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c/budget-travel-hacks

7

the_john•4d ago

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?

4

the_cameron•6d ago

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?

23

wyattramirez•7d ago

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?

14

taylor.brooke•8d ago

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?

24

blairm77•9d ago

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?

10

abby_fisher•10d ago

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?

26

david920•10d ago

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?

19

abbyf79•12d ago

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?

17

craig.olivia•13d ago

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?

31

ray562•14d ago

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?

17

ben_fisher•15d ago

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?.

16

grantc80•15d ago

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?

8

robin896•16d ago

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?

19

kai_ramirez38•17d ago

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?

25

emma_jones•19d ago

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?

7

abbyf79•20d ago

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?

8

grantc80•20d ago

My buddy swore by booking flights on a Tuesday at 2am for the best deals

Tried it for a trip to Denver last month and ended up staring at $600 fares at 2:15am before giving up and finding the same flight for $340 on a Thursday afternoon, so did I just get unlucky or is that whole thing a myth?

16

shane_wilson•20d ago

Just hit 30 countries on a shoestring budget and it weirdly didn't feel like a big deal until later

I was sitting in a bus station in Medellin last month and realized that trip to Colombia was my 30th country. I've been traveling for about 8 years mostly on the cheap, staying in hostels, eating street food, and using budget airlines. What surprised me was that I didn't feel any kind of rush or accomplishment in the moment. It was just another Tuesday waiting for a bus that was 20 minutes late. But then I looked back at my photos and all the random people I met, like that guy in Budapest who showed me how to cook goulash over a camp stove. The milestone mattered because it proved you don't need a lot of money to see the world, just time and a willingness to eat questionable road food. Has anyone else hit a surprise travel number and felt kind of numb about it at first, then later realized it was something cool?

27

sandragrant•21d ago

The cheap hostel booking trick that saved me $300 on a 10 day trip to Lisbon

Last minute trip to Lisbon 2 months ago and I almost booked a regular hostel through the big sites. Then a guy at my hostel in Madrid told me to check the hostel's own website directly AND call them asking about their empty dorm beds the same day. I did it for a place in the Alfama district and they gave me a private room for what the dorms cost online. The receptionist said they'd rather fill a bed at half price than leave it empty. Has anyone else had luck calling places direct instead of going through booking sites?

-1

casey342•23d ago

Why does nobody talk about packing cubes for saving on baggage fees?

I finally tried packing cubes on a trip to Portland last month, and it changed how I pack for under $20. Before, I'd cram clothes loose into a carry-on and still end up checking a bag for $35 each way because it was too bulky. Now I roll shirts into those little cubes and fit 3 extra outfits in the same space. Has anyone else found a cheap trick like this that shrinks your luggage without buying new bags?

8

jesse_smith10•24d ago

I tried two ways to book a week in Lisbon and the cost difference was huge

For a trip last fall, I booked my flight to Lisbon through a big travel site for $420. I figured I'd just find a hotel when I got there. That was my first mistake. Prices in the city center were over $150 a night for a basic room. For my second try this spring, I booked the flight directly with the airline for $390 and, more importantly, I rented a room in a local guesthouse for 6 nights through a site that connects you with owners. The total for the room was 270 euros, which worked out to about $45 a night. The guesthouse was just a 15 minute walk from the main square, clean, and the owner gave me a map with cheap eats marked on it. The direct booking saved me $30 on the flight, but the real win was choosing a local guesthouse over a last-minute hotel, saving me over $600 for the week. Has anyone else found that skipping the big hotel chains in Europe is the single biggest money saver?

23

wesley639•24d ago

Update: My total cost for 3 days in Chicago just hit $217.

That's with a hostel, public transit, and cooking my own food, which felt impossible until I tracked every single dollar.

15

patricia_hill60•25d ago

I used to pack a huge carry-on to avoid baggage fees, but a flight attendant friend set me straight

My friend Sarah, who works for a budget airline, saw my giant backpack last month and just laughed. She said, 'Patricia, you're killing your back and you look stressed. Half that stuff is for 'just in case' and you never use it.' She was right. I was hauling around three pairs of shoes and a full toiletry kit for a three-day trip to Austin, just to save the $35 checked bag fee. She told me to try packing just a small personal item, like a big tote bag, and to roll my clothes tight. I tried it for a weekend in Nashville and it was a game changer. I saved that fee, got through the airport way faster, and didn't miss a single thing I left behind. Honestly, it made the whole trip start off less hectic. Has anyone else made the switch to super minimal packing and found it actually works?

13

drews55•28d ago

I thought booking a flight on a Tuesday was just an old myth

For years, I ignored the Tuesday flight tip, thinking it was junk advice. Then my wife wanted to go to Chicago in October, and I checked prices every day for two weeks straight. The cheapest fare, $178 round trip, popped up on a Tuesday at 3 PM, and it was gone by Wednesday morning. I guess the old trick still works sometimes. Has anyone else found a specific day or time that actually saves cash on flights?

18

fionamurphy•29d ago

Hot take: The 'free walking tour' is a budget travel scam

My cousin argued that the 'pay what you want' model is fair, but I watched a guide in Prague shame a group for an hour because their tips averaged under 5 euros. It's a guilt trip with a city view. Anyone have a better way to get a decent historical overview without the pressure?