If you know me in person you’ll know I’m kind of a homebody. Sure, I love going to the occasional beach but otherwise traveling is not necessarily my “thing.” Instead, I prefer to talk about downsizing your closet, or saving money on your wedding. One day I hope to enjoy it more (and have more money to do it, and NOT hate flying) but until then I still want to help you guys to learn how to save money traveling so I’ve brought in reinforcements. Enter Lauren Davidson who has not only traveled abroad, but lived abroad, and can bring you some tips on saving some serious dough when you do, too.
How to Save Money Traveling
It’s 2017 and Americans are on the move again. However, now they’re traveling smarter, finding more ways to drastically cut their travel costs without sacrificing quantity or quality. Here are a few ways today’s travelers are saving big while living large abroad.
Use the Sharing Economy
Through the sharing economy, where people provide the means for travel, the price of travel has come down substantially. With the power of the Internet, people are connecting with people to find places to stay, cheaper and more unique places to eat, and less expensive transportation.
The biggest story in the sharing economy for travel is probably Airbnb, a digital company that connects travelers with people who rent out their homes. The Airbnb website currently lists more than 2 million short term rentals in over 30,000 cities, towns and villages throughout the world. You can stay in family-friendly accommodations at a fraction of the cost of a hotel. For getting around town, Uber is the digital app that connects travelers with drivers. You can also look at BlaBlaCar for opportunities to carpool with travelers as they drive across Europe.
Sharing sites such as EatWith and Colunching put you in touch with other traveling foodies who prefer the company of new friends while dining in unique settings. Meals are often hosted by fledgling chefs at their homes. Sites like Vayable and Guided by local are great for finding locals who can give you personal guided tours and unique experiences.
Cruise Discounts
If cruising is more your style, you can save more than 50 percent on the cost of a cruise by finding a last-minute deal. Cruise lines don’t like to leave port with empty cabins. If your travel schedule is flexible, you could look at sites like expedia.com literally at the last minute to find sweet bargains. If you ask, the cruise operator will likely throw in some extra amenities, upgrades and cash vouchers to get you on board.
Be a Travel Contrarian
Travel contrarians avoid the crowds and save a boatload of money because they are willing to do the opposite of what most travelers do. While everyone else goes to France, you can head to Hungary or Poland for an equally great experience. Why do Italy when you can do Greece for a fraction of the cost. Even Mexico is getting expensive, so go to Guatemala and save.
Everyone travels to Europe during the summer. So, schedule your trip for the spring or fall and save about half on airfare. Speaking of airfares, you will save money by scheduling your travel from a weekday, like Thursday, to another weekday, like Monday. Avoid air travel on weekends and holidays when airfares at their highest.
Maximize Your Benefits with a Credit Card
Your travel rewards credit card is not just essential for saving money on your next trip abroad; it is also an essential mode of payment when you are on international soil. Once you are in another country, transactions are completed in foreign currency. Your credit card will automatically process the currency exchange so you don’t have to. Most cards charge an exchange fee of 1 to 3 percent. You can find credit cards, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card that waives the exchange fees.
A lot can go wrong on trips abroad, such as the possibility of having to cancel your trip, losing your luggage in transport, losing your credit card or a medical emergency. Using a credit card protects you against these contingencies. You need to read the fine print of your credit card’s benefits to see which protections are available and how they might apply on a cruise vacation.
If you are even thinking about going traveling abroad, you really should explore your options for a travel rewards credit card. Most credit card travel rewards programs have enhanced their rewards when you book your travel through their travel service. For instance, with the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, you can earn a 20% discount when you book through its Ultimate Rewards.
How do YOU like to save money traveling? Share your knowledge to help others out!
Let’s Connect! Facebook || Pinterest || Instagram || Twitter
And if you’re gonna use a credit card while traveling, make sure you pay it off asap!
Absolutely! Make sure to pay off your credit card every month regardless what you buy
Airbnb is the best! I use it everytime I travel for more than a few days.
I haven’t used it yet but will one day!
Great tips! I never heard of eatwith before and I’m already checking it out!
Elizabeth | Confidentlyelegant.com
WOohoo!
Hi! I really liked all of your tips. Some of them, I hadn’t thought of before and will be very helpful to me when I travel again in the future. Thank you!
Cassidy – glad you enjoyed them!
I always love using a credit card and getting points, whether it’s airfare or cash back.
Theresa – me too! I use cash back for Christmas gifts. And I am a sucker for collecting points at Sephora. 🙂
We are all about using cards with miles and paying them off monthly! SO great! We never pay for flights!
Was considering applying for a travel credit card, but now I’m DEFINITELY going to! It just makes sense! Thanks for your perspective on the matter 🙂 Happy traveling!
Happy Traveling to you too, Michelle!
Ive always wanted to do a last minute cruise! Esp now that they leave from the NY/NJ area.
I am going on my first cruise from Baltimore this summer. So excited!
These are such great tips! I especially like the travel contrarian haha
Great advice here! I definitely take advantage of apartment sharing as much as possible and I subscribe to some email lists that notify me when flights go on sale.
My husband recently found an app which tells him when flights are on sale!
Thanks for these tips! I don’t travel abroad much (working on changing that). I’m bookmarking this for later!
Perfect! When you come back to it you’ll find out I don’t travel much either. 🙂
My sister and brother in law are going to Europe in June so I’ll share this with them! Great tips!
Thanks, Karin!
Great tips. We used AirBnB on our last trip to Hawaii and it worked great.
Wow! I’d love to see what it looked like!
These are such great tips! Great insight
XO
Lee Anne
http://www.lifebylee.com
I love this post! You can never save enough while traveling, so this is perfect! Thanks so much for sharing!
xx, Taylor (thesprinkle.tayloramead.com)
These are SUCH great tips! I travel a lot and haven’t heard of some of these – definitely checking them out!
Adrina – awesome!
These are all really great tips. I’ve only left the country once, and that was for London last September. I suppose going then probably did save me some money.
-Lauren
You’re probably right. I haven’t been to Europe yet myself.
These are great ideas that a lot of people don’t think of – including me! Thank you for sharing 🙂
These are some great tips! We are hoping to go on a cruise next year.. maybe we should wait to book it since we are pretty flexible on dates!
Jessy | http://www.currentbliss.com
Jessy – good idea!
I love your idea of being a “travel contrarian!” There are so many wonderful places to see and things to do — why not!
These are great tips! I had no idea cruise lines did that – I will definitely keep this in mind for future cruises!
AirBnB is especially great when you are splitting the cost of an apartment with several other people. We spend the most money on food, so I’d say a good way to save is to eat cheap!
Another great tip!
These are GREAT tips! I never new there were ways to connect and dine with other travelers!
These are such great tips! I definitely need to look into booking a last-minute cruise. That sounds like a great way to save a ton. And I loved using Airbnb when abroad, and Uber is pretty handy!
Love my Uber too!
Good post! My sister and brother in law are going to Los angles in June so I’ll share this with them!