How to Travel on a Budget, According to Viator Writers

I love flying and am quite content to spend hours (or days) up in the air. What's the key to traveling so frequently? Finding good deals! The best way to snag cheap(er) airfare is to be as flexible as possible with your travel dates. Sometimes booking a flight a day earlier or later than your target dates can save you big money, but don't forget to factor in extra expenses such as an additional hotel night and meals.

Most airfare search engines—both airline-specific ones and aggregators including Google Flights—allow you to search for flights with flexible dates. Pro tip: Tuesday and Wednesday are often the cheapest days to fly. And stay far away from public and school holidays!

Stefanie Waldek contributes to National Geographic, Condé Nast Traveler, and Space.com, among other publications. She typically flies more than 200,000 miles per year and loves a good flight deal.

Related: 9 Affordable Trips to Take from Australia and New Zealand

Before I arrive at a destination, I research how best to use public transportation to get to my accommodation and go sightseeing. All too often, it’s the most affordable way to get where I’m going, not to mention a sustainable choice that helps me learn a city’s layout and experience a slice of local life. In many cities, a trip can cost less than a dollar and take you right to its most popular attractions.

Of course, this strategy isn’t foolproof. Sometimes public transportation can be deceptively expensive, such as dedicated airport trains versus much cheaper local alternatives. Other times, it can be slow, limited, confusing, or outright nonexistent. But the odds are good, so I stick with it.

David Johnston is an Australia-based freelance travel writer and former digital nomad, who has extensive experience stretching his budget to allow him to keep roaming abroad.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do—and I couldn't agree more. Few of my travel memories are built entirely on headline sights; many are about the way a place feels off the beaten path, too.

Italians start the day with an espresso taken standing at the bar. The French build an afternoon around a market visit. In Sydney, the best sightseeing is a long coastal walk, flat white in hand. Plenty of London can be seen from the top deck of a double-decker bus. In Kuala Lumpur, dinner is enjoyed at a roadside stall, not at an Instagram-hyped restaurant.

Slot these low-cost daily habits around your tours and attractions, and you'll stretch your budget while getting to know a place between the highlights.

Rosie Stagg is a freelance editor at Viator. UK–born and Sydney-based, she’s house-swapped, backpacked, and hostel-hopped, learning that the most rewarding travel rarely costs the most.

Travel budgets stretch furthest when you decide, before you pack, what you actually care about. My rule is simple: Identify the one or two experiences that might define the trip for you—whether that's a restaurant you've been dreaming about, a concert, or a museum you've always wanted to visit—and treat those as fixed costs around which everything else flexes.

When I was planning a return visit to Los Angeles on a slightly tight budget, I locked in sought-after tickets to a film screening and reservations at a food pop-up and planned the rest around that. The result was a trip that felt rich rather than compromised. Knowing your non-negotiables stops the slow bleed of spending a little on everything and feeling satisfied by nothing.

Elise Morton is a journalist with constant wanderlust. She's been to 60+ countries but loves returning to special places as much as seeing new ones, and is determined not to make travel a tick-box exercise.

Related: 13 Bucket List Experiences in Europe, According to Viator Travelers

Traveling on a budget doesn’t mean paying for flights, accommodation, and food only to sit around all day. There are plenty of free or low-cost ways to explore a destination, from using public transportation to access trailheads to picnicking in a local park or asking around to find out about free community events.

My personal favorite low-cost activity is a free walking tour, which is available in most cities around the world. Rather than paying to book the tour, you sign up and pay the guide what you can as a tip. You may just make some budget traveler friends out of the experience, too!

Zanny Merullo is an award-winning freelance travel journalist who has relied on free resources and her budget travel skills to explore Europe, Asia, and Latin America since she was a teenager.

Between demands for snacks and wanting to shop for stickers wherever we go, it can be hard to stick to a budget when traveling with kids. When exploring with my 9-year-old daughter, I typically book accommodation with cooking facilities: campgrounds, upmarket hostels, or home rentals. The breakfast savings alone are huge.

In cities, I look for museums and galleries with free admission—and ideally some interactive exhibits, too. As willing as I am to spend to see quality art, my daughter’s attention span doesn’t warrant paying top-dollar for some esoteric show. And finally, I take public transportation where I can, for the novelty factor as well as the cost-saving one: My daughter’s small-town mind was blown by riding the train in Sydney!

Elen Turner is a New Zealand–based travel writer and editor who, as a solo parent, always travels with her daughter, and always tries to stick to a budget—sometimes more successfully than others.

When I was a young backpacker, I used to try to cram lots of destinations into one trip, rarely spending more than a few days in one place before heading off to the next frontier. While I thought that I was stretching my budget by fitting as much as I could into one trip, my rushed pace definitely led to some box-ticking travel.

These days, I prioritize immersive experiences—and comfort. Instead of bouncing from cheap hostel to cheap hostel, I book vacation rentals and stay put. While my nightly costs are a bit higher, I save by stocking up on groceries, doing my own laundry, and not throwing all my cash at zooming around.

Margot Bigg is a multilingual travel journalist, guidebook author, and longtime Viator contributor. She almost always travels on a budget and is devoted to debunking the myth that travel has to be expensive.

Related: A Beginner’s Guide to Slow Travel

For me, markets and convenience stores offer just as much insight into local culture as museums. On a recent trip to Japan, I spent hours browsing the weird and wonderful products of 7-Eleven (stingray chips, anyone?). Plus, one of my favorite parts of my vacations to mainland Europe is exploring supermarkets full of produce I can’t get back home in the United Kingdom.

To save money when I’m away, I often book accommodation with a basic kitchen, so I don’t have to eat every meal out. Plus, it gives me a great reason to visit local markets and feast on street food. Taking a cooking class or food tour at the start of my trip also gives me ample inspiration for the rest of my time in a destination.

Jade Harvey is a London-based travel writer who plans vacations around food. She’s spent years backpacking around Latin America on a budget, where her favorite foodie destinations include Mexico City and Buenos Aires.

Related: A Beginner’s Guide to Japanese Convenience Stores (and What To Buy There)

When I’m budgeting, I try to think of myself as rich in time: slowing down and opting for road trips, train trips, and anything that maximizes the moment. Yes, it’s more time off work and less time at your destination, but there’s nothing like seeing a country sprawl out in front of you. It’s less stressful, too, with a lower carbon footprint.

In Europe and Asia, trains are a cheap no-brainer; in the US, watch Amtrak for deals—they usually happen around holidays. As for driving, if you need a vehicle, grab a credit/debit card that earns points toward rental cars. Bring a small, soft-sided cooler with you for sandwiches and snacks. Traveling this way, every day is a picnic.

Jacqueline Kehoe is a freelance writer currently based in Wisconsin. She’s called multiple parts of the globe home, from California to Vietnam, but considers herself most at home when she’s in nature, under the trees.

From wild camping to WWOOFing to US$1-a-night dormitory beds, I’ve exhausted just about every budget accommodation option over the years. My comfort threshold has risen since my twenties, but I still love to hunt down a cheap stay.

I start by scanning online booking platforms and scout out any weekly or monthly discounts—for longer stays, I often reach out directly. Next, I do some destination-specific research and get creative: I’ve found great deals on roadside motels, guesthouses, campground cabins or mobile homes, and hostels (4-bed female dorms are my favorite). If my dates are flexible, I’ll also check house/pet-sitting platforms and travel communities such as Couchsurfing—some of my most memorable travel experiences have been staying in local homes.

Zoë Smith is a British freelance travel writer and guidebook author based in France. She’s traveled to 60+ countries, backpacked solo across three continents, and continues to spend long stretches of time on the road.

Traveling during the low season isn’t for everyone. Finland’s famously chilly capital, Helsinki, once ran a campaign that greeted late fall visitors with a huge sign reading: “Nobody in their right mind would come to Helsinki in November. Except you, you badass. Welcome.”

But, even if I don’t entirely buy into Thailand’s rebranding of the rainy season as “green season,” I’ve found that traveling outside the school vacation peak does more than just make your money go further. Sure, Europe in February, Everest Base Camp in December, or Beijing in November can test your tolerance for cold. But having Dubrovnik Ancient City Walls to myself made up for it.

Theodora Sutcliffe is a freelance travel writer and off-season connoisseur who spent four years as a digital nomad with her then-small son.

Related: Off-Season Travel Calendar: Where To Travel Without the Crowds—or the Prices

I like to have cash while traveling—some places don’t take anything else, and you can sometimes get better deals by paying cash anyway. International travel means also checking foreign exchange rates; skip the horrible rates and hidden fees offered by airport and tourist area exchange kiosks for the bank-affiliated ATM using a no-fee debit card.

I’m also strategic about using credit cards. I avoid cards that charge foreign transaction fees and always pay in the local currency for better rates. I also take advantage of credit card benefits, from using miles and points for flights and hotels to travel insurance—though for international trips, a standalone travel insurance policy is worth it to prevent unexpected events and expenses from breaking the budget.

Jen Peng is a freelance writer and former finance professional currently based in Lake Tahoe. She has traveled to more than 75 countries across six continents, managing different currencies and exchange rates along the way.

I’d rather spend money on activities and meals than airline baggage fees, so I’ve turned packing light into an art form. I once flew to the UK with my 5-year-old son, carrying only a tiny backpack each because our budget airline charged extra even for cabin luggage. I’ve also gone ice caving in Iceland with just carry-on baggage, renting specialized gear there instead of checking a suitcase.

My biggest tip is to make every item work harder: Wear your heaviest shoes on the plane, and only pack clothing that can be styled multiple ways. A bathing suit can double as a top, while costume jewelry and hair accessories add variety without adding much weight. I also remind myself that nobody notices repeated outfits as much as we think they do.

Fiona Tapp is a UK–born, Canada-based travel writer. Whether she’s jetting across Europe with just a backpack or squeezing a week’s worth of clothes into her carry-on, she knows how to pack light.

Years ago, I met up with a good friend in Florence the week of Easter—a peak travel time. I was relieved when my friend suggested we skip out on the crowded Duomo and Accademia Gallery and rent bikes for the day. Out of all my visits to Florence, my most vivid memories remain riding along the Arno River that day until buildings gave way to sunlit meadows.

Often, FOMO kicks in and it’s easy to feel that you can’t leave a place without exhausting every option. But sometimes, the easiest—and most economical—path to experiencing more is doing less.

Ariel Sophia Bardi specializes in place-based reportage and storytelling, and has lived and worked across three continents. Her essays, dispatches, and photographs have appeared in BBC Travel, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, and more.