Start watching for flights at least 7 - 12 months before you want to leave if you are flying a very long way (e.g. North America to Europe or Asia). Flights are one of the biggest costs in your budget so it’s important to start looking early. This will give you a sense of what the average flight is worth. Flight prices will go up and down, but this will help you to understand what a good deal really is. Unlike going to “all-inclusive” resorts, it’s rare that you will find a last-minute deal on a flight to Europe.

CheapAir.com does research on flight costs annually, and the latest research indicates that approximately 70 days in advance of your trip is the prime window to book your tickets at the best price. However, this is not a hard and fast rule. It really depends on what type of trip you are taking. If you are going to a very popular destination at prime time, you will need to book much earlier. As a rule, we book our flights 6 to 8 months in advance when travelling to popular destinations like Paris. Even so, we did see the same deal come up again for our most recent trip to Paris just about exactly 70 days before departure. I still encourage booking very early as it also gives you the best opportunity to also book cheap accommodations (see tip #2).

Most people want to leave on Saturday because that’s when they start their holidays. As a result, weekend flights are almost always more expensive. We saved $800 on our flight to Dublin simply by choosing a flight that departs on Wednesday instead of Saturday.

Don’t pay for frills like meals and movies. Pack your own food, download movies on your tablet or phone, and travel carry-on. You’ll save money and you’ll never experience the frustration of lost baggage. If you buy too many souvenirs you can always pay to check a bag on the way home if you need to. PS: You don’t need nearly as many clothes as you think.

The earlier you plan your vacation, the more flexible you can be to find the deal. I book our trip THEN I book my vacation time off at work. That allows me to grab deals when I find them and I’m normally finding them well in advance of when I have to submit my vacation requests.

If you can’t be flexible on dates, then be flexible on location. Don’t set your heart on a specific destination and a lot more deals become an option.

Services like Airbnb or VRBO allow you to book a variety of accommodations that can save you money. The cheapest will always be renting a room in someone’s home. The next cheapest is often to rent a very tiny flat which doesn’t give you much space (you won’t spend much time there) but does give you privacy. As well, it can save you a lot of money because you can cook your own meals in the flat.

Sometimes the cheapest option is a hostel, or its slightly more upscale version, a poshtel. Times have changed and sleeping in a 12 person dorm room is not always the only option available in a hostel. Sometimes a double room is available cheaper than staying in a traditional hotel. We stayed in a fantastic double room in Old Kings Hostel in Füssen, Germany when visiting Neuschwanstein castle. The room was super comfortable and the hostel staff were very friendly and helpful. We didn’t mind sharing a bathroom with the other people in the hostel because it was kept super clean. As well, the breakfast that was included in the price was really great. It was far more cost-effective for us than staying in a traditional hotel.

Another option if you have a larger group and are travelling together is to book dorm beds for your group and ask the hostel to put you all in the same room. If you book early enough, they will usually accommodate your request. When we travelled to Lucerne, Switzerland with our daughter and her fiancé, the hostel had a 4-bed dorm room so we asked them to book the whole room for us. In this case, it had a dedicated bathroom for that dorm room, so essentially we paid a dorm bed price to have a private room with an ensuite bath.

Always check the aggregator sites (booking.com, expedia.com, etc) to find a deal THEN see if you can get the same deal booking directly through the hotel. Any time you book directly, there is less risk of an issue with your booking. On occasion, especially with smaller hotels, they may not get the booking from the 3rd party website.

If you can’t book directly with the hotel, then book with the 3rd party but call the hotel 72 hours in advance to double-check that they have your booking. If they don’t, and they either don’t have a room or won’t honour the booking, immediately request a refund from your 3rd party booking company. If you are stuck and need an alternate hotel in your price range, we’ve had success booking through the “Hotel Tonight” app. They aggregate last minute deals from hotels who want to fill rooms last minute.

Capsule Hotels are becoming popular as an affordable option and are popping up in a lot of cities. There are also hotels that wouldn’t self-identify as a capsule hotel, but have very small rooms that are affordable. On a recent trip to Copenhagen, we stayed at a Cabin Express. The rooms were affordable (for Copenhagen) and feel a lot like staying in a cabin on a cruise ship or on a train. Small but functional, and cheaper than a traditional hotel.

Stop eating at restaurants! Ok, you’ll eat at some restaurants, but cook most of your meals in your flat. If you eat 3 meals a day in restaurants, plus wine or beer, plus snacks and bottled water, you are going to completely blow your budget. You can easily spend $100+ USD per person in one day just on food and drinks if you aren’t careful.

Instead, take a trip to the grocery store and stock up on essentials. It’s really interesting to shop in a foreign country. We like to buy some local snacks (and sometimes candy) to try. It can be surprising to see the differences in sweets produced in each country.

I have to say, I am not sure I will ever truly love Scandanavian salt licorice. It’s not that it’s bad, more that it’s an assault on my senses. I’m told the secret to this treat is to stop thinking of it as candy. The hard licorice covered in a salty (almost sour) coating that is followed by a slightly bitter caramel and black licorice flavour is said to become addictive after you’ve eaten it a few times. Perhaps I just haven’t tried it often enough to acquire a taste for it.

If you have your heart set on trying that famous Michelin-starred restaurant, check to see if they are open at lunch. You will get the same quality of food, albeit a smaller portion, at a fraction of the price.

If you see an English menu at a restaurant in a country with a different official language… run. It is likely over-priced for tourists. Instead, talk to locals and find out where they like to eat. The food will be better and it’s often considerably cheaper.

When we visited Prague, a glass of Coke at a restaurant in the Old Town Square cost the equivalent of $5 USD. A local told us about a cafeteria in the basement of a mall just a few steps off the square. There were no English menus and the staff only spoke Czech. We used a combination of Google Translate to read the menu, along with finger-pointing (and big smiles) to tell the lady behind the counter what we wanted. We walked away with a huge plate of delicious homemade food and a giant mug of beer for the same $5 USD.

A simple google search of “free things to do” in your destination will give you a lot of ideas. Local tourism websites and Facebook pages are also a great resource.

Sometimes just wandering and letting yourself get lost is a great way to get to know a city. Some of our best Instagram pictures have come from accidentally finding a hidden cobblestone street or park while wandering the city.

This is, by far, the best (and cheapest) way to get to know a city. Book your flat early so you can get an affordable place near the old city or downtown (depending on where you are going) and then walk wherever you need to go. It’s great exercise and you’ll enjoy the sights.

This is another fantastic way to get around the city cheaply and see the sights. Many cities are becoming very bike-friendly. Public bike rental programs (like Velib in Paris) are the least expensive and generally have unlimited check-in/outs and can cost you as little as $1 to $5 a day if you check your bike into a station every 30 minutes (depending on the service). There are normally stations all over the city so this is easy to do.

Local buses, subways, and trams are easy to use once you get the hang of it, and are fast and cheap. While these options are obviously not as cheap as walking, they are FAR cheaper than UBER, Lift, and Taxis!

Places like the Czech Republic, Croatia, and Hungary are substantially cheaper than visiting Scandanavia, the UK, Switzerland, or France. Why not reduce costs by including a few cheaper countries where your money goes farther into your itinerary. Trains are so easy in Europe that you can easily visit multiple destinations over a two week period.

This region is popular for a reason. If you can find a cheap enough flight to this region, your food and accommodation costs will be far lower than in many other places...allowing you to stretch your budget and travel longer.

The cheapest time to travel is the off-season and this is a good option if you have a very tight budget and a tolerance for rainy or snowy weather (depending on where you are visiting). We like to travel in the shoulder seasons to get a nice balance of price and weather.

For example, we like to go to Paris in early March, April, or September (though Paris is wonderful any time of year). The city is usually a bit quieter because it isn’t peak season for tourists quite yet, but the weather is a bit more stable (expect some rain and cool weather...but also some warm, sunny days). Normally accommodations prices are lower as well at this time of year.