c/budget-travel-hacks

Walked into a grocery store in Lisbon and nearly fell over at the price of a sandwich

I remember back in 2005, a fresh sandwich from a little deli in Rome cost me like 2 euros. Last month, I wandered into a small market in Lisbon, thinking I'd grab a quick bite for under 5 bucks. The cheapest thing on the shelf was a sad ham and cheese wrap for 8.50 euros. I stood there for a good minute, blinking at the price tag. It hit me that I'm not the broke backpacker anymore, but the prices sure caught up fast. Has anyone else had a moment where inflation just slapped you in the face while traveling?

Booked a hostel in Barcelona through a random travel app and saved $60 over the usual sites.

Went to check out after 3 days and the front desk lady said they didn't get my reservation at all, has anyone else had a booking just vanish like that?

TIL I was way overpaying for airport parking thanks to a random guy at the gate

I was complaining to this guy next to me at the baggage claim in Denver about how parking at the airport cost me $28 a day for a weekend trip. He just looked at me and said 'why don't you use one of those off site lots with a shuttle?' I honestly thought they were all sketchy and took forever. But he told me about one called ParkDIA that was only $8 a day and the shuttle came every 10 minutes. I tried it last month for a 4 day trip to Chicago and it saved me $80 total. The shuttle dropped me right at my terminal door and picking up was just as easy. Has anyone else switched from on site parking to one of these lots and found a good one in another city?

That $30 travel towel was the worst thing I packed

I bought one of those quick-dry microfiber towels for a trip to Thailand... and it smelled like mildew after 3 days no matter how much I rinsed it. Cost me 30 bucks and I ended up just using hostel towels anyway. Anyone found a brand that actually doesn't get funky?

Wasted $80 on a hostel meal plan in Lisbon...

Stayed at a hostel in Lisbon called Home Hostel last month and bought their weekly meal plan for $80 upfront. Thought it would save money but half the days the kitchen was closed for private events with no warning. Ended up eating out anyway and lost about $40 worth of meals I paid for. Has anyone else gotten burned on hostel meal plans or was it just this one place?

Question about using hostel kitchen hours in Barcelona

I stayed at a hostel in Barcelona last spring and noticed a big difference in how much I saved on food. Before I figured out the timing, I was spending around 15 euros a day on meals out. After I started cooking breakfast and dinner in the hostel kitchen during off peak hours, I got that down to about 5 euros daily. The change happened over my second week there once I realized the kitchen was empty between 7 and 9 AM for breakfast. The hostel had this weird rule where you could only use the stove during certain times. Has anyone else dealt with hostel kitchen schedules ruining your meal plans? Any tips for finding places with 24 hour kitchen access?

Blew $80 on a hostel card that didn't save me a dime

I bought a Hostelling International membership card for $28 (plus a $40 booking) thinking I'd get cheap beds across Europe, but then I found a private room on Booking.com in Prague for $22 a night instead. The card only got me 10% off at a few places that were already more expensive than what I could grab last minute on hostelworld. Anyone else ever waste cash on a travel membership that just didn't pay off?

Checked my hostel booking in Bangkok and realized breakfast was included the whole time

I booked a private room for $18 a night and never noticed the free toast and eggs deal until day 3. Has anyone else missed something obvious in a booking and felt like you left free money on the table?

Spent 2 hours looking for a $7 bus ticket because the app kept crashing

Hostel in Barcelona double charged me and the manager just shrugged

Stayed at this place in the Gothic quarter last month, paid cash at check in like they asked. Then 3 days later my bank shows a credit card charge for the same amount. Manager said "oh the system must have done that" and wouldnt refund me. Took 2 weeks and a chargeback to get my money back. Anyone else had hostels pull this shady move?

Hostels went from sketchy to actually decent for me

Back in my early 20s I swore I'd never sleep in a hostel. Had a buddy in 2015 tell me about one in New Orleans where he woke up with someone else's sandal in his bunk. So I just assumed they were all like that. Then last year my budget was super tight for a trip to Portland and I gave one a shot for $35 a night. Place had keycard access, private lockers, and the other people were mostly just tired travelers like me. Now I'm wondering if I just got lucky or if hostels everywhere have stepped up their game. Anybody else have a surprise turnaround on something you were totally against?

Hostel bunk curtain hack that saved me $40 on my Tokyo trip last month

I was in Tokyo last month staying at a budget hostel in Shinjuku. The bunk bed curtains were those thin white ones that barely blocked light. Couldn't sleep past 5am. On day 3 I grabbed a couple of those black trash bags from the front desk and clipped them over the curtain rods with binder clips I had in my bag. Total blackout for under a dollar. Got solid sleep the rest of the trip. Has anyone else found simple fixes like this that make budget stays way better?

The day I stopped booking nonstop flights because of a 4 hour delay in Denver

I used to think nonstop flights were the only way to travel. Like paying a little more was worth skipping the layover. Then last January I got stuck on the tarmac in Denver for 4 hours because of a random snow squall. Missed my connecting meeting and everything. While I was sitting there I started chatting with this guy who books budget trips for a living. He told me he always takes the layover because it saves like $150 on average and he uses the time to grab cheap local food or walk the terminal. That moment kinda hit me. All those years I was paying a premium just to sit on a plane anyway. Has anyone else had that moment where they realized the cheaper route was actually smarter?

My hostel booking in Prague fell through at 2 AM

Got into Prague last month around 1 AM after a bus delay. Walked to my booked hostel and the night guy said they overbooked and had zero rooms. Ended up sleeping in the train station lobby with my backpack until 6 AM when a coffee shop opened. Anyone else had a booking screw them over at the last minute?

Just realized I booked 14 flights this year without a single cancellation

I was checking my calendar for tax stuff and noticed I took 14 flights since January. Not one got cancelled or delayed more than 30 minutes. I fly out of Cleveland mostly and take Spirit or Frontier to save money, so this feels statistically impossible. Has anyone else had a weird lucky streak like this with budget airlines?

Pro tip: Stop booking hotels through third party sites for small towns

Was planning a trip to Eugene, Oregon last week and noticed a deal on Expedia for $65 a night. Booked it, showed up, and the hotel said they never got the reservation. Spent two hours on hold with customer service. They refunded me but by then all the cheap rooms were gone. I called the hotel directly after and they said I could have booked for $70 just by calling. So I saved five bucks but lost a whole afternoon. Who else has been burned by this garbage?

Just got back from Mexico City and noticed this one hack that saved me like $40 on eating out

I was in Mexico City last month and stumbled on something. All the tourist restaurants in Roma and Condesa charge like $8-$10 USD for a basic meal. But if you walk just 3 blocks into a residential area you find these little fondas where locals eat. I had a full plate of enchiladas, rice, beans, and a drink for $2.50. Same thing happened in Coyoacan. Anyone else notice this in other cities or was I just lucky with that spot?

Istanbul's Grand Bazaar charged me triple just for being a tourist

Went there last week and the rug guy straight up admitted their prices are 3x higher if you look foreign. Has anyone else figured out a way to haggle without getting the tourist tax?

Found a motel in Amarillo last month that had a free pancake breakfast

I was driving through Texas and stopped at a Super 8 that had a pancake machine in the lobby, so I loaded up on breakfast and stuffed two extra pancakes in a napkin for lunch. That saved me about $12 on food that day, which got me thinking about how many hidden meal opportunities I miss at cheap hotels. Anyone else scout hotel breakfasts as part of their travel budget plan?

That hostel in Barcelona broke me on laundry fees

I stayed at this place near Las Ramblas last summer, like a 12-bed dorm for 18 euros a night. Sounds great right? Well they charged 5 euros just to use their washing machine, and the dryer was another 4. I figured I'd just hand wash stuff in the sink like I always do, but the sink had no plug and the water was barely warm. After three days I had a pile of damp socks hanging off my bunk bed, and the guy next to me complained about the smell. Now I bring a portable clothesline and a little travel detergent pack everywhere. Anyone else run into ridiculous add-on fees at hostels that totally blew your budget?.

Always thought hostels were for broke college kids, just got proven wrong at 35

Stayed at a hostel in Lisbon last week cause it was $25 a night and honestly the private room was cleaner than most hotels I've been to. Has anyone else had their mind changed about something they swore they'd never do?

Just realized I was booking flights all wrong for 10 years

I always booked the cheapest flight I could find through those third party sites like Expedia. Last month my cousin who travels for work told me to check the airline's own site first because they price match now and give you free seat selection. I looked it up and saved $45 on my trip to Denver by booking direct on Southwest. Has anyone else been doing this forever without knowing?

Can we talk about how booking a flight 3 months out used to be the trick?

I booked a round trip to Denver last week for a conference and paid $380. Looked at the same flight on the same day 3 months earlier and it was $280. Thought I was being smart waiting for a deal. Guess the algorithm figured out I needed to go. What happened to the old 6 week sweet spot?

The week I saved $200 by eating street food in Bangkok

Last month I spent 7 days in Bangkok and barely touched a restaurant menu. I ate at street stalls for every meal and spent about $3 a day on food. One night I had the best pad thai of my life from a cart near Khao San Road for only 60 baht. The fried chicken place on Soi 11 gave me huge portions for like $1.50. My hotel breakfast cost more than my whole lunch did. Has anyone else found that street food cuts your travel budget way more than you'd expect?

Hostels vs camping on a trip to Portugal last fall, camping won by a mile

I spent 10 days in Portugal in October and tried both hostels and camping. The hostels in Lisbon were running me like €35 a night for a bunk bed, but camping at Orbitur near Sintra was only €12 for a tent spot with showers included. Camping lets you control your food costs too because you can cook at the site instead of eating out every meal. Anyone else found camping to be way cheaper than expected in southern Europe?