We all know that you can save money on travel by booking in advance, taking public transport, only traveling with hand luggage, etc but I’m not here to repeat the tips you’ve already heard a million times before. Today I’m giving away my top 7 travel hacks for saving money while traveling - a set of secrets you probably don’t already know.

1. Use Your Credit Card Points For Flights Not Hotels

In my experience, I’ve gotten much much better value for money using my credit card points towards flights rather than hotels. Double-check with your provider for the best deals but you should generally find using your points towards flights works out better for your wallet.

2. 4 Weeks Of Accommodation Is Often Cheaper Than 2 or 3

Hear me out here. Some Airbnbs offer incredible discounts if you book for 4 weeks or more. You can often get 50% to 60% off a stay by staying an extra week or two! This means that often 4 weeks of accommodation can actually be cheaper than 2 or 3 weeks in the exact same apartment.

3. Grab A City Tourist Card

Most major cities offer tourist cards. These cards usually group together a whole bunch of the most popular tourist attractions within the city and by purchasing the card you can access any of the attractions for “free”. Okay, so it’s not totally for free because you’ve had to buy the card but you can save some major $$. Tourist Cards usually add up to 40% to 60% discounts if you visit all the attractions offered with the card. That’s some serious savings if you’re planning on visiting all the attractions anyway.

4. Check Museum & Attraction Websites For Free Entry Days/Times

Often attractions, especially museums, will have free entry days but only on certain days of the month. For example, many of the museums in Seattle offer free entry on the first Thursday of every month but you must book in advance online. A simple Google search for the attraction you wish to visit followed by free entry days should reveal any free days or times up for grabs.

5. Utilise CityMapper To Work Out The Cheapest Transport Route

Most of us have heard of CityMapper (if you haven’t, hello, this app is wonderful, please go download it right now, go go!) but did you know that you can sort CityMapper results by the cheapest route? This is a premium, paid feature, however, it is probably worthwhile paying for the service anyway if you’re utilising it a lot. The cost of the app is just £19.99 per year or £2.99 per month if you don’t want a yearly subscription.

6. Airbnb Experiences & Trip Advisor Offer Great Value For Money But Check The Prices

Airbnb experiences can offer some incredible value for money activities. But be sure to check the prices against what you can find locally once you get to your location. The same can be said about Trip Advisor. We got ripped off big time in Mexico paying over £90 for a dolphin-spotting experience that would have cost us just £7 should we have gone down to the beach the same morning and asked for the experience directly through the skipper.

7. Get Cheap Eats With TooGoodToGo

I know I keep shouting about this app but it’s just so good! If you haven’t heard of TooGoodToGo already, this is an app that’s both beneficial to our planet and our wallets, offering cheap food from restaurants and stores that would otherwise go to waste. The food itself is perfectly fine but is just some of what is leftover from restaurants and stores at the end of the day. Think £20 worth of vegan doughnuts available for only £4 on the app! What?!

The great thing about this app is that it works in a whole tonne of cities across the globe AND there are loads of plant-based vegan options available on the app now.

Hopefully, these tips provide some helpful money-saving inspiration - and I sincerely hope that there was at least one thing here you haven’t heard of before!