Hey!!!! I know you are reading this because you are thinking “I want to travel but my bank account says stay home.” When ever I see someone after a trip I also get asked “How do you travel so much?” or “omg you must be rich because you travel a lot” or “do you even work?” and the answers are always, “really because I feel like I haven’t seen enough of this beautiful world” and “no I am also a broke college student like you” and “yes Ryan and I work normal jobs like you.”
Honestly HATE when people say “ugh you are so lucky you get to travel” or “I wish I had money to travel like you do.” BUT IN ALL REALITY YOU CAN!!!!
But let’s skip the BS thoughts some people have and get into what I do and my tips and tricks.
BE FLEXIBLE!!!!!
Now when I say be flexible I mean with your travel dates and travel locations. You may really want to go on a weekend but in reality it may be cheaper to leave on a Wednesday or a week later than when you wanted to travel.
SIGN UP FOR ALL THE AIRLINES MILES PROGRAMS!!!
FIRST OFF WHAT ARE YOU DOING NOT SIGNING UP FOR THESE!!! THEY ARE FREE!!! You get free miles every time you travel with that airline!!! If you travel with that airline often you may be able to get free upgrades, food or even better FREE FLIGHTS!!! I traveled to LA for free because I saved up my miles and got a free round trip ticket!!!! It is so SIMPLE!!!
IF OVER 18!!! GET A TRAVEL CARD!!!
If you are over the age 18 and is responsible and have cash! Get your self a travel credit card because this way you are able to get more discounts on hotels and flights, along with perks like priority boarding but you get DOUBLE MILES sometimes MORE!!! After you spend $1,000-2000 you get 40,000 miles- 60,000 miles!!!! That is multiple roundtrip flights for free. Again only use if you have cash to pay it off and be responsible!
MAKE TRAVEL TICKET HUNTING A PART TIME HOBBY
A lot of the time I travel is because I just so happened to run into a $50 dollar plane ticket to a place or city I have never traveled to and want to go. I literally make it a hobby to constantly check airplane tickets and studying the best times to travel. I use the skyscanner app to see what airlines travel to what cities and when the best times are to travel to certain areas. This allows me to say okay Delta travels to LAX and then you can go directly to Delta’s website and purchase the ticket from the. This app also this cool feature where you click “EXPLORE” and you put “ANYWHERE” at “ANYTIME” from a specific departing airport and it tells you THE CHEAPEST PLACES TO TRAVEL ANYWHERE WITHIN A 6 MONTH PERIOD. This is how I found my families $230 roundtrip ticket to Iceland and back!!! Just from exploring my options. (ps wish this was sponsored but it’s not I just REALLY LOVE THIS APP)
TIP 3: GO TO THE AIRPORT TO BUY YOUR TICKET!!!!!
When you go directly to the airport you do not have to pay all the crazy service charge fees!!!!! Ryan and I saved $70 for going to the airport to buy our ticket for our latest NYC trip we paid $29 for a one way ticket and $42 dollars back!!! IT IS SO CRAZY BUT IT WORKS!!!!
DO NOT BE SEAT PICKY!!!
If you are traveling alone or with a buddy as long as you booked your tickets at the same time you will be seated next to or very close to that person. I say skip the expensive “seat selection” that for some reason always changes… and get your seat for free!!!!
TRAVEL LIGHT!!!
I KNOW! I KNOW! I can hear you all screaming at me! How can you pack light when you have to take a pic in all 20 outfits sitting in your closet right now!!! My tip for this is TRY ON ALL THE CLOTHES and make outfits that can be reused in different ways. Sometimes you think an outfit may be cute as well and it might not actually be cute… it happens to me all the time and then you think that could of been space I could of saved. Try to pack as much in a backpack or carry on so you do not have o pay for the luggage space on the airplane.
DO NOT ALWAYS TRAVEL BUT AIRPLANE OR UBER EVERYWHERE!!!
ALWAYS!!! Look for what the city’s or states public transportation options are because you may be able to say HUNDREDS of dollars. For example, Last year Ryan and I flew into San Francisco and we wanted to visit family in Sacramento. An airplane was $211 for a one way ticket for ONE PERSON!!! Instead we found a Gray hound that cost $11!!!! The Greyhound has plugs, wifi, and comfy seats!!! We paid $11 and got more than what most airplanes provide for $100s! Yes Greyhounds may seem scary to some and I would recommend you do your research for certain bus stop areas but I just brought my neck pillow and closed my eyes and feel asleep for 3 hours and we arrived! Also Trains!!! Trains may cost you $3-10 dollars and can get you anywhere from city to city to state to state!!! Just do your research before you jump into a $50 uber. Who knows you may get lost and find somewhere beautiful!!!!!
DO NOT STAY IN THE BUSY CITIES
I feel like this is a common tip because it’s like common sense, sometimes looking for a place to stay 5 mins away from the main cities may be more peaceful and a hella lot cheaper!!!
AIRBNB OR STALK BOOKING.COM
So I have not personally been able to use Airbnb because people take too long to respond or cancel… but I hear good things and the prices look cheap! but I use booking.com because you can find apartment and hotels and it tells you straight forward how much it is going to cost for the amount of days you are staying. You also get $20 credit when you refer people!!!
Hotels.com
If you use Hotels.com every 10th stay is free!!!
TRAVEL WITH FRIENDS
Who doesn’t love travel buddies!!!! You get to travel with friends and you can split cost of rooming, transportation and what ever else you do!!!
MEET PEOPLE WHERE YOU ARE TRAVELING
I am saying this for two things… one if you meet someone who knows the area they will tell you all the secrets of what to do or where to go for cheap or just for fun! and TWO so you can stay somewhere for FREEEEEE!!!! I know some people may think it is weird but I promise this may be the best thing you decide to do and may lead to long time friendships! Ryan and I’s friend from High school who we didn’t speak too regularly opened her house to us when we went to Vegas and now we consider them to be one of our best friends and love them so much!!! So do not feel scared to step out of your comfort zone and you may friend a life long friend!!!
USE AAA IF YOU HAVE IT!!!!
IF YOU HAVE AAA YOU SOMETIMES GET CRAZY TRAVEL DEALS THAT ARE AMAZING SO USE IT!!!!!
Also keep the option of Renting a car
This again depends where you are traveling to because if you do not have to pay for parking everywhere and there is not crazy traffic and the rates for renting a car is cheaper for a longer travel period then do it!!! (AAA can be used for this as well!) Also if you are under 25 but older than 21 you can rent a car with AAA or the app called Turo!
SAY NO LESS AND SAY YES MORE!!!
Hope all these tips are useful and help you travel more!!! The key to traveling is in your hands it is up to you to save the few dollars of coffee or video games and travel! There is nothing better than exploring and seeing the world!
Andrea M Jara 