As a college kid with a minimum wage job and looming student loans, the last thing I want to worry about when I'm finally on vacation is my bank account. So I've crafted a guide, derived from my own trials and tribulations abroad, to save you major cash (and stress!) the next time you travel.
1. Book everything at least two weeks in advance.
Plane tickets, hostel prices, everything is less expensive the further away it is on the calendar. Plus, having bigger things out of the way lends you time to research the area and make a budget-friendly itinerary.
2. Doing research before your trip is one of the best ways to save.
Museums and landmark entry fees can be expensive, but checking official websites can lead you to reduced student tickets or at least the ability to skip a long line at no extra cost. These places might even have days with free entry, like the first Sunday of every month, so make sure to check for that too.
3. Find your restaurants ahead of time.
To avoid wandering aimlessly and scanning every menu in sight, it’s cost and time efficient to find a few restaurants beforehand that will cater to your budget, location, and dietary restrictions, if you have any. You can also make use of supermarkets to find cheap items for on-the-go meals. When I’m traveling, my breakfast and lunch usually consist of supermarket food (prepackaged sandwiches, croissants, fruit, nuts), and this allows me to save up for fancier, sit-down dinners.
4. Once you’re full of all that tasty food, get ready to cozy up in a local hostel.
Hostels are inexpensive when compared to hotels and most AirBNBs, and with a bit of planning and luck, can be almost as nice. Once you’ve found a potential hostel (I recommend Hostel World), check Trip Advisor for ratings on cleanliness and location. These are the two most important qualities of a hostel, because you don’t want dirty sheets or bedbugs or the cost of traveling an hour into center city.
5. Speaking of travel, public transport is cost effective and, according to my own experiences, relatively reliable.
Taxis get expensive – especially if you’re alone – and Uber isn’t available everywhere. Most areas will offer tickets in major underground stations for all-encompassing travel (bus, tram, underground, train), and many offer multiple day passes, which are deals if you plan to use transport frequently. I recommend mapping out the distance you’ll need to travel to and from your hostel and between the sites you’re visiting to decide which ticket to purchase.
6. Lastly, choose when to treat yourself.
You’ve come so far and deserve to shell out a little extra for something special. Ask yourself, what will you treasure the most? An extravagant meal? A museum exhibition? A souvenir from a street market? Make a list of everything there is to see, decide what will be most valuable to you, and budget accordingly. Maybe you don’t get to view that new artist’s collection, but you do spend a day lounging on the beach with a cocktail. Weigh every option and pick what will make you happiest.
Bottom line: don’t worry about the things you might miss out on for the sake of saving money. You're only going to remember the amazing experiences you do have. So, good luck and bon voyage!
