c/budget-travel-hacks

My $40 travel towel was either a genius buy or a total waste, what do you think?

I spent $40 on a quick dry travel towel for a week in Thailand, and while it saved space and dried fast, it felt like sandpaper and I missed my normal towel's softness.

I always thought hostels were just for college kids until I saw the numbers

Found a travel blog that listed the average cost of a private room in a hostel in Kyoto last month, and it was only $35 a night. I always pictured big dorms, but a lot of them have single rooms too. That's way less than any hotel I've seen there. Has anyone else booked a private hostel room and had a good experience?

Vent: My bus ticket mix-up in Lisbon ate up half a day

I thought I bought a 24-hour transit pass at the airport machine, but it turned out to be just a single trip ticket. I didn't realize until a ticket inspector fined me 60 euros on the tram. Figuring out how to appeal it and get the right pass took me over 4 hours of running between different metro station offices. The language barrier and different rules for tourists made it way harder than I expected. Has anyone else had a simple transit mistake turn into a huge time and money sink while traveling?

Figuring out the local bus system in Prague took me a full afternoon when I thought it'd be 20 minutes...

I was so sure I could just hop on, but the ticket validation machines were all in Czech and I ended up walking for 3 hours before a student finally showed me the app that works with the QR codes... has anyone else had a simple transport plan totally fall apart in a new city?

Vent: I thought booking a flight for Tuesday was always cheaper, but my Denver trip proved me wrong.

Checked prices for 3 weeks straight and a Thursday departure was $80 less, so now I always run searches for every day of the week before buying.

Remember when you could just show up at a hostel? Tried that in Lisbon last month and spent 4 hours walking around with my pack.

My brother told me to skip the checked bag on a 3-day trip to Chicago

I thought I'd need more stuff, but packing just a backpack saved me $70 in fees and made the airport SO much faster. Anyone else have a simple rule that actually works?

I thought booking a flight on Tuesday was the best deal, but I was wrong.

I tracked prices for a trip to Lisbon for two months and the cheapest days were actually Sunday and Wednesday. The Tuesday thing is just an old myth that doesn't hold up anymore. Has anyone else found a better day to book for their recent trips?

Got stuck in Prague with no cash and the ATMs were down

I was in Prague last fall and the entire city's ATM network crashed for a whole afternoon, right when I needed to pay for a train ticket. I ended up asking at my hostel and the owner let me pay for the ticket online through their booking system if I gave them the exact euros I had left in my pocket. Has anyone else had a backup plan for when card systems fail in a foreign city?

Appreciation post: The free city bike system in Lyon saved my trip

I was in Lyon last week and almost blew my budget on cabs before I saw the 'Velo'v' bikes everywhere. Grabbed one for a 2 euro day pass and rode across the whole city, which cut my travel costs by like 80 percent. Has anyone found a better free or cheap bike system in another city?

Just found out the bus from Bangkok to Siem Reap is under $20, saw it buried in a blog comment from 2023.

I've been looking at flights for months, so what other obvious cheap routes am I totally missing?

PSA: My hostel in Lisbon had a free walking tour that saved me $25 on my first day.

I almost missed the sign-up sheet by the kitchen, but a guy from Toronto pointed it out. What's the best free activity you've found that wasn't in the guidebook?

Honestly, I thought those overnight bus rides across Europe were a total scam to save on a hostel. Tried one from Berlin to Prague for 30 euros and it was a game changer.

Unpopular opinion: I think the 'skip the hotel' advice is wrong for some trips

Last week in Chicago, I booked a cheap hostel for three nights to save cash. The first night, a broken pipe flooded the shared bathroom and the noise kept me up until 3 AM. I spent $40 on Ubers just to get to a quiet cafe to work the next day, wiping out my savings. For a short trip where you need to be rested, sometimes the basic hotel room is the real budget move. Has anyone else had a cheap stay backfire and actually cost more?

Spent $45 on a bus pass in Lisbon and it was the best travel move I made all year

A hostel worker in Lisbon saved me from a huge money mistake

I was checking in at a small hostel near the Alfama district last year, and the guy at the desk saw me pull out my phone to book a day trip. He leaned over and said, 'Wait, don't book that online. The train station sells the same ticket for 15 euros less, and the line is short in the morning.' I almost spent 60 euros online for a 45 euro ticket. Has anyone else had a local tip save them a big chunk of cash like that?

I thought the free city tours in Prague were just a tourist trap

I joined one near the Old Town Square last month and the guide pointed out a local bakery where a coffee and pastry cost half what the main street cafes charge. It completely changed how I look for food in new cities now. What's the best local tip you've gotten from a free walking tour?

Shoutout to the guy who told me to just book a flight to the wrong airport

I was looking at flights to Barcelona last month and the main airport was crazy expensive, like 800 dollars round trip. Some guy on a travel forum said to check flights to Girona instead, which is about an hour away by bus. I was sure it would be a huge hassle, but the flight was only 300 dollars. I booked it, took the 12 euro bus from Girona to Barcelona city center, and saved 500 bucks for a total travel time increase of maybe 90 minutes. The before and after difference in my trip cost was huge, just from being willing to land somewhere else. Has anyone else saved a ton of money this way, or did I just get lucky with the bus schedule?

I used to think you had to book everything way ahead, but a messed up train in Prague changed my mind

Spent $40 on a bus pass in Kyoto and it was the best move I made

Got the 2-day pass and just hopped on and off all over the city... saved me a ton on single fares and taxis. Anyone have a good bus pass story from another city?

Honestly, my friend called me out for always booking flights on a Tuesday

He said I was just following an old tip and showed me data that Wednesday afternoons are often cheaper for European routes. I switched and saved $80 on a trip to Lisbon last month. Do you guys stick to the 'Tuesday rule' or have you found a better day?

Showerthought: I used to book flights months ahead, but last-minute deals from Chicago to Miami last winter were way cheaper.

I planned a trip in October for December, paying $380. My friend booked the same route two weeks before leaving and got it for $220. Has anyone else found that flight pricing has totally flipped lately?

Hot take: I spent 4 hours trying to book a bus from Bangkok to Chiang Mai

I figured booking a bus online would be easy, but the cheap sites were all in Thai and the English ones added huge fees. I kept hitting dead ends with payment errors or seats that showed as free but weren't. I finally had to walk to the actual bus station, which took forever in the heat, and wait in a line to buy a ticket from the counter. The whole thing, from first search to holding the ticket, was a solid 4 hour project for what should have been a 10 minute job. It cost about $12, but the time lost was crazy. Has anyone else had a simple transport booking turn into a half-day mission in Southeast Asia? What's the real trick for this?

Hot take: my 'free' walking tour in Lisbon turned into a $50 scam in plain sight.

I saw a flyer for a 'pay what you want' tour near the Rossio Square, but the guide spent the whole two hours pushing overpriced tickets to a fado show and a specific restaurant where he got a cut. We ended up paying for a rushed, basic history lesson and a constant sales pitch that felt totally dishonest. Has anyone else had a 'free' tour go this wrong, and how do you spot the real ones?

A heads-up for anyone planning a trip to Prague this summer

I was there in late May and the main tourist squares, like Old Town Square, were packed to the point of being unpleasant. More importantly, the prices for food and drink in those areas were easily double what you'd pay just a few streets back. A basic beer was over 150 CZK in the square, but we found the same thing for 80 CZK a five-minute walk away. The crowds also make it hard to actually see anything without being shoved. My advice is to look at a map and plan to eat and stay in neighborhoods like Vinohrady or Zizkov. Has anyone else found good spots in Prague that aren't overrun?