We love traveling! If you are new here- we are currently trying to see all the US National Parks, been to 11 countries etc. I always say that I am traveling through motherhood while traveling through the world. Since we are a young family of 4, we have found some ways to travel for cheap/cheaper and even free. There are a lot of hacks that you can do that make a big difference. I am so excited to share with you some of my favorite hacks for how to travel for cheap. Some of these are big things and other small tips but when added together can help you save BIG!
And I have to preface this by saying I like to travel nice and do not try to stay in hostel or places like that. No offense if you do that is great but with kids especially I like to be comfortable and safe. So this are real tips that actually help besides staying in a Motel 6, hostel or couch surfring.
How to Travel for Cheap
Look for Bundle Attraction Discounts
See if the destination you are going to has city passes. There are often options for 3-5 days or you can choose a number of destinations that you want from a list. I have used city passes in Seattle, New York and other places. It of course depends if it is stuff you want to do anyway, how long you will be there etc. But if it is your first time to New York for example it can be a really good way to see a lot and save some money. Some places in New York can be really pricey like the Top of the Rock, The MET etc. The CityPASS has 14 destinations across the US. Here they are so you can check them out as you plan your next trip!
Travel on Wholesale Prices
By far my favorite tip for how to travel for cheap is to travel with wholesale prices. Yes this is possible and it will save you TONS! I am a member of a wholesale travel club and you can be too! I get access to a full travel inventory just like Priceline etc. But the prices aren’t marked up and it will show you the price compared to Expedia etc which is on average 40% cheaper. As a member you also get a park and get buddy passes that you can give to others. They are totally free to give away to friends/family/followers etc to try. And when they travel on the wholesale prices you get free travel points back to you.
It is really amazing! It feels like we can travel 5 star on a 2 star budget. There is even a 110% price guarantee that you are getting the best deal out there!
Think of it like the Costco of travel! So Expedia and all those companies get the same wholesale prices as the club does. But their business model is to mark up the travel and that is how they profit. Well with a travel club you just pay a small membership to get the deals strictly wholesale. You can book as much or as little as you want. You even get 1-3% back to travel on again. It isn’t too good to be true- we have been using it strictly for a year and a half. We even had enough points to go to Europe for the first time- ALL FREE! And every member gets a free trip every year– all you have to do is pay the taxes.
So even if you only travel once a year it is more than worth it to try it out. And most likely it will be able to help you travel more with the savings you get. I could go on and on but basically it has saved us thousands! I only have a handful of buddy passes to try it out for free for 6 MONTHS so be sure to grab one quickly! No strings attached, no credit card to put in to later cancel etc.
Decide Your Priorities
So of course there are things that you can give up to have money to travel. But it kind of boils down to what is important to you. We don’t pay for cable but do have Netflix and Hulu. But there are others things we give up like going to a local theme park or swimming park etc. I would just personally rather do it on vacation. Also we hardly go out to nice or even niceish restaurants. I am a foodie but would rather experience those places while I travel. Since eating while traveling is one of my favorite things. We are also big fans of forgoing presents to travel. One year my whole family went on a cruise instead of Christmas- totally Christmas with the Kranks moment and it was the best!
While Traveling- Know Where to Go to Save Money
One of my favorite hacks is when you are in a big city- to find where a 7-Eleven is on your map app. 7-Eleven is very popular especially in big cities. It is also going to be a lot cheaper than other places. I don’t eat meals there but you could. I love going there with kids. If any of us are getting a little hangry we head there to get a snack to tide us over. But the best trick is the bananas are usually always 2 for $1! You can’t beat that- a healthy and cheap snack! Also a great place to grab water etc. If you don’t have the 7-Eleven app- get that. There are always deals going, you earn points, free drinks etc.
Trader Joe’s is my all time favorite. If you have a car or are going to a more suburban area and staying somewhere you have a kitchen etc. I love their salad kits- so cheap and they feed two. I love taking their salads in our cooler as we road trip, visit National Parks for the day etc.
Drink Tips
Drinks can really add up as your travel. Here are some tips for how to travel for cheap regarding drinks. If you drink- which we don’t but I recommend searching out happy hour times at bars and restaurants on Yelp.
Bring a reusable water bottle along with you. In Europe especially this was a life saver. It cost for water everywhere. But in Rome for example there were cool old fountains places where it was nice to fill them up at. Especially since all the restaurants used glass so you didn’t have a cup you could take if that makes sense. Beck has this water bottle and he loves it! So cute and it holds ice all day. As we travel we collect little stickers for him to put on it. He loves it because he always talks about the trips when he sees the stickers. It is really fun!
**PSA** I have a travel facebook group where I am always sharing deals, tips, bucket list destinations and funny memes. So you would love it! Oh and also GIVEAWAYS! It is a fun time and you can join it here!
Money Back and Discounts
Another way I’ve learned how to travel for cheap is to take advantage of discounts. For example- if you are a student, senior, veteran etc then don’t be shy and ask if they have a discount for you and cash in on it!
Credit card points are also nice. We were able to go to Hawaii once with credit card points so that made the trip even more fun. Another nice thing about the travel club is that you can stack discounts. So you get the cheapest price, then you get 1-3% back from the travel club AND you can use a credit card to get those points. It really is a no brainer- you will save sooo much!
Also when you are traveling. Find a credit card that doesn’t have foreign fees. There are a lot of them. It saved us so much money to not have a fee every time we swiped our card in Europe.
Find cheap flights on Google fights. Be sure to search for offseason times. Weather is unpredictable anyway so even if we visit somewhere in their “rainy” season we have had pretty good luck. I share a lot of these hacks and tips in my travel Facebook group- you can join that here! Such are searching the anywhere function, incognito search and being flexible with dates. If you are really flexible then turn down your seats and get vouchers. We did this once and got vouchers that covered another trip!
Last minute deals are also awesome.This was hard when we were in school and could only travel during vacation breaks because that is when it is expensive. This can also be hard if you aren’t flexible with work etc. But search last minute flight deals on Google flights and have fun dreaming and doing. We have gone on so many trips just because I found random $100 flights.
Don’t Go Crazy With Souvenirs
I love souvenirs don’t get me wrong. But a lot of the time I end up buying something crappy just to buy something. I have come to the realization that pictures are amazing souvenirs especially when we put them on our walls. If I find a meaningful souvenir or something I love I buy it. But if not then no worries! I collect magnets and we keep them on these cute lockers we have in our garage. They are the best souvenir because they are useful, cheap, small and easy to find! I also collect stickers to put onto our Yeti cooler. It looks so cute and adds so much flair! Also cheap and easy to find etc like a magnet.
But if you do see a good vintage store you can’t pass that up and some of those souvenirs are the best especially when they don’t scream NYC or something. Vintage and Antique shopping is one of my favorite things to do traveling. I love seeing pieces in my home that have good memories and hold a story that is unknown.
Don’t Country Hop
Something that I have found when looking at how to travel for cheap is not to country hop. While hopping countries is fun it can really up the price. We went to Malta and Italy on the same trip in the fall. It was really fun but we had to pay for so many taxi’s, baggage fees, train rides, flights etc. It also took a lot of time to go to the airport, wait, train rides etc. So if you have time and money to do it then great but if not then just focus on where you are and have a blast.
Get a Change Jar
Another way we are able to have extra money to travel with is to get a change jar. I have the cutest big glass jar that says paradise falls on it from the movie Up. This is what the jar is like and mine is painted on or you could use vinyl etc. It would be a really fun craft. But whenever I go to Walmart, Target, gas station etc I choose the cash back option and get out $10 or $20. I have a rule that when I pay with cash that I have to pay with bills not exact change. So basically every time I break a bill then I save the change and dump it into the jar when I get home.
I started doing this when we got married and when we had been married about 3 years the jar was full and we used that money for a “free” trip! It felt free since it was just change. My grandma always did this and we even went on a beach house trip as a family this way. Our bank and lots of other banks will cash it for you without a fee like those machines they have at grocery stores etc. the Coinstar ones.
Packing Tips
We try to always just pack carry ons. It is for sure a lot easier just as a couple than on a family trip with kids but it is doable. I have gone for 2 weeks to Costa Rica, Italy and other places with just a carry on. It makes it soo much easier to not have to carry around tons of bags on trains. But I would measure and make sure your carry on is the right size and small. Because my carry on that works in the states was not fine in Europe haha. I had to pay extra baggage fees so many times. It was too wide probably because we flew on budget airlines and they were really picky.
Other Tips
We usually stay in hotels not Airbnbs. We end up saving more once you tack on all the cleaning fees etc that Airbnbs have. But as we grow our family sometimes a hotel room can get a little tight. If we fly somewhere then we like to ask the hotel if we can use a pack n play/portable crib etc. But we have also rented them from various companies that deliver them to the hotel room and they are pretty cheap and really convenient. So that can still save you more than an Airbnb. Just be sure to run all the numbers.
I would love to know how your travels and money saving goes! Or if you do other things and have ways how to travel for cheap then I would love to hear those! Can’t wait to see you get out there traveling know that you have some tips on how to travel for cheap. If you are wondering where to travel then here are some places we love:
What to do in each of the 50 States
A Western Road Trip You Must Take
