I can’t travel because I’m broke. I won’t be able to afford it. I don’t know how to travel on a budget.
These are all things I hear from people around me, and while I’m not discounting the fact that some people genuinely cannot afford to travel, I do think that for some people it can be possible with some guidance. I am a full time university student, with two on-campus jobs that pay minimum wage. Yes, my parents send me money…to pay rent and bills. I’d be crazy to ask them for money so I can eat, pray, love or whatever. So, how do I afford travel? I finesse. You can finesse too! Here are my tips for how to afford travel as a university student, or just on a budget overall!
*before you start, see where you can go visa-free with your passport, and start with those options. I need a visa to go to Canada, and it’s $100 USD and a trip to the embassy in NYC. I can save time and money and go somewhere else instead.
1. Constantly search for flights
I don’t go a week without searching a flight to my dream destination and price matching. I mainly use Kayak to search for flights, but there are other websites like Skyscanner and Student Universe. Google Flights is also a good way to look for flights. Kayak has a feature where you can search anywhere on your budget so you can see where you can possibly go to! I suggest setting flight alerts for places you are looking to go. Sometimes, I use these search engines to find flights, but end up booking them directly on the airline’s website.
2. Be Flexible
I only have time to travel on university holidays which include Fall Break, Thanksgiving, Winter Break, Spring Break, and Summer vacation. Those are quite a lot of breaks, but I have to plan my travel in those blocks of time. If you are working full-time, or have other obligations on your uni breaks, you can even try to get away for a weekend and take one vacation day. The trick to getting cheap flights is being flexible with dates. So if you want to depart on Sunday, maybe the flight is cheaper on Thursday by $200 USD. If you’re flexible, you can work around your dates to book the most affordable option.
3. Take a carry-on
This was really hard for me to do in the beginning. How can I fit all of my hair products in a carry-on?! I cannot travel without my hair products because my thick natural hair would be looking a MESS, and I can’t risk it. But, taking a carry-on helps you skkkkrt on those baggage fees and save money! Usually, I might just take a carry-on to my destination, and if any of my souvenirs are liquid (I’m not going to the Caribbean without bringing back rum), I’ll pay the checked baggage on the return flight. Technically you can wait until airport duty free to buy alcohol and skkkrt the baggage fees, though. How do you make it work? Well, if I’m traveling for six days, I don’t need the entire bottle of my product so I buy little plastic/silicone containers that can go in my carry-on. Taking only a carry-on forces you to re-think the things you need to take with you. Carry-on suitcase and a backpack/duffel bag and you’re set! It also saves you time when you arrive to your destination.
4. Location, location, location
My dream destination all my life was the Maldives. Do I have Maldives money? I sure don’t. You have to be smart about the destination you choose. I got a round trip to Amsterdam for $600 USD from Boston and thought it was a steal….until I got to Amsterdam and the prices for EVERYTHING were astronomical. Meanwhile, my ticket to Bogota, Colombia was over $900 USD from New York, but I spent significantly less on that overall trip. My flights to European cities were really inexpensive, but my accommodation, food, and every-day expenses were crazy. South and Central America, Southeast Asia, some Caribbean islands, and some African cities may be a better location for you on a budget! I get that sometimes fronting the cost of a destination further away is difficult, but think about your big picture spending when considering where to go.
5. Take advantage of travel abroad opportunities*
This tip may be dependent on if your uni has opportunities similar to mine, but I’m sure many universities do. I went to Bogota, Cartagena, Johannesburg, and Cape Town through university opportunities. I wanted to study abroad for a semester but it did not work out with my schedule or my foreign status in the U.S., so I used summer vacations as time to get academic experience but also travel (this is the finesse part). I applied for funding for my trip to Colombia and it was FULLY FUNDED. All expenses paid. For South Africa, I had to purchase my own ticket, but I was paid to work as a research assistant. If your uni has a study/travel abroad office, definitely utilize that! There are so many opportunities that you may not have heard.
6. Accommodation
On family vacations growing up, we only stayed in hotels. Now that I’m on my own, there is no way I’m going to spend upwards of $100 USD a night on a place to sleep. I’ve done hostels, home-stays and Airbnbs. Not going to lie, staying in hostels were my least favorite. But, I met amazing people there (which is cliche to say but truth!). I stayed at 91 Loop Boutique Hostel in Cape Town and within the first hour I met someone from Mozambique who went to school with my friend at uni all the way in Massachusetts! It was wild, and I had a fun Cape Town experience because of that. This depends on your reasons for traveling though. For me, it wasn’t about luxury. I just wanted a comfortable and safe place to sleep.
On my trips to Cuba, I stayed with a host family and found it to be the best option for me. Host families provide daily breakfast for $5CUC, but also give you so much insight into the country/city and you learn so much from them. I felt comfortable staying with a host family because I can speak basic conversational Spanish, and understand Spanish mostly. Maybe the experience would be different for non-speakers. Either way, in many Latin American cities, staying with a host family has been my best experience!
7. Transportation
A lot of travel bloggers will say avoid taxis, but I think this is dependent on where you are. In Havana, there was no Uber or Lyft, so obviously taxis were the best option. In European cities, I took Uber if it was really late and I was alone but the Ubers were not significantly cheap. Public transport is your best option in most places, if you feel comfortable. It can be hard to understand bus systems in some countries, and easier in others. I utilize a mixture of public transport and ride-share services. I also walk A LOT! Consider walking even if your destination is 30 minutes or more. I found the best gems by just walking through cities.
8. Look for free or inexpensive activities
On my first day in Paris alone, my credit card declined. I only had 80 euros in cash on me and I was there for four days. I thought I was going to die. Seriously. When I walked into a Parisian cafe, a coffee and a croissant with chocolate was almost 10 euros. How was I going to eat three meals a day here and still do anything?! I went to a local French store and bought a baguette, grapes, and nutella all for 4 euros and survived on that for breakfast and lunch, and “splurged” on dinner. But, I remembered seeing is free. So, I walked around at all the sights, went to free museums, and checked out local bookstores and cafes. I saw the Eiffel Tower, and to be honest, I don’t feel as though I missed out by not climbing it. It was freezing anyway. After the first day, I got over being upset and just enjoyed the things I could do!
9. SAVINGS
Ask anyone close to me, I am really bad at saving. I get so much anxiety from money. If I’m planning a trip though, I get serious. I try to take extra shifts at work, I sell my used clothing on Depop… I do it all. But, what has really helped me is using savings apps like Digit or Albert that take small percentages from your bank account and save it for you. You don’t even notice the money being gone from your account. I forgot about the Albert app for a week, and when I re-opened it, I saw I already had $40 saved towards my Spring Break trip. If you are someone that has a hard time transferring money to your savings account manually, set up an automatic transfer or use one of these apps!
10. Sign up for travel rewards programs
If you are constantly flying, you need to be taking advantage of the frequent flyer mils programs! Seriously. I use JetBlue frequently because it is the best airline to get me between New York City and Trinidad. Because of this, I signed up for the True Blue Reward program, and racked up enough points to purchase a round-trip ticket to Trinidad and Tobago! You can sign up for points on as many airlines as you want, but my trick is really trying to use the same airline or a partner airline to make my dollar count.
These are tips that I have personally used and continue to use, so I hope they can work for you as well! Feel free to add any tips below in the comment section, and happy traveling!
-stampedandsolo
Thanks for the tips! Really a great article
Thank you! I’m glad it helped.