The Ultimate Travel Budget Tips 2019
Hi everyone!
My name is Maya, and I'm a travel blogger, the owner of travel-by-maya.com
Since I can remember myself I loved traveling. But, in the past few years, it became my biggest passion, my obsession and a way of life.
To travel as much as I can, I've developed my own tricks and hacks to travel on a budget, and In a way where I can allow myself to do it a couple times a year.
Today I wanted to teach you how you can do the same!
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Before we get started, I just wanted to let you know that I have a completely FREE email course that teaches you how to plan your trip, travel on a budget (finding cheap flights, accommodation and more), and provide to you the best travel tips that I use.
For more information and to sign up for FREE click here!
If you want to travel more and pay less, there is one important thing you need to know; you can't have it all.
What do I mean?
You can't fly with the best flight, with the cheapest priced flight, that also includes luggage, and also departs and arrive at the best hours.
The same goes for accommodation. Usually, you can't have the best hotel located in the best part of the city for the best price.
When planning your trip, searching for flights and accommodation, you always need to keep in mind that you can't have it all, and you'll need to pass one of the options.
So instead of looking for the perfect flight, if you find a cheap flight that doesn't include luggage - it isn't the end of the world.
Pay what you need to pay, or on the other hand, just travel with the carry-on 8 Kg suitcase that the airline offers for free. You can do it, 8 Kg is totally fine for one traveler.
Now that we've got the right mindset to travel cheap, we can get started with the real tips!
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How to book cheap flights?
Booking cheap flights depends on a few things:
When you are booking the flight
The time you are planning on visiting the destination
Your priorities
Where to book cheap flights:
Skyscanner - This is my number 1 flight searching site I use 99% of the time. I truly believe in it, and I have found the cheapest flights on this website.
Check out Skyscanner and book your cheap flight!
Agoda - Another great flight and accommodation website I love is Agoda. They offer great deals, sales on flights and accommodation and are highly recommended.
Book your flight with Agoda here!
Pro tip: If you want to get great deals to a specific destination, try visiting the place on its shoulder season. This way the destination isn't packed with tourists and prices are low (flights and accommodation).
Where to stay?
Hotelscombined - This is my favorite accommodation booking site. The website combines all of the prices to certain hotels/apartments/hostels that are currently on the market. This way you can see what is the cheapest website to book your stay from.
Click here to book your stay through Hotelscombined!
Airbnb - If you are looking for a cheaper stay, Airbnb is perfect for you. I've stayed in an Airbnb apartment on my trip to Prague and Bucharest. We've (me and my boyfriend) booked very nice apartments on those trips that were located right in the middle of the city. And, these apartments were so cheap it was insane!
Click here to book your stay with Airbnb
Agoda - I've talked about Agoda for booking flights, but it is also a great accommodation source to book cheap stays.
Just like when booking flights, Agoda offers great deals and even sales to multiple hotels/hostels and even apartments!
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Planning Your Trip:
Before planning your trip, there are a few things you need to know:
Getyourguide.com
Consider purchasing a travel planner
Attractions passes
Making life easier with a travel guide
Consider going on an organized trip
Now, let's go in-depth:
Getyourguide.com
This website is an absolute favorite of mine. I use it on every trip I go on.
We all know that attractions and sightseeing places can get a bit expensive. What I love about Getyourguide.com, is that they offer discount tickets to multiple attractions all over the world!
If you really want to save money on your trip, this is the number one source for you!
Book your attractions for a discount price HERE!
Using A Travel Planner
A travel planner is one of the best ways to stay completely organized before and during your trip. You can write all of your plans, packings lists, to-do lists before the flight, daily itineraries, trip overview and so much more.
I love using a travel planner when planning my trips. Everything is in one place, its handy to use everywhere, and all of the trip's information is located and organized in one place.
Click here to purchase the "My Travel Planner" digital travel planner and get 20% OFF your purchase when using this coupon code: TBM20.
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Attraction Passes
An attraction pass is one of the biggest money savers you can get on your trip. An attraction pass is a card for which you pay a certain amount of money, and you get access to a variety of attractions in the city of your choice. The best part is that the price you paid for the ticket is much cheaper than buying an entrance ticket for each attraction separately. This card is such a money saver during the trip and I recommend buying one for your next trip.
How does it work?
You buy a pass that includes entrances to a variety of attractions around the city. The attraction card has two options:
First option – Choosing a certain number of attractions you want to visit (2/3/4/5/6/7/10 or 12 attractions from the list). The pass is valid for 30 days from purchase, so you can buy it in advance from home, and saving unnecessary hassles while on vacation.
Second option – Choosing a number of days (1/2/3/4/5/6/7 or 10 days) where you have an unlimited number of attractions!
A good thing you would like to know, some cities give you unlimited tourist bus rides, or even free public transport in the city, while buying this option, which is another huge money saver, since public transport takes us quite a lot of cash.
Recommended attraction passes:
1. The NYC Sightseeing FLEX pass
5. Los Angeles Ultimate Attractions Pass
7.Best Of Rome All Access Pass
– For more attractions passes click here
Consider purchasing a travel guide
A travel guide book, digital or not, can make your life a lot easier. It has all the information you need for the destination you are visiting.
I've actually created a completed 7-day itinerary to Paris. It is a digital travel book that contains everything you need for your trip. Starting from daily itineraries, recommended restaurants, important travel tips to know, flights & accommodation tips to flying and staying in Paris and so much more important information.
And, I am working on more travel guides to different destinations, so stay tuned!
Click here to purchase the Parisian Dream digital travel guide and get 30% OFF when using the discount code - TBM30.
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Consider going on an organized trip
An organized trip is the best way to have a full experience in any country you visit. It's also very easy, because all you do is decide on the destination. The rest? the company does for you.
I wanted to recommend Trova Trip. It provides curated group travels, and provides all the planning, transportation, as well as hiring amazing local guides to guide your trip!
What makes this company stand out from other travel companies, is that they offer customizable trips for great prices. They customize the trip according to your preferences and pair you up with other like-minded travelers that have a similar mindset as you, and are interested in similar things as you do ! how cool is that?
You can choose from a wide range of beautiful, amazing destinations and they will tailor an authentic 10-day trip for you. Also, the groups are pretty small, 8-20 people per group.
They choose very good, authentic local guides who can provide you a truly deep tour of the destination you choose to visit, and give you a local point of view on the place, as well as providing some great insider tips!
And, don’t forget, we're all about saving money here, so you must know that Trova Tips offers great payment for those who are joining them. With a Trova Pass you can pay only 99$ a month for a whole year, or 198$ a month for 6 months! Sounds like a pretty nice money saver to me.
A few reasons you should consider traveling with Trova Trip:
* Not needing to take care of anything, just packing a suitcase and traveling. The company plans everything out for you. They arrange everything, as well as taking care of the transportation and travel plan, where you stay and what you do.
* You can spread your payment for a small 99/198$ for a year on 6 months. Huge money saver, you don’t need to pay everything in one month like you do on a regular trip.
* Meeting new & great people, that also likes similar things to what you do! who doesn't like meeting new people?
* They provide an experienced local guide, that provides you the deepest tour of the destination you are living at, showing you a local’s point of view on the place and giving you all of the local’s tips and secrets.
To find out more about Trova Trips, Click here!
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A few bonus tips for traveling on a budget:
Use cash - Using cash is one of the best ways to save money while traveling. What I like to do is bringing cash with me, and take a credit card just in case of an emergency. This way I travel on a budget and plan my daily budget each day. This is one of the top tips on traveling on a budget, and it is the best way to avoid exceeding the budget.
Free things to do - Find free things to do in the destination you are staying at. From visiting a museum on a day that tickets are free, or even going hiking somewhere. Just search online and find out what things you could do in that destination for free, and do it!
Use your student ID - If you are a student, well, lucky you. Most attractions, and sometimes even restaurants offer multiple discounts for students! So don’t forget packing your student ID, show it everywhere you go and get some discounts!
Pack a reusable water bottle - I’ve said it a few times on my blog, but one of the most money wasting things we do while traveling, is buying too many water bottles during the day and wasting our money. Instead, just pack a reusable water bottle, be eco-friendly and also save your money and fill your water bottle when every you need to. This way you won't be spending too much money on buying water bottles you don’t need, and also saving the world
Use public transportation instead of taxis - I don’t like taxis while traveling. Usually, they take advantage of me being a tourist and ask for way too much money for the ride from what it should cost. So, I prefer either Uber or just using public transportation – buses, trains, the Metro/Subway. Public transportation is the cheapest, much more than Uber as well. Also, you have another way to “live” like a local and get an insider look at living in the city. I can tell you that I enjoyed using Manhattan’s Subway. Met so many people, saw the “real life” and felt like a real local. Highly recommended.
Once again, for more travel tips, you are more than welcomed to sign up for my Travel More, Pay Less FREE email course!
These were my top tips on how to travel on a budget, and do it as much as possible!
For more content, you are more than welcomed to visit me on my blog travel-by-maya.com, as well as on my Instagram and Pinterest!
by Maya Mendelson