How to find a weekend away abroad, on a budget

I was asked recently about how to do a cheap weekend away by someone who hasn’t been abroad in a while and really fancies some sun. I started to explain some of the things I do to find a bargain and then realised this would be better as a blog post, so that she (and anyone else who finds it useful) has it to come back and look at when needed. So, here’s how to find a weekend away abroad on a budget.

Be as open as possible to destinations

The cheapest trips are always to places people aren’t all going to. I went to Riga, for example, on a £5 flight and everyone I told I was going asked me why-and for me, the answer was because I want to see everywhere. It just made sense to do the cheaper trips first.

I got my flights to Hamburg, in February, for £2.50 each way, after booking them on Christmas Day without even having the time off work authorised. I figured it was worth the gamble, as if I couldn’t get time off I’d only lose £5 but if I could, it was a really cheap trip. It’s fine to be set on wanting to go to a certain country or even a certain city, but that’s not usually going to get you the cheapest trip.

Find cheap flights

Finding cheap flights is the first step for sure. I use Skyscanner and Cheapflights (who I’ve worked with before on my Dublin post, but that was so long ago I don’t need to tell readers-I will though, because I’m proud of that collaboration!)

Both websites allow you to search by outbound airport, dates and destination. Skyscanner lets you do ‘whole month’ and ‘anywhere’ which means if you’re able to be more flexible about dates as well as destination, you can find a real bargain. Cheapflights lets you search by multiple outbound airports at once, which is really handy when you can easily fly from a few like I can.

If you were able, for example, to fly next week-at the time of writing this post that would be 26th October-and you could go Thursday to Saturday, you could do Poland, Spain, Denmark or Portugal for around £100. At different parts of the year, you’re likely to be looking at £50 for flights.

Travel hand luggage only

Paying for a cabin bag adds around £60 to your flight cost before you’ve even started. If you also pay for a seat reservation and a coffee/chocolate bar combo on the flight, you’ve added £100 to the cost of your trip already. Travelling light, with the free hand luggage bag only, can be a challenge for some trips but is always worth it as a cost saving. I also never pay to reserve seats, other than long haul, as I can absolutely be away from my partner for three hours on a flight if need be. We mostly get sat together anyway though. (Oh, and the coffee/chocolate combo deal? A must have, for me!)

Remember you’re only showering and sleeping at your accomodation

On a week long trip, or a multi city, multi country trip, I’m picky about where I stay, because I’ll want more down time in my hotel room or apartment. When I’m away for two nights, my criteria is far less strict. I go for cheap, in a decent location (either central, or close to a tram or bus stop if central is really expensive) and I go for the most basic accommodation available. Think Premier Inn style hotel or a tiny cute air b n b. I always save a fair bit by being flexible with where I stay.

Take public transport

When you land in a new country, it’s so tempting to grab an Uber or a local taxi, but it can be pricy. Always check whether there’s public transport from the airport as this can be a big saving. Public transport around a city too, rather than taxis, is mostly cheaper, or walking if things are nearby.

I also look into public transport when I want to do a multi country trip. It’s always way cheaper to get a bus or a train from A to B, if that’s geographically possible, rather than to fly-we did our summer Balkans trip on a real budget because we only did two flights, from the UK to Montenegro and from Bulgaria back to the UK, on the whole trip.

Plan free things to do

I plan most of my trips in advance and the first thing I do is look at what I can do for free in that place. Any museums I’m interested in-even paid for ones sometimes have a day of the week when they’re free, so always look at that. Some cities have free walking tours (you tip at the end, but they can still be a very budget activity) and exploring a pretty park is always going to be free. Street art hunting, looking at a cities architecture and just wandering around can be a great, free way to see more of a place.

I then look at cheap things I may want to do-often things like climbing a tower in a church to see a city from up high costs £5 or less, and this feels worth it to me. Air b n b experiences can have some not free but cheap, sometimes more unusual things to do in a city so that’s worth a look too. And never underestimate how good people watching is, sitting in a city square with a coffee and watching locals go about their daily lives for a bit.

Eat local food

Part of the attraction of a new place for my partner is trying new food. I was never as bothered (I’m a fussy eater anyway, and I’ve always been worried about ordering a dish, not liking it and causing offence!) In my experience it’s almost always cheaper to eat local food than to go to places serving more familiar food. Street food can be the cheapest, and it’s a great way to try as much local cuisine as possible.

I’d recommend researching before a trip to see what local foods you’d like to try and where to find them, and looking out for stalls on the street, bakeries or delis to get some of your food from. There’s also nothing wrong with doing fruit and a pastry for breakfast to save a bit of cash, and taking a refillable water bottle so you’re not spending money each day on more water.

If doing a trip on a budget has always seemed too difficult for you, I hope this post has given you some ways to cut some costs. I’ve talked about how I’ve been making money online in a previous post too-so if you’re looking at a trip on a budget because finances are tight, have a look at that one to see if it can help you add to your trip budget before you go.