How To "Cheap Out" While Travelling

It would be helpful to newbies, but I regret that he suggested taking a free walking tour and tipping "a few bucks". Given what we know about those tours, thanks to Rick--that the guide has to pay the company 3 or 4 euros (and that was years ago) for each person who shows up, tipping a few bucks is grossly inadequate.

Have done also stop all these things in lady 40 yrs - but now we have some set limits in how cheap we want to be .

I need ac - period ( hot flashes )
I won’t share a bathroom anymore

But several tips we still do - public transportation, picnic meals from grocery stores ( this is actually quite fun and you can try some unusual or new things cheaply ) , staying outside city centers for less expensive and usually nicer hotels , etc

No room service? Seriously? Naaaaaa

It's fun to recognize the things I won't "cheap out" on anymore. But some still give me a cheap thrill.

I love figuring out public transit from whatever airport I'm flying in to. Sitting on the near-empty Lisbon metro while crowds were waiting in frustration for their Ubers was an easy score.

And street food .... that's a "cheap out" that I hope I will enjoy forever!

No room service? Seriously? Naaaaaa

Roughing it is a hotel without room service. You might as well go.....camping.

When I was young I was fine with a tent and gas station food. Basic economy or even with the luggage was fine. Stay out drinking until 0200 and be ready to go by 0700, no problem.

Now? Can't sleep when it's warm, long-haul flights premium economy, and healthy eating. A beer or two and in bed by 1030. Also, where's the bathroom?

Getting older isn't all it's cracked up to be, or maybe it is?

Intersting videeo. We do a lot of those things, but no because we can't afford it, but because we are pretty low maintenance travelers.

Just last week I had an Airbnb that had a shared bathroom. I was fine with that and never saw the people in the other room there, so never a wait for the bathroom. I paid $52 a night and this was in Lafayette, CA, so a place where rates are higher and limited selection. It was perfect and I will absolutely stay there again.

We backpack here at home, so camping on vacation is fine too. We are doing 10 of our 17 days in Iceland this summer in a Campervan. I would have done a tent, but the winds are crazy there and so the comfort of the van is a splurge for that portion. I hate to eat out 3 meals a day, or even two, while traveling. So being able to cook on our own is great and then do picnics during the day while we are on the go. BTW, camping gear has evolved immensely over the last few years, so it is not like what you remember as a kid! I can sleep very comfortably in a tent on a little pad and I am late 50's. It's all about the right gear.

The free walking tours are great. I will give the video host the benefit of the doubt in that a "couple of bucks" does not mean 3-4. We usually pay at least the equivalent of $10 pp for those.

When I was in college, one of the things that kept me from seriously thinking of traveling abroad, was the perception of high costs. It was guidance like this (via Let's Go guides, early Rick Steves, etc.) that made me realize that it was doable without resorting to the expensive big bus tours. Things like public transportation and cheap yet safe and convenient places to sleep, are not part of many Americans' lives, so it was a leap of faith.

travelling is for splurging
Completely agree! There are things I will eat (sometimes daily) on trips, that I will rarely eat at home. Gelato. Pastries. Fried whatever. Street food.

CWsocial, same here. If I ate fish and chips at home like I do in the UK I'd be on my way to an early coronary.

I can go cheap at home - travelling is for splurging.

Definitely agree with the sentiment, caveat that most places in Europe have better middle class amenities than in the US. For the price of a Red Roof Inn and Applebee's, you can sleep in a charming hotel and eat some really good food. My family has nothing against spending a lot of money in Europe, but we find that we are satisfied without spending a lot.

Go to the morning markets... get your stuff for lunch. Six to 10 Euros for two.

Always find out what the City/Area Visitor Cards have to offer. Use those to the max.

Locate near a terminal of some sort. Logistically, this always works out to be very inexpensive.

Two Star hotels are always nice for us. They just have to have private privies.

One star hotels, we don't do any more.

I guess one way might be to broaden your understanding. Europe isn't homogenous at all, so any thought that "Europe" will be this or that is wrong from the get go. i tell people planning their first trip and they hear that sort of talk, walk away.

Most Americans have very little understanding of Europe at all, and among those that do have some, for the most part, still have some sort of overly generalized and somewhat romantic notion. I guess what I am getting at, through the back door, is first educate yourself because many when they do discover that there is a lot more than what they expected; and a lot of that part of Europe is significantly less expensive than the original presumption. Or dont educate yourself, just dive into the deep end and have a blast. "Margret, I know you want to go to Europe for 3 weeks, but we cant afford 3 weeks in Paris, so how about half in Paris and half in Sarajevo? What is a Sarajevo? Who knows, but we will find out" Is there really a bad travel experience? Not yet for me. I do know a couple that literally had that conversation and they ended up buying a flat in the unknown to them Eastern European city they choose for the cheap leg of the trip. That was last year.

But it all depends on why you travel in the first place. I travel about half for the traditional Eiffel Tower Experience and half for the experience the unknown rural back roads of Albania experience. They both speak to me. So I go as basic as I can on the traditional Eiffel tower type trips, and then for about the same cost I live high on the hog on the "experience the unknown" trips.

So not only cheap hotels, but looking at the world a little more broadly and with an open mind might save you a few dollars and provide an unexpected lifetime experience (but everyone still should see London, Paris and Rome) ................ or not.

I have always been frugal and I always will be frugal. That's how we can afford to take twice the major trips that normal people take.

I've been known to eat a very heavy breakfast at B&B's, skip lunch and eat dinner a little early (by European standards.) I've been known to make a sandwich at breakfast for lunch. Our 11 year old granddaughter can hardly pass a McDonalds.

We like to stay in apartments where we can wash clothes. Then we can carry half the clothes we usually carry. We also prefer to make our own breakfasts and frequent the local supermarkets.

We stick to public transport when possible. With my wife riding a portable personal scooter, we're having to take cabs more often. And I have to plan our day trips to minimize her walking.

David, same here for the most part.

A little OT, but my wife stopped posting vacation pics to Facebook because she felt it was "showing off" a bit. I have friends that think we're rich because we take annual trips to Europe, etc. Far from it. Lower middle class. But our cars are paid off and we have no debts. That's the difference. We rarely eat out and shop at Wal Mart. We've reached the age where just buying stuff is unimportant. Experiences are vastly more rewarding than buying something. That's about it.

Cheap out for eating is using one word - kebabs.

One thing to look for, in the interest of "Cheap Travel," is the buffet. I have always been surprised, at the high quality, and inexpensive nature of buffet faire in Europe. Its not, "All you can eat," like in the USA, yet, very tasty and representative of the local styles of food. I will absolutely agree that some sites, that charge a great deal, are not worth going into. These are ones you look up before hand, and use the experience of others.