How to Travel on a Budget: 8 Tips for Saving Money on Travel in 2022

1. Travel during the off-peak season

You'll want to check out the destination you're going to and the peak season for that area. Peak season is going to be the most expensive and the most crowded.

Try to travel during the non-peak season because prices will drop. Traveling off-peak can save hundreds or even thousands of dollars on your trip.

To find pricing during different seasons, compare prices on websites like Booking.com or Expedia.com.

With Expedia, you can create a free account. You get points for every vacation you book. It's also cheaper if you bundle travel packages together. So if you fly there, rent a car, or rent a hotel, bundle them together when booking each.

We have found that Costco is the best for packaging, and you get a lot for your money. You can get discounts and your credits, especially overseas.

Be mindful of renting a car; we recommend walking or public transportation when possible. Also, remember locations when booking a hotel. Sometimes the cheapest isn't the best if it's going to be far away from destinations.

If you're going to be staying far away from your destination, you have to pay a lot in Uber and Lyft fees, or it's going to take time out of your vacation to travel, or you have to pay more if you have to rent a car. Keep that in mind when booking a location.

2. Download travel apps

Another tip is to download travel apps like Citymapper. Citymapper tells you what bus to take, what exit to take, where the subway is, the distance for walking, bicycle, Uber, Lyft, etc.

For some, public transportation does not sound ideal for a vacation, but it worked for us. When we went to Rome, we used every form of public transportation, from a taxi to a water taxi. We had to learn how to get around in another country in a language we didn't speak.

We also used DuoLingo for translating other languages.

3. Create an itinerary

You want to create an itinerary. This takes weeks to plan because I'm over it once I do it for a few hours.

What I do is I'll make a list of things that I want to do at the travel location. I also ask others I'm traveling with what they want to do so we prioritize and get the most out of our trips.

I pre-book our tours because we book our trips six to eight weeks in advance. It allows us to pay for things months before travel, so we're budgeting here and there. We have two months to save money.

4. Use Groupon

Be sure to check out Groupon. We did that in Italy, taking mixology and cooking classes at a discounted price through Groupon.

5. Research restaurants in advance

Research restaurants in the area you'll be staying in. Check out the menu, how much it will cost, and how far it is from your hotel or wherever you're visiting.

Not planning ahead takes up too much time when you're at your destination. You can group your activities and meals depending on each location, so you aren't driving all over the place and wasting time.

Again, piggybacking on the transportation - you may not always find restaurants listed in apps or online. When you go to a very walkable city, it's great because you might be passing by stores or restaurants that you didn't know were there. By walking, you see things you didn't plan on your itinerary that you'll enjoy checking out.

6. Bring a water bottle

You want to stay hydrated, especially when walking. I bring a Brita water filtered water bottle. When I go to the airport, I'll leave it empty until after we pass TSA. I'll fill it because water gets so expensive when traveling.

7. Pack medications

Pack the medications you may regularly use, like allergy medication or headache medication, because you don't want to pay six or seven dollars at a convenience store

8. Travel reward credit cards

Planning on traveling consistently? We highly recommend getting a credit card with either miles or cash back. We have the Capital One credit card, so we get 2 miles per dollar, and they have their travel lounges in airports.

Do your research because some might charge you an annual fee, and some don't. Some might have benefits like better miles or higher cash back.

We also like the Costco credit card. We get a Costco certificate to shop at Costco with travel points.

Remember that you want to pay it off monthly, so you don't have interest charges.

How to travel on a budget in 2022

Those are the tips that we have for you to travel on a budget. You can reduce your travel expenses to enjoy traveling more often. Be frugal and plan so you can enjoy every minute of your fabulous travel destination.