/r/Shoestring
A community to discuss frugal travelling, last-minute travel deals, cheap destinations, and cheap means of travel. Whether couchsurfing, camping, or staying in hostels, whether hitchhiking or staying on Airbnb, let's discuss and share the best budget travel ideas and deals!
r/Shoestring is a resource for those planning a trip on a shoestring budget. Whether you want to cheaply travel to a destination you already have in mind, or brainstorm your next frugal vacation, we hope this website will help you plan an affordable and amazing vacation.
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/r/Shoestring
Hi,
Will be visiting Riyadh season! I like history and the cities seems cool, how many nights would you guys suggest?
Thanks!
I have a carry on that was over the size limits by a couple cm so I bought a new carry on but its 2.5cm to wide. The dimensions I need for the 10kg bag are 55x40x20 but the carry on i just bought is 55x40x22.5. Should I go back and ask for a new one or do you think I'll be fine? Just a broke college student trying not to pay more.
I am going to be doing a fair bit of hitch hiking across Europe in January.
UK to Istanbul is the planned trip if all goes well.
I guess I may have to sleep it rough a few nights. So I am debating, do I take my small one man tent and a sleeping bag or should I purchase a bivvy bag of some kind?
I feel like a bivvy bag could be more stealthy which would be helpful, I don't like the idea of being disturbed while I am sleeping.
Planning a solo trip to Bucharest, hoping for the socialization of a hostel but also want a private room if possible.
Most of the existing threads on here mention hostels that have permanently closed..
T5 Social definitely seems to be the best but only has shared dorms, which isn’t a total deal breaker but wanted to see if anyone knows of any other hostels or hotels that have a more “social” vibe - either with activities or at least a common area to meet people?
Hello! I’m asking this question because we plan to be in Vancouver Dec 26-30th and I’m wondering when is the best time to book our hotel.
All pro tip suggestions welcome
I'm 20M from the US and I want to visit Latin America from the beginning to the end of December because I want a chance to speak Spanish irl. I'm upper intermediate and I know a month of immersion won't bring me to fluency but it would be a lot of fun.
I've been thinking about Costa Rica because it's safe and I've never been abroad and have only solo traveled twice and both times it was to family and only 6 hours away so the safety might be good.
One thing I want to stress though is that I want to spend as much of the trip speaking Spanish. The ideal situation would be that I don't speak Spanish at all but I know I'll occasionally have people wanting to practice English or thinking I don't speak Spanish.
Should I travel within the US more before I travel abroad? Which country would be best for me? Thank you so much!
I’m wondering what airlines do free multi-day stopovers or layovers? I know about Play and Iceland Air in Iceland, and Singapore Airlines for Singapore.
Any others I’m missing?
I'll be visiting Japan for the first time as a mid-20s guy excited to do lots of clothing shopping, eating, appreciation of history, and meeting locals! How's this:
Osaka (5 Days) - Added extra days because so many day trips
Kyoto (3 Days)
Tokyo (7 Days)
Hokkaido / Sapporo (4 Days)
This is for Nov 22 - Dec 14
I recently went on a 38 day roadtrip and here’s how much I spent. Your trips costs will change depending on what you do but here’s an idea of how much it could cost.
Trip Total: $1,959 or about $51 a day
Thinking of starting in Belize city and heading to San Ignacio, spending a few days there doing day trips, before crossing over into Guatemala to Flores in order to do more day trips. Then loop back to Guatemala city and maybe end with a day or two in Caye Caulker.
I believe with 2 weeks I'd have more than enough time to enjoy all the highlights at a relaxing pace. What I'm mostly wondering about is:
Any info on the above is appreciated!
Hi
My concerns are going to Petra and Wadi rum, dead sea. I think nearby cities near Amman like Jerash can be done via Uber. I'm thinking of arriving in Amman
I'm thinking of doing the approach where I do 3x day trips, 1 to petra, wadi rum and dead sea. I'm a city person and I love to see people's way of life more, so I think I'm not too interested in stayuing overnight for Wadirum. But I've heard Petra is a must for overnight?
I see there are day trip tours like from Jordan Select and it ranges from 240 USD(Amman to Petra) and (155 USD (Amman to Wadi rum) , etc. So Im planning to just do that.
The other options are:
I'm planning on doing a trip (somewhere, undecided) in the second half of March with my 9 year old for about 2 weeks.
We're open to any country, but will probably focus on Europe. What are some good destinations for that timeframe?
Itinerary help for Germany Austria and Italy Summer
Is this too much. I typically like a slower pace but this trip seems doable to see a lot. I will not have a car. I’m thinking the Salsburg day trip should be dropped.
August 4: Arrive in Munich (morning) Explore Munich
August 5: Munich Day trip to Salsburg or city exploration
August 6: Train to Innsbruck Explore Innsbruck
August 7: Innsbruck Explore the city and surroundings hikes
August 8: Train to Brixen Explore Brixen
August 9: Brixen Full day in Brixen hiking maybe Adolf Munkel
August 10: Train to Verona Explore Verona
August 11: Verona Full day in Verona
August 12: Train to Bologna Explore Bologna
August 13: Bologna Full day in Bologna
August 14: Bologna Final day of exploring
August 15: Fly out of Bologna (noon)
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
The DOT requires airlines to provide a 24 hour airfare free cancellation policy. I couldn't find any such policy on booking.com though I think they're more legit than other 3rd party websites.
For this particular airfare, they're about $120 cheaper than booking via the airline
I’m dreaming of going to the Maldives, but my wallet’s not exactly thrilled about it. 😅 I know it’s usually seen as a luxury destination, but I’m hoping there’s a way to experience its beauty without spending a fortune.
Has anyone actually managed to visit the Maldives on a budget? I’m talking affordable guesthouses, local islands, cheap eats, and maybe even some DIY snorkeling or diving. I’d love to hear any tips or tricks you’ve got!
What islands should I be looking at that won’t break the bank but still give that Maldives magic? How did you get around? And is it possible to enjoy the experience without splurging on resorts?
Any advice would be awesome, thanks! 😊
I'm visiting Greece with my 9 year old in the second half of November. I actually haven't booked the flights yet, but will book it today. I'm looking at departing Athens on Saturday, November 30th, or Sunday, December 1st.
There are a few options I'm interested in for the return flight back to the US, which is either a short layover in another European city departing Athens on Sunday, or a longer 14H or 23H layover in Istanbul via Turkish airlines, departing Athens on Sunday.
The 14H layover is from about midnight (departing Athens around 9:30PM) to 2PM in Istanbul, so there's realistically only a few hours of sightseeing.
The 23H layover is from about saturday 3:40PM to sunday 2:30PM, which is probably 6 hours (3 hours on each day) of sightseeing max.
Are either of these layovers worth it (read: do I have time to visit a few main tourist sites in Istanbul)?
The timing of these layovers are awkward. It would be much better if it was something like 6AM-8PM. So I'm considering maybe just doing the short layover option and departing Athens on Sunday.
I’m travelling to London this November and I’m looking for a safe, fun hostel that is centrally located. I’m travelling alone so I assumed a hostel would be more affordable, and I would also get the chance to meet some people. I’m 31 if that helps in any way..
Hi all,
I'm starting to plan my next adventure in Southeast Asia and would love some advice. I don't have any specific places in mind yet, as I haven't done much research, which is why I'm looking for suggestions. I'm considering Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
I'm looking for travel tips, recommendations for must-visit places, and advice on dealing with the language barrier. Should I learn some basic phrases?
Budget is a key consideration—I'll be traveling with my girlfriend, both of us are 24 years old, and we’re not looking for luxury but would like decent accommodations. We plan to travel for 2 to 2.5 months next spring. Does anyone have an idea of a realistic budget? (Flights from Vancouver, Canada look to be around $1,400.)
For some background, I've solo-backpacked in Europe. I enjoy hiking, beaches, diving, history, monuments, and exploring off-the-beaten-path places.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
Looking for cheapest flight options from lax to nrt japan
Was looking to fly through honolulu but zip air hnl to nrt is sold out
Any recommendations for cheap tickets/ways to get last minute tickets?
Thanks in advance!
Edit: looking to book 12/12-1/6. What about Bangkok?
I am a student currently trying to figure out how to swing a study abroad trip tied to my academic department. One major cost we are responsible for is getting ourselves to Edinburgh from the US. We do not fly in as a group or anything because they want us to be able to plan flexibly/save money, and I am trying to do exactly that. So far it seems like it might be cheapest to fly into London and take the caledonian sleeper to Edinburgh. Does anyone have any insight or better ideas, or is this a good idea? Are there any secrets to this that I’m missing, ie US airports that have cheap flights, etc? The trip is in May so pretty peak season I’d imagine. Grateful for any guidance.
I don't know if this is the right community to ask or of anyone recommends another group to post in I'd appreciate the redirection.
I am in my early 20s, in south Wales UK and I struggle financially, a large part of my family live in chihuahua Mexico. I want to be able to travel there as much as possible but also save the most money I can on these flights, which can be so expensive. Any hacks, tips or anything on how I can do this? I feel really lost and I am just hoping there's any easier way to get around this, I'll take all the advice I can get.
First time travelling Jetstar (Singapore > Melbourne > Christchurch) which has a transit
Is this type of budget carrier transit similar to those of etihad/emirates at Abu Dhabi/Dubai where i just dismount the plane and stay within the departure area of airport and all my belongings(check-in) will get transferred and i won't have to go through immigration to reboard my 2nd flight
I'm looking for a database of all flights and their prices which I can actually just sort by price by no other criteria. Any pointers?
Thanks for all the feedback, what I'm able to conclude from all of it is that there no such public data available already. Maybe you guys know of any paid service which would be able to provide it?
If not I was thinking about crawling it together on my own. I got some experiences with crawling a lot data from platforms but I'm not a expert. If you guys would like to work with me together on that project or simply talk with me about it you can DM me or write down the comments. I will try to read it ASAP.
All in all I'm pretty happy about talking with other people all around the globe about it and seeing so many ppl with the same interest in such data.
Reddits Post Insights say I reached 19k Views with this thread ♥️
I wish you all a beautiful sunday evening or whatever time of the day it is for you my friends all over the globe.
Mentions of services which come close from the comments(random order):
I live in the Netherlands(Eindhoven) and I am considering doing short weekend/day trips around europe.
I know of two options. One is flixbus. Second one is NS international.
Yet another option is to take the train from Eindhoven to Amsterdam and then I would get more options.
I want to do short/quick trips every other weekend. And want to avoid the long waiting times at the airports.
When I am there I might stay the night at a hotel or return the same day.
The only one I have done so far is Eindhoven to Antwerpen via Ns international. Although there arent many Eindhoven to X city possibilites. I guess I need to first travel to Amsteerdam always?
Flixbus is good too and it guarantees a seat. Although maybe slower than NS international.
Need advice from anyone who has done this before.
What mode of transportation do you use? Do you use anything to save money?
How would one go about looking at flights/buses for this? We need to get a guy as far as possible (doesn't matter where) on a tight budget. Also this has to be on Oct 2.
Looking to do a ten day trip. All train from Munich to Verona in August 25. My ideal trip would involve lots of walking / hiking. Stopping for beers and snacks outdoor spots with beautiful views and people watching. Love to be outdoors so not really a museum person, but really appreciate architecture. Looking for some spots to stop on my route. Initial ideas include mittenwald innsbruk bolzano garda. wouldn’t mind dipping into switzerland for a day trip but realize it’s probably not possible. i’m thinking 3-4 destinations at most. any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated
How much can I expect to pay for a hostel in Spain? I don't want to go to big cities or touristy areas because I'm going to improve my Spanish (currently upper intermediate so I don't want to go to a language school).
Hello,
I am planning on going to Vietnam for 1-2 years next year and improving my language skills. So far I have been studying for at least 2 hours a day on average, with a lot of emphasis on reading books and listening to Vietnamese media. I am trying to figure out what is an optimal way of going about this.
Right now I am pre-booked to go to an immersion homestay program (for 3 months, 20 hours of one to one tutoring a day). I am trying to figure out if I should study the language in university too (in conjunction with self study + a tutor) after the immersion program. The tuition at the university for a year would be much cheaper, however I question if I would need it at this point.
I also thought of teaching English in VN (I do have a bachelors, TEFL cert, experience as a teaching assistant if that helps), my issues with that is that I read that TEFL in Vietnam does pay enough, I could potentially be working in English all day (including grading) and my only times for immersion is outside of work/when I self study. If I did this, this would be so that I offset costs of rent, utilities and food.
I am curious if anyone did something similar to what I did and how did it go? I do have a few advantages that comes with growing up with the language so I can understand the language as well as English.
I am planning a trip for me and my husband in late Spring 2025. Nothing is set in stone yet, but we are looking at Switzerland and Austria as I have family in that region.
Would it be recommended to use the train and public transit or a car? It doesn't look like trains save much time, and sometimes it is faster to drive, depending on the destination. We can rent a car in Geneva and return it in Vienna, which would be convenient. I just don't know which would be better price-wise. We obviously can't predict the price of fuel in 8-9 months, but I also know that even with the Swiss Half Pass, the cost of trains and other public transport will start to add up, especially as we want to do some of the more remote hikes like Oeschinen Lake.
We went to Scotland in 2023 and we did not have a rental car, and it really hindered us because there was a massive tube strike going on. We were supposed to have a car, but got denied because we were under 25 at the time.
I'm just wondering if for convenience, it would be better to rent a car. But I also want to go about this the most cost-effective way without feeling like it's a burden (either way). Any advice is much appreciated!!