I have been asked and told time and time again "Jhana, how do you keep traveling?" or "I'm too broke to travel” and even "when are you going to write on your blog how to travel on a budget"? I have listened and have listed many things that will help you when planning for your next trip. The real question is can you save $400-$500? If you answered yes, then you CAN afford to travel. Travel is ALL about planning. Planning in advance helps save money, time, and effort. First things first, where do you start?!?!?!?!
Here are your starter apps! The first app is Skyscanner, second, is my personal favorite, Hopper. The third is the well-known Kayak app, and the last is the ultimate travelers tool guide Momondo! These apps give me so much life, and will save YOU soo much money. Hopper consistently notifies you about your trip, whether it's not time to buy yet, when it's the cheapest it'll go, or if the prices jumped back up, it is very handy! When it is time to buy your ticket make sure you know which airlines is hosting the deal. THIS IS VITAL! Once you know book directly through the airline and NOT the app. Hopper charges fees to book through the app, so save the money!! Momondo is even better. Monmondo will find flights with known airlines and partner airlines to make the trip that much cheaper. With this I recommend booking through the app, as it can be difficult to book your connecting flight with your departing flight.
Wanna know more, eh?
Above is a few sites that are known as "budget" airlines. These airlines have C R A Z Y good deals but also have a catch! These airlines depart from specific locations. Jet Blue, Frontier, and Spirit cover a wider variety of the U.S. so you should be able to find an airport near you. While Allegiant and WOW air do not. I know for a fact WOW air ONLY has ports in New York, D.C., L.A, San Fran, Boston, and Miami. THATS IT! Though they are adding Pittsburgh to the list sometime in 2017. (That will be the port I will use, since it's closest). But...there is another catch! Since these airlines offer great deals more fees for baggage, taxes, seat assignments, and food are added to make your total a living hell. And....
So, to avoid some of these fees please remember to read the fine print. I personally noticed WOW airlines allows carry-ons for free. Soooooo the smart and cost efficient thing to do, would be to bring a carry on rather than a 50lb checked bag, (You don't need all that stuff in that heavy suit case anyways).
If you’re going overseas and want to country hop either take the train (which is cheap) or use Ryanair. Ryanair has CRAZY cheap flights from London to Spain for $12!!! If that isn't a good deal, I don't know what is. Just beware of extra fees, this is a budget flight service as well.
Now, you should be feeling like this
but wait, theres more!
For the lazy traveler, there's an even easier way to be notified on some of the hot deals. To have ultimate knowledge of all the deals around you there are blogs dedicated to informing those of their finds.
thrifty traveler.com
deals we like.com
view from the wing.com
the flight deal.com
scottscheapflights.com
Airfarewatchdog.com
These are all blogs in which you can subscribe to receive daily deals. WARNING! You will receive tons and tons of emails!!!!!!!!!!
and last but not least booking where to stay
I recommend everyone try Airbnb at least once. (If you haven't created an account, use code www.airbnb.com/c/jhanaw for $20 off your first trip!!) I had an AWESOME experience and for a low price. Having an already furnished home, that’s close to the city saves lots of money compared to hotels. For those who aren't ready to book with Airbnb, consider staying in a hostel. Hostel is a hotel but you share the room with other people (bunk beds). I heard it's not as bad as it may seem, and you make more friends that way!
Another thing you can try is WWOOF and Workaway. I personally have never used any of these programs but they look awesome. The idea is you pay $25-38 one year fee (single or couple) and the website gives you unlimited access to hosts all over the world. You then work (organic farming, working in a hostel, etc.) overseas for room, board, and some meals. With these programs you are able to pick the country/city you want work in and contact the host to let them know you’re interested. The only catch is you have to figure how to get overseas. Lucky for you, you have apps you can use to find cheap flights! I'm personally thinking about taking 6-12months after school to give it a whirl, starting with Iceland and hopefully ending in Fiji :) It will take a lot of planning but it would be an awesome way to travel on a budget!
Next time you're thinking about booking a trip just remember to check out these sites so you can avoid this
and enjoy more of this!
