How We Travel on a Tight Budget
When we are making travel plans we are always on a tight budget. Over the years we've found a few things that help us get access to things that we typically would pass on due to budget constraints.
• When we have to stay in a hotel we plan for the off season. That doesn't mean we don't see any cool stuff either. We tend to book right before the peak or just as the event is coming to an end. The room rates will be more within our means.
• We always book direct with the hotel. We do not use travel sites. We find that this allows for far more flexibility of if we need to cancel or change plans. We also avoid tons of travel website hidden fees.
• We research an area before we decide how to visit it. For example when we visited Washington DC we researched in advance and decided we were not going to rent a car. This was a great choice. It was congested and most of what we wanted to see was faster to get to on foot or scooter. We took 3 Lyfts and 1 taxi and it was definitely cheaper than renting a car and paying for parking for 8 days.
• We use apps like Viator to find travel excursion tickets usually at a discount. We also use this app to book because there's no crazy fees and it's very organized and reliable so we never have to worry about losing money after losing a pass or ticket. Check out this link to book your Monuments by Moonlight tour in Washington DC https://www.viator.com/search/5046WAS_MON?mcid=42383&pid=P00096415&medium=link&campaign=MonumentualEATravels.
• We look for early bird specials! You know you've heard it before… early bird gets the worm. This is so true! Take our paddle boat rental on Lake Coeur d'Alene that we did this past summer as an example! We got two hours for the price of 1.
• We research food in advance to get an idea of what we can afford and what we should avoid. This also gives us time to download any apps the places we are eating at use. By ordering through apps we snag cheaper prices and special app discounts. If you're in a place for a week and you drink two coffees a day you likely could take advantage of some of their house discounts if you go to the same place for your coffee all days of the trip.
• We pack our own food or go to the grocery store for all meals except one a day at something that excited us.
• Final tip Camping instead of hotels. This has saved us so much money and given us countless priceless memories.
