you save yourself from any kind of calamities like theft or loss while travelling or some kind of medical emergency. For such cases, it’s advisable to carry some extra money other than for travel.  

Motivation is the key especially for the women who travel solo and require self confidence. Read a special article on Self Motivation for women during tough times.

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