How to Travel Internationally on a Budget (Without Compromise)

Clever Airfare & Accommodation Tricks for 2025

A common myth about travelling abroad is that it is expensive. In 2025, this is far from true. It has never been easier to find cheap flights and good places to stay with the right tools and timing—all without sacrificing quality or comfort.

Start with flights. Tools like Google Flights, Skyscanner, and Hopper have quickly become staples for the savvy traveller on a budget. To take advantage of the greatest offers as soon as prices drop, set fare alerts on Google Flights. Skyscanner’s “Everywhere” search quickly helps you find the cheapest destinations from your location. Hopper uses AI to advise you when to book and buy. To maximize your savings, remain flexible with your travel dates and try to fly mid-week and/or during the shoulder season (just before or after peak periods).

Explore beyond conventional hotels and select more reasonably priced lodging options for low- budget travel. TrustedHousesitters connects travelers with homeowners in need of pet or house sitting where you get to stay for free in exchange for caring for the pet or home. If you are looking for cultural immersion, there are also Homestay and Workaway, which allow you to stay with local people or work for a few hours per day in exchange for a room.

If you want to stay in luxury without the price tag, sign up for hotel loyalty programs. When you combine your points from multiple hotel loyalty programs, you will earn free nights, room upgrades, etc. Likewise, some last-minute hotel apps like Hotel Tonight offer discounted unsold rooms that are almost too good to be true, typically around 50 percent discounts off of regular pricing.

Traveling well on a budget is not about doing things for the cheapest price possible in 2025; it is about doing things smarter!

Experience More for Less: Genuine Local Living

Traveling on a budget doesn’t have to be a missed experience – on the contrary, it often means deepening your experience with a destination in a much more authentic way. In 2025, many travellers are forgoing touristy items for local experiences and finding that they are more culturally – and financially – rewarding.

One of the easiest things you can do to live like a local is take public transportation! Buses, trains, trams, and metro systems are much cheaper than taxis or rental cars and provide insight into what life in a city is like. Most large cities nowadays have multi-day travel passes or tourist cards available to visitors that allow unlimited or frequent use of transit and discounts for local attractions.

When it comes to food, skip the chains or pricey hotel dining options. Visit local markets, family- owned and -run diners, and food stalls for authentic local food at cheap prices. Apps like EatWith or Local Eats can help you find other food experiences too, such as someone offering home-cooked meals or food tours in which local residents are hosting the experience and skimming off the top for sharing their food culture.

Considering how much we value sights and attractions, I invite you to consider free guided walking tours. Free walking tours are typically run by people from the area, who are paid by offering them the option to leave a tip at the end. The tour focuses more on past periods, storytelling, and suggesting items that might not have been in your travel guide. It’s also reasonably priced and gives you a terrific chance to get a close-up, intimate look at the culture.

If you want to avoid being in touristy locations, then you are not only saving money, but as more times pass, the idea of meaningful travel is even more attainable. Meaningful travel meaning, when you drink a coffee in a quiet neighbourhood café, shop for handmade items from some local artisan (whatever local means to you) or watch a local community event (concert in a park/fair/celebration). The point is these things typically give you a more meaningful sense of your destination and usually cost much less or nothing like the tourist stuff.