Think of the last vacation you took. What if I told you that you could have the exact same experience for 1/3rd of the price that you paid for it?
The idea of saving money on vacation isn’t a new one. In the title, I use the word “cheap” to describe what may better be described as frugal or thrifty – in essence, the “prudent planning in the disposition of resources so as to avoid unnecessary waste and expenses” (Dictionary.com 2015). How much could some planning really affect the cost of our holidays, however? It turns out, the savings opportunity could be substantial depending on the type of trip you are intending to take. I will break down the savings potential of the three most expensive aspects of modern day travel: accommodation, food, and transporation.
Accommodation:
Choosing where to stay during your trip will be the most deciding factor on how much you end up spending while there. Fortunately, today there are a plethora of options available to us that will help to make the search for the ultimate cheap-sleep a reality.
AirBnB
Perhaps the most popular option of all, AirBnB offers registered users a large selection of rooms and sometimes even entire homes to rent during specific periods of time. The difference between this and a hotel is the fact that you are essentially sleeping in someone’s home. Creepy? It could be, if it weren’t for the fact that AirBnB actually does a great job of maintaining a rating system not just for guests, but for hosts as well. Any and all negative feedback for a host will be publicly displayed for those conducting their searches. If you’re not comfortable staying at a stranger’s home, you can even look up a description of the host as well as reach them by their provided contact information. In fact, AirBnB reached 1 billion bookings within just three years, and is only continuing to grow as a viable option. If you still think this option is a little unsavory, might I suggest forgoing the next option as well.
CouchSurfing
Introducing, by far, the cheapest way to visit a new place – couch surfing. Couch surfing is almost precisely what it sounds like: staying (for free in most cases) in someone’s place and sleeping on their couch. Although there are no expectations in regarding to reciprocity, the entire community is hinged on the concept of I scratch your back, you scratch mine. This notion of staying for free is novel not only for its obvious cost-savings factor, but for another unexpected benefit: you get to meet locals in the community in which you’re visiting rather than isolating yourself to a hotel room. This way, you will get to see the place you are visiting through localized lenses, opening you up to a much more authentic experience than you may have otherwise had without having done so. The same practices apply here as they do at AirBnB, so expect detailed descriptions of your host (and details about the guests for weary hosts), and a full rating system.
Aside from these two most popular options, most places around the world have a large array of hostels, car/tent camping options, and other means of getting a night’s sleep without breaking the bank.
Food:
I love eating. This is by far my own personal worst offending area when I travel, as I consider sampling local food as a staple of any meaningful vacation. This ranges from funnel cakes at Wonderland all the way to spaghetti in Italy and everything in between. Next month, I`ll be taking a trip to Chicago where I will undoubtedly gorge on deep dish pizza and a dish known as pig face. However, one solution is to buy ingredients like you’re home and cooking, only trying the local delicacies when appropriate. Knowing where the grocery stores are can be a huge contribution to keeping you within budget in the food category. In between meals, snack on nuts, granola bars, etc. that you have with you. Finally, if staying at a hotel, ask about discounts and coupons to restaurants or suggestions for cheap fare in the area you’re staying.
Transporation:
The best and most prolific advice for any attempt to save on transportation has always been to book very, very early in advance. While this remains absolutely true, there are other contributing factors that could help to reduce this cost even further.
Megabus:
If you’re looking for the ultimate cheap bus trip to New York, look no further than MegaBus. Even if their lowest fare promise seems too good to be true ($1 one-way to New York City), the runner up fares of $5 and $15 (which I found myself through a quick search of their U.S. website) are absolutely the most fantastic deal going.
Attend Trade Shows:
Many trade shows often have discounted travel fares for trade attendees at their booths. At the very least, it is worth meeting with booth attendants that represent places or companies you are interested in to hear if they have any insider knowledge of ways you can save some money. Just beware that these trade shows typically charge for you to attend them, so do this option sparingly.
A good trip is a good trip – plain and simple. If the amount of emotional happiness you get out of a trip that costs 1/3rd of what you initially budgeted for it, why would you even consider not trying to squeeze every wasted dollar out of the equation?
Some examples of trips you could take for incredibly cheap:
Toronto to New York City, 4 days, <$100. Take MegaBus down and back ($10 total), Couch Surf while there ($0), spending $50 on food by bringing snack items with you (make sure it’s something you can bring across the border, so no nuts for example), and coupons for one or two restaurant meals. Have the remainder of your meals at vendors or buy a few staple grocery items to keep with you while there, such as bread. For attractions, visit Central Park, and some of the museums which offer free admission during one day each week. Visit other popular destinations, including waiting in line at 6 a.m. to get a spot in the audience of a host such as Jimmy Fallon. Spend $30 on any must-see attractions (for instance, standing atop Empire State Building’s observation deck). Buy an Empire State Building statuette for $10, and call it a trip.
Eurotrip, 1 week, <$1,000. Getting to Europe is not cheap. Fortunately, some countries are cheaper to fly into than others, and by doing so you can always take local transit to get where you really want to go once you’re there. Spend $600 round trip on a flight from Brussels, Belgium. Take a bus from Belgium to Germany, then to Luxembourg, then to France, and finally back to Belgium (to spend even less, consider hitch hiking where safe and appropriate). Use a combination of AirBnB and Couch Surfing options while abroad ($200). Free attractions are abound in Europe, but to get up close and personal consider bringing ($100) spending cash for such occasions. Finally, for food, offer to split the cost of food with those you are staying with at your Couch Surfing locations, and for the rest of the trip keep an ample supply of trail mix, granola bars, and dense bread in your pack. This way, you could afford the occasional bite at an affordable restaurant ($100 if done right).
These are just two examples of ways to employ some of the ideas I had in my discussion. One last piece of advice I have is to try to have an opposite mentality to other tourists in order to capitalize on “down times” – if taking a long flight, consider leaving at night so you can sleep on the plane and arrive in the morning to your destination, rather than arriving in the evening and spending money on a place to sleep. Eat at non-peak times and days (2:30 p.m. on a Tuesday versus 6:00 p.m. on a Saturday) to take advantage of promotions in-store to encourage more patrons during less busy hours. Visit bakeries at the end of the day for cheap baked goods that would otherwise be discarded. There are really countless ways in which you can save on your trip, in order to maximize the amount of time you are able to spend there.
What are some strategies you have for when you take your vacations?
Do you have any good success (or even better, horror) stories of times you spent a different amount of money than you expected?
Travel and Tourism Research 