The Biggest Costs of Traveling & How to Cut Travel Costs 

Tip #1: Flying on Tuesday or Wednesday is usually cheaper than Friday or Sunday which are the two most expensive days. If you have flexibility, always check mid-week flights. Tip #2: If you do book multi-cities, remember to check the rate for the reversed itinerary. For my upcoming trip to Europe, I was pleasantly surprised that my tickets were $220 cheaper when I flipped the arrival and departure cities.

AirBnB: do research and book a whole apartment for the price of less than a hotel room. There you can prepare your own meals bought at the local market(s) at the kitchen. That makes TWO discounts in one.

Most grocery stores in Europe like coop sell inexpensive hot meals like a cooked chicken leg and thigh for $2 to $3. Grocery stores are way more fun than museums.

A tip me and my family has been using for years when in France is to stay at campsites instead of hotels. We rent a static caravan and it's a lot cheaper than a hotel and we get a lot more space and you also get lots of facilities like pools too. Finally, you can cook your own food, which is great for saving money.

If you're after cheap accommodation during the summer months some Universities open their dorms up for bookings. I've booked rooms in Central London for 1/3 of the price of what you'd expect to pay for a hotel and had breakfast and WiFi included.

We just sold our hotel so I have some knowledge of pricing and I have to disagree somewhat with him saying " Book early" to get a deal. That is not how it works. You can call and try to get a discount with a longer stay, but days are priced almost a year in advanced. It is estimated on last years and the years before average. You will get a higher price if there is an event going on in the city also. There are seasons and seasons are priced accordingly. Summer is always going to be higher unless you go near a Sking area in the winter like Whistler, in Canada. That is their money time and you will pay, summer will be a bit cheaper because it's seasonal. Each day hotels are still flexing the price if they did not sell out like they thought they would. They will adjust the price down to get pre-bookings. Not saying every Hotel works that way, but the majority will if they are not a crazy high-end hotel. Happy Travels everyone. Either way, He does have the best travel channel on youtiube. I've been watching for days. Keep up the good work.

I always prepare sandwiches and fruit, snacks etc the night before I travel to save me having to buy expensive food at airports etc. I do the same before my journey home, making burgers or sandwiches after a trip to the local supermarket in the country I'm in. You save so much money!

You allways pick the best camera shot locations everywhere you travel as your backdrops, Great work! Love your videos!

Thanks so much for doing this. The places you've been showing recently are my favorite in the world, it is wonderful to see them again. I appreciate the tips!

I'll be visiting Schönbrunn Palace next month. Thanks for all the great tips.

I see that this video is 4 years old so that may be why this wasn't mentioned in saving on flights. Use google flights you can set up alerts on any tickets you're interested in. I did this approximately 10 months in advance of our travel dates. Within a month got an email showing the flight for approximately $300 less than it had ever been so bought the tickets then so 9 months in advance . Round trip, no stops Chicago to Paris on American for $ 478!😊😊

All great ideas and thanks for mentioning the comment about Italian trains. I'll be going to Italy next May/June and will be figuring out all my trip details sometime soon so thanks!

Watched a view of your videos, very helpful, straight to the point. Heading to Ireland in November and going to donegal, Galway and Kilkenny

hi mark, great video! i highly recommend using airbnb, because it's usually much cheaper than hotels and you can cook. if you don't have anything to cook with, you can buy organic canned soups and put them in a sink filled with hot water. in 15-20 min, the can heats up to a reasonably warm level, and you can have a warm meal. in US, organic soups are about $4-5 per can, and the can is quiet small, so you have to buy breads and other stuff to get yourself full.

Shout out to Wolter from Québec Canada! I've been watching your videos since I planned my trip to Europe for this September. Can't wait to put your tips to use!

Great info. Also check if more than one airport to fly into-one can be less than the other. Summer 2017 we flew to London from Florida and way cheaper to fly into Gatwick than Heathrow and more flights offered as well.

Must say I love your videos Mark. Over the last couple of years now that my wife and I are able to travel with out the kids, they're all grown up now. We've been traveling a lot and I always make sure to check your videos before we go.I've found the best ways to save money that I've found so far have been.1. Don't have your coffee and pastry right next to the landmark, fountain, square etc. You always pay a massive premium for that pleasure. Go to a café a street or two back and you'll pay so much less for what is normally better food and drink.2. Don't be afraid of public transport. Weathers it's the metro, subway, trams or waterbuses. Find out quickly how to se them. Most big cities seem to do a multi travel card or ticket that mean that you can get to further destinations really quickly and cheaply.3. As Mark said, use the Supermarkets. They're very in expensive, have a massive selection of very good meats, cheeses, breads, fruit and drinks. This way you can cheaply eat your lunch in front or the land mark or on the beach.Hope these help some body out. Happy trails

Great video, Mark with nice tips. Love all your vids. Greetings from Germany!

Excelent suggestions, thank you! Hey I am already a fan of your videos.

a really nice video, some advices you give really have been helpful for me!

Another flight tip: If you are travelling from the United States or Canada and you are flying to Europe, try booking your flight to Oslo, Stockholm, or Copenhagen. The prices are unusually cheap as the cities not in direct flight path with heavily used Europe flight paths (i.e to France, Germany, Belgium, etc,...). Then just travel from the Scandinavian city you land in and you can save a lot of money. It helps me especially to go see family.

Love the videos. This is the best one yet

Thank you for all of the amazing tips, Mark! greatly appreciated! have a blessed day!

great video! will definitely go into my favorites playlist for future use, thanks :)

Mark are family always look so forward to your videos many thanks 😎 Joe from Belfast. Ireland 🇮🇪

Excellent Tips! I may add the following: 1.- When possible get hotel rooms with a basic kitchen and a fridge. This way you can take even a bigger advantage over the tip on getting groceries. For example, in Cancun I stayed in room that was more like an apartment with a huge kitchen.The supermarket and mini-marts where at a reasonable walking distance from the hotel. I cannot tell you how handy this can be when you have kids, rainy days or both. Another example: in Paris there is an hotel in the 6th Arr. (i.e. in the very middle of the city) with a basic kitchenette. It is a few blocks from Rue de Buci, a shopping district where you can find a supermarket, boulangerie, a surprisingly good frozen meals store and of course great wine vendors :). Think about the money you can save by making your own snacks or meals so you can eat on the go! 2.- Speaking of meals: a kind of hack is to pick a restaurant you liked and ask if they have take-out options. This way you might have the real deal of local food experience and enjoy your food in a nice spot in the city (like a park or plaza) or in that nice hotel room you got, without any surprise service fees or settling for what you have in your hotel (or nearby). 3.- In addition to Tip 4, you can get similar experiences from kind of the same "attractions". For example, in Paris, instead of spending your precious time and money going up the Eiffel Tower you can go up to: a) Sacré-Coeur, it’s free and the highest hill in town, b) the top of the George Pompidou Museum (can be done for free) you can get decent views, or c) the top of Tour Montparnasse (this one you have to pay but is not as busy as the Tour Eiffel and costs the same), or do all three for the same time and money plus a bus pass. Or in places like Venice, New York or Bangkok you can use the public transport (vaporetto, ferry or barge-ferry) to get a “tour” on the main waterways and enjoy the sights from another perspective.

I must say tho being on top of the Eiffel Tower was worth it. The feeling was just amazing. Picknicking under the Eiffel tour sounds great too I'll definitly put it on my to do list for next time :)

Mark, tell your mother I do the same thing as her, visiting supermarkets in my travels. Believe me, it's very educational and also fun at the same time.

Thank you for your info. I enjoy watching your videos.

Great Video. Thank you for posting.

Great Video.... Helpful tips.... Thank you for posting.

Been binging ur channel u got a great wholesome vibe mistaa wolters

I have 2 tips:1) I stay in airbnb when possible. it is typically cheaper and usally nicer that the budget hotels2) fly out of alternate airports. I live in San Antonio and flying out of SA is expensive, so I tend to fly of Austin saves about $300-400

You mention some very good points which we do all the time although missed out some very important ones we use. For example you said you can look at the Colosseum from outside inside of going inside to save money - no you miss out on so much and don''t get the epic size of the place unless going inside. So always, always research which days to get into things free as many places have free days. In Rome for example you can get into the Colosseum, Forum and many others free on the first Sunday of the month so our last tour of Italy we timed it especially so the Rome leg covered the 1st Sunday in the month. If you leave the really things like the Colosseum and forum until the afternoon then the crowds aren't that long as everybody gone first thing so totally free entry to most of Rome's top attractions and not bad queues. Another big tip with Rome (and general is search forums etc for specials - for example if you want to go to Rainbow Magicland Theme and take the train etc in the morning the entry costs are massive and you need to return early way before it closes. However, there is a special bus the theme park operates that isn't advertised that picks up from Termini station (very cheap) and takes you direct to the theme park for exactly the time at midday when the price dropped to only about £10 per person instead of £65-70. They also pick up at 11.30pm when the theme park closes - so from about 6pm onwards just the local Italian's and you left as all the tourists have had to go back on public transport - meaning no queues at rides too never mind massive savings in entry etc!!!! Another mega one we use is for long haul flights. The last time was our months tour of Thailand and including Angkor Watt in Cambodia while there. Many log haul flights are deliberately overbooked so we wet to desk to check if this was the case for our third connecting flight from Frankfurt to Bangkok and if that was the case we are willing to give up our seats. Sure enough it was and we were put up in a all expenses paid hotel including all meals in Frankfurt by the airline and compensation that paid for all our 14 flights during the entire holiday, holiday insurance etc meaning the whole month's holiday only cost £200 each for everything lol! Our best bargain ever as well as fantastic holiday!!!!

All good suggestions thank you. Yes planning early will save you a ton of money because you can shop around. If you can help it, schedule your trip off season, summer & around the holidays are expensive as we all know, not to mention it can get hectic & crowded. Flights...yes if you're travelling in multi-cities/countries & you have no dire reason to come back to your arrival city, then it makes sense not to make it your exit city...but determine which city you fly in & out of....because these can dictate the cost of your flight. Central location is key, access to public transport, variety of restaurants & important sites to me is very important, walkability is the key & "green" : )

my favorite video that you have made!!!!

Thank you for your suggestions!

Good advice on grocery stores... I love checking them out wherever I go... in Paris there's one next to a strip joint in Monmartre!

The Eiffel tower is 5 euro per person if you take the stairs instead of the elevator, you can reach the second level by stairs.

Very good advices! Thanks 🙏🏻

Thanks for this valuable video!

GREAT TIPS AND THANKS.

If you want to save money and time in Paris, go to Tour Montparnasse. It is the tallest building in Paris. There is an observation deck on the roof which gives you similar view you would get from the Eiffel Tower. I am not sure what the cost is for a ticket is, but when I went there was no line. It's easy to get to and the views are great.

I have been playing with the Norwegian Airlines "low fare" calendar to get an affordable ticket. I booked a trip from Orlando, Florida to Oslo, Norway for $620.00. This was 7 months in advance. I realize not everyone is in an area where that particular airline takes off.

Save money on coffee in Italy, drink it standing at the bar like a local 1Euro for an espresso as opposed to 3 to six sitting down. Also use the toilets for free then go sit on a fountain edge. . And please Pizza and Pasta in Italy, snack food and a workmans lunch. Get out of your comfort zone and have some real Italian food: Osso bucco with risoto, Saltimbocca, the seafood is amazing, and did you know schnitzel (cotoletta alla milanese) originated in Milan. Then veal liver and kidney, hare Ragù, oh the sardines and so much more.

Loved Tower Supermarket in Sliema, Malta. 3 levels to explore. Also loved Cisk lager.

Some museums in Spain have times that are free. Great way to save money.

Cont- Lucerne, Strasberg, are also very expensive cities with truly excellent cafeteria food. This is not your school lunch cafeteria, many main dishes are cooked to order, desert is desert, tap drinks are tap drinks, in a cafe or cafeteria.

Thank you Wolter! You're right about finding affordable things to do but still gaining a fulfilling experience :) I wish to picnic in front of the Eiffel tower someday! I know you mentioned about not buying the little insignificant things, but what do you recommend for souvenirs for family and friends?

I like to get a small snowglobe because it is the symbol of mindfulness and it reminds me to be in the moment.

Awesome! Thanks for the tips, Mark! Other things have help me out include: Airbnb instead of hotels; shopping/eating at places outside of tourist hubS; (like you mentioned) going to grocery stores for my food and alcohol; buying my souvenirs (candy etc) from local grocery and drug stores; and travel in the off season (cheaper tix and things just aren't as crowded). Happy Traveling!! :)

A great souvenir in a stamp on your passport.

buy more than one plane ticket for example if you wanna go from st louis to tokyo buy one from st louis to lax and another from lax to nrt and just make sure the times coincide. I got round trip tickets for $600 doing it that way

I have a tip to save a bunch on restaurant costs. Eat in department store cafeterias. In Lake Como for example, friends paid $75 each for pizzas at lunch, we paid $10-$12 for a great lunch in a large dept store 50 yards off the shore. Innsbruck

Another thing you can do if you have a VPN service is search by flights with your VPN set to a different country sometimes the flight costs are priced different.

Wolter...awesome videos. I am thinking about going to Europe with my family,( wife and 3 kids under 10) but this time we want to live there for 90 days....what city would you recommend? We are coming from Canada, culture, security, and sightseeing is most important for us and of course, a place where we can cut down cost of living. Much appreciated. Keep up the great Vids. Awesome work!

Personally, I find that renting an apartment cuts down on accommodation costs big time and most of the time, I actually prefer it to a hotel. Tons of places and formulas available from places you normally book hotels from like booking.com to stuff like Airbnb. I remember when I first arrived in Bucharest, I rented a luxury studio on the most expensive street in town for 30 euros a night and looking out of the window was a Ramada hotel. I checked their prices and they were in the 150-300 euro range. For a fifth or a tenth of the price, I had a really nice studio with a large bathroom and separate kitchen, which meant that I could cook, saving myself even more money. Renting an apartment is generally always gonna be the cheapest option and, most of the time, it's better than a hotel, or at least I prefer the autonomy it provides. There are two tricks that you didn't mention: - Timing your trip: If you travel off season, you'll pay less. You don't even have to target the off season proper, but just avoid July/August for instance. In some places, it's already cheaper in June and September than during the two summer months and certainly May and October are gonna be cheaper. the weather is still nice during those months so you'll still be able to do the same stuff as you would have done in July or August. You can also choose set your departure and return flights for midweek, if you're flexible. Often, they're cheaper than weekend flights. - Flexible destination: I know people usually start with a definite idea of where they wanna go to and then work out the best prices for that destination. But why not tackle things the other way round? Search for good deals first and then choose where you wanna go. As far as I'm concerned, there are tons of places I wanna go to and I'm even willing to experiment so this works fine for me. Some websites allow you to search flight going "anywhere" for instance (Skyscanner does that I think). You may also wanna chose a place to travel to because you know the accommodation there is cheap or you have a local contact than can help you get those cheaper prices.

a friend of mine would stay in convents or monestary that had a modest room to rent with shared bathroom down the hall. I have stayed at a place with exchange of house cleaning..for a couple of days.

I also like just going to pet stores, garden centres and supermarkets in other countries. They often have cool stuff due to different needs or regulations. For example, it was funny to see cowbells and plastic fencepoles being sold in Austria. You see them all the time when hiking but there it hit me how "real" they are, I always sort of imagined those bells were passed down through generations or something. They were extremely cheap too, especially when compared to souvenirs. It's the best way to get a sense of how other people live you rarely get online.

Really enjoy all your vids Have you done Norway and/or Iceland?

I'd say in France you have to do the opposite with food. They give you a cheap dinner with the fixed menu, you get your entree, main and desert for a lot cheaper than just getting one course at lunch(I know as I went to the same place for lunch and dinner and ended up paying the same amount when I was in Rouen and got a lot more food at dinner time). Definitely, agree with the eating a big breakfast thing. I'd also advise taking a few pieces of fruit if the hotel has those at breakfast so that you can snack during the day.

I was just in London. I had that English Breakfast once at a famous place. But then I just made a simple breakfast with staples you could get at the TESCO...stuff that I was dying to try anyway. That way, I never had to leave the house until noon and saved 25 bucks. Furthermore, I saved calories for the bigger meals. Like you, Wolter, I was an academic and spent many years traveling....and I found that all I can really stand is one big restaurant meal a day. And yeah, lunch is a great one...if you can get out the apartment in time!

Great ideas

You're in Quebec! Hope you enjoy your stay, im from montreal :)

Travel slowly (traveling fast is more expensive), live like a local, subscribe to airline mailing lists to get promotional offers, travel light and use ultra low-cost airlines, travel during low and shoulder seasons, book cheap accomodations (hostals, camping, etc.), use buses or walk instead of using taxis, etc.

A lot of good advice. I always wonder how to save more money. Obviously Europe trips can be very expensive.

I collect paintings from everywhere too!! Brilliant video, excellent points!! I´m lucky enough to go somewhere every week over the summer holidays, as Germanwings has flights for 33euros at the moment. So I booked 12 :) Then cheap hotels on another site. I can also recommend the Disneyland Paris year pass as it´s 199Euro for 18 months, but a 5 day Disney pass is 230Euros. There are so many ways to save when travelling. I liked your point about saving on transport costs to and from the hotel. You mentioned it in another video. It was a handy tip, as I used to spend 60 Euros going to Disneyland everyday from just outside Paris. Now I have booked an apartment room 2km away from Disney, next to a supermarket, so I can cook and there is a free bus to Disney. That´s just one example. Thanks for the excellent videos!! I really enjoy them! :)

I collect shot glasses... I have ant 40 from places I've been. They are useful, nice to have on display and cheap... Like a couple of euro

Hey, Professor! Please excuse a nosy follower, but what do you teach and where? Love your stuff here!

the biggest savings for us when in Europe as opposed to travelling in the US or to tropical islands is that we dont have to rent a car. that usually averages close to $1000 for a 2 week trip. In Europe you might spend $100- $200 on trains, buses, trams etc for a couple for 2 weeks.

I have purchased many very cheap tickets withing one week before I wanted to go. Also, I have seen people walk up to some very expensive hotels and get 5 nights for $400 Cash. I mean hotels on Miami Beach that cost normally $1000 per night. Finally, if you go to the grocery store, take a backpack or small suitcase so that the hotel you are staying in wont see you going in with groceries especially if they have a restaurant on premises .

My tip is if you can call the airline companies and talk to live person you get the best deals that way and for Hotels like Las vegas call them you get the best deals too. Now off course that does not work everywhere!!!

I purchased a dining room table for 2500.00 US in Paris. I told those guys I would pick it up before I leave the country. Problem was that i was so drunk on Parisian wine, that I forgot where the store was located and my receipt was apparently pick pocketed on the tube. .. whoever it was that eventually picked it up, Enjoy!!!

When we went to Paris in 2014, we went to Tour Montparnasse instead of the Eiffel Tower (we were on a Trafalgar Tour). Short lines, still a great view of the city (observation deck) and not that ugly tower in sight! ;) Cheaper too.

when i go away i book most of my trips b4 a go and if am going a party holiday i book the party events i want to do before a go

I booked from Las Vegas - Oslo, and Stockholm to Las Vegas for $299 with Norwegian. Highly reccomended !

Could you do a video about Traveling/Flying jargon...? That would be fun :p

I want to travel with my daughter like your family. We live in Switzerland so we travel in and outside the country by train. Now, we discovered the budget airlines. We are starting this year with a trip to Rome - in February when flights and hotels are cheaper. But being females, we pack a lot and we can't get this hand luggage rule of Ryanair and Easyjets. Please give us some tips on how to invest in good luggages? Shall we buy those bulky jackets where we can put everything in? We want to be fashionable but not spend too much!

Do you have any videos on budgeting on spontaneous traveling? I am one of those people that love to do spontaneous trips 😉🤣

I can't belive it!you came to malta.

I know I'm commenting on an old video, but the idea of buying local art is a good one. How do you go about finding locally produced art at prices that 1-2 replace $100 of junk souvenirs while also ensuring the artist is compensated fairly?

For a first time visitor to Paris, you cannot say "don't go up the Eiffel Tower" or "you can see the same thing on the ground". Its the experience, not the price, that dictates a person's desire to see what its like. Many people such as myself, do not intend to go back to Paris anytime soon, so having been up there satisfied my curiosity. Only those who comes back there often has the gall to say that its a "tourist trap". You have seen it, so leave the others alone. About food, if you are always searching for fancy restaurants, then yes you will end with huge food expenses. I always eat where the locals eat (ex. food kiosks in Europe, hawker's place in Singapore, street food in Istanbul, etc), saving you tons of money. It may not be fine dining but who cares? Not only you are saving money but also getting immersed in the local culture. I only indulge on my last lunch/dinner, a day before my flight.

Don't forget about buses. In Spain the buses are a way better deal than the trains. Especially if you're crossing provincial(?) borders. A half hour trip across provincial lines cost a lot more than a half hour trip within the province!

My nephew collects paintings from local artists. I like taking pictures and putting them up

With Accommodation... I booked my entire month's worth BEFORE I left home... No, deciding at the last minute that I need to find a room in Bristol, or St Ives etc...

The wind is brutal for the sound!

Fly in to one city and fly out from another city BUT with the same flight company with the same reservation (multiple destinations ) this is cheaper of course .

British trains are very expensive no government subsidies, I understand that French, German, and Belgium trains are much less expensive because of the subsidies. Mark have you done anything on the 10 most overpriced sights. I'm thinking anything from museums to old ruins, half day tour, etc. The places you think are popular sites that you can't miss seeing, but in the end the attraction was not that great but it was way overpriced.

Gelato was cheap, 3 scoops for 3,30 in Venice and Verona when I went in 2013

I Walters I love ur tips

Also look out for free walking tours!

I love going to the grocery store in other countries :)...and I used to buy all those silly souvenirs, now I only buy things that I need in my everyday life

I try to stay in an apartment and buy food at the local market, farmers markets are even better, I was planning on eating that week at home so the cost for food is not that much more to eat in my apartment in Europe. I will splurge for a few items but for the most part I buy and eat food like a local would. I research local dishes and make those as well to further the experience. Travel to Europe is so much cheaper now than when you made this video, you can get a flight and a nice apartment for less than what a flight by itself was in 2014.

Have you been to Australia?I'd love to see your report from there.Thanks.

It's a big shame I watched this video while packing my bags for flying OUT of Europe, got all my money spent within 2,5 weeks voyage. Next time I will be smart enough. Thank you. Love your channel.

In Washington DC there were tons of things to do that were free. Like Mark said, do your research.

Getting meals from street vendors is a great way to save money and try something local. If you don’t trust the street vendors, you can get something inexpensive from the train stations.

I like the idea of buying local art. I wouldn't have thought of that.

If you have enough time, you should travel by bus over Europe. It´s take much longer than by plane or train, but it´s also much cheaper. For example if you wanna go from Frankfurt am Main to Berlin you would pay about 100 € by train and only 25 € by bus.

do argentina!