In between researching and travelling this past 6 months, I’ve found little tricks that’ve gone a long way to every penny I saved around Europe.

You can find out how much I spent in my visit to 55 cities, 16 countries here.
The list of countries are here.

Below shows a list of websites that I go to each time begin my travel planning. The links I’ve provided are accurate as of 4 July 15. They are written in the context of the European region.

Save on Accommodation with:

1. Couchsurfing
2. Airbnb – Use this code when you book your first accommodation with Airbnb to get $25 off!
3. Booking.com
4. Agoda
5. Hostelworld.com
6. HotelsCombined

Most recently, I was invited to try out their website. Sourcing for accommodation also never became simpler. While I used to open various tabs on my laptop searching for the website that offers the best accommodation deal, I now no longer have to, because of HotelsCombined.

How does HotelsCombined work?

They compare top accommodation sites (such as Booking.com, Expedia, Hotels.com and Agoda) and present the best offers with just a click of a search button. They also offer a best-price guarantee, which means they promise to return the difference to you if you find a lower rate somewhere else. It sure makes the search for accommodation less time-consuming now.

Save on Transport with:

1. Rome2rio– finds the available routes from Point A to Point B by all forms of transport
2. Skyscanner– ranks the airlines that serve Point A to Point B by price
3. Busradar.com– shows bus timings and prices all in one organised page
4. Budget airlines e.g. EasyJet, RyanAir
5. Cheap bus companies e.g. FlixBus, MegaBus (think €1.50 buses)
6. Carpooling

Helpful tip: Clear your caches and cookies and open your browser in incognito before surfing through the above websites.

Other money-saving tips:

• Book major transports in advance. I’d say 2 months or longer.
• Do your travel planning homework. (Here’s how I do mine)
• Hitchhike
• Couchsurf (Read: Couchsurfing – Yay or Nay?)
• Walk instead of taking the public transport
• Cook more

• Sign up for free walking tours (Read: How to hire a tour guide for free?)

• Rise early to queue for tickets if you want to save on online booking fees, if time is on your side. My boyfriend & I rose to queue for Alhambra in Granada, Spain at an ungodly hour of 6am in the morning! On a better note, we had the whole of Alhambra to ourselves!
• Be open to not having to booking your accommodation right in the heart of the touristic centre.
• Use ShopBack when booking flights/ hotels/ transport to get money back! Learn how in this post An Even Cheaper Way To Travel With ShopBack!  
   

• Ask around for past seniors who’ve been to your school the previous semester for any household & toiletries donations. Why would they want to carry their household items back to their home country?

• Talk to local students. They are the best people to give you advice on local student perks.
• Look up Facebook groups for communities for students. Sometimes you can find cheap deals, other times you can get really handy student tips for navigating and surviving in your exchange school

Saving on accomodation and transport have never been simpler. If you have any saving tips for travellers, share with us in the comment box below!