I feel like whenever I travel there is a battle between wanting to experience all of the things while still saving all of the money.
Trips and adventures are a good way to go broke if you’re not careful—between trying new cuisines, spending money on experiences, and having the general ‘treat yo’self’ mentality of vacation, it can get a bit pricey.
We try to save money where we can when we travel without missing out, and here are our favorite travel apps we have used to make our vacations awesome without breaking the bank.
Skyscanner
Skyscanner let’s you input your travel dates (or travel month if you’re flexible on when you’ll go) and you can see how much each airline costs on those dates.
Plus! They share a ton of travel tips on their website and I feel like I’m constantly learning something new.
If you’re looking to book trips on the go (or dream up your next vacation during your commute!) download the Skyscanner app here.
Airbnb
We’ve all heard of Airbnb on every travel resource post ever at this point, but still some people remain skeptics. I know, the idea of staying in someone’s home, a stranger’s home, may seem intimidating or even a bit icky, but I personally have never had a bad Airbnb experience and I think a lot of that has to do with being vigilant with my research before booking.
You can stay in a spare bedroom or shared space in a stranger’s house or apartment which we’ve had only great experiences with, or you can book a cool accommodation like this haunted school house we stayed in this past January.
In the next few weeks we’ll be posting an entire guide to using Airbnb, but in the meantime here are a few things to consider:
- When in doubt, stay with a super host. These are the people who have gotten so many good reviews that they get a special emblem on their profile saying they’re trustworthy and awesome.
- Read the reviews. If I’m staying with someone (as opposed to having the space to myself), I have a stipulation that they need to have 5+ positive reviews from women and if there are any negative reviews saying they were creepy or made even one woman uncomfortable I won’t book. Sure, that reviewer may have been sensitive or dramatic, but it’s not worth the risk when there are so many airbnb’s with great reviews.
- When in doubt, message the host. You can message the host and ask questions before booking. If you’re wondering how much privacy you’ll have or if they will want to hang out or give you space—ask! It’s better to know before you book.
Walc
This app gives you walking directions to wherever you want to go without using the sometimes confusing “South on fourth” or “Continue until you hit fifth and run left.” Instead, Walc’s directions are based on easy to spot landmarks which makes navigation so much easier. Especially after you just got out of the subway and can hardly discern up from down.
The app is currently only available for iOS.
Duolingo
If you’re an international traveler, Duolingo will quickly become one of your go to travel apps.
I hit Duolingo hard before I went to Argentina, and I give them 99% of the credit for my ability to communicate and navigate. (The other 1% goes to learning to conjugate in high school Spanish class.)
It’s always a good idea to at least know the basics of the language spoken country you’re traveling to (both for cultural and practical reasons) and Duolingo is my favorite language learning platform.
They offer a ton of different languages and you get to dive right in and actually start learning the language rather than repeating the boring conjugation and sentence structure lectures you slept through in high school.
Happy Cow
It’s not quite a travel resource, but I’m sneaking this one in for all of my veg friends. If you’re not a meat eater, this will quickly be one of your favorite travel apps.
It can be hard to find accommodating restaurants when you’re a traveling vegan or vegetarian, but Happy Cow is here to help. They cover thousands of cities around the world, and give you access to the menu’s of veg friendly restaurants.
Hotel Tonight
I used Hotel Tonight for the first time in Spring 2017 and it’s been my go-to for hotel booking since.
It’s an app that only lets you book about a week in advance to fill up empty hotel rooms at a discount. The three of us were able to stay in a V fancy suite in Chicago with rooftop access for just over $100/night (aka less than half of the usual room.)
As a quick disclaimer, though: Garrett and I had a bit of a nightmare situation last month with Hotel Tonight. We booked the first result when we searched “Duluth,” it was a hotel that said it was located in Duluth, and it ended up being nearly two hours away. Support wasn’t super helpful and it took us several hours to get a half refund. So be super careful when you book.
Pssst! Want $25 off your first booking? Use code “MOTIMM” the first time you use Hotel Tonight. You’ll get $25 off your booking, and we’ll get a $25 credit, too!
Workaway
This is one that’s been on my bucket list for years. If you’re looking for longer term travel plans and want to save (or even make!) some money while you’re adventuring, Workaway will set you up with people who will feed and board you for free in exchange for a few hours of work a day.
Some of the arrangements require more work than others, and some are certainly more appealing than others, but there is truly something for everyone. Whether you want to nanny, work in a garden, herd cows, or just keep elderly folk company, there is a listing for you.
Have you used workaway to travel? Email me at morgan@mostlymorgan.com if you want to be featured in an upcoming blog post!
VRBO
I’ve never booked with VRBO, but my dad has for family vacations and we’ve had nothing but great experiences. I’m talking beautiful 3 bedroom houses a block away from Florida beaches for hundreds less than it’d cost to stay in a cramped hotel room.
Airbnb is always my goto when I’m booking, but I love staying int VRBO bookings with my family!
What are your favorite travel apps?