10 tips for traveling cheap | low-cost mode

1. Travel in low season

Avoid the crowds and the high prices by traveling outside high season. Flights and accommodation are cheaper, and destinations are less packed with tourists. Traveling off season doesn't always mean going at a destination's worst time. It can mean going in those transition months between seasons.

2. Book ahead

Planning ahead can save you a lot of money. Airlines and hotels often offer discounts for booking in advance. And the good, nice, cheap places to stay are the first to sell out.

We also suggest not booking the first flight you find. You can use flight search engines like Skyscanner, where you can search with flexible dates, compare different airlines and add layovers that bring the price down. After checking prices on a flight search engine, we suggest going to the airline's website and looking for that same flight, since sometimes it's cheaper there.

Another tip: sometimes adding a long layover can save you quite a bit of money, and it also lets you see an extra destination.

3. Go for budget accommodation

Booking.com and Agoda are the perfect search engines for finding all kinds of accommodation, from apartments and hostels to guesthouses and hotels, to suit all tastes and budgets. A good option if you want to cut costs is a place with a kitchen (shared or private), so you can cook and save on meals. You can also search for hostels all over the world on Hostelworld.

These days there are platforms that let you stay completely free! How do they work? We'll explain:

Couchsurfing: A platform that connects travelers with local hosts who offer free accommodation in their homes. It also lets you experience the local culture in a more authentic way, since you interact directly with the people who live there.

TrustedHousesitters: A platform that connects people who need someone to look after their home and pets while they're away with travelers willing to do it in exchange for free accommodation. It's an excellent option if you're looking to cut accommodation costs while enjoying a long stay in a new destination.

4. Save on food and drinks

Staying somewhere with a kitchen can help you save a lot of money, since you can cook and avoid eating out every day. Another way to save on food is to eat at places serving local food, which is usually much cheaper, and there's no better way to travel than by enjoying the local cuisine.

Carrying a refillable bottle is good not just for the environment but also for your wallet, since you won't be buying water all the time. In many countries you can refill it in public places, at water dispensers where you're staying or even from the tap (first find out whether the tap water is safe to drink 🙏🏻).

5. Walk or use public transportation

The best way to explore a new place is to walk and get lost in its streets. Whenever we arrive somewhere new, we end up walking dozens of kilometers a day. For longer distances, take public transportation instead of taxis. It's cheaper and gives you a better sense of local life. We suggest looking carefully into each city's transit pass options.

6. Travel light

Avoid extra baggage fees by traveling with a backpack or carry-on. You'll also be able to move around more easily and flexibly.

7. Take free walking tours and buy tourist passes

The best way to get to know a place is on its famous free walking tours. They aren't actually free, since you pay what you want, but they usually cost less than a private tour. You can book them here.

Many cities have tourist passes for visiting their famous attractions and museums, which saves you money. Don't forget to check whether there's one before buying tickets separately.

8. Travel with travel insurance

You might think of it as an expense that makes the trip cost more, but the truth is that if anything unexpected happens, it can save you from spending far more than you'd planned. Healthcare is very expensive in many countries, and the best advice we can give you is to always travel insured.

Here's 5% off with Heymondo and Assist 365, so you can choose whichever suits your needs.

9. Use a card with no fees

We use the N26 card, which charges no fees on transactions abroad and has a favorable exchange rate, and that saves us a lot of money on our trips. You can also manage everything from its intuitive app. If you're interested, you can find more information and apply for it, and get a €10 gift by using our link here.

10. Buy train and bus tickets ahead of time

As with flights, train and bus tickets can be cheaper if you buy them ahead of time. To get to another city or country, long-distance trains or buses are usually much cheaper than flying. 12Go is a perfect platform for finding this kind of transportation, with a range of options so you can plan your trips efficiently and cheaply. But if you're traveling around Europe, Omio may be a better choice.