Flights and accommodation usually take a pretty big chunk out of any budget but have no fear- I have learnt a few tricks and tips over the years to help you save a few $$$. So what are they I hear you asking?! Here are 8 easy travel hacks to save money on flights and accommodation.
Travel Hack 1: Always Book Incognito
Ever looked at a potential flight only to go back the next day to see it has gone up by £50? Then you need to start using incognito mode (or private mode for phones). Instead of regular mode when those sneaky websites put the price up because they’ve seen you looking before, the computer doesn’t store any of your history and the cost should remain the same. This goes for accommodation too.
Travel Hack 2: Book Flights for a Tuesday
You should find that flying on a Tuesday is usually cheaper than any other day (sometimes Wednesday) and I have found travel hack to be true many times. If you’re flexible with time then waiting an extra day or 2 to catch a cheaper flight means you can stay longer at your destination for potentially the same price #winning!
More Things to do BEFORE you Fly
Travel Hack 3: Booking Last Minute or Far in Advance?
Both! This is destination specific. Usually for longer haul flights it’s cheaper to book a year in advance and for shorter flights around 60 days. Countries vary so play around with skyscanner.net and see if there is a pattern for cheaper deals.
Travel Hack 4: Travel in Shoulder Season
I’ve travelled to a lot of countries in between the peak seasons and found the weather to still be very good, plus it can save you money. In Peru I travelled in Autumn with sunny weather and in South East Asia I travelled in monsoon season which turned out to be great as the scenery was so lush and green. Also accommodation will be less expensive and there will be fewer tourists around.
Travel Hack 5: Search Around for a Good Hostel
Sometimes a hostel will be sold out on one site but free on another site. Each third party website has an allocated amount of beds for each night so it can be worth booking directly with the hostel if it’s sold out online. I love using booking.com as it’s easy to use, they have accommodation for like, every country and you don’t have to pay a deposit. I will however check hostelworld.com and a few others as they sometimes have a bigger selection of hostels and it can sometimes be cheaper.
Travel Hack 6: Book an Overnight Train/Bus
If there is an option for overnight transport and there’s not much to see along route then this can be a great time saver as well as saving you money on a nights accommodation.
Travel Hack 7: Check Flight Connection Times
When booking a long haul flight with a connection make you will have enough time to catch the next flight. I say 3 hours is a good connection time so you don’t have to worry about missing your next flight, if the first one is delayed and you wont be rushing from plane to plane.
It also depends on the airport so do a bit of research beforehand, some will get you through in under 2 hours and others (like LAX) will need at least 3 hours to make sure you make it in time. If both flights are with the same airline then having a shorter connection time can be less of a problem.
Travel Hack 8: Use Skyscanners ‘Whole Month’ Tool
When booking a flight on skyscanner.net instead of picking a specific date, search for the whole month. It will show the days where it is cheaper and could even save you £100 just booking the day before so it’s worth looking. They also have an ‘everywhere’ tool where you choose a starting destination, press ok and it will show you deals to anywhere and everywhere! Can be fun if deciding on a next county to visit and you can find some cheap deals this way!
So have fun trying these money saving travel hacks and see if they work for you! Do you have any tips not mentioned here? I would love to hear them below.
For more tips check out: How To Plan For A Trip
18 Comments
These are some great money saving tips! It’s always hard to fly on a Tuesday because of PTO… But when you can make it work I agree that it’s so worth it!
Yes it can be hard but if you have the flexibility its worth it!
Great tips! I use most of these myself and I have found that all but the booking on Tuesday have been really helpful. XDD I think I might just keep booking on Tuesdays out of superstitious hope, but I am not sure that that one has worked out for me.
i agree its not always the case but I have found it has worked on several occasions so its worth checking just in case 🙂
Super helpful posts. I knew about booking on a Tuesday but not incognito. I think booking in the shoulder season is the best.
Incognito is I’d say the most important one as those prices do go up when you check them for a second, third time, etc. Try it next time and let me know if it works for you!
These are all such great tips. Especially Tip #1! I tell my friends about this tip and they are always surprised to hear about it. I also rarely see it on travel tip blog posts and your is the first one I have read that had it listed 🙂
yeh I was actually travelling for a while before someone told me this! It really does work! 😛
….why have I never thought to search flights in incognito mode before? I feel like you just solved all of my problems lol.
I hope I have! Let me know how it goes (fingers crossed).
Great tips! I’m gonna start using incognito setting more often when booking online. Definitely going to pin this!
haha thank you- Glad I was of some help!
These are such great tips! I use them often to snag the best deals.
Agreed- they can make a world of difference 🙂
Kiwi.com works really well too for cheap flights! I worked at a hostel and we always had beds we didnt list on any sites – so dont be afraid to call and check availabilities too! Otherwise I pretty much rely on all these tricks 🙂
ooo I will check out that site, thank you!
I have had the price go up on a flight for myself sooooooo many times after looking a couple times! We definitely prefer to travel off peak season for the exact reasons you mentioned. We used the overnight train in italy a few times and it definitely helped us out. Sky scanner is super helpful!
Yes skyscanner is the first site I check and rarely disappoints!