Last year I visited six countries and spent less than most people pay for a single week in Cancun. No, I’m not independently wealthy. I’m not a trust fund kid or a travel influencer with sponsorship deals. I’m a regular person with a regular job who figured out how to save money on travel without sacrificing the experiences that make trips worthwhile.
My total travel spending in 2025 was about $4,200 for all six trips combined — flights, hotels, food, activities, everything. That works out to roughly $700 per trip, or about $350 per person since my partner and I split most costs. If that sounds impossible, stick with me. Every strategy I’m about to share is something I personally use to save money on travel, and none of them require giving up comfort or fun.
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How I Went from Overspending to Save Money on Travel
Three years ago, a five-day trip to Florida cost me nearly $3,000. I booked everything last minute, stayed at whatever hotel popped up first on Expedia, ate at tourist-trap restaurants, and took Ubers everywhere. It was fun, but when I got home and looked at my credit card bill, I felt physically sick. That trip should have cost half that — maybe less.
I spent the next few months reading everything I could about how to save money on travel. Blogs, subreddits, podcasts — I consumed it all. Turns out, the difference between an expensive trip and an affordable one usually isn’t the destination. It’s the planning. Or more accurately, the lack of it. Once I started being intentional about when I booked, how I booked, and where I spent money during trips, everything changed.
1. Use Google Flights Price Tracking
This is the single biggest tool in my travel savings arsenal. Google Flights lets you track prices for specific routes and sends email alerts when fares drop. I set up tracking for every trip at least three months in advance and wait for the sweet spot.
For our trip to Portugal last October, I watched round-trip flights from JFK hover around $680 for weeks. Then one Tuesday morning, I got an alert that they’d dropped to $389. I booked within the hour. That’s $291 saved per person just by being patient and letting technology do the monitoring for me. Google Flights is probably the easiest way to save money on travel before you even leave home.
2. Book Flights on Tuesdays and Wednesdays
This isn’t some old wives’ tale — I’ve tracked my own bookings for two years and Tuesday/Wednesday consistently have the lowest fares. Airlines often release sales on Monday evenings, and by Tuesday afternoon the competition has matched those prices. By Thursday, the deals start disappearing as weekend travelers start booking.
Flying midweek is even cheaper. A Wednesday-to-Wednesday trip almost always costs less than the traditional Saturday-to-Saturday that everyone else books. I saved $174 on our Nashville trip just by shifting departure from Saturday to Wednesday. Not a bad trade for a slightly different schedule.
3. Travel During Shoulder Season
Shoulder season — those weeks between peak and off-peak — is the sweet spot for budget travelers. You get decent weather, fewer crowds, and prices that are sometimes 40-50% lower than peak season. I went to Barcelona in late September instead of July, and my hotel was $89 per night instead of $210. Same hotel, same room, just different timing.
The trick is researching when shoulder season actually falls for your destination. For Europe, it’s generally April-May and September-October. For the Caribbean, it’s November and early December (before the holiday rush). For Southeast Asia, it varies wildly by country. Ten minutes of research can save you hundreds — it’s one of the most effective ways to save money on travel without compromising the experience.
4. Use Credit Card Points Strategically
I’m not talking about churning dozens of cards or gaming complicated systems. I have exactly two travel credit cards — the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Capital One Venture X. Between everyday spending and the sign-up bonuses, I earned enough points last year to cover two round-trip domestic flights completely free.
The key is putting all your regular spending on these cards (groceries, gas, subscriptions) and paying them off in full every month. You’re not spending extra money — you’re just routing the money you’d spend anyway through a card that gives you travel rewards. Over 12 months, that adds up to $500-800 worth of free travel. It’s hands-down one of the smartest ways to save money on travel.
5. Stay in Vacation Rentals Instead of Hotels
Hotels are convenient, but for trips longer than three nights, a vacation rental almost always saves money — especially if you’re traveling with others. A two-bedroom Airbnb in Lisbon cost us $65 per night, while the closest comparable hotel was $140. Plus, having a kitchen means you can cook some meals, which saves even more.
I always check both Airbnb and VRBO before booking, because the same property often has different prices on each platform. Also look for monthly discount offers — some hosts give 20-30% off for stays of a week or more. My partner and I split a rental with another couple in Costa Rica and each paid just $28 per night for a gorgeous place with a pool. That’s the kind of deal that makes you never want to book a hotel again.
6. Pack Light to Avoid Baggage Fees
Baggage fees are a sneaky budget killer. Spirit charges up to $65 each way for a carry-on if you don’t pre-pay, and even legacy airlines charge $35-40 for a checked bag. I’ve mastered the art of packing everything into a personal item — one of those maximum-size backpacks that fits under the seat. It took practice, but now I can do a 10-day trip with just that bag.
The trick is packing versatile clothing that mixes and matches, rolling instead of folding, and accepting that you’ll do laundry at some point. I bring travel-size detergent and wash clothes in the sink or use a local laundromat. Saving $60-130 in baggage fees per trip adds up fast when you’re trying to save money on travel across multiple trips per year.
7. Eat Like a Local to Save Money on Travel Food
Tourist restaurants near major attractions are almost always overpriced and mediocre. The best food — and the best prices — are where locals eat. I use Google Maps to find highly-rated restaurants a few blocks away from tourist zones, and the difference in both quality and price is dramatic. A lunch near the Colosseum in Rome cost me €22 for a basic pasta. Three blocks away, I found an incredible trattoria where the same dish was €9.
Markets and grocery stores are also goldmines for budget travelers. In Barcelona, I’d grab fresh bread, cheese, ham, and fruit from the Mercadona for about €6 and have a picnic lunch in the park that beat any restaurant. Breakfast is almost always cheaper made at your accommodation — even a simple coffee and pastry from a bakery costs a fraction of a hotel breakfast buffet. Food is one of the biggest areas where you can save money on travel without feeling like you’re missing out.
8. Use Public Transportation
Ubers and taxis eat through a travel budget faster than almost anything else. In most cities, public transit is cheap, efficient, and often faster than driving during rush hour. A weekly metro pass in Paris is about €22 — I tracked what those same trips would have cost by Uber and it would have been over €180.
I download the local transit app before arriving and figure out which pass makes sense. Most European cities offer tourist transit cards that include unlimited rides for a set number of days. In cities with good transit, I genuinely prefer it over driving — no parking headaches, no navigation stress, and you see more of the city from a bus window than from behind a steering wheel.
9. Book Activities Through Free Walking Tours
Free walking tours are one of my favorite travel discoveries. Companies like Sandemans and GuruWalk offer guided tours in nearly every major city, and they work on a tip-based model — you pay whatever you feel the tour was worth. I typically tip $10-15, and I’ve gotten tours that were better than $50 paid ones.
Beyond the tours themselves, the guides are usually locals who can recommend the best cheap restaurants, hidden viewpoints, and free attractions. I’ve gotten more useful tips from a single walking tour guide than from hours of research. It’s like having a local friend in every city, and it’s one of the most underrated ways to save money on travel while actually enhancing your experience.
10. Set Up Fare Alerts Everywhere
Beyond Google Flights, I use Going (formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights) for mistake fares and flash sales. Their free tier sends you domestic deals, and the premium tier ($49/year) includes international fares. Last year I caught a round-trip flight to Tokyo for $412 through one of their alerts — a route that normally costs $900+.
I also follow deal accounts on social media and have alerts set on Hopper for specific routes I’m interested in. The more nets you cast, the more deals you catch. It takes about 20 minutes to set everything up initially, and then it’s completely passive — deals just land in your inbox. For anyone serious about wanting to save money on travel, fare alerts are non-negotiable.
11. Consider Alternative Airports
Flying into a secondary airport can slash your fare dramatically. When I booked our trip to London, flying into Gatwick instead of Heathrow saved $127 per ticket. The train from Gatwick to central London takes 30 minutes and costs about $15. That’s a $112 net savings for a minor inconvenience.
In the US, this works too. If you’re visiting NYC, check Newark and even Stewart/Newburgh prices alongside JFK and LaGuardia. For the San Francisco area, Oakland and San Jose are often significantly cheaper than SFO. A $30 Uber from an alternative airport still beats paying $200 more for the “convenient” one. Flexibility with airports is one of the sneakiest tricks to save money on travel.
12. Travel Hack Your Accommodation
House sitting through sites like TrustedHousesitters has become one of my favorite ways to get free accommodation. You watch someone’s pets and home while they’re away, and in exchange you stay for free. I’ve house-sat in Austin, Denver, and even a farmhouse in Vermont. The annual membership is about $129, and if you land even one multi-night sit, it pays for itself immediately.
Hostels have also come a long way — many now offer private rooms that are nicer than budget hotels at half the price. In Lisbon, we stayed in a hostel private room for $42 per night that had a balcony overlooking the city. The comparable hotel next door was $95. Don’t dismiss hostels because of outdated stereotypes — they’re one of the most reliable ways to save money on travel accommodation.
Final Thoughts on How to Save Money on Travel
The biggest myth about travel is that it has to be expensive. My six trips last year cost less than what some people spend on a single all-inclusive resort week — and I had way more diverse and memorable experiences. The secret isn’t deprivation or discomfort. It’s being strategic about the big-ticket items (flights and accommodation) and making smart choices on the ground.
You don’t have to implement all twelve of these strategies at once. Start with two or three — maybe Google Flights tracking, shoulder season travel, and eating like a local — and build from there. Even small changes can save you hundreds per trip. Once you see how much you can save money on travel without giving up the things that make trips special, you’ll never go back to booking the old way. Your wallet and your passport will both thank you.
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