Solo Travel: How to Save Money Pt. 6

December 6, 2019

Everyone wants to make the most of their travel dollars and save money where they can. With this six-part series I want to show you different ways to save money when traveling solo so you can travel more and/or longer. Use one, some or all of the techniques and you will be well on your money saving way!

This is part six…we made it to the end! Check out Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here, and Part 5 here of the six-part blog series that covers the different areas of a trip. I wrote them in order of how I go about planning a trip.

Lets slurp up some juicy tips on food and drink.

Join Facebook groups for the places you are going

You know those Facebook groups I told you to join in Part Four? Well use these groups again here with regards of where to eat and have a good drink. The locals will know the best local places to go, what to order, if they have specials on and any extra info like when live music will be playing.

Eat outside of the tourist areas

There is a reason you don’t see many locals in eating in the tourist areas. These are usually all over priced and not necessarily worth the money. Go down the side streets, roam outside of the tourist attractions and seek out establishments here. If you are in a country where English is not the first language, don’t fret. Use Google Translate to translate the menus for you. We teach you how to use this program so you can feel confident eating in these local places.

Look for lunch/dinner specials

A lot of places will have specials each day. Look for these “plates of the day” on the chalk boards or displayed in the windows. These are great bang for your buck. With it being a popular plate, it is going to be good because they don’t want a lot of complaints.

Be strategic with your eating

I don’t usually eat 3 meals a day while I am travelling. I will usually eat two meals and have a snack. This will vary day to day, but I will always have breakfast and then I will either have a late lunch, since lunch is usually cheaper than dinners, and have a small plate or lets be real, just have a dessert somewhere later. I will also flip that and have a snack in the afternoon, like a takeaway where I don’t need to tip, and then have a meal for dinner.

Grocery stores are you friend

I use grocery stores a lot when I am away. You want to cut down on the amount of times you are eating in restaurants if you want to really cut down costs. Depending on where I am staying, I will hit up a grocery store and pick up breakfast basics to eat at my accommodations. I will also put together little picnics or have single serving foods and eat that for lunch in a park with the rest of the locals. Grocery stores are also a mecca for picking up inexpensive but still delicious wine and beer.

I hope you enjoyed this six-part series and that you have taken a number of tips and techniques away from it for your future trips. Travel does not have to be expensive. There are so many ways to save money and these are a great way to get you spending your travel dollars smartly. Check out our travel programs that can help you significantly save money on your trip when using these tools.