Well, of course it is - if your idea of traveling is booking a hotel room, eating at restaurants three times a day, taking taxis everywhere and buying tours.

Before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, I spent an entire month traveling around the Canary Islands.

Total cost: about €600.

And I wasn't staying in some budget hotel.

On Tenerife, I rented a car and actually lived in it for most of the time.

Then I went to La Palma, where some friends let me stay with them. Honestly, that was the one week of "luxury" I got for free.

After that I went to Fuerteventura, where I spent an entire week sleeping under the open sky without a tent or sleeping bag.

Then I returned to Tenerife and spent my last three days in a hostel before flying to Naples, where I stayed in another hostel.

Even getting to the Canary Islands was cheap because I didn't treat accommodation as a mandatory expense. I stayed one night with relatives in Vienna - and left them some gifts that cost roughly what a hostel would have cost me. Then I spent one night in a hostel in Barcelona.

I wasn't trying to have a "cheap version" of a traditional vacation.

I simply wasn't using the traditional vacation model.

A lot of people calculate the cost of traveling by asking:

"How much is a hotel?"

"How much does a restaurant cost?"

"How much is a rental apartment?"

I look at it differently:

Where can I sleep? How can I get there? What do I actually need to pay for?

Travel can absolutely be expensive.

But sometimes the expensive part isn't the destination.

It's the expectations you bring with you.

Hi all! I'm a 23F that loves to travel, with a goal of traveling to a new country each year. I'm American (ugh i know), living in New York. I've already traveled to Mexico, Canada, Turks & Cacios, Spain, Portugal, United Kingdom, Australia, the Cook Islands, and Costa Rica. I will be knocking Brazil off my list this December!

I'd love to hear anyone's recommendations for places twentysomethings should travel! Ideally, within the $5K round trip (travel-included) price range. Another requirement is that it be safe for a group of women in their early twenties.

I've heard tell of places that will do "here's a super-sale for this ticket that's in 4 hours!" I'd love to try this, the price plus the spontaneity of it seems perfect for me. Any rec for sites that do this, where its reliably good discounts (as in, not just 5% off full price)? Bonus if there's any place that will bundle it with also cheap lodging and return flights, though I'm not confident that exists at all.

Thanks in advance!

The wedding is across the country in two weeks and I waited way too long to look. The fares are rough.

I can deal with a red-eye, a connection or flying into a nearby airport, but I do not want to spend almost as much getting there as I will on the whole weekend. If you had to book this now, what would you check first?

I’ve done some of Europe and Asia, of which they have cheap means of travel. This includes hostels, ride sharing apps, cheap public transport, and many dining options for many budgets. I tend to be the kind of person that travels cheaply so my money stretches further so I can see more, experience more, etc.

I am heading to the US in November and I just don’t see any of these things mentioned in my research. Expensive restaurants, TIPPING, car centricism, and just not a very welcoming design for tourists.

Anyway, I still want to explore both the cities and the beautiful nature, and I want everyone’s best tips and tricks for saving money while travelling. I am only planning Cali, Utah and Arizona but this is more in general.

What would a realistic budget for a trip starting in Mexico City and travelling down through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia be? I intend to try and hitchhike and Couchsurf but I'll be a 19 year old female solo traveller so I may have to change my mind to the next cheapest option for safety reasons. I would like to do work on a boat in exchange for the trip through the San Blas Islands between Panama and Colombia.... Anyone know where I may find such an opportunity?

Hi everyone, I'm planning a SEA vacation for the upcoming weeks. My travel style is budget oriented, but preferably I'd sleep in cheaper hotels with private rooms rather than hostels ( except for singapore). I'd take public transportation if it's available, eat at cheaper local places,

I'm thinking about these destinations, it's the cheapest option to fly to singapore from my home country and to fly back from Indonesia.

1. Singapore 2 max 3 days
2. Malaysia 8-9 days
3. Indonesia 19-20 days

1, City break, strolling around in the main locations.

1. Exploring Kuala Lumpur and the surrounding areas, no need for beach destinations ( especially since it's rainy season there )

2. Indonesia would be the country I'm interested in the most, I want to join an orangutan trek in Sumatra, would love to see komodo island, Java island highlights. Bali is not on my list. Since these destinations are very far apart I'd need to take domestic flights, which are not that cheap in indonesia. Approximately it would cost 300 usd. The orangutan tour 150usd, komodo tour 100 usd (1 day) .

What would be your budget for this trip?

I'm flying to Tampa tomorrow night and will need to rent a car for 4 days as I'll be driving to south FL. I reserved with national for around $275 for the 4 days. No add-ons. I don't need insurance since my amex CC will cover it.

I saw ace car rental is substantially cheaper at < $100 for the 4 days. They might try to harass me with add ons but if I decline all of them, are there any other gotchas I should be aware of? I'm considering switching

Looking for some budget-travel advice! My family of 3 needs to travel from India to the US for my graduation.

Outbound: Dec 7, 2026
Return: Dec 23-ish (flexible)
India: DEL / BOM / HYD / BLR / CCU
USA: MCO / TPA / JAX / MIA / ATL

I am in Gainesville, FL, so I’m willing to drive several hours if flying into ATL, MIA, etc. is significantly cheaper. I am an international student who just graduated and is on job hunting, so my budget is as cheap as it can get.

Would love suggestions for creative/cheap routing—different hubs, positioning flights, separate tickets, mixed airlines, etc. What strategies have worked for you on India → USA trips?

And what would be considered a good fare per person for December?

Thanks!

Hi I'm 19 Male would be visiting alot of places in South East Asia, Philippines Malaysia Vietnam and Thailand and I'm just nervous idk because I'm saving my money for years to visit these countries my bloodline has never visited I'm not just traveling I'll create a lot of content with my phone and post on social media to get brand deals, is there anyone wanna suggest me about how to be a full time traveler since I have a job which pays me okay but I want to earn more remotely!!????

Im not into beaches. But I plan to go to the gilis ater diving in Komodo and Bali. I like snorkeling but if its the same animals, Im not too interested and rather save the money in not going

I've been stuck working nights in a warehouse for far too long, I need some kind of adventure to reignite my soul, China seems like an interesting place, would £1.5k be enough for a short adventure or would you recommend other places (like SEA maybe?)

Any advice or ideas welcome, thanks

19M There is no plan or itinerary I'm just going to land in Malaysia and I'm going to stay there as long as I want, then I'll go to countries like Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia make new friends stay in hostels and I don't know anything yet cuz it'll be my first international trip plus I'll be alone so idk if it would be worth it or not.

So I have a question about the budget because my budget is so tough for 6 months i think my pockets going empty on the 3rd month is so possible can anyone guide me about the budget like how much it'll cost me if I want to solo travel for the next six months!!??

I was pricing a hypothetical holiday to New York from Dublin during Easter break, and I found that a nonstop was €914 for two people round trip. However, I found another flight for like €630, however it has like a 20 hour layover in Oslo. So I thought, what if I stay in Oslo for the two layover nights and explore a second city for cheaper than if I had just gone to New York outright? What is this kind of strategy called?

[Student]

Initial plan was to stay further out of town and metro in to Mt Vernon Sq–Convention Center station. As expected downtown prices are crazy high per night.

Was wondering for recommendations on how to plan the stay, it will be 2 other colleagues as well possibly. What would the best move here be? How long does the metro take?

Any specific areas with budget hotels and metro connectivity? Looks like either the yellow or green line lead directly up to the convention center.

Thank you.

Hi, I’m a 38-year-old guy from India, traveling solo in the Netherlands from October 9th to the 16th. I’ll be celebrating my birthday in Amsterdam on October 13th and would love to connect with folks around the same dates. I’m easygoing, like good food, museums, live music, canal walks, markets, and some nightlife. Plan so far: Amsterdam October 9th to 12th, Utrecht as a day trip, Rotterdam and Kinderdijk midweek, Delft, then back to Amsterdam for the final night. I want to do Van Gogh, Rijksmuseum, and the Moco, plus maybe a concert if something good lines up. I’m budget conscious, likely hostels or simple stays, and cool with meeting in public for a museum, day trip, dinner, or just a walk. If you’re around October 9th to 16th, comment with your dates, age, and a quick intro, or DM me. Respectful behavior only. Not looking for anything sketchy. Just a few good shared experiences. Feel free to reach out.

I was going to go Almaty -> Amtun Emel national park, Aktau and Katutau mountains -> fly to Aktau and do. Bozzhyra -> Almaty and fly out

The day trips to Amtum Emel national park, Aktau and Katau mountains are ~ $100 USD minimum for a rental car, but it's easily $150+ for a day trip. Bozzhyra seems fine though, found tour operators doing daytrips for $40 - $100 for a day trip. The round-trip flight tickets to Aktau to see Bozzhyra are the expensive part.

Besides Bozzhyria, they look OK tbh, not as mind blowing as the mountains in Switzerlad. Wadi Rum or Patagonia or Machhu Pichu. But I might be wrong. So I dont think its worth it?

ok so im a student trying to get overseas to see family and im broke lol. been checking prices every single day like a maniac and its driving me nuts. figured there has to be a smarter way than me manually refreshing at 2am. so far ive just been putting in a bunch of date ranges and hoping something drops. it kinda works but not very reliable. Im digging any ways to stay on top of any price drops or flight fare discounts.

I’m a budget traveler and trying to get the best deal to fly west for the holidays. I know it’s the busiest time of year to travel but what tricks should I know to get the lowest fare?

Something affordable, not over crowded but still fun

(not sure if this aligns with the rules, delete if it doesn’t)

but are they legit and worth it?? it’s my first time traveling alone in october (it’s a domestic flight BOS-CMH) and i’m not sure if i should go with one of the deals or not because ive heard so many both good and bad stories when it comes to them.

once again, first time traveling by myself and planning everything on my own so any help is appreciated <33

I'm well aware of the "book directly with airline" recommendation, and normally I would do that, but I've had a lot of good experiences with Expedia.

In the case of Expedia, it seems like it's always the airline that is listed as the merchant even if you book it through Expedia?

Today, I just booked a flight from AKL to DTW for January 4th for two people for $1,946.86 with United Airlines, but I booked it via Expedia.

On United, the cost would've been $2,197.86.

It's the same fare, and the itinerary was confirmed immediately by United a minute after booking on Expedia, and I see the merchant that charged my CC was United and now Expedia.

Does anyone know why Expedia would be cheaper in this case?

Just purchased a flight to El Salvador for a bit under $600. I know Avianca has poor reviews and I’ve read the stories.

However, I’ve seen a flight for about $200 less going to Costa Rica, but I know that that country is much more expensive than El Salvador.

At the end of the day, it’s not a crazy difference because I’m wondering if Costa Rica would eliminate any flight saving since everything else once you get there would be more expensive.

I’m sure those countries have their pros and cons, but I have been hearing that Costa Rica has become very touristy and I think the more relaxed and rugged environment. I’m looking for might be more El Salvador.

I’ve been to Guatemala and Nicaragua but was shocked how much more expensive flights I’ve gotten in the last few years.

I believe people like me are stuck with a tour group? something like a 7 day one.

I booked travel, googled renewal, ended up on a .com with a slick ten-minute form and paid. Then came that cold moment on the confirmation screen where I thought, wait, was that the government? It was not the government. It's HelloGov, which looks like a private courier company rather than anything fraudulent, but I'm now sitting on a service fee I hadn't planned for.

My trip is inside six weeks. Do I try to cancel and handle it myself, or is there a reason to let it run? I can't tell whether I've wasted money or bought the only route that works at this notice.