How to Plan a Trip on a Budget

6/1/2023

Many people have asked how we are able to travel so much...one month it's New Zealand, and another month it's Canada. The key is to plan ahead - and to use a couple of trip planning strategies that we've really nailed down. And yes, I'm a bit of a detailed planner - so much that people say I should plan trips for a living - so here are my tips on how to travel on a budget!

Deciding Where to Go

Ever see photos on Instagram and think, "Wow I'm putting that on my bucket list"? Or read travel articles like "Top 10 Places to Visit This Year" but never actually think to really go to those places? So here's what I do: make a Google Map of all the amazing places you see. This tool is truly revolutionary in trip planning - I continuously add to this map and organize it by continent. This helps me see how close different locations are, as well as start to get a concrete idea of where I might want to go next. I also create my own legend by changing the icons based on what they are. Feel free to organize it by other categories.

Buying Flights

Buying flights is one of the biggest reasons people don't travel. It's a huge expense, but luckily there are ways to keep that expense down.

TIP #1: Subscribe to flight deal newsletters like Scott's Cheap Flight Deals and The Flight Deal. We scored a $360 round trip flight from San Jose to London because we saw a flight pricing error through The Flight Deal and snagged it before it was gone.

TIP #2: Track flights on Google Flights. You can set multiple flight alerts with multiple dates and locations. I usually set these alerts 6+ months in advance, allowing me to also see the price history and judge whether or not it's a good time to buy tickets.

TIP #3: Pay attention to sales. We bought our tickets from San Jose to Boston for $250 round trip through JetBlue, which often has sales on their deals page.

TIP #4: Use a travel rewards credit card with no foreign transaction fees. Whether it's for purchasing flights from international airlines or to use while you're abroad, travel rewards credit card can save you a lot of money. Check out The Points Guy to compare different cards. We personally love our Chase Sapphire Rewards card - which, while it has a high fee - pays itself off through the bonus points from signup, $300 annual credit back for any travel expenses, 3% back on travel and dining, and travel insurance for any flight delays, lost baggage, etc. (which has saved us in a very dire situation where our flight was cancelled an hour before it was supposed to leave and we had to stay overnight to wait for the next flight). Plus, it gives us free access to airline lounges, our new favorite thing and a great way to get refueled so you don't need to buy food when you land. In Australia, we found that instead of lounges, the card gave us 36 AUD off for the card holder and each guest (even if you only have one card) at a few airport restaurants, so we stocked up on breakfast and lunch to max out the value.

TIP #5: Once you've booked the flight, if you don't have seats already, call the airline. We've had a few flights that didn't let us pick seats online because they were booked through a partner airline or other reason, and we made the mistake of waiting until we checked in. The second time we noticed this, we called a week before and were able to get seats next to each other.

NOTE: When buying off-season flights, one thing to keep in mind is hours of daylight. We went to New Zealand during its off season, and while it was still amazing, we didn't get to do some of the activities we wanted because of the weather, and found ourselves rushing every day to make it to our destination before sunset.

Planning the Trip

Now the heavy lifting - planning the actual trip can be a long process. There are two main documents we use to plan - Google Maps (this one specific to the place you are traveling to) and Google Sheets. For the map, start putting in the locations you already know about - the airport, the Airbnb you're going to stay at, the restaurant someone recommended you. Once again, color code them for easy viewing. For the Google Sheet, start writing down each day of your trip and filling it in. These are the columns we include from left to right: Date, Activity, Cost in Foreign Currency, Cost in USD (use the Google Finance formula to automatically calculate the cost), Notes, and Links (guides, directions, etc.).

TIP: Check out our itineraries for ideas on where to go! We've been to Bali, New Zealand, Scotland..and the list is always growing!

Then the fun part - finding all the unique places to visit and hidden gems. Here are a few great places to look:

Pinterest - Search the place you're going for and you'll find a treasure trove of travel articles and places to visit. Because of this site's focus on images, it's easy to pick the articles that interest you.
Google - Use keywords like "Places to Go In __________," "Itinerary in __________," "Hidden Gems in _________" or "Cheap Eats in ________." I also like to search "Hipster Guide to ________" or "Instagrammable Places in __________."
Instagram - Search for city related or region related Instagram curators that tag locations or list them in the comments. For example, @scotland_insta reposts photos from Scotland with the location listed in the description. You can also search by the tagged location directly.

As you're finding things to do, you'll likely find that there are many tours and activities to choose from. Compile all the activities you want to do in an Excel list and the cost. Write down any details that might make one more attractive than the other (more reviews, longer time, etc.). Once you've looked up all the different options and tour operators, look them over and book the ones that look the most worth it while still being cost-efficient. Before you book anything, do a quick search for coupons or promo codes. Keep in mind that sometimes it's not always the cheapest option that's the most worth it - we opted to splurge for a seaplane on our trip to Whitehaven Beach in Australia because we knew that the best views were from the sky, and how many chances would we have at landing on the ocean with a seaplane?! It was definitely worth it.

Don't forget about the not-so-fun things to research as well. Important things to be aware of are:

Accomodations - Booking.com, Agoda, and Airbnb are all great options to look at. For Agoda and Booking.com, we'll typically put in the location and date search parameters, then checkmark these filters: "Very good: 8+" "Free cancellation" "Private bathroom" and "Air conditioning" if it's in a hot place. We'll then sort by "Price (lowest first)" and start looking through the options. If location is important, use the map view to find hotels that are near major transit stations. This can make a huge difference in travel time and convenience when you've been walking all day. We'll primarily look for hotels that have a few hundred reviews, but don't discount ones that only have a few either! In locations where there aren't a lot of great options, some of our very best stays have been hotels with very high ratings (usually 9+) but not a lot of reviews. When you find a place that is promising, add it to your Google Map and label it with any relevant information like cost (we also add in number of reviews and rating to help organize our options). This will help you see where the accommodation is in relation to other places you want to go and public transport. Once you've chosen a hotel, do a quick search on other websites to see if the rates are cheaper elsewhere (for example, hotels on Booking.com are oftentimes cheaper on the mobile app!) With Booking.com, you'll want to book everything under one account, as the more you use it, the more deals you get. You can also check if there's a get cash back deal through Retailmenot or Paypal Shopping - this can be an additional 6% off! For Airbnb, we'll usually look for more unique stays like cabins, places with kitchens if we're staying for a longer period of time, or places in prime city locations if we can't find an affordable hotel.

Converting currency - Currency conversion rates are oftentimes worse when you're in your home currency, and when you're at the airport (which is likely when you need it!) The best way to get foreign currency is to get a Charles Schwab debit card. This card will reimburse any ATM fees so you can withdraw cash whenever and wherever you need it. When you're withdrawing cash, make sure you let Charles Schwab determine the currency conversion rate, not the foreign bank.
Getting a SIM card - To save money on roaming fees, you'll want to get a local or travel SIM card. It's good to get an idea of what the best networks are abroad - you can typically google "[Country] Travel SIM Cards." Prepaid Data SIM Card Wiki and Traveltomtom will likely pop up in your searches, these two resources often have detailed information on the best networks and cost of SIM cards. If you're going to multiple countries, see if there are roaming plans. While these can be more expensive, they're infinitely more useful so that you don't have to get multiple SIM cards for one trip. We've purchased the Orange Holiday Europe SIM and Ubigi eSIM prior to our trips. Buying a SIM card ahead of time can be very helpful so you can quickly call that Uber after a long flight, but it's not always the cheapest option.
Meals - Look for both popular places you've always wanted to try and cheap eats. Balance the two out - one of our all time favorite meals abroad was this Korean pancake cart in Auckland called No.1 Pancake. And it cost us less than $10! For the US, search for Most Reviewed $ restaurants on Yelp. For countries that don't use Yelp, search "restaurants in ___________" on Google Maps or filter by Cheap Eats on TripAdvisor. If we notice that there's not many popular or raved about restaurants in a certain area, we'll just look for fast food restaurants to get by. Also, if you're traveling with someone, share meals! This allows you to also try more places without overeating or spending too much.
Grocery stores - While you should certainly try new foods abroad, you might also want to consider making some meals yourself or buying cheap ready made meals. Food can be one of the highest expenses of the trip. We bought 4 days worth of food for 2 people at Pak 'n Save in Scotland for a whopping total of...$40 USD. And guess what - we had the best meat pies, pulled pork sandwiches, and beef stew on our campervan adventure - plus some coffee, biscuits, and Kinder chocolates to snack on. Not bad for $40 huh? Certainly locations like Iceland are known for being expensive for food, so grocery shopping and cooking in a campervan can save you a lot of money. If you don't have the means to cook, stock up on bulk drinks and snacks to avoid making impulse purchases later on.
Public transit - If you're planning on taking public transit, make sure to look up what the ticket system is like. For example, in London you can get an Oystercard that you can use on multiple public transit systems. While you might notice there is also a Travel Oystercard, it is actually cheaper to get the regular card. If you're planning on using public transit from the airport, make sure you know where to purchase tickets with your credit card if you don't have foreign cash on you as soon as you land. If you do not have your SIM card yet, look up the public transit routes ahead of time so you won't get lost.
Uber/taxi - Having to grab a taxi in a foreign country can be intimidating, and oftentimes taxis have higher rates for airport pick ups. Look up the popular taxi hailing apps in the country you're going to. Some may use Uber, others may use their own apps. Bolt is one you might see - we've found that Bolt is typically cheaper than Uber because it allows you to pay with cash (just make sure you have enough foreign currency in small bills or coins!)

TIP: Subscribe to Likeacoupon - this site is the best for all kinds of deals.

Making the Itinerary
Once you've made your map, start thinking about the day to day itinerary. This is important because it helps you to see how ambitious your plan is and how much time you will have for each activity. Create an Excel sheet to write down your itinerary - here is an example below.

If you're planning on doing a road trip, map out your itinerary on Google Maps. Here is a sample itinerary from New Zealand. As you're putting locations in, move them around to see what the most efficient route is. You can save the link of the Google Map to access it or edit it later.

Making It Happen

Getting Around
Download the area you are going to offline on Google Maps. This way, you can still access it even if you don't have data abroad. You'll still be able to search for locations if you know them by name, or even set driving directions. The only downside is that you won't be able to see your personal map if you don't have data. Here's a tip: save the map offline and then save your favorite places to a list on Google Maps. You'll then be able to see your favorite places offline. It can be a bit time consuming having to have two separate maps though, so we'll typically only save important locations like hotels or transit stations.

If you don't have enough data or will be in an area without cell service, the workaround is to download the Maps.me app. On your personal Google Map, click on the three dots next to the map name, and click on "Export to KML." Checkmark "Export to .kml file (for full icon support, use .kmz)". Then email the file to yourself. On your phone, hold down the .kml file in your email, and then scroll across to where you'll see the Maps.me icon with "Import with maps.me." Once you import the map, you'll be able to open this map whenever you want! You can also use this app to set directions. The only downside is that you'll lose the color coordinated icons set in Google Maps.

Packing Ahead
Plan to pack ahead of time (not the day before your trip!) so you can purchase anything you need and find them on sale if possible. Here are some key travel items that we love and have personally purchased after a lot of research:

Rockland Melbourne Carry-On Luggage: Travelling with only carry-ons can make moving around much easier, plus you'll oftentimes save on checked baggage fees. We've used this luggage for years and love it for it's low price point, color options (so you always know it's yours!), and expandable space.
Packing Cubes: These are lifesavers when it comes to packing. You'll save so much space by being able to compress your clothes. You can find cheaper packing cubes on Amazon as well, but we love the expandable ones as they compress even more.
Luggage Scale: If you're flying on airlines with weight limits, you'll want to make sure that your luggage falls within the limit to avoid extra fees.
Airtags: To help ease your mind on lost luggages or theft, throw one of these in each of your luggages and backpacks to track where they are at all times.
Trtl Neck Pillow: We don't always bring a neck pillow due to space constraints, but if we do, the Trtl pillow is one of the most lightweight and supportive pillows we found.
MOGICS Bagel Power Strip: This portable power strip includes a converter, and has worked for every country we've been to. It includes two USB ports, and has a unique circular shape which allows you to plug in multiple devices without them blocking the other ports.
Portable Charger: If we aren't driving with regular access to charging, we'll always bring a portable charger with us.
Peak Everyday Backpack: This is our go-to backpack for holding our camera, Peak Design travel tripod, Spark Remote (for all of our self-portraits!), and laptop. Peak Design's lifetime warranty is one of the best - we had originally bought the version 1 backpack, and when it had worn down, they replaced with a completely new version 2 backpack.
Travel Backpack: This is great for those days where you might not need to carry a lot. The great thing is that you can pack it away if you don't need it!
Foldable Travel Duffle Bag: If you like to buy souvenirs, this is perfect for extra space. Similar to the travel backpack, you can pack it away if you don't need it.
Peak Design Packable Tote: This is great for grocery shopping or souvenir shopping. We love the Peak Design one specifically because of its zipper - which is perfect for keeping all your items in the bag, as well as keeping sand and dirt out.
Water Bladder: We've tried all kinds of foldable and flexible water bottles, and this is by far been our favorite way of carrying water. It's packable when you don't need it, and easy to drink from.
Grayl Purifier Bottle: If you travel often to places where tap water is undrinkable, having a portable water purifier can save you money and hassle of having to constantly stock up on water bottles. It does have a higher price tag upfront though, so the more useful benefit is the convenience of having accessible drinking water.
Anker Car Charger Adapter and Magnetic Phone Holder: If you're planning on driving abroad, these two items are perfect for charging your phone on long drives and holding your phone up for directions so you don't need to pay for a car GPS.
Electronics Bag: This is great for organizing your cables and chargers! We use it for short and long trips to make sure our electronics don't get lost.
Toiletry Bag: Having a hanging toiletry bag is super useful when moving from hotel to hotel. We chose the Sea to Summit large toiletry bag specifically for two people. If you're only packing toiletries for one person, you may want a smaller bag.
First Aid Kit: It always helps to be prepared. We will also specifically stock up on band-aids, antibiotics, decongestants, antihistamines, and ibuprofen.

Before You Go
Because we often drive through countrysides and mountains, I always account for not having any cell service. So just in case, I prepare a few things ahead of time:

Save any phone numbers you may need - such as the Airbnb host.
Screenshot any bookings you made.
Set alerts for flight check ins.
Save a note with all of your flight departures and arrivals.

And remember, even with all your planning, things may not go as planned - but hey, that's what traveling is all about - making your own adventure! So enjoy it, make it yours, and explore the hidden corners of the world.

happy adventuring!

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