I can’t afford to travel, it cost too much, I don’t have thousands or even hundreds of dollars saved for traveling, and we have a family of 5 its impossible.

Are you this person, are these your thoughts?

I am here to show you that you can travel on a small budget. In this blog and many of my blogs I will share my tips to finding the best deals and rates on hotels, flights, food, tours and much more.

First it takes patience to find good deals because you have to shop around for good prices. I love deals! Let me show you how I save money when I travel.

1. FIND A FLIGHT– Use sites like Cheap flights, Expedia, Kayak, and google flights click here  (this site will give you the lowest cost on the date you prefer and compare multiple airlines while supplying a direct link to the airline’s website you choose)

• Sometimes you may depart from your city using one airline and come back to your home using a totally different airline, THIS IS OK!
• Be sure to check baggage fees (and any other fees) ESPECIALLY with Spirit, their prices may be cheap and sometimes its a great choice and other times with all of the extra fees it isn’t worth it.
• Some airlines may allow you to hold your spot without paying for 24 hours (American and United Airlines are two I know of). This gives you plenty of time to shop around for different prices while holding a flight just in case you can not find one lower than the flight you have on hold.
• You can also book one way trips. Book a one way trip to your final destination and another separate one way trip going home.
• If you can be flexible with your dates, play around in google flights to find the best dates to travel. A lot of people depart on Friday and return home on Sunday. Leave on a Thursday and return home on a Saturday or Monday and your flight may be cheaper!
• Check out this blog to find the details on when to buy and what effects the cost of a flight click here

2. FIND A BUS/RENT A CAR– I personally have not had the opportunity to utilize the bus yet however I know people who travel successfully using greyhound click here. Now it may take you a little longer than a flight but its a great option, especially if you have large families.

• Here are a few websites for rental cars: rental cars click here , Hot wire click here, enterprise click here.

3. FIND SOMEWHERE TO STAY– I have used multiple different sites and stayed in different places such as staying on a layout bed couch in someone’s home, hotels, hostels, and renting someone’s entire home. I told you in the beginning I love deals and I take my time to shop around.

• Hotels– You can use sites like hotels.com, trivago, and expedia to book your hotel (You may also be able to combine hotel, car and flight to get a deal. I do not use that option because I rarely rent cars)
• Hostels– Hostels are great because you have the opportunity to meet people from around the World. My first time staying in a Hostel was in Belize city and the owner picked me up from the airport (at a lower rate than the taxis). The owner had a 2 bedroom apartment located above a small restaurant. One bedroom is where he and his girlfriend lived and the other room had 3 bunk beds. He gave me a key so I could come and go as I please and informed me of some places to visit.
  • –  Hostels around the world  click here or click here

• Homes– You can rent out someone’s home or room in their Home- Home away click here and Air BNB (use this link and receive a credit towards your first booking fyi this has to be your first time creating an account with your email to get the credit) click here

4. TRANSPORTATION– One of the things I do BEFORE planning to travel is to see if that city has a bus system. Oh my goodness the google map is excellent! Did you know that just how you use the google map for driving, you can use it for the local buses routes and walking to your destination? No? Well now you know!

5. PLACES TO EAT– The great thing about Air BNB, if you rent an entire home or even a room you will probably have access to a kitchen with dishes, pots and pans so you know what that means COOK, COOK, COOK, COOK, COOK (in My Rihanna’s voice) lol. Sure you can eat out every Day and night but you could save a lot of money by going to a local grocery store and whipping up your own meals. Buy some bread, sandwich meat, chips and drinks and have a picnic. Eating out every once in a while is good on for your budget as well as you get to enjoy that culture’s food.

6. TOURS/THINGS TO DO– This can be a little tricky because some cities have websites where it looks like it is a good deal; however you may be paying more just to have a tour guide when you can literally do the traveling on your own. Other times having a tour guide is great because how else would you get there or even know about the place?

• If you find a deal that seems great from a tour site, check the individual website where you will be going. For example if I saw a deal on a tour site for a water park in Cancun and the price seemed great; however when I went to the water park’s website it was a lower price and I could just catch the bus there so I would most definitely be on the bus!
• Check out what’s in the area by using google and go directly to the main website for pricing
• If it is a tourist city you may have people on the street selling tours and you may be able to negotiate the prices so put on your game face and suggest a lower price!

Last but not least once you have everything booked and planned; its time to pack, travel to your destination and enjoy your time away from work, school, or/ and your children lol.

I hope this blog helps you, encourages you, and opens your eyes to different ways to travel on a tight budget. I will be adding to this blog as I find more deals. I would like to invite you to read my other blogs on places that I have traveled to. Feel free to leave a comment/feedback. Thanks for stopping by!

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