If you have read my other blogs in French or German, then you know that I moved around a little bit. Here, I will show you a few tips on how to save a lot of money when you travel frugally.
Top websites to consider when travelling on a budget
I came across a few websites and friends, which showed me nice tricks and tips on how to save money. You don’t need a huge budget, just enough for You. So today, let’s take a look at some. Travel frugally and respect your money!
Getting around – Flights or on the ground
The following websites are very helpful to travel frugally with a plane or generally moving somewhere.
- Momondo
- As they say: “Cheap Flights – Search and Compare Flights | momondo. Find the cheapest flights with momondo. We find and compare fares from more than 1000 airlines and travel sites, giving you the best rates.”
- Google flights / Google travel
- Similar to momondo: “Plan your trip with Google. Find flights, hotels, vacation rentals, things to do, and more.” And: “Find cheap flights in seconds, explore destinations on a map, and sign up for fare alerts on Google Flights.”
- Both websites, momondo and google travel, offer great opportunities to save a lot of money. You can see if the price is high or low, compared to the whole price history, and you can also set up a price alert.
- Blablacar
- “BlaBlaCar is the world’s leading long distance carpooling service, connecting drivers with empty seats to people travelling the same way.”
- A great method to get around for a really cheap price and a chance to meet someone
- For almost every country there is a website, so you have to search the right one.
- Rome2Rio
- Rome2rio searches any city, town, landmark, attraction or address across the globe with thousands of multi-modal routes to easily get you from A to B.
- Again, it does compare all the prices. But the highlight is certainly the fact that you can almost find a route from everywhere to anywhere.
- Seat 61
- “The mobile home page of the Man in Seat 61, the guide to train travel in the UK, Europe & worldwide.”
- Although the website is outdated, it offers very very valuable information for train travel.
Stays – How to stay somewhere on a budget and at the same time meet locals
- Workaway
- “Workaway is a platform that allows members to arrange homestays and cultural exchange. Volunteers or “Workawayers”, are expected to contribute a pre-agreed amount of time per day in exchange for lodging and food, which is provided by their host.”
- I am a user of this platform and it really delivers. You stay at a host, get (normally) 3 meals a day and a cool cultural exchange…and this for 4-5h work a day. I can’t complain. A tip: Look at reviews, all of them, and contact a workawayer directly to see if everything checks out!
- It costs 44$ a year. It’s really worth it in my opinion, since you can save so much on eating and rent!
- Couchsurfing
- “Couchsurfing is a service that connects members to a global community of travelers. Use Couchsurfing to find a place to stay or share your home and hometown with travelers. Couchsurfers organize regular events in 200,000 cities around the world. There’s always something to do and new friends to meet.”
- Similar, but not the same as workaway. You get a stay, but only a few days normally. In addition, you probably don’t get food. But, you don’t have to work. So, it’s also a good method to meet new people.
- Yes, you have to pay here too
- Similar websites for volunteering abroad: WWOOF, Helpx, Worldpackers, Hippohelp, and Volunteers Base
Insurance
- World Nomads
- This one is featured on many websites and generally good rated.
- “Travel insurance for independent travelers and their families. You’d rather not think about all of the things that might go wrong on your trip, but these things can and do happen.”
“World Nomads travel insurance has been designed by travelers for travelers, to cover your trip essentials. Even if you run out of travel insurance or leave without it, World Nomads can cover you. We don’t just keep you and your family protected, with us, you’ll travel smarter and safer.” - I use this insurance too. Anyway, read the fine print carefully. For instance, you don’t get any refund etc. in connection to a pandemic
Travel blogger
- The expert vagabond
- “Popular adventure travel blog featuring inspirational stories, photography, and budget travel tips from around the world.”
- An interesting blog with nice stories. Now, the connection with travel frugally: You can find in the menu ‘travel’ many tips on how to save money or “40 Best Travel Jobs To Make Money Traveling The World”.
Food – Eat frugally
- TooGoodToGo
- “The #1 anti-food waste app”
- It’s simple: Users of Too good to go get at a significant lower price quality food that is left at the end of the day. You buy a ‘Surprise meal’ and go get it at the shop at a specific time.
- In general
- You don’t need a lot of money for food…really. Healthy food is cheap and available in western countries. I will write on it on another site, but here’s the summary:
- You need Carbs, Protein and Fats…healthy ones. Therefore, looking at the price, eat:
- Carbs: Oats, Rice, Potatoes, Fruit, Vegetables etc
- Fats: Peanut butter, nuts, salmon
- Protein: Milk, Quark, Lentils, tuna, chicken
- Do you know that I eat 3000- 3500 calories a day? (I do sports and so). I live in Switzerland, one of the most expensive countries in terms of… everything. And do you know how much I spend a week on food? 32 francs/ 28 Euros/ 34 Dollars. And almost half of it is because of Protein
- A quick meal is for instance (My breakfast): Mix 0% Quark (is like Greek Yogurt), Milk, Oats (cut into pieces) and Fruit together. That’s it and you get good Fats (from Oats), Carbs and Protein in an instant.