5 Frugal Hacks On Places To Stay For Vacation!

This post may contain affiliate links.

• WordPress
• Instagram
• Etsy
• Pinterest

Think you cannot go on vacation while you’re paying debt? Believe it or not, you can travel and pay debt! Check out these 5 smart ways to save money while staying somewhere other than your house! 

Traveling is always a great way to get out and enjoy life.  The journey of life is short enough you need to see other places and experience the fun, while saving money.  We are a frugal traveling family.  We love to save money while experiencing life!  Here are a few of our favorites when saving money when staying for a longer vacation on places to stay. Let us know what you do!

1. Glamp/Camp

This is a money saver and one that we do often.  We grew up camping in tents, but when my husband and I wanted to move tiny we knew we would be “camping” everyday.  That’s what most people tell us anyways.  We even have one of our friend’s kid call our home “an adventure”.  It is cute because he’s only 3. We glamp and live on a property for a cheap monthly rent! Amazing right!  Let’s get right into how it can save you money going on trips.

Glamping or camping can save you money because most campsites are below $40 per night.  Camping in a tent you can even do for free if you are backpacking.  Backpacking is going for a hike and then setting up camp in the middle of your hike.  My husband recommended me to get a new backpack because we are always going on hikes, and I am so thankful we placed it on our wishlist to get it. I do not recommend this with kids, but you never know you can be BOLD!

Most national and state parks are rather frugal too. Check them out! Our favorite is Shenandoah National Park, which is $15 a night and they have 3 different campgrounds.

We love to take our home at these camps to enjoy trails, bike trails, water, and different nature. We can easily go early on a Thursday enjoy the park and then check in stay the night for $20-$40 and then enjoy the park again the next day.  All we really pay for is the site and the gas to get there.  This is a win, win! 

Want to stay longer? Perfect – most campgrounds have a week long rate that is cheaper just ask!

2. Airbnb

This is a hot one and one we often did when I would go out with my girlfriends.  Staying in an Airbnb is an opportunity to enjoy the real estate in the place you are traveling. 

This saves you money because you can look for a cute and frugal places to stay.   Yes, there are expensive Airbnbs too, but you have to search for a frugal one in your location that you want to go to.  You should also be looking when it is off season.m

Airbnb’s also help you save money if you do a huge group of friends and rent a huge home.  We have done this for a skiing trip in the mountains.  We did not spend much because we shared the Airbnb and brought food to share as well to cook like a big family. You could be in charge of one dinner and one breakfast for a week vacation!

3. Travel with Friends/Family and Stay in a huge house

I mentioned this one a bit in the Airbnb’s, but I really mean it!  

Make sure whoever is planning is a budget friendly person, and you should know who that is in your friend group. Traveling with friends and family helps cut the cost when you have a kitchen in a home because you go out to dinner less, which saves you money!  A huge house is fun to be able to enjoy someone else’s home while being able to relax and enjoy a different location too!  I mean if you have a view too – this is amazing!!

You do not get caught up in buying tourist stuff while staying in a hotel or a resort.

Other articles you will enjoy:

• How we got a FREE flight to go home with our credit card.
• 10 Road Tripping Hacks to Save Money!
• Budgeting got you down? Get positivity!

4. Ask friends who have homes in other states to stay with them for a few days

I love asking friends to stay with them and use their home while visiting.  You get to catch up with a friend plus have them be your tour guide in a new state!  I always say you should stay in touch with your friends in different states or who move to another state because you could do this travel hack to save money and still get to travel.

I remember when I left Raleigh, NC and wanted to go see my friend.  We just stayed at her apartment and she actually went and stayed at her boyfriend at the time. We got to stay in an awesome part of the city! The experience for us was an added benefit, because we could walk to all the local brewery’s and local shops without having to pay the high price of a hotel in the area. The hotels in that area go for $150 a night! Yikes could you imagine spending around $700 just for lodging? People do it – don’t let it be you!

5. Network

Network with friends to see if they have friends who live in the State you want to travel to. This is also a great way to save on money!  Friends often know friends who have vacation homes in warm states or a mountain town.  You just have to ask around.  I recommend bringing it up in a good conversation.

I have a friend who has a rental vacation home in Florida, which I would recommend for friends.  However, be careful when you recommend for your friends and make sure they will treat the rental as their own and not a “rental” because you are recommending another friends property and do not want to ruin a friendship.

Happy saving money on your next vacation!

Enjoy these frugal tips and remember that you can still travel on a budget.   We have traveled throughout our entire debt free journey. We budget our travel within our budget and never put it on a credit card if we do not have cash for it. 

Want to use one of these tips on your next travel, pin it for a reminder.

Need a vacation other than a staycation, pin it

Will use one of these smart ways to travel next time, like it!

• WordPress
• Instagram
• Etsy
• Pinterest

Photo credit to pexels.com.