Little Ways to Save While Traveling

Why is it that money is so easy to spend - ESPECIALLY while traveling!? The shops sell amazingly unique things, the little ice cream shops are basically screaming my name, the long lines tempt me to just pay for the dang line-jump pass, etc. It's so easy to rack up little charges that amount to one big "yesh what did I do" once you get home and look at your bank account. It's easy to save (if you use some of my tricks HERE) for the known and budgeted costs - airfare, hotel, excursions, etc. But once you're abroad, it's easy to let the traveling excitement take over and lose sight of your money-friendly saving habits.

Have no fear. There are plenty of ways you can save money while in the midst of your trip. Some take little to no effort, while some might take some planning on the forefront. This is an exhaustive, though not inclusive, list. Hopefully some of jump out as easy ways you can manage your spending while abroad.

PS – Looking for ways to save before you leave for your trip? Check THIS post for ways to save on airfare, THIS post for advice on making saving up easier, and THIS post on when you should splurge and save while abroad.

General Cash

• Only spend the cash you have on hand. Most people spend less when they use physical currency versus a credit card. Get some local cash and use that for your day-to-day expenses

• Sign up for ONE travel credit card (see my post here about my thoughts on travel cards) that doesn't charge for foreign currency transaction fees. Those bank fees can add up quick

• Skip the currency exchange counters, which charge fees and take a cut off the cash exchanged. Warn your bank and use your debit card to withdraw funds from an ATM once you arrive. You'll get hit with a small bank fee, but it's likely less than what the counters charge and you'll get a true conversion rate

• Use your coins. We tend to use bills over coins in the US, so it's easy to slip those Euros in your wallet and forget about them. Use those 1 and 2 Euro coins. The first time I went to Europe, I came home with over 15 Euro in coins that I could have used

• Don't lose your money to pick pocketers. Be alert in crowded areas and opt to store your cash in harder-to-each areas. Don't carry all your cash/cards with you at the same time

Meals

• Opt for hotels that INCLUDE breakfast. Be careful - some places will include breakfast at a daily surcharge. Find places where it's legit included in the normal rate.

• Pack snacks with you wherever you go. You never know where your wandering will take you and I like having a granola bar on hand rather than having to track down a shop along the way. PRO TIP: grab a banana from the hotel breakfast and pack that along. Free snacks!

• Look up menus ahead of time online, or ask to see a menu before sitting down at a restaurant. It'll avoid surprises at the end!

• Don't get lured in by seemingly free items. Several times we've had places bring us shots and make them seem complimentary, only to notice they get tacked onto the bill.

• Look up tipping etiquette ahead of time. In some countries, it isn't customary to tip at all or it's acceptable to simply "round up" the total. Don't tip if it's not necessary!

• Want to hit up a fancier restaurant? Try going for lunch. It's usually cheaper and you won't have to miss out on the experience.

• Make a meal out of just starters. It's a great way to split a variety of food between people and can be more cost effective than ordering two main dishes.

• Skip the appetizer and/or dessert. There's no need to do a full two or three courses every time you eat.

• Be careful of prices that are by weight. In Prague, we found a food cart with smoked meat that seemed like a steal. Turns out, it was by the ounce and that little street snack ended up costing more than some dinners!

• Pack a picnic. Hit up a market, sandwich shop, or bakery and pick up some goodies to take to a park. It's likely cheaper than a sit-down restaurant.

• In areas where tap water is fine, feel free to order it. Some restaurants will bring you mineral water (aka not free water) by default.

• Pack a reusable water bottle (if you are traveling to a place where tap water is safe to drink).

• Tea drinker? Pack along your favorite teabags and make use of the hotel room's kettle. You can skip the cost of buying tea at a cafe or when you need a midday pick-me-up.

• Split a main course between two people. This is a great option if you're ordering a whole fish or sampler platter.

• Opt for vegetarian options. These dishes are usually cheaper and are just as good (if not better).

• Planning on having a few drinks? A bottle for the table might be cheaper than paying for four or more separate glasses.

• In a city known for its vino? Opt for the house option, it's likely local and delicious.

• Hit up a store to grab some bottles for your hotel room.

• In the land of pastries or gelato or something similar? Skip dessert at dinner and hit up a bakery or ice cream shop on your walk home.

• Avoid restaurants that are near landmarks or major attractions. The prices are usually unnecessarily higher because they know their clientele will likely be unassuming tourists. Find out where the locals go or walk a few blocks before picking out a restaurant.

• Traveling somewhere where produce is plenty? Find a farmer's market for breakfast or lunch and savor the local wares. The prices will be low and sometimes you can haggle.

• Have a mini fridge at your hotel? Take your leftovers back with you. It'll make for a good midnight snack, or even lunch the next day!

• Some suites or home/apartment rentals will offer a kitchen. Hit up a grocery store and get cooking.

• Befriend fellow travelers and go to dinner together - you can order a few mains or appetizers to share and split the bill more ways.

• Order meals you know will keep you full. Salads are great, especially if you are trying to stay healthier while traveling, but if you are walking around a lot and sightseeing, you might get really hungry really quickly.

• Try to eat before heading to the airport. Prices are higher once you pass security. Plan accordingly and eat ahead or pack something so you don't need to pay for a $12 egg sandwich.

Hotel & Flights

• Sign up for a loyalty account with one hotel chain and stick with it. You can unlock special member rates, avoid some fees (like WiFi), and earn points to redeem for free nights.

• Take a loyalty account one step further by making your travel credit card one with a hotel chain. You’ll earn even more loyalty points and some cards offer a free one night stay each year.

• If you don’t want to stick with hotel chains, try booking on Hotels.com. You’ll earn a free night stay anywhere after booking a total of ten nights (doesn’t have to be consecutive).

• Try to swing a free upgrade by staying at off times, like the middle of the week or during a low tourist season.

• If you are staying for a celebration – honeymoon, birthday, etc. – call the hotel to confirm your reservation a few weeks in advance and mention it. You might score an upgrade or gift upon arrive (we scored a bottle of champagne and snacks on our honeymoon).

• Take advantage of the concierge if your hotel provides one. They can get you reservations, provide you with recommendations, and provide great advice for navigating around. We avoided overpriced, mediocre restaurants by relying on concierge recommendations over what we found through online searches.

• Don’t raid the minibar. It’s almost always overpriced. Make a stop at a market or store early on in your trip and stock up on some drinks and snacks at a much better price.

• Verify the front desk hours before you arrive. Some hotels are not staffed 24-7. You don’t want to end up paying for a night you didn’t use because no one was there to let you in.

• If you are going for a budget hotel, double check that linens and towels are provided without an upcharge.

• Join an airline loyalty program. It may take ages to earn miles/points, but you can often times redeem them for small upgrades. For example, my Delta membership has never yielded me a free flight, but I have been able to fly Comfort+ (premium seats) using some of my points.

• If you don’t care where you sit, opt for “bare fares”. These are deep-discount tickets that don’t include a seat assignment or any baggage. You might end up in a middle seat away from your travel companions – but you might also end up in business class.

• Don’t pay to check a bag unless it’s necessary (most the time it’s not). $120+ is not worthwhile to be an overpacker.

• Bring an empty water bottle with you to the airport. You can fill it up at a water fountain and avoid buying an overpriced bottle after security.

• Celebrating your trip with a drink? Skip the airport bar and wait til you are midflight. Most international airlines that include meal service offer complimentary beer or wine. Air France even provided cordials with coffee after dinner!

• Pack snacks with you. Airport food and snacks onboard are overpriced. Bring a pack of granola bars to keep you full if hunger strikes. You can even pack meals like sandwiches – just follow the liquids rule!

• Have a long layover that you don’t plan to leave the airport for? Consider booking a day pass to your airline’s lounge. Sometimes you can score entry for $25ish. You’ll get a chance to shower or nap, be treated to a more relaxing space, and get to enjoy free food and drinks. Sometimes the $25 is cheaper than what we would pay for meals at the airport while waiting.

• Be willing to fly from other airports. I have a local airport, but there are three within a two-hour range that offer more options at better prices. The cost savings outweighs the extra travel time.

• Know which flights from your local airport are common and cheap. For example, my local airport does daily flights, rather inexpensively, to Minneapolis. I monitor fare deals out of Minneapolis because I know I can easily get a cheap flight there right from home.

• Airport parking charges are crazy. If you don’t have a friend who can drop you off, take an Uber or Lyft to and from the airport. Not flying locally? Consider booking a hotel and taking advantage of Park and Fly deals. Sometimes a night at a cheap hotel with a shuttle to the airport is less expensive than a week or two of parking at the airport.

Excursions, Outings, and General Travel

• Buy tickets in advance – you can skip long waiting lines and you can sometimes get a pre-booking discount.

• Book weather-dependent activities for the beginning of your trip. If bad weather derails your plans, you’ll have an opportunity to reschedule the outing for another day you are there. Some excursions aren’t refundable, even due to weather, but they will let you reschedule.

• Take out travel insurance or book your travel on a card that offers trip insurance. If things go wrong, you can be reimbursed for so many things. Lost baggage? Pick up some essentials at no cost to you. Too sick to even take your trip? Expenses that can’t be reimbursed can be refunded by insurance. Stuck overnight at the airport? Your meals and hotel can be covered. It’s worth the peace of mind. The one time I had to use insurance, it saved me over $200 in out-of-pocket, unexpected hotel charges.

• Taking a daytrip or excursion that requires a train ticket? Avoid having to travel around commuting times. Tickets tend to be more expensive since demand is higher.

• Opt for tours and excursions that aren’t associated with your resort. They tend to be less expensive, less crowded, and can give you a more immersive experience.

• Beware of scams – they can be tricky to spot or happen so fast you don’t know what happened. Stay alert, don’t take anything someone offers you (even if they claim it’s free), and stand your ground. People do this for a living and so they are understandably persistent and may get pushy. Just walk away and keep saying no.

• Don’t go out and about with all your cash on you. If your purse or wallet gets stolen, it’ll be helpful to have some money to get around while you get everything sorted out.

• Many people suggest not traveling with a backpack since it makes you a “target”. We’ve never had an issue, but be smart about it. We don’t carry anything valuable in our backpack while exploring (coats, map, maybe a cellphone charger, some snacks) and utilize the pockets inside with zippers to keep things extra safe.

• When you find yourself in a busy, touristy area, be mindful of your wallet and purse. Those are the spots where pick pocketers get away with it best.

• Walk everywhere. You’ll get to see the town and feel better about all the yummy foods you eat. Free transportation is the best. Not feasible? Always go with public transport. It’s amazing how efficient and easy to use it is in other countries compared to the United States. Taxis and private transportation isn’t really or always necessary.

• If you want to take a “professional” tour of some sort, go with a larger group tour. They tend to be cheaper than small group or private tours. I also like that it’s easy to wander away and do your own thing and circle back to the group as needed, especially when going through a museum.

• Look up a calendar of events for your destination. You might find some free or cheap events going on that will also give you a good feel for the local culture. We’ve found everything from outdoor concerts in the park to sporting event viewing parties to street fairs.

• Pack smart. Be prepared for bad weather (it happens more than you think) so you don’t need to buy an overpriced umbrella or raincoat abroad.

• Find companies that offer multiple excursions with a discount. We found many daytrip companies that offer a discount if you booked two or more tours during your trip.

• Don’t be trapped into thinking you have to do the “must do” things at your destination. I have been to Paris multiple times and have never gone up the Eiffel Tower. Sure, it’s mostly because I’m terrified of heights, but I have found other great viewpoints of the city elsewhere and don’t feel like I’ve missed out on anything. If you break this mindset you can save on overpriced tickets for things you might not really care to do. Do things because you want to, not because you feel you must.

• Have a general idea of what you want to do. I’ve tried to do trips without much of an agenda and figured I’d just walk around and see what I stumbled upon. That’s fine to a certain extent, but then you wind up desperate for something to do or you don’t do your research on how to score a deal for something you do “stumble” upon. We did this in Amsterdam and stopped at whatever looked cool, which led to us doing some things that were overpriced and underwhelming.

• Have a backup plan, especially when navigating to places. If you find yourself with the subway full, knowing when the next one arrives or another route you can take will save you the cash you would have had to shell out for a last minute taxi.

• Avoid renting a car in big cities or countries with public transportation. It’s expensive and parking rates at hotels can be shocking. Make do with walking or public transportation, unless your trip warrants it (ex. Road trip through Iceland).

• Renting a car for a multi-country trip? Consider making separate bookings for each country. It’s usually really expensive to return a car in another country. Return your car at the border, cross over, then proceed to a new booking in that country.

• Know where a mart or store is wherever you travel. If you need to grab something essential (more toothpaste, bandaids, sunscreen), it’ll be cheaper than hitting a touristy stand at the beach or your hotel’s sundry store.

---

Congratulations, you savvy saver, for making it all the way to the end! Your reward? Some easy ways to save next time you're out and about abroad. Which tip was a surprise for you? Any tried or true saving practices you swear by?

---