We’ve already told you in another post how to save money before your trip (Post: Saving Money Before Your Trip). Today, however, we’re going to talk about how to save money during your trip. It’s not that difficult; of course, it always depends on your individual needs. Here are some tips that have been very helpful for us on our trip around the world.
- Tip 1: Avoid the high season
- Tip 2: Be flexible and spontaneous
- Tip 3: Budget airlines don’t have to be bad
- Tip 4: Travel slowly
- Tip 5: Save money with comparison portals
- Tip 6: Monitor bargain blogs
- Tip 7: Save money on local transport
- Tip 8: Try local cuisine
- Tip 9: Save money at local markets
- Tip 10: Secret weapon: daily budget and household book
- Tip 11: Compare prices locally
- Tip 12 – The right credit card makes all the difference
Tip 1: Avoid the high season
It’s almost always more expensive in high season. Whether it’s accommodation, flights, or transport, almost everyone goes on vacation and travels during the holidays. Tour operators are aware of this, of course, and often raise their prices considerably. Therefore, it’s often much cheaper to travel outside of these times.
We were in Bali from the end of September to the end of November. The high season here often begins in April to September. We were able to live well and affordably and never really felt like it was overpriced. You can also see that it’s school holidays by looking at the flights.
Try getting a cheap flight over Christmas or New Year’s! It’s almost impossible! Off-season doesn’t necessarily mean the weather is bad or that the towns are boring. Quite the opposite. I was in Sardinia with my best friend during the absolute off-season.
Do you actually know how awesome it was? Lying on the beach in April when it’s 30 degrees… woohoo! No tourist crowds, cheap prices for flights and accommodation. Why go on holiday in the summer when it’s 30-40 degrees at home? Instead, fly somewhere warmer during the cold months.
Tip 2: Be flexible and spontaneous
We usually don’t have a plan for where we’re going next. We always look at the monthly overview on Skyscanner and see which days are cheapest for destination XY. And once we’ve found a flight, we book it.
The monthly overview is perfect for this. Simply search for “Bangkok” for “all places” and you’ll see which destinations are possible from Bangkok and how expensive each country and city is. The following also generally applies here: Weekday flights are often cheaper.
Tip 3: Budget airlines don’t have to be bad
Are you afraid of flying with so-called budget airlines? Why? Are they inferior planes? Are they less safe than others? I think that’s all nonsense. Here in Asia, we almost exclusively fly with Air Asia. The tickets are almost always very cheap, and we’ve never had any problems with them.
We don’t need luxury and comfort with such short flight times. The main thing is a place to sit, some room for luggage, and a good mood. We’ve even flown to Bali with supposed budget airlines.
First we flew with Smartwings to Dubai, then from Dubai with Flydubai to Colombo, and then with Air Asia to Kuala Lumpur and Bali. Since then, we’ve never boarded another plane. Air Asia is simply everywhere.
Tip 4: Travel slowly
We love traveling slowly. Staying in one place for a long time is much more fun than rushing around from A to B. I used to be a fan of seeing as much as possible in a short amount of time. But back then, you only had a few days’ vacation. Today, it doesn’t matter to us anymore; we stay in one place longer.
We get a scooter cheaper, get discounts on accommodation, and get to know the country and its people much better. We were in Bali for two months, and in Phuket for almost a month. Believe us, traveling slowly is soooo much better—financially too. In Bali, we eventually knew where to shop for the cheapest things, where to eat cheaply, and where to buy surfboards. You can’t find something like that in just four days.
Tip 5: Save money with comparison portals
We always compare prices and often search first on Airbnb and Booking.com*. We’ve never had a bad experience with Airbnb. Here you can find truly great villas, guesthouses, B&Bs, hostels, and private rooms. At booking.com* you’ll also find countless accommodations that you won’t find on any other platform – the selection is enormous.
We’ve stayed in a 4-star hotel in Bali for €10 a night or spontaneously booked bungalows for our island tours. But: Also look directly at the accommodation’s website. Sometimes you’ll find the cheapest price there. Facebook groups are also very helpful.
We found our villa in Canggu by chance on Bali Digital Nomands. We lived there together for a month for just €420 – and the villa was amazing. Sometimes even hostels wanted more money. So always check Facebook to see if there are groups for your destination. Simply post a request and see if anyone responds.
Tip 6: Monitor bargain blogs
There are numerous blogs online that find travel bargains for you around the clock. There are, for example, Urlaubspiraten, Urlaubsguru, Reiseuhu, Urlaubstracker, and many more. Here you’ll find great flights, hotel deals, package holidays, voucher codes, and much more.
Just keep browsing; you might find something there! Another great site is flynous – it’s all about flight deals, error fares, and voucher codes. Be sure to save the page! The sites exbir and fly4free are also recommended.
Tip 7: Save money on local transport
We usually only use scooters, bicycles, tuk-tuks, or Uber. We’ve also taken cheap taxis, but it adds up quite a bit over the course of a day. That’s why we usually rent a scooter for ourselves. In Bali, it often cost us only €2.70 a day, while a bicycle in Thailand only cost €1.50.
Gasoline is generally quite cheap here in Asia. In Thailand, we usually pay €2.50 for 4 liters (the tank lasts for a few days). With the UBER app, you can also get from A to B very cheaply. We paid just €3 or €4 from Canggu in Bali to the airport.
Regular taxis easily charge €10. In Sri Lanka, you could travel very cheaply on public buses or tuk-tuks. However, it must be said that such a trip can be quite adventurous.
Tip 8: Try local cuisine
Food is really very cheap in Asia. In Bali, you can get a soup for 50 cents and a rice dish for one euro. Here in Thailand, it’s almost similar. In the small warungs and food stalls, you can really get a lot for very little money. However, since we don’t feel like eating rice and noodles every day, we often go shopping.
Western products were extremely expensive, especially in Bali. So we had to constantly compare prices. We can get these products much cheaper here in Thailand. But it’s always the case: imported products are often more expensive.
We also usually never eat on the main streets/tourist hotspots, but instead look for something nice on a side street. It’s often a few euros cheaper there. But that’s the case almost everywhere. This applies not only to food, but also to shopping.
Tip 9: Save Money at Local Markets
We visited many shopping malls on our trip. You always find the same expensive stores there. You can get flip-flops for €14 or even €1 at a market. We’ve become fans of the night markets now. You stroll through the streets and alleys in the evening and find absolutely everything. Whether clothes, decorative items, bags, shoes, souvenirs, or food – here you can get it for a few cents or a few euros.
At the night market in Phuket, we stuffed ourselves with all sorts of delicacies for just under €2.50. Here in Chiang Mai, you can get cool shirts or pants for €2, or even wallets for the equivalent of 25 cents – a visit is definitely worth it. Do some research online; there are always markets here, especially in Asia. And always remember – don’t forget to bargain!
Tip 10: Secret weapon: daily budget and household book
Since the beginning of our trip, we’ve been keeping a kind of household book – online as a Google document, of course. Here, we record all our expenses daily and can always see at the end how much we’ve spent and what’s left over. We always have a fixed daily budget (including all costs for accommodation, food, transportation, shopping, sightseeing, etc.).
Marco “programmed” the spreadsheet so that at the end of the day, we always see how much money we have left for that day, how much we’ve already spent this month, and what certain categories (food, accommodation, transportation, etc.) have cost us.
This also allows us to see which location is cheapest, where we might have overspent, and how our budget is distributed per month. If you have any questions about a spreadsheet like this, feel free to contact us!
Tip 11: Compare prices locally
In the beginning, we often bought what we wanted without knowing how expensive or cheap it would be from another provider. Little by little, we discovered that we could get the eggs cheaper from supplier XY, and that the scooter on side street XY was another 200 baht cheaper. We always compare prices and negotiate.
In Bali, we ended up with three supermarkets that we always visited because we could get one product cheaper here and another cheaper there. Why pay more if you don’t have to? Ask expats or other globetrotters if you have specific questions. There are many helpful groups on Facebook.
Tip 12 – The Right Credit Card Makes the Difference
Choosing the right credit card is just as important as choosing the right photo equipment. Who wants to constantly pay fees just to withdraw a little cash? Nobody, right!
Therefore, you should consider which credit card is right for you before your trip. We’ve been using the DKB Visa Card for years and are extremely satisfied (fees abroad are no longer refunded).