“I haven’t been everywhere but it’s on my list” – me, and every framed map print at TJ Maxx 🙂 Do you have a bucket list of destinations you hope to visit? If you’re like me, the list is long but your budget is not unlimited. However, having flexibility with when you go and where can help to keep costs low without sacrificing comfort, privacy, or safety. Below are the things I consider when planning for a trip and some tips for getting the most for your money.

Consider low-cost destinations

The single biggest re-calibration that allowed me to travel more was to simply prioritize going and not worry so much about where. Some of my favorite destinations were not on my ‘bucket list’, but were the right price at the right time. It turns out that a little research will turn up beautiful, interesting, historic spots in any country.

Even if you find a great price on airfare, Paris, London, and New York are still expensive cities to exist in for a week. Looking at cities with favorable exchange rates and low costs for food, drink, and accommodations means your dollar can go further and you can enjoy your experience instead of pinching pennies. Below are some beautiful destinations to consider for your next trip.

• Europe
  • Croatia
  • Poland
  • Hungary
  • Romania
  • Portugal
  • Czech Republic

• Asia
  • Cambodia
  • Vietnam
  • Laos
  • India
  • Indonesia
  • Turkey

• Central and South America
  • Colombia
  • Guatemala
  • Brazil
  • Peru
  • Costa Rica

Travel during shoulder season

Shoulder season is the time between peak season, when a place is busiest (and therefore most expensive) and off season. Beware of off season, prices may be cheaper at that time but it’s usually off for a reason – either the place is too hot, cold, or rainy to be enjoyed, or the economy is so reliant on tourists that most places are closed that time of year. The sweet spot is known as shoulder season, things are just warming up or cooling off and tourists are back but not in droves.

When exactly shoulder season is depends on the destination, Lori Allen has a helpful map of countries and their shoulder seasons. But I always check the weather for myself before booking and maintain my own list of when I would travel where based on temperature, hours of sunlight, and chance of precipitation. Two sites I like to use are thebesttimetovisit.com (beware, all the temps are in Celsius) and holiday-weather.com/ .

Find cheap flights

Being open to a range of locations and knowing ahead of time when would be a good time to visit will help you find cheap flights. There are also a lot of great tools to assist with your search.

• Kayak: This is always my first stop when checking for flights. Kayak Explore allows you to set your departure airport and a budget and it will show the cheapest prices to all destination airports within budget. Also, only on the mobile version, after you click on a city to open up the flight options, you can choose “See cheapest dates” and it will show you the combinations of dates with the lowest price. This feature is great if your dates have a lot of flexibility. Kayak will also tell you if the prices you’re seeing is a good deal or if you should wait for them to go down based on historic trends.
• Google Flights: Google has a similar function to explore flights by departure airport, budget, and trip duration. I personally find that Kayak shows cheaper options but it’s always good to get a second opinion.
• Scott’s Cheap Flights: I once heard if you hear about something three times from people you trust, you should check it out. I have been hearing a lot about Scott’s Cheap Flights this year. It’s great for those who don’t want to troll Google flights themselves, because that’s what this service is doing. There is a free version and a premium version, which costs $49 per year. I am currently signed up for the free version and have already found a few deals worth booking – $350 direct flight 8-day round trip to London from Tampa or Orlando, for example. Essentially you receive an email alert with instructions on how to search Google flights to find the deal.

No matter how you find your tickets, paying for your flight with credit card points is my favorite way to travel guilt-free. Check out my post on getting a travel credit card and how you can use your normal, possibly boring purchases to cover exciting travel purchases 🙂

Look for newly opened accommodations

High risk, high reward! Booking with an AirBnB or hotel with few reviews could mean you stay at a place that’s better in photos than in real life or it could mean you’re the first to experience a previously unknown gem. Most hotels and resorts live and die by Trip Advisor reviews and you can sometimes luck out and find a newly opened hotel that is eager for happy customers. Same with AirBnb, you can sometimes get a nice place for less than comparable spots because it is a new listing that needs positive reviews to gain traction. In Vietnam, we stayed at a gorgeous resort with fresh fruit brought to our beautiful room every day, a fabulous buffet breakfast with made-to-order omelets, and free bicycles to explore, for $40 a night! You can still get a room there for under $100, but at half that price, it felt like a wonderful treat.

Stay close to the action

To save on Uber or taxis, choose a place to stay that is within walking distance (or biking, or cheap public transit) from where you want to be. It’s best to do your research and know where exactly it is you’ll be spending most of your time before making a reservation. If you’re visiting a place to be on the beach, it may not be worth the $50 you save to stay further inland if you have to pay to travel, park, or have beach access each day.

Bonus Tip: Learn to drive stick

Ok, I am guilty of not taking my own advice on this. Luckily, my smart and capable husband drives a manual transmission and is kind enough to be the driver when we rent a car overseas. This is valuable because pretty much everywhere outside of the US, renting a manual is much cheaper (sometimes half the price) than renting an otherwise identical automatic. You won’t always want a car, if you’re only staying in one city or are in a region like western Europe with a reliable system of trains. But in countries like Costa Rica where the alternative is lengthy and crowded bus rides to get from one city to another, a rental car may be worth the comfort and control, and being able to drive a manual translates to a lot of coco fríos 🙂

Happy travels! I hope these tips are useful in finding the right trip that’s within your budget, because adventure is for everyone.