Top Sites for Travelling on a Budget

So what is life without living?  This is exactly why I travel, to live, to see the world, experience cultures, and to feel alive.  I have found some really great deals, my only issue is having enough time away from work in order to travel.  I squeeze in a trip where ever I can, and if work sends me somewhere, I explore as much as possible on my downtime.  Here are some tips, which can help you afford a trip on a budget.

Be flexible.  You have to have some wiggle room in your calendar, or you might be succumbed to high prices if you travel in peak travel times.

My favorite travel websites are listed below.  This blog post will cover specifically air travel and overnight accommodations.  

Air Travel

Check fares often, but ensure you clear your cache and cookies, as the airlines will increase the price if you continually search the same flight from the same device over and over. 

1.  KIWI.  You can visit the app or the website www.kiwi.com Kiwi also has the option for rental cars and hotels as well.

You can go to Kiwi and search for the best flight deals.  You can also input in your home airport and put travel anywhere and leave the dates blank and it will show you the best deals.  So if you’re open for an adventure, you can find the most budget friendly place, get a ticket and there you are exploring!

2.  Skyscanner.  You can visit the app or www.skyscanner.com

You can also search Skyscanner similarly as you can on kiwi and but it also allows you to pick the cheapest month to search for which is a really nice feature!  Skyscanner also has the option to book your hotel and car as well.

The next sites are well known, and are still a great starting point when comparing flight prices.

3.  Priceline.  You can visit the app or www.priceline.com

4.  KAYAK. You can visit the app or www.kayak.com

5.  Expedia.  You can visit the app or www.expedia.com

6.  Travelocity.  You can visit the app or www.travelocity.com

7.  Orbitz.  You can visit the app or www.orbitz.com

8.  Next Vacay I personally use Next Vacay (https://nextvacay.com/).  It is a membership site with an annual fee (there is a free trial) that reports to you in email any great deals from your local airports.  I get deals almost daily, sometimes multiple times a day.  You don’t book directly with them, they send you to the deal and you purchase there.  There are other sites such as Scott’s Cheap Flights (scottscheapflights.com) and Thrifty Traveler (thriftytraveller.com) that you can enroll in to get deals, but I don’t want to spend too much of my travel budget on subscriptions to these, so I am just vigilant in checking airline prices a lot on my own

Now even when I use these travel sites, I always, always, always check the airline directly, as sometimes, their prices are the same or a dollar or so cheaper.  Working directly with the airline though, could be easier in the end, as long as the price is the same.  

There are more sites to search airline travel, but these are the ones, I find myself searching most frequently.

Overnight Accomodations

1.  Most of the airline sites, I listed above also have the capability to search for hotels as well. 

2.  Airbnb.  To me, though, to be immersed in the culture of the area you are staying try using Airbnb.  You can rent anything from a semi-private room up to an entire house.  Prices can be very reasonable and you can find some pretty unique places to stay.  If you have more people than would fit into one or two hotel rooms, Airbnb is the way to go.  It will be much more comfortable and inexpensive than getting multiple rooms.  You can use the Airbnb app or visit www.airbnb.com.  And did you know you can book experiences, adventures (not all locations have these available) and restaurants through Airbnb as well; want a wine tasting or cooking class, museums, tours, rafting, etc…check out the respective tab in Airbnb.  I have a tiny house booked for a mini weekend vacay in October and can’t wait to share this little slice of heaven.  And for anyone that knows me, knows I hate shoes in the house…and this tiny house’s number 1 rule is No shoes in the house.  They are my kind of folks and I have complete faith that it will be immaculate.

3.  Hotel Tonight.  If you’re looking for last minute hotel deals, hotel tonight www.hoteltonight.com is your place to go.  You can find rooms for tonight that aren’t sold yet and get a JAM UP deal!  You can also book future travel with them, but I believe the best deals are on the most last minute rooms.  Don’t get me wrong, there are some good deals, but the great deals will come at the last minute.

Comment below if there are any sites that you know about that I should add to my list!  

Until the next post…get out there and explore!

XOXO

-S