c/budget-travel-hacks

Packed only a backpack for Europe and never looked back

This change cut my baggage costs by $200 on my last trip.

I've come around on skipping travel insurance

Everyone says to cut costs by avoiding insurance, but I learned the hard way. A missed flight due to illness would have bankrupted me without it.

Hitchhiking gets called a top budget hack, but my free ride came with a weird ask.

The guy who picked me up wanted me to help him move a couch at his cousin's place. I bailed at the next stop and spent cash on a bus instead.

DAE split hotel costs with cousins to cut travel expenses?

Looking for more ways to share accommodations cheaply with relatives.

Update: Splitting a condo with my sister's family was a money pit

We booked a big vacation rental together to save on lodging for a ski trip. Hidden fees and extra groceries doubled what we planned to spend. Do family shared trips ever actually stay on budget, or is the drama just built in?

Finding budget flights in newspapers was a game, now it's all digital alerts.

Rant: Got my whole family to agree on a budget camping trip finally.

Packing our own food and using national park passes cut the cost in half.

My trick for scoring free walking tours worked, but I'm curious why they're free

Do they make money from tips or something else?

DAE try using only a carry-on for long vacations?

I packed just a carry-on for a two-week vacation. It cut costs on luggage fees, but I had trouble fitting everything. What are your tricks for minimal packing?

Going without travel insurance on my backpacking trip feels right, anyone else?

I've been traveling through Central America for two months and decided to skip buying travel insurance to save money. Most folks online scream that it's essential, but I've pocketed like $150 so far. I keep a small stash of emergency cash instead. Last week, I twisted my ankle in Guatemala and paid $30 for a local clinic, which was cheaper than any deductible I've seen. My travel buddies say I'm risking it all for a few bucks, but nothing bad has happened yet. Do you think insurance is overrated for budget trips? I'm starting to doubt the hype. Let me know your thoughts, lmao.

Using a friend's address for cheaper museum entry is a popular budget hack, but doing it made me question where the line is.

Booking flights early is supposedly a scam, but it secured my dream hostel spot.

Locking in dates months ahead meant I got the LAST cheap bed in a prime location.

Confused by carry-on size limits on budget airlines

I booked a budget flight thinking I got a great deal. At check-in, they said my carry-on was too big by their metal frame. I had to pay an extra fee that ate up my savings. My bag fit fine on other airlines before. Why do these rules vary so much between companies? What tricks do you have for checking bag size ahead of time? Has this happened to anyone else here?