Travel Smarter: Your Ultimate Guide to Budget Summer Trips in 2025

June 26, 2025
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Looking to hit the beach and enjoy the summer sun without breaking the bank? This is the article for you. Here are all my top tips and tricks on booking the perfect summer trip on a budget!

Summer is well and truly here and if you haven’t booked your sunny getaway yet, this is the article for you. Did you know that it is possible to keep your perfect summer holiday budget-friendly without compromising on the overall experience?

I have summarised all the tricks I use to travel affordably in the summer, from finding cheap flights and accommodation to saving money on activities. Where are you headed this summer?

Top Budget Summer Travel Tips

1. Choose the right destination

Choosing the right destination is key to keeping a summer holiday budget-friendly. Usually, that means choosing somewhere fairly close to you with affordable prices. As an example, if you live in Europe, Albania is a fantastic cheap summer destination. If you are in Canada, you may want to look at Mexico instead. Check my below article for my suggestions in different parts of the world:

Related article:Affordable Summer Destinations in 2025

Choose your destination based off a mixture of flight, accommodation, tour prices as well as what is on offer. You could also consider a staycation in your own country if on a very tight budget or a road trip.

2. Finding affordable accommodation

Accommodation can quickly add up and make a trip expensive, but it is easier than you may think to find high quality hostels, B&Bs and hotels at an affordable price. My first recommendation if on a tight budget, especially when travelling solo, is booking a hostel.

While hostels come with much prejudice, if you find the right one, it can be a great experience and you will meet so many amazing people. Check out my full guide on finding the right hostel here: Are Hostels Safe for Solo Female Travellers? In general, look for things like great reviews, curtains or capsules, friendly replies to reviews, location and how social you’d like it to be.

If you don’t want to stay in a hostel, I would recommend using a combination of Booking and Google to check for different hotels within your price range. Make sure to compare reviews from several sites as they can vary vastly. Sometimes it is cheapest to book directly with a hotel, sometimes a third party booking site is better, so do a little research.

In some destinations, AirBnBs can also be a very affordable and more private alternative to hostels. It is always worth a look – just make sure to read reviews carefully and if you are a solo, female traveller, look for female hosts. Places I’ve had great experiences with AirBnB have been Santiago in Chile, Italy, Canada and France.

3. The cheapest flights

If you can’t travel by train or car, you will need to find a cheap flight. A budget holiday can make or break on this detail. My recommendation is to either book really early or be flexible with departure dates and even airports.

When I am looking for the cheapest possible flights, I first go to Kiwi.com to check for all possible routes – that means not just the airports I was originally looking at, but anything that is nearby (use the +250km option). This will give you an idea of the cheapest departure airports and dates. Kiwi has the most playroom when it comes to dates and locations.

Then, I head to Skyscanner – you can go directly there if you have fixed dates and airports. Skyscanner will give you the cheapest flight options – after this step, you will know which dates are the cheapest and which airline. You can search by country too if you have some flexibility still in airports.

If I don’t find the right flight at this point, I often monitor the airline and flights I have identified as cheapest. Many budget airlines fluctuate a lot according to day of the week, demand and more – prices can drop (and often do) randomly, even last-minute. Sounds strange but I have gotten cheap flights this way several times.

4. Free and low-cost activities

Contrary to popular belief, holiday activities don’t have to be expensive. From finding public beaches instead of private ones (bring your hotel’s umbrella to save even more) to scoring the cheapest tours (I always scour Viator and Get Your Guide for the cheapest options) to free things to do.

One of my favourite activities in any new city for example are free tours. You tip at the end (usually around 10€/$) and get a 2-3 hour tour by a local. No better way to get to know a new destination. I find walking in general an amazing way to really get a feel for a city and it costs you nothing.

In some places, you can also go to local tour operators and ask for quotes and then try to haggle. This works really well if a bunch of operators are selling similar things. Hostels will also often have offers and discounts on tours in the area!

If you are set on seeing a couple of more expensive things, check if the destination has a tourist pass – this can save you money in the right cases. Weigh up where you want to go with what the pass will save you.

5. Eat local or cook yourself

Food is another thing that can get expensive quickly while on holiday. I totally get the idea of wanting to treat yourself, but it does add up. That doesn’t mean you have to totally swear off eating out.

Many local restaurants are a lot cheaper than their touristy alternatives. Either ask your accommodation for recommendations or head to Google Maps for some searching – the cheaper places are usually located away from tourist hotspots and may be named in the local language. Local places often have things like “Menu of the Day” or similar which is an affordable but delicious meal.

If you are in a hostel or AirBnB and have a kitchen, you will save the most money by just cooking yourself. In 95% of the places I have visited, groceries have been cheaper than eating out. I tend to find that a mix of cooking for myself, packing lunches (like a wrap or sandwich) and eating out works for me – I get to still enjoy local food and eat out in nice places, just not for every meal.

6. Public transport and buses are your best friends

If you have met me, I have probably told you about my hate for overnight buses (At least the Flixbus ones in Europe). And yet, I find myself on one for almost every trip. Why? They are just the absolute cheapest way to travel and save a night of accommodation.

I have taken night and cross-country buses in Peru, Europe, Thailand, Japan, Canada and more – some were awful (like the one from Toulouse to Lyon in France), some were great (my bus from Lima to Trujillo in Peru). Overall, they have saved me thousands in travel costs.

In general, you want to avoid taking taxis and opt for public transport whenever possible and safe to do so. Especially when heading from the airport to the city, taking public transport tends to be a lot cheaper than taxis. Google Maps now often shows the cost of a journey using public transport, which is super useful.

7. Go in the off-season when possible

Another way to enjoy summer on a budget (and often without the crowds) is by going in the shoulder season. The time of year will depend on the location, but for Europe, for example, this tends to be April-May and September-October. Those are the times when the summer holidays haven’t started yet or have finished and most people are at work/school (especially families). My personal favourite is September because the sea is super warm, it is usually still nice and sunny and prices are way down.

Destinations like Albania and Portugal are perfect for this, but even the expensive areas like Greece or Italy become more affordable in the shoulder-season.

8. Keep luggage to a minimum

The above photo always makes me laugh as it was SO inconvenient to travel with. The bags were for my ski season in Japan, where I was working for 5 months. Normally, I only travel with the small, turquoise 40l backpack that is at the top. Summer holidays are actually great for this as the clothes take up much less space.

The less luggage you have, the cheaper flights and overall transportation will be. A small bag (like my Osprey Fairview 40l which I love – get some good packing cubes to fit more) means it counts as hand luggage plus you will be able to get on public transport and walk around with it when necessary. It always surprises me how much money this saves in Taxi and luggage costs.

9. Research discounts and travel passes

A lot of places will have student discounts or by age, for example many Museums in Europe are cheaper or even free if you are under 26. Famous examples would be the Louvre in Paris which is free for EU residents under 26.

Another thing to research are travel passes or city cards, which more and more cities offer. I actually think that most of the time they are not worth it, but it is worth researching and checking against your schedule to see if it will save you some money. The Munich Card in Germany for example is worth it if you are visiting a lot of museums/castles as it includes transport too.

FAQ about Budget Travel

What is the most affordable place to travel?

There are many different places that are affordable to travel to. Here are some lists of my favourites:

As shown with the Singapore guide, even expensive cities can be travelled in a budget-friendly manner.

What is budget travel?

Many people think of hotel in disrepair, basic meals and overrun beaches when you talk about budget travel. But that is not what it means at all. It is all about value for money and hacking the system a little.

I have travelled to some of the most beautiful destinations, found amazing accommodations and tours and all that on a pretty tight budget. Check the above guide for all my tips and tricks on how to do exactly that.

Volunteer travel opportunities low cost

A great way to travel for longer while on a budget is to “volunteer” or work for accommodation while abroad. I have done so in 5 different countries and saved thousands of $ that way. I have written a full guide on everything you need to know and how to find great placements here:

How to Work or Volunteer for Accommodation: Travel for Cheap