Budgets! You either hate them or love them. Since 2013, we have been nomads – travelling the world having adventures and writing for our lifestyle website To Travel Too. We have grown to love our travel budget! We have ‘blow outs’ from time to time, but that is part and parcel of our life now.

We love to share our own tips for travelling on a budget as a couple, so we hope you enjoy them and that you too can save money on your travels.

Max Out Your Visa Stay

If you have to pay for a visa to visit a country, plan your journey to stay there the entire duration of the visa. By slowing down your travel and enjoying living like a local you will have a better travel experience and save you $$ in the long run.

The More Moves You Do, the More $$ Spent

Every time you move to a new city in a country, your travel costs go up. The cost of getting to the airport, train station, or bus station, the tickets, and then getting to your hotel all add up.

In our first year of travel, we were on the move every four nights for our ‘Round the World tour – not only were our transport costs high, we were exhausted.

These days, we travel to less destinations, stay longer, and we enjoy the experience more. That old saying ‘less is more’ is what we live to.

Airbnb, Hotel, or Apartment

Airbnb may not be the cheaper option for accommodation these days. We have noticed that there are higher cleaning fees and admin fees being added. Always compare prices with hotels and apartments before booking that Airbnb property.

Shop at Local Markets

Shopping at local green markets not only gives you a new experience but you will save $$ and keep you healthy at the same time. We like to support the local community where we can. Don’t forget to take your own shopping bag to cut down on the use of plastic.

Try Street Food in Thailand

One of our cheapest destinations to travel to is Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand. At night, we would visit the local night market and enjoy Pad Thai (local dish) for THB 60 (USD 2.00) and freshly squeezed juice for THB 20 (USD 0.66).

Hot tip: Check out what stalls the locals are buying their meals from and join the queue. It’s a sure sign the food is good there.

Travel by Bus

We have travelled by bus all over the world. We choose daytime buses so that we can enjoy the views of the countryside along the way. In most countries, if you book in advance, good savings can be made, sometimes as high as 50%.

Uber, Grab, and Lyft

Great savings can be made by using Uber, Grab, or Lyft, all similar services. We have used Grab in Asia which has saved us up to 50% on normal taxi fares.

We used Lyft in the Czech Republic which gave us similar savings. You do have to have a cell phone, download the app, and purchase a local SIM card on arrival.

Always Ask for a Senior Discount

We always ask for a Senior Discount when we are visiting attractions. Many times, it is not advertised, but when we have asked, we have received one.

Don’t forget to take a picture ID with you that shows your date of birth. If you don’t want to take your passport out with you maybe you can take your driver’s license.

Travel in Spring and Autumn

We always recommend travelling out of high season in Spring and Autumn. Not only is the weather better but there are less crowds. Europe is very expensive during the summer months and we try to avoid travelling there between the months of June to the end of August.

Hope you have enjoyed our tips on travelling as a senior couple on a budget.

What other tips do you have for traveling on a budget as a senior couple? How did you come by them? Is there an interesting story to share? We’d love to hear from you, so let’s chat!