r/Shoestring

so my gf and I just got back from 12 months across 7 countries in SE Asia. spent about €15k each which sounds like a lot but honestly for a full year it's pretty reasonable

our daily target was €30/day. actual average €41/day. that €11 difference doesn't sound like much until you realize that's €4,000+ over a year lol

anyway here's what I learned the hard way:

on budgeting :

1. your total trip budget and your daily budget are two different things. sounds obvious but we didn't really get that until month 3
2. set a rough daily target per country, even if it's a guess. having no number at all is way worse than having a wrong one
3. small stuff adds up insanely fast. we kept telling ourselves "it's just a coffee" yeah well that coffee cost us hundreds
4. atm fees and exchange rates will silently eat your budget if you're not paying attention. get a good travel card before you leave

on splitting costs as a couple/group

1. write down shared expenses RIGHT AWAY. "we'll figure it out later" is a lie. we almost had actual arguments about this lol
2. decide early who pays what and how you split. saves so much friction

on planning

1. check visa stuff EARLY. like way earlier than you think. we almost got stuck in vietnam because we assumed we could extend on arrival (nope)
2. have a rough route planned (which countries, rough order, how long) but don't overplan. some of our best weeks were places we didn't plan to stay

on staying sane

1. keep all your important docs in one place. finding a booking confirmation buried in 3000 sunset photos at 6am when you need to catch a bus is not fun
2. you don't need to see everything. FOMO is real but the best memories we have are from weeks where we slowed down and just... lived somewhere for a bit

after struggling with all of this for months (especially the expense splitting and keeping docs organized) I ended up building a small app to handle it, basically does trip planning + shared expenses + doc storage in one place. nothing crazy but it saved our trip honestly

happy to answer any questions if you're planning something similar

me and a friend are attempting to travel from los Angeles to Europe for the summer. We’re trying to find flights late june to late july/early august, we’re flexible on destination and timing as we’re going to take the train around Europe. I know it’s tough timing but any advice on flights, stay and transportation would be appreciated!

Traveling with my family, trying to save some money for the trip, going from US to Asia. Was wondering if you have any tips for getting better flight tickets.

yes I know about oil crisis and w*r and that's why the tickets are more expensive than usual, but I'm asking in general what worked for you?

Thank you in advance

With the current war going on, flight prices have skyrocketed and whenever I use google flights, the cheapest flights are usually only through third party websites like BudgetAir or MyTrip, would it be better to book through there?

Unfortunately the thing with my job is they often approve my time off requests too late, we're talking between 3 and 1 weeks before the requested days off. I like using weekends for being away because most doctors don't work in weekends and since I have numerous health issues I prefer to use as many days off as I can to visit doctors.

I am Europe-based so would you say a good way to spend less is to book fewer nights, like even take more but shorter trips for just weekend city breaks? My aim is to visit as many countries as I can without necessarily visiting many cities.

A friend suggested to avoid day trips and just focus on a single city for each trip to slash my train/bus expenses, which can be quite a sum in Northern and Western Europe even with pre-booked tickets. For example: Book 3 or 4 nights in Paris and just stay in Paris the whole time.

One mistake I did in the past was booking 3 or 4 nights in a smaller city where 2 nights or 1 full day would've been enough for seeing the most important things.

What are your tips and tricks for visiting as many European countries as possible without spending a lot when you can't book many months in advance? Would relying on weekend city breaks in Europe be worth it to save a buck and yet experience new places and cultures, e.g. flying to Copenhagen on Friday evening, spending the full Saturday there without any day trips, and flying back to my home country on Sunday evening.

Thanks!

I’m a big Gorillaz fan and my concert experience was ruined back in March because of stuff out of my control and ableism from the staff. The new album, The Mountain, means a lot to me because it’s my favorite album since Plastic Beach, and I desperately want to see it performed properly. It’ll be on the 20th of June, and I’m confident using the tube to get around since I’ve been to London a few times. I ideally want to arrive one day, see the concert the next, and leave the third day, but I’m open to reducing it to two days. I’m a student and I have an autism diagnosis and Blue Badge if that at all helps with costs. Ideally, I’d want to spend about £150 per person for a total of two people, but I’m open to going over that if there really is no other way. Any assistance would be much appreciated. Thank you!

A warm hello to all New Yorkers and New York connoisseurs out there.

Serendipity has struck and my lifelong dream to see the city of my dreams is suddenly about to become a reality. I'm going to stay for two full weeks, and want to immerse myself deeply into the culture I have loved so long from afar.

Unfortunately I am on a very tight budget, but I've heard that many of the grand attractions are affordable or even free of charge. Can you guys please help me with inspiration and perhaps recommend some hidden gems for a deep and fulfilling New York experience?

I am an avid movie-buff with a strong preference for the Golden Age of Hollywood, especially black-and-white photography and film noir. The 1930's and '40's are my absolute favorites, although I am well aware that most of the movies set in New York from that era were shot on sound stages. That's why a lot of my inspiration and perception of New York has come from modern period pieces and homages, like Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America. That's one of my favorite movies, and I absolutely want to stand at the exact spot where the picture for the film poster was taken, with that iconic view of the Brooklyn Bridge.

I was hoping to visit many more sites where famous movie scenes were shot, like the park bench at Bow Bridge from Woody Allen's Manhattan. I'm an old-fashioned romantic at heart, with a fond affection for pre-1960s culture, architecture, and history.

My place of residence will most likely be on the Upper West Side near Central Park or in Midtown Manhattan near Times Square, so ideal to get to all the famous spots easily, and also do a lot of walking through town. My heart trembles when I think of how I'm going to marvel at all the streets and buildings of New York's glorious past that I have always only been able to see through a camera lens.

Since accommodation is incredibly expensive, I wish to keep costs down as low as possible. I would consider a standing room ticket at the Met a luxury, to set things in perspective. Also important to know would be where to get good prices for groceries, and the occasional bite to eat.

Any insights to make this possible are highly appreciated!

Okay, I booked a hotel room for me, my girlfriend and my parents in Miami and I know that prices are crazy especially in the summer time but I didn't really care that much, but after I booked it, the prices somehow started to drop soo much and I just want to know if I can somehow get a refund soo I can book it for cheaper price.

I want to travel somewhere in Europe with a big gay scene, great architecture and nightlife. I would be looking to fly in June, July, or August. I see that prices online are about $1200 even on lower cost carriers from Philly to Barcelona near July 4th or even NYC to Barcelona. Any cheap places I can go from Philly or NYC? I am flexible on destination and timing. I like the idea of London or Berlin or Amsterdam or Barcelona. My home base is Philly suburbs.

hello all! my partner and i are looking for a flight for her to come from London to stay with me in Michigan for ideally four to six weeks. we’ve done $1,000+ flights but we cannot do that right now!! the dates don’t matter, i’d like to see her within a few months if i can but summer flights aren’t cheap. i’m flexible on airports in both places, pretty much any London airport would work and anywhere from Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, or Detroit if i get a good deal (if it’s super good i could do Chicago or northern Indiana). I have alerts for google flights but just looking for any other tips you have to stay on the lookout for any cheap tickets! thanks so much

I’m looking to go as cheaply as possible at the end of July (from 07/22 on) to start of August (to 08/05). My preferred airports would be Stuttgart (STR), Munich (MUC), Basel (BSL), or Zürich (ZRH) but I’m completely flexible; also able to fly out of places like FRA, NUR, etc, as long as it’s relatively Central Europe. I am also quite flexible regarding dates.

Nothing with crazy layovers (6+ hours) please!

If anyone finds anything, let me know! I would greatly appreciate it.

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Nice - 4 nights — have that i could do Cannes, Antibe, and Monaco. Can fly directly from my local airport, but the returning flights is really expensive —can fly into London and have to travel back up Leeds.

Italy — 8 nights — want to fly into Milan and do some day trips to Verona and Lake Como and then maybe get a train to Zurich. May need to use Manchester than my local.

Sweden —6 nights - fly directly into Gothenburg, high speed train to Stockholm.

All three destinations are really expensive, but I am going in early September so hopefully it will be quieter. Which one is worth visiting?

I want to visit more countries.

I need to arrive to Anchorage Alaska on June 8, flying from Bangkok Thailand.

All the flights Im finding now are pretty damn expensive.

Im not sure if I should fly into Seattle, San Francisco, Phoenix, etc… and on which airline for the cheapest price. I don’t care about long traveling hours.

Once I get to US I have some miles stacked with Alaskan air so will use that to get to Alaska.

Any insights would be awesome… thanks much

Hey everyone! I’m just getting into traveling more intentionally and I’m trying to do it smart, not broke 😂

I recently learned about things like Hilton Grand Vacations where you can get like 3–4 night stays for around $199 in exchange for sitting through a presentation, which I honestly don’t mind if the deal is good.

I’m curious what other programs, companies, or travel ‘hacks’ you all use that are similar to that? Like discounted stays, preview packages, travel clubs, etc.

Also, for someone in their 20s who doesn’t have unlimited money but can save and plan ahead, what’s the smartest way to start traveling consistently without overspending?

I’d love any tips, resources, or personal experiences. Thank you!

I'm going to be leaving the UK and travelling to different countries and will be a regular user of online travel sites. What I'm trying to figure out is the best and most rewarding booking scheme like Expedia, Hotel.com, et cetera. I will be a bit of a low spender; it'll be roughly about £16-£20 a night for the next few months. However, I am familiar with Expedia’s restriction with getting only a trip element above £20 a night.

Out of curiosity since I found good hotels that are under £20 a night in the place I'm travelling to - is there any way that I can frequently purchase monthly hotels and still get really good rewards back on any platform? Any suggestions would be lovely, thank you.

I want to go from approximately mid October to the end of March. So far I already know I want to go to Lima from the beginning of December to mid February. I'm looking for two more cities to go to for 1.5 months each; one from mid October to the end of November and one from mid February to the end of March.

Here is what I want in a city:

• Somewhere most people will speak to me in Spanish so no tourist towns like Puerto Vallarta
• Not the wet season or if it is the wet season somewhere that doesn't rain a lot during the wet season
• Daytime temperatures of at least 20c (68f). Nighttime temperatures and humidity (or lack thereof) don't matter at all. Would be willing to settle for 15c (59f) daytime temperatures
• My budget is $1.5k USD per month and must include all expenses besides flights
  • I'm a pretty frugal person I just want to skip the winter for a year and speak Spanish so I won't be living like the typical person who's traveling for one week would
• Any country besides Brazil, Peru, and Guatemala is fine
• At least 300k people and type of city doesn't matter (for example beach, mountains, etc)
• Easy to make friends with locals (or at least find people to hang out with)

If a city meets most of the requirements but not all of them feel free to suggest it. Only one that it must meet is the $1.5k monthly budget but other than that I don't require all of my wishes to be met.

Me and my fiance need to fly to Detroit in June we have a event on the 13th but are flexible for when we need to depart and leave. The prices are outrageous like 300-400 a ticket. We are both college students and broke please help!!

My son is in the middle of his first two cleft surgeries (lip and palate) and we are planning a trip to Porto, Portugal for my best friend's wedding on July 25th . There are 4 of us plus the baby (lap baby). Any advice to get the most affordable way to get there? I'm checking prices on Tuesday the 21st-28th but I'm willing to drive to another city but out of DC is only a $50 price difference at the moment.

Hello beautiful people! I have to be in Florida for a funeral next weekend and I’m looking for the best option to book a reasonably priced flight from Columbus and to stay in FL for a couple weeks. Sounds like Google Flights(?) seems like a good route to take based on other posts on this sub, but any advice/suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated. 🙏

Hi all! By some magic, I've actually managed to create an incredible work/life balance and I only have to work Mondays & Tuesdays. I want to make the most of this and travel when I'm not in the office, half/most of the weeks. (I wouldn't always be away as I have a fun social life and strong home roots too.)

Where are some good places I could get to without breaking the bank, as obviously, I work a lot less now, also means I'm earning significantly less.

I have a partner and dog, and my partner works freelance and is looking for more work, but isn't in a rush as is recovering from some bad mental health due to his last employment. We would be happy taking time visiting the UK as we haven't explored as much of that, and then we could bring our doggy with us. (Thinking camping or renting a campervan but open to ideas.) If it is abroad, I would go solo so he could look after our dog and save money and not need to take any time away from work himself.

I've visited most of the main European cities/countries, but always happy to go again (if it is a nice place), especially if the price point is good.

Just wondering, if people were in my position, what would they do/where would they go with their 5 days off every so often?