10 Best Ways to Travel on a Budget

Chick Vacations can help!

These 10 budget travel tips will help you save so much money that you'll be able to go on even more trips!

• Make an itinerary of what you want to do. Making an itinerary does take time but in the long run you will save money on your trip because you won’t be wondering around trying to figure out what to do and spending money on trying to figure out what to do.
  
• Set aside a certain amount of money for your trip. Since you made an itinerary you should know how much everything costs and of course you need to give your self a little bit more money for emergency situations.
• Use cash for everything. By using cash you can see when you are running low on money and it will help you watch your spending. Using a credit card for your lodging is ok but using a credit card for other things on your trip can get you into the “its ok, I will charge it” place where there is no coming back from and when you see the bill at the end of the month you will definitely see your budget mistake.
  
• Bring your own snacks and beverages. Many people already do this but if you don’t you need to start. Stopping for a drink or getting something from the hotel vending machine can add up really fast especially when a 20 oz soda bottle can cost $2.00 each. You do the math……it is a waste of money!
  
• Try a budget hotel. Some people believe that budget hotels are not clean and they would rather stay in their car but this is not true. If you are just needing a place to sleep and take a shower why do you need fancy amenities that you will not even use. Try some budget hotels like the Red Roof Inn and Motel 6. Many of the Red Roofs have undergone remodeling and are just what you need when all you need is a bed and a shower.
  
• Look for lodging that offers breakfasts and dinners. If you are going to be spending some time at your hotel and want some amenities having breakfast and a light dinner included is the best way to safe some money. Residence Inn by Marriot offers a hot breakfast buffet everyday of the week and Monday thru Thursday they offer a light dinner such as sloppy joes or a hamburger or even taco night. The price might be a little more then a standered hotel but if you have a group of people it is worth it because of the meals you can take advantage of.
  
• Do not buy souviners. The best souvinors are always the pictures you take. Take some great pictures and when you get home you can scrapbook the memories or frame them and that can be the souviner that will last forever compared to the t-shirt you would have for maybe a couple of years if that.
  
• Do not take cabs unless you know the route you are going. While cabs are great and can get you from point A to point B quicker then walking or a bus it can cost you a lot more and sometimes A LOT MORE. Cabbies do know if you’re a tourist by the way you speack and act and they have been known to take the longest route possible to make a little extra money for themselves. If where you are going is not to far walk! We all need more exercise in our lives.
  
• Bring what you need. We are all at fault for this one. I know that some people will say when they are packing that they will just find a new shirt, shoes, or whatever when they get to their destination instead of just packing something they already have. When you plan on doing this you also will spend more on whatever you needed for your trip and most likely it will not be the exact thing you wanted to begin with. We all tend to get to our trip location and then time flies by and then the next thing you know you need the shoes you were planning on buying and it becomes a rush rush project and no one wins.
  
• Stick to your budget! This is the most important thing to do. We all want to diverge from our plans but if you do not stick to your budget you may not be able to travel for a long time again. Just think if you travel on a budget you could possibly allow yourself to go on more trips because you saved money on your previous trips.