Traveling in general can certainly add up and the thought of traveling alone doesn’t necessarily inspire everyone to pack their bags. As someone who has traveled alone both on a tight budget and also on luxury getaways, I’ve learned some tricks to make my solo travel less stressful when it came to spending money during any part of the process. The good news is that with some planning and preparation, you can still have a fantastic trip while keeping costs down.
I’m sharing some simple budgeting and planning tips for those who want to travel solo but not wipe out their bank accounts.
1.) Start Planning Early
– When you’re working around a certain budget it’s always best to research when the best time to go to your desired place is and figure out when is the cheapest time of year to do that. This type of planning includes tons of research such as:
- Location of the airport and how far away it is from where you’d like to be
- Public Transportation costs to and from the airport and around town (Uber, bus, train, rented cycle, car rental, etc.)
- Average cost of dinner by Googling restaurants for coffee shops, breakfast, lunch and dinner.
- Cost of activities at your desired destination (museums, cooking classes, tours, etc.)
I find that putting all these details into a spreadsheet help me establish a budget snapshot and I make an effort to save up 25% more than the projected budget. Doing this type of research helps me prepare for what I can expect to do and see at the destination and look through Pinterest and Instagram for free activities such as “Instagrammable locations in [your destination]” and other free or super low-cost adventures.
2.) Consider Travel on the Off-Seasons and Weekdays
During that research you’ll most likely spend a good portion of your time figuring out the cheapest time to fly to your destination. The easiest way to figure this out is simply asking yourself some easy questions:
a. Is this is a popular destination? if yes, then do I know when people are more likely to visit? if yes, then plan to travel just before that time or after. This is called the “shoulder period”. If your destination doesn’t have a shoulder period, Like NYC, airfare will most likely be cheaper just before winter and just before summer.
b. Does my destination experience all four seasons? if yes, then plan to avoid travel around all major holidays like Easter, end of May, summer break (August in Europe), Thanksgiving and Christmas. If not, figure out if your destination has a wet/rain season and when the hottest and coolest times of the year are. If you’re OK with cooler temperatures, consider traveling during those times. Keep in mind that all major holidays incur price hikes in airfare cost.
c. Is my destination in a tropical or warm-weather climate? if yes, research the off season or “wet season” and figure out if you want to travel when it potentially will rain a significant amount of your trip. Wet or rain seasons are usually cheaper from warm-weather destinations. Whereas mountain destinations can be more expensive in both winter (for skiing) and summer so plan for spring and autumn.
d. Is my destination easy to get to? If yes, your airfare will be cheaper as it is.
Don’t be discouraged to travel to your destination in the winter or when there is less people and weather can be dicey. You can still have a wonderful getaway during every season, yes, even in the snow!
A great source for figuring out the cheapest times to travel for your destination is by using Google Flights, Momondo and even the travel app Hopper.
3.) Subscribe to Airfare Deal Notifications and Airfare Watch Apps:
When I lived in Europe I had subscribed to a number of apps and email lists that tracked cheap flights from your home airport. This was so brilliant because it helped me plan to visit destinations I would normally not be able to afford visiting. These apps and email lists do that by finding “error fares” or airlines sales and a number of other factors to find and notify you of cheap deals from your home airport.
Now that I’m back in the United States, I subscribe to email lists with fare watches and airfare deals from Going.com (also formerly known as Scott’s Cheap Deals) and Dollar Flight Club. A great site similar to these that are based in Europe is Jack’s Flight Club. I HIGHLY recommend subscribing to either of these. They all offer a free or a seriously discounted membership tier. If you want to subscribe to a premium membership option on these sites, I recommend waiting for Christmas and New Years because that’s how I managed to snag a great Elite or Premium membership at 50% off or more.
I mentioned a few of my favorite sites but here you can read about my in depth review on other apps and websites.
You can also try looking at Travelzoo for bundle deals, Groupon can potentially have some great deals (be sure to read ALL of the details before purchasing and read the reviews!). Lastminute.com is another good source to help figure out a good time for travel and also book a bundled trip.
4.) Budget-Sensitive Accommodation
Consider staying in hostels, guesthouses, or if you have the budget, using home-sharing services like Airbnb instead of more expensive hotels. What kind of amenities do you like at your hotel when you travel? If you prefer things closer to a home set up, be careful with room rentals from Airbnb as some hosts don’t allow you to use their kitchen space.
Booking ahead can help you find great deals but also going directly through the hotel’s website may sometimes be cheaper. I have always called a hotel I wanted to stay at and said that I had found a great room rate on an aggregator site and would prefer to book with them directly and politely asked if they can price match the deal. To my surprise, I’ve never been told no!
If you have flight miles or points, you can usually use them for accommodation as well! Look into paying with your points or miles directly through the miles program website.
5.) Plan Meals Carefully
When out and about, time passes, what seems like a lot faster than usual.
I am not an itinerary-bound individual but I like make a list of places I’d like to try.
This process I start by scouring “Best of” articles for restaurants, cocktail bars, cafe’s and fun and unique places through Instagram and other bloggers. Some publications I like to look through for meal ideas are:
Also, when using Google, for example let’s search “Best places to eat London”. Scroll all the way down to the bottom for these results called “Additional Searches”. You’ll see a few thumbnails and other phrases other people searched for.
6.) Plan and Budget for Extra Spending
You never know what might come up and when. I always plan to budget and add an additional 2/3 amount of cash to the total trip. How do I do this if I haven’t booked anything yet? It’s a ballpark guess honestly. But I usually look at the airfare.
If the airfare cost $300-$500, I’ll budget and extra $100-$150 per day.
If I don't use that money, I save it for a future trip. This is where I have multiple bank accounts and transfer money into that account when planning.
Also, be smart with credit cards. I try not to charge anything on my cards unless I know I will pay them off in full. If I do use one, its usually for the bigger items. Find and smartly use a credit card that benefits you with rewards.
7.) Know What to Pack and What To Pack It In
Packing is the bane of my existence. I do it last minute. But I always figure out what luggage I want to take with me to which destination.
If I am going to a beachy location and plan on surfing or playing on the beach with minimal to half the time, be in the town exploring. I’ll pack a bigger carry on and plan to pack more swimsuits and two types of shoes.
If I’m going to a winter location where weather can be dicey, I will consider packing a 40L bag and check it in. Here you need to plan for layers and thicker garments and weather-appropriate boots.
My favorite is planning for adventure that includes sports…whether its snowboarding or surfing, or scuba diving. I always plan to check in at least two bags. One for the equipment if I have it and the second with my personals.
Do you have any budgeting and planning tips that work for you? Let me know in the comments!
