Guide to Planning a Cheaper Trip

Do you want to travel cheaper? Does the process of booking and planning a trip seem too daunting? We will show you our step by step guide from booking transportation and accommodation to planning what to do during your stay.

In this guide you will also find all of our favorite companies that we personally use and recommend.

Planning a Trip - Transportation

Many times the most difficult task is to find cheap transportation to your destination, especially if you are not flexible with your dates. Do you know the time when you can travel beforehand? Book your transport early in advance!

Taking a Flight

Trying to find cheap flights brings many of us constant headaches. But it is not impossible task to do.

Check the flights at least 2-3 months in advance, making it even 5-6 months for European flights.

Practice that works the best for us is searching first through Skyscanner, which covers most of the big flight companies. Other great search engine is Momondo.

When you find your price, continue directly to the website of the company. Sometimes the final price is even few euros cheaper there.

Travelling by Bus

Buses are not the most comfortable kind of transportation, but in many cases, they are the cheapest one. That was one of the reasons why we chose bus as main kind of transportation for our trip to Balkans.

Busradar is our go-to tool for finding the best prices, as well as busbud.

Flixbus is one of our most used companies in Europe. The buses are usually new, comfortable and offer free wifi, but tend to be a bit late. On the other hand, you can find tickets for as low as 1€.

Since we live in Spain, for trips inside the country, we use Alsa a lot here, as they offer cheap tickets if you book well in advance.

Where to Find Train Tickets

Even though it's not our most used kind of transportation, it's the one we prefer. Trains are comfortable, faster than buses and give you more freedom to roam.

Train tickets in Europe can be easily find on Raileurope. If you are going to move a lot by trains, consider buying Eurail pass. We recommend it mostly in expensive countries like France, Germany or Switzerland, as it can save you hundreds of euros.

To know more about international train routes and information, go to The Man in Seat 61. It is the ultimate guide of worldwide train travelling , with prices, timetables and tips & tricks.

Planning a Trip - Accommodation

One of the things that gets deeply into our wallets while travelling is accommodation. Everyone needs to sleep somewhere, but you don't need to overpay for the roof over your head. Or you don't even need to pay at all.

Where to Search for Hostels and Hotels

As for hotels and hostels in Europe, we always use as first (and usually also last) Booking. They have the biggest offer of cheap accommodation, including one and two stars hotels. Take advantage of genius feature and save up to 10% or 15%.

The best thing is, that to become a genius member, you just need to book accommodation with Booking few times. They also offer great property referral program.

Finding an Apartment

Don't you like hotels? Many times, we also prefer comfort of a house. To find one, choose between Booking and Airbnb as they both have a wide variety of apartments. Prices can differ from one to the other, once being cheaper Booking, other time Airbnb.

Search on both and compare until you find a place for a price you like. Personally, I've used more Booking over the years, but lately Airbnb broadened its offer and became often used tool as well.

Couchsurfing With Locals

If you don't want to pay for the housing at all and want to meet locals, use Couchsurfing. It makes for a great experience, as hosts tend to also show you around the place you stay.

We've met very kind people of different cultures thanks to Couchsurfing, so we highly recommend you to try it.

Needing to move from one place to another during your trip? Another good strategy, even though not a long-term one, is to book an overnight transportation.

Planning a Trip - Things to Do

No, we will not just smash you in the face with what seems to be the obvious answer: search on TripAdvisor. Not at all. We've used it a lot over the years, but nowadays we rarely make some quick research there.

Instead, we recommend you to check articles of fellow travel bloggers, especially local ones. There are many who focus on specific country/place and offer their online guides.

Some people don't consider bloggers trustworthy. If you are one of them and want more objective insight, look for travel guides of Lonely Planet.

Don't Waste Money, Do Free Stuff!

What is cheaper than something for free? One of the first things you should always do while planning a cheaper trip, is to search for free things to do. There are plenty interesting activities to choose from!

Great way to get to know the place and save money is taking a free walking tour. In almost every bigger or touristy city you can find at least one. Remember that even if it's called free, it's a custom to tip the guide at the end of the tour.

Planning a Trip - Places to Eat and Drink

One of our favorite things to do while travelling is trying local food. To find good local restaurants with good prices, follow the same strategy and search on travel and food blogs. There are tons of information online!

Try to avoid places close to main square, as they tend to be poorer quality and charge you more. Instead wander few streets away and see where locals go, because locals are not tourists and don't fall to the same trap. Also, they don't want to spend a lot of money for bad food.

Another great sources are, of course, Instagram and Pinterest. People love to share with everyone great places they've found. Nothing is a secret anymore.

We hope that thanks to our guide, you will not overpay for your next trip again and will find it easier to handle all the planning.