How to Travel for Free or Cheap! {18 Budget Travel Hacks}

Dreaming of a getaway?  Make your next vacation a reality when you learn how to travel for free or cheap!

Who doesn’t love a free trip?  Our family LOVES to travel, but it can be a bit pricey, so I’ve compiled a list of our favorite tried and true tips, tricks and Budget Travel Hacks for How to Travel for Free or Cheap!

These easy budget travel hacks and Frugal Travel Tips will help you slash the cost of your next trip, and have you on the road {or in the air} again in no time.  Making those epic vacation dreams come true on a budget is always a good idea!

So are you ready to start saving and planning??  These are my top tips for how to budget for a dream vacation…

Related:

• 25+ Southwest Airlines Hacks! {Tips To Know Before You Fly}

How to Travel for Free or Cheap

Save BIG on Your Next Flight with FREE Airfare!

If you want to learn how to travel for free or cheap, one of the first things you need to do is lower the cost of airfare.  After all, flying for free is always the very best way to fly, right?

To start, you can actually earn Free Southwest Airlines Gift Cards, American Airlines Gift Cards, and Free Delta Airlines Gift Cards!  Use some of your free time now, so you can fly for free on your next vacation!

I’ve personally used these Free Southwest Airlines Gift cards on so many flights to get free {or nearly free airfare!}

Start earning free airfare with these easy tips for how to get gift cards for your next vacation!

Free Travel Gift Cards for Airfare

Get More Free Airline Tickets & Hotel Nights with Travel Hacking!

This is another one of my FAVORITE tricks to score several free hotel nights and free roundtrip flights!

Best Travel Credit Cards! {How to Get FREE Flights and Hotel Nights}

Stock up on Free Gas Gift Cards for Road Trips!

Planning a road trip?  Start saving your Gas Gift Cards now and set them aside for your next road trip.  You’ll love filling up your gas tank for free while on vacation!

Check out these easy ways to start getting Free Gas Gift Cards + 8 More Ways to Save Money on Gas!  Trust me, driving for free is really fun!!

Save BIG When You Skip Hotels and Book a VRBO!

Did you know you can drastically cut the cost of your trip by staying at a VRBO instead of a hotel?  This is one of my FAVORITE tricks!  Here’s what you need to do…

How to Slash The Cost of Your Next Trip Using VRBO

Save Big With Military Discounts!

There are so many discounts available if you or a member of your family have served or currently serve in the military.  So make sure you take advantage of any discounts available… including hotel discounts, rental car discounts, and discounts to many of your favorite attractions!

Military Discounts for Travel

Take Advantage of Free National Park Days!

Our family absolutely LOVS visiting the National Parks every year!  And it’s even more fun when it’s free!  Go check out this year’s schedule for Free National Park Days, and start planning your next frugal adventure!

They are beautiful, fun, and frugal, too!   Some of our favorites include the Grand Canyon, Zion Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Arches, Saguaro, Sequoia, and Yosemite.

Being in Phoenix, I only live 3 1/2 hours from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, so I try to visit at least once every year.  I also love heading 2 hours south to visit Saguaro National Park just outside of Tucson.  What a fun, warm and sunny winter family vacation idea!

Are you ready to head outdoors and take in that beautiful fresh air?  Check this out…

Most Spectacular National Parks You NEED to Visit!

{including The Grand Canyon, Zion Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Arches, and Yosemite}

Eat at Restaurants for Free on Your Trip

Eating out is always way more fun when you can eat out for free!

There are so many creative ways to save money and eat for free at Restaurants.  Why pay full price when you can eat for free or super cheap?

Use these ways to save money eating out and make one of your next vacation highlights some delicious Free Food!

30 Eat Out Cheap Ideas for Your Next Vacation!

Or Skip the Restaurants and Eat in your Hotel Room

Food costs can quickly add up when you’re on vacation, so this is one of my favorite ways to save money on a trip!

We like to pack food and snacks from home that we’ve purchased on sale, fill our trunk with water bottles, and hit the grocery store in town where we’re staying.  We either stay somewhere with a Free Breakfast, or pack our own breakfast to eat in the room.  Then we pack snacks and drinks in our cooler for the afternoon.  For dinner we like to hit the local grocery store or grill up something yummy on our portable grill that we try to always take on road trips.  These little tricks have saved SO much money!

Before you leave on your trip, snatch up your favorite grocery coupons to use while you’re there…

Couponing for Beginners! {Couponology 101}

Frugal friend Dolly sent over this adorable picture of her seriously cute dog Lexie racking up the savings with coupons!

Then, rack up the savings when you also use Free Grocery Gift Cards to buy free groceries while on your trip!

Not only is eating in your hotel room more relaxing, but the food will also taste much better when you know how much money you’re saving!

Get Free Hotel Nights

If you’re not camping or using an RV, paying for a hotel is likely one of your biggest vacation expense. Hotels are definitely my biggest vacation expense each year, so I want to share with you an easy tip for how to get Free Hotel Nights!

I regularly earn points staying at Choice Hotels, then cash in my points for Free Hotel Nights!

You can also earn Free Travel Gift Cards for Hotels.com using Swagbucks.  I have been using Swagbucks for over 9 years now and I earn free gift cards every month!  Trust me, you’re gonna love scoring free hotel nights!!

How to Get Free Travel Gift Cards for Hotels

Discounts For Attractions:

Use CityPass to save BIG at the most popular local attractions including Disneyland, Disney World, Universal Studios, SeaWorld, LegoLand, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Space Needle, Busch Gardens, Zoos, Museums and so much more…

CityPASS – Save up to 50% Off Attractions!

Keep a Money Vacation Jar visible + Watch It Grow

One of the best parts of any vacation is the anticipation and dreaming that happens before you even leave home.

What better way to make your vacation dreams come true than by watching your very own Vacation Money Jar fill up before your eyes!  When it comes time to take off on your trip, you won’t regret that you’ve been pinching those pennies and stashing them away in your vacation fund!

Use these Top Survey Sites to make extra vacation money on the side all year long, and have fun watching your vacation money jar fill up!

Top Survey Sites to Make Money Online

Earn Money on the Road While You Travel

Heading out on a long road trip?  Or will you have some lengthy airport layovers?  Use your free time to earn some extra cash!

Why not make the most of your time away from home and earn some extra money in your downtime?  Use this simple tip for how to Earn Cash On The Road and make the most of all your time!  Cha-ching!

How to Earn Cash on the Road

Save Money on your Rental Car

Why pay full price for a rental car if you can score a sweet deal?  There are so many creative ways to save money on rental cars, that paying full price will quickly become a thing of the past!

Start saving money now with these easy rental car travel hacks…

20 Ways to Save Money on Rental Cars

Stay Energized with Free Starbucks Coffee

Vacations are always way more fun when you feel refreshed and energized.  There’s no need to skip your favorite coffee beverage while your on vacation… it’s fun to splurge when you can get it for free!

Use these Starbucks Money Saving Hacks and start enjoying free Starbucks coffee on your next vacation.  Think of free coffee as a necessary ingredient to your vacation fun!  There will be caffeinated smiles all around!

Starbucks Money Saving Hacks

Now that I’ve shared my easy tips for how to travel for free or cheap, it’s time for you to start dreaming about where you’re going to go next.  Half the fun of any vacation is dreaming about your vacation before you even leave home!

More Budget Friendly Travel Tips:

Kate said: “My husband usually has to travel for a month or more every year. Before he goes, I usually make his arrangements so that he stays in a hotel owned by a property of our choice. If that is not possible, I sign him up for the hotel’s “reward” program before he goes.

This works to our advantage in several ways: he gets better perks, rooms, and amenities because he is a “valued” customer before he arrives and he earns points that we can trade in for future stays or gift cards to retailers, restaurants, and even gas & groceries. His yearly trip usually nets us a couple of free weekends and one week at a moderately priced hotel with free breakfasts and sometimes evening appetizers.

Additionally, we use a credit card for all of our monthly expenses (excluding utilities which will not bill to a CC without a fee). We pay the bill in full every month (meaning we have to track our spending on a weekly basis to make sure we are not overspending). This nets us several thousand more points every year.”

Last year, between points turned in for restaurant gift cards, gas, retailers, and free lodging, we took a one week vacation for our family of three, in addition to two “romantic getaway” weekends for Mom & Dad only, for less than $100 total.

Christine said: “We plan our vacations typically for the time period after Spring Break but before Summer Break OR right after the kids return to school but before the Fall Break.

This makes it easier to travel as the lines and traffic are not crazy, the weather fits in that it still feels like summer (though not too hot or too cold). But the best thing is, the airline rates tend to be at their lowest. They jack up prices when everyone travels.

We have done this for Cape Cod visits as well as Hawaii and it has always been the most economical, the beaches were more secluded, and traffic considerably less heavy.”

Robin said: “I always save money by taking my own food. I make sure I stay in a hotel that has a mini fridge and microwave and a free breakfast. Then at home before the trip (days earlier) I will set up a menu with snacks excluding breakfast. I will cook the meals and freeze them.

Then when we get to the hotel we can still have our home cooked meals with out spending money. You can wash out the reusable containers and stack them inside one another. Also we take our own water bottles that we can refill. I always buy a gallon jug from the store to re-fill the water bottles.”

Lyza said: “I have a few things I do but the most important is to research all available avenues of “getting there”. Doing this has saved me hundreds if not thousands of dollars the past few years. It is how I rode Amtrak for the 1st time too. And did you know that 2 kids age 15 and younger ride at half price with a full fare adult? Love that! Or that you can check up to 3 bags (50 lbs each) per ticketed passenger gratis?

This saved me almost $1,000 when we took our vacation to Chicago between the difference in airline fair versus train fair and not having to pay for all of those baggage fees at the airport.”

Use these 101+ Frugal Travel Tips and destination guides for every bucket list trip imaginable to start planning your next vacation right now!  Whether it’s Rome, Disney World, the Beach, National Parks or a fun City Trip… I’ve got you covered!

101 Frugal Travel Tips

Next, get ready for your next vacation with these fun and creative travel tips.  Being prepared make every trip so much better…

25+ Southwest Airlines Hacks! {Tips To Know Before You Fly}

Whether you fly a little or a lot, travel like a pro with these clever Southwest Airlines Hacks!

11 Carry On Must Haves for your next Flight!

These Carry On Must Haves will ensure you arrive at your final destination feeling spunky, refreshed, and photo-ready! 🙂

How to Save Data While Traveling

Data roaming charges can be so expensive, so before your next vacation… make sure you know the best tricks for saving on data charges while traveling!

How To Ride Uber For Free and Get Free Uber Eats! {+ More Clever Money Saving Hacks}

Whether you need a ride while on vacation or while your car is in the shop, this tip is going to really come in handy!  Plus, you can use Uber Gift Cards for Uber Eats.  Yum!!

20 Road Trip Tips and Hacks for your next Vacation!

Before you go vroom vrooming down the road… be sure to check out these Road Trip Must Haves for your next Vacation!

125+ EASY RV Recipes to Make Your Next Trip Delicious!

Get ready to load up on some seriously fun RV Recipes to fuel your RV and camping adventures this year!

Now that you’ve scored these tips for how to travel for free or cheap, don’t miss out!

Get all the latest fun new Frugal Girls Travel Tips, Recipes + more when you get The Frugal Girls Email, then follow along on Pinterest and Bloglovin…

So do you have any favorite tips for How to Travel for Free or Cheap?

Share with us in the comments below!