12 top tips to travel on a budget in those expensive places!

Last updated on March 15th, 2025 at 10:09 pm

Do you want to travel on a budget in expensive places? The good news is that I have and you can too!

I recently saw a list by Forbes of the 10 most expensive places to travel to. They came up with: Antarctica, Botswana, Dubai, French Polynesia, Japan, Maldives, Maui, Monaco, St Barts, and Switzerland! I googled on, and that added the UK, Australia, Norway, Iceland, Italy…and so it went on.

That got me thinking about one of those ‘expensive countries’ turned out to be awfully cheap for me – cheaper than the same amount of time in the very-cheap-at-the-time India! That little story is down below if you’re interested!

And, then I thought “Okay but I’ve been to most of the places in the lists above and I definitely have a limited budget! (Especially as until recently I was paying for four – 3 kids plus me!)

So how do I do it? Well, these are my top tips to travel on a budget in expensive places. But first a Quick Guide with some key travel sites I use to keep my costs down.

A Quick Guide to help you plan your budget trip

Insurance – Even though it costs – don’t go without it. I personally know three people that were nearly killed (2 hit by vehicles and 1 falling down a cliff) when traveling and spent literally between 3 and 12 months in hospital – luckily all covered by insurance! You definitely don’t want to be doing travel insurance on a budget in expensive places!
Click here for travel cover with SafetyWing – almost any nationality, its ok if you are already traveling, up to 64 years old. Or click here for cover with EKTA – any nationality, any age and its ok if you are already traveling!

Internet – get a highly rated yesim eSim before you go – click here for yours. Use WhatsApp to make calls so you just need data.

Accommodation – compare prices and book a hotel with booking.com or Tripadvisor, or, a hostel with Hostelworld. Tripadvisor often have a deal through one of their affiliates and Booking.com often has last minute discounts, plus the more you book through them, you get discounts just for loyalty.

Alternative Accommodation – I use Workaway and Trusted Housesitters. Details below.

Transport – use Trainline to book your train. I use skyscanner to look for cheap flights.

For the best walks in the area get AllTrails so you have offline maps to guide you.

Car rental – compare prices and get the best deals with Rentalcars.com

Tours and Activities – find the best tours with GetYourGuide or Viator – compare ratings and rates for the best deal.

12 top tips to travel on a budget in expensive places

Lets go…… how to keep your costs down in those pricey places!

1. Plan ahead and use cheap transport options to get there

Book ahead and you will often get really good deals on buses, flights, and trains. There are so many budget airlines these days it can also be very affordable to fly!
Note: If you use the ‘budget’ airlines – just watch the cost of luggage if you don’t travel light. And check transport options from the outlying airports they often use. It can be more expensive than the ticket!  

If you are travelling longer term, then take it slow and use cheap local buses and trains. The bonus is you get to see more, interact with the locals more, and keep it generally relaxed.

I use Trainline for booking trains – absolutely especially in the UK. It does clever stuff like split your fare to make it cheaper. So it looks at your destination and works out if you are better off to have two tickets for different parts of the journey or one through ticket. It doesn’t change your train(s) – just finds the cheapest price for you!

2. Travel Hack for your accommodation or flights

If you are from a country with good points and miles systems with credit cards, or you are in the loyalty programme with your favourite airline, use those points or miles for flights and / or accommodation. This can be a major saving for travel on a budget in expensive places

3. Live for a while – to travel longer on a budget in expensive places!

If  you have time, plan to ‘live’ rather than just visit for a few days.

Work for your food and board through helpx, workaway or woofing. The usual deal is you work for 20-25 hours a week and in exchange you stay with and eat with a local family. Or look for a job like au-pairing or teaching English.
If you are interested in Workaway – click here to get an extra month for free. Its a bonus with my membership I can pass on to you.

Or you can housesit. That usually involves looking after someone’s house and pets while they are away. This is a great option for a couple of weeks or even months. You can end up in all sorts of places – both big cities and places in the country you might not get to otherwise.
I use Trusted Housesitters for my housesitting and you can stay in expensive places like Switzerland this way. Click here to get a 25% discount on your first year via my membership.

You can also do a house swap with someone. I have never done this so cannot comment. But there are house swapping sites like Home Exchange you can check out.

Alternatively, instead of travelling around, use your budget to find a short term apartment rental for a few weeks or months. Talk to locals always to find where the cheap eats and food are etc. This way you can get to really know the area you have set down in, take local buses on ‘holidays’ from your holiday, and really relax. Saving on accommodation is absolutely the best way to let you travel on a budget in expensive places!!

4. Stay cheaper with hostels, couch-surfing, Facebook groups

Where you stay makes a huge difference. I use booking.com or Tripadvisor, or, book a hostel with Hostelworld for paid accommodation.
Booking.com often has really good last minute deals. They also give discounts after you have booked a few places with them with their Genius program. And Tripadvisor often has many affiliates and offers the best deals they have for a particular place.

Hostels are generally the cheapest way to go if you are solo. But if you are in a group and can split costs then whole house / villa options on Tripadvisor and Booking.com can get really affordable. Airbnb has got pricey with its cleaning fees and the like. But as a group it can still be a good way to go. I very rarely use it now tbh.

Alternatively a great way to meet the locals and have a free couch or bed for the night is through communities like couchsurfing and BeWelcome. Also creating a hosting community are Facebook groups like “Host a Sister” and “Host a Sister 50 plus.” (Ladies only sorry guys.) If you are biking, check out warmshowers.org – another great hosting site.

I have stayed with some fabulous people this way and you really get to know the place better through them. Don’t be a taker – cook them a meal, bring a small gift or give something in return.

5. Cook your own meals and eat out on the cheap

Stay in hostels or apartments where you can cook. Check for these facilities before booking. Then ask the locals or your hostel staff where to get the best food for the best prices. They are usually more than willing to help! Local morning markets and large supermarkets are usually the best options and its fun doing both in another country.

If you don’t want to cook all the time, (and you shouldn’t as local food is part of the experience) look for deals. Often there are specials or lunch deals at restaurants and cafes. In South America most of the countries have a set lunch menu called an almuerzo which is a great way to fill up on local food and save money. Also keep an eye out for street stalls and try the (usually) delicious and cheap local foods there.

Remember that supermarkets and other food outlets often have massive deals at the end of the day to get rid of whatever food is left. There are some apps for this too – particularly for food left at the end of the day in cafes and restaurants. Too Good To Go is a worldwide app for this which I have used.

6. Drink free water

Use a bottle – refill it. The amount you can spend on drinks is crazy, but there is usually free drinking water around too! For example, in expensive Switzerland, Zurich has 1.200 public fountains and Lucerne even created a water guide to help you find your closest refilling station.

Do a quick mental calculation at how much you can save each day just by not buying drinks – then times it by 7! Adds up right?

7. Save on roaming and internet costs

Use your apps – whatsapp, messenger, snapchat etc to call friends and family. Don’t make standard mobile / cell calls unless they are free.

Use free wifi wherever you are – it is standard in almost all accommodation where internet is available now. And check for city free wifi hotspots too. Then get an eSim for data at the times you are not covered. I use the Swiss company yesim as they have partnered with the best cell coverage companies wherever they have gone. They may not be the absolute cheapest in all places but the coverage has been worth it for me! (Swiss precision right?)

8. Share – with friends or others in your hostel or random strangers in the queue!

Join up with others or go with a friend if you are solo. Share the costs of accommodation in particular. If you can get a group of friends together then a villa or apartment can be a very affordable option with split costs.

Think about this with transport too – uber rides split between four can be cheaper than local transport. If you’re at a hostel, see if there are group deals for anything you particularly want to see and get a group together.

And of course short tours can be cheaper if there is a group of you – or even entry into attractions. If I see a discount for 10 people, I often just ask the obvious tourists in the line near me if they want to join up and get a group discount. Usually they are happy to save a few bucks and join me!

9. Walk, take local buses and transport

Get around locally on the local transport. Check for day / week / month passes to save more money. Find out before you go what the local uber style options are and download the apps. Ditch the taxis – unless you know they are cheaper than uber etc and not going to rip you off!

And of course walking has heaps of benefits. It keeps you fit while you’re on the road, and it gives you a chance to take in the local scene in a more detailed way.

9. Go for free – get free entry or discounts to the sights, take free walking tours….

Read up before you go for free entry dates and times to the sights – especially in the big pricey cities! For example,

• The British Museum and the V&A Museum in London are free to enter.
• The Orangerie in Paris is free for anyone to enter the first Sunday of the month.
• The Louvre is free to teachers of art, art history, and the applied arts at any time. It is also free for all visitors on the first Friday of the month after 6 p.m. (except in July and August) and on 14 July (unless it falls on a Tuesday).
• Las Vegas has a lot of free entry events such as the Bellagio Fountains show, and the Volcano at the Mirage Hotel.
• Lots of cities in Switzerland have free public transport if you check into accommodation! In Bern, Basel, Lucerne, Lausanne, Montreux, Geneva and the whole Canton of Ticino, you get a ticket that lets you use local transport for free during the time of your stay. How cool is that?
• The main attraction in St Barts – its beaches – are generally free!
• The Sydney Light show centered on the opera house and bridge is stunning and totally free!

The list goes on…

Of course, always ask for discount for any memberships you have – YHA, AA, RACV, Student, Pensioner cards etc.
Always, always ask. The worst they can say is ‘no’ and the best is yes. I have often been given discount or free entry just for asking – often on very dubious grounds!

There are also often free walking tours in the cities which can be really informative as they are usually guided by volunteers who can be very passionate about where they live. You are generally expected to leave a tip though – but its pretty cheap for what you get!

Again, also talk to locals and they may give you inside info on places to see and things to do that you may not otherwise know about – and they are often free! This can really help you to travel on a budget in expensive places!

11. Get outdoors – a great way to travel on a budget in expensive places!

Of course, you can also do plenty of things that cost nothing, from hiking to swimming, to just wandering the small towns or cities and taking in the daily life.

People often say to me “how do you afford to travel so much and for so long?” I look at them and say, “Well, remember I’m spending a lot of my time hiking and sleeping in my tent, and then when I’m not, I’m couchsurfing, housesitting, workawaying or in a hostel bed. So the $6000 you spend on two weeks holiday lasts me months!”

The great outdoors is not always free but there are still plenty of places where it is – even in these expensive countries! And you get to see some incredibly beautiful places too!

12. Use travel apps to see the sights, and buy attraction passes if it makes sense

Use apps like Roadtripper (in the USA and Canada) or Roadie for tips about things near you on road trips.

And use apps to show what is around you – google maps is great for this. Don’t forget to check at the Information Center in a city as they often have self guided walking tours / apps. And there are plenty of apps with self guided walking tours like GPSMyCity that covers more than 1500 cities.

Also check out what ‘pass deals’ there are if you are in a popular city with a lot of attractions – especially if you are a culture critter. For example, Paris has this pass, Tokyo has this one, and London this one. They cover entry into nearly every tourist site, plus transport and more.

Check out the passes and what you would be going to and paying for anyway, and decide if it is a deal for you or not. If it is – job done and money saved! Check here for cities in the EU and here for USA and Canada. But google for whatever city or country you are visiting and see what you find!

Finally…

That’s it – my 12 top tips to travel on a budget in expensive places. You can save a lot just by how you eat, taking water, alternative accommodation and slow travel, finding the free stuff and sharing costs.

Let me know if you have any other great tips for keeping costs down in these ‘expensive’ places – I would love to hear more. :-)

Ohh and the little story about the expensive country that became cheap is right below!

A quick story…

What was that expensive country that became cheap?

Japan!

At the time, long long ago, (the early 1980s no less :-0) unlike today, it was the most expensive place imaginable.  Seeing a single orange priced at $6.00USD was commonplace! I mean, even today that would be pretty outrageous, but back then it was beyond imagination. I expected to last a week on my budget – just enough to get me overland to a ferry to South Korea, which was an ‘affordable’ destination. As it turned out, I ended up spending about 10 weeks in Japan, because it turned out to be cheap – very cheap.

How? Four things did the job!

First, I hitched absolutely everywhere across all the islands other than Okinawa.

Second, my journey focused on all the National Parks across the country and the mountains and hiking within them. That of course meant sleeping in my tent for free. I also camped out on roadsides, under bridges and wherever else I happened to end up when I was between National Parks.

Third; I ate rice and miso and inari and tried to ignore the cravings for fruit!

Finally I accepted most offers to stay in peoples homes, especially in Hokkaido, where back then they were not used to seeing any tourists or backpackers. All in all I only spent about five nights in any form of hostel over two months.

The sum total – Japan turned out to be way less expensive for me than the same amount of time in India!

I realize that my journey is not what most would want – hitching, hiking and camping out, and not everyone is going to restrict their diet like I did. The point is – just because its an expensive place, it doesn’t need to be expensive for you if you are prepared to flex a little. I agree in this case it might seem like a lot – but I was 20-nothing and it was no real hardship then!

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