Budget Travel
Smart travel tips and tricks to explore the world without emptying your wallet.
How I Traveled Japan for 21 Days on $1200
The flight to Tokyo Narita cost $380 round trip from Los Angeles, booked through Google Flights six months in advance on a Tuesday. That left me $820 for 21 day...
How to Travel Africa on a Backpacker Budget
The matatu from Nairobi to Arusha was supposed to take six hours. It took eleven. The driver stopped twice to fix a flat tire, once to deliver a package to a ro...
Grocery Shopping While Traveling: My Complete Strategy
I was standing in a Billa supermarket in Vienna, staring at a wall of yogurt that had 47 different varieties, trying to figure out which one said "plain" in Ger...
Slow Travel: Why Spending More Time in Fewer Places Saves You Money
My first big trip to Europe was a disaster of logistics. Eleven countries in twenty-three days. I spent more time on trains and in airports than I did actually...
How to Plan a Two-Week Vacation for Under $2000 Total
My coworker told me she spent $6,800 on a one-week vacation to Cabo San Lucas. Flights were $650 per person, the resort was $450 per night, and she estimated sp...
Traveling with Kids on a Budget: A Parent Survival Guide
My daughter was three years old when she threw a 45-minute tantrum on a bus in Costa Rica because I would not let her eat a banana she had found on the floor. T...
The Best Budget Travel Apps I Use Every Single Trip
I deleted 47 travel apps from my phone over the course of a year. I had downloaded them all at various points, seduced by promises of "the best deals" and "must...
Volunteer Travel Programs That Actually Cover Your Expenses
I paid $1,800 to a volunteer organization in Costa Rica for a two-week "conservation program." When I arrived, I discovered that the "program" consisted of pick...
Why Hostels Are Better Than You Think in 2026
The woman in the bunk below me was a retired German schoolteacher named Helga. She was 68 years old, traveling alone through Vietnam, and she had been staying i...
How I Traveled Across Europe for $30 a Day
The InterRail pass sat on my desk for a week before I committed. Forty-five days, twelve countries, unlimited train travel across Europe, all for $530. That wor...
Budget Travel Mistakes That Cost Me Hundreds of Dollars
I paid $47 for a taxi from the airport in Bali when the official fixed rate was $20. I paid $85 for a visa on arrival in Turkey that should have cost $50. I pai...
Budget Solo Travel for Women: Safety Tips and Real Talk
A man followed me for six blocks in Marrakech before I ducked into a carpet shop and asked the owner to help me. He did, shooing the man away and giving me a gl...