Traveling alone often means paying for everything and splitting nothing which results in a more expensive vacation but this does not have to be the case. You may picture yourself paying for hotels alone, full cab fares, and expensive excursions but that does not need to be the case. There are plenty of ways to make solo travel a cheaper experience and you may even find yourself saving money over traveling with a friend or group.
Tips of Saving Money While Travel Hacking Solo Travel
- Splitting taxi fares. How do you do this alone? Well if you are at the airport you can ask a couple or another traveler to split a taxi into the city or wherever your destination may be. If you are at your hotel ask the concierge or person working the desk to help find another person looking for the same taxi service. This is a lot easier than you think.
- Booking hostels in shared rooms. Often if you are traveling in 2s or 3s you will opt for a private ensuite hostel room. When you are solo just go for the shared room. It will be cheaper than if you were with your friends and you will meet more people. Almost all hostels charge per person anyway and you will save a lot in a shared room.
- Taking your time. Now that you are setting your own itinerary you don’t need to be in a rush to get your next destination. This means you could opt to take the bus over a taxi or a even over a flight. You can use that time to plan your next destination.
- Volunteer. If you go for a voluntourism type vacation you may be able to even stay for free where you volunteer. For example, if you went to a school or orphanage they often have designated guest houses for volunteers. This way you can save money and give back. Voluntourism is a great option.
- Couch Surf. It is a 100% free place to stay. Set up an account and start surfing. Of course, safety is important so be sure anyone you stay with has very high and positive feedback. If you aren’t familiar with it people basically offer their “couch” or extra bed to travelers for free. They may want to show you their city or simply just offer a couch but either way you aren’t spending a dime on a room that night except maybe a couple beers as a kind gesture to the owner of the couch.
- Eat out for lunch, stay in for dinner. Lunch will almost always be cheaper so if you are going to eat out at least once a day, make it lunch. Head to a local grocery store for food to make dinner.
- Do your research. This is important for any trip but solo travel requires some extra work. You need to make sure your destination is cheap, solo friendly (easy to meet others), and most importantly that it is safe.
See my post on why you should travel solo for more tips.
