10 Ways to Save Up for Your Dream Trip

Planning your dream trip usually starts with a TikTok feed full of ideas, but you may be feeling stuck when it reaches the stage of, “Wait… How do I save up for this?”

Whether you’re thinking about backpacking around Southeast Asia or doing an African safari, it all comes back to the same question. What you need is a money-saving strategy to help turn that “someday” into a departure date. Here are 10 ways to make it happen.

1. Choosing the Right Trip for You

If you’ve already decided on your perfect adventure, you can skip this first step! Yet if you’re feeling a little overwhelmed and not sure which tour to pick, or even which destination you want to go to, we can help. 

Free travel advice with one of our friendly experts is available, from 1-to-1 advice sessions to messages, phone calls and more. There’s no such thing as a silly question, and it’s a great chance to chat through everything you may wish to know before going abroad.

Did you also know that we provide flexible payment plans and low deposits for most of our trips? You can choose between paying the full instalment 12 weeks before you go, or split it into monthly instalments. Visit our How to Book page for further details.

2. Setting Aside Savings

How much you decide to set aside in travel savings each month is completely personal. However, we highly recommend having a separate, secure account to help you save up for that dream trip. You can keep track of your goals and have a realistic idea of where you’re at.

Many popular backpacking destinations, such as Southeast Asia, are super budget-friendly once you’re out there. Wondering how much daily spending money you’ll need? Get in touch with one of our friendly travel experts, and they can help provide you with the answers.

3. Begin With the Essentials

Decided where and when to go? Amazing! Your next steps are usually booking travel insurance and flights.

Travel Insurance should be purchased as soon as your trip is confirmed. It provides necessary protection before you’ve even left the country, such as trip cancellations or flight delays. Besides, it’s often more affordable when booked in advance.

If you’re booking a flight with multiple stopovers, check if you’re booking onto a connecting flight or self-transfers. Connecting flights means your luggage will go through to your final destination, whilst a self-transfer means you will need to collect your luggage and check in at each airport. For self-transfers, you will also be responsible for booking your next flight in the event of a delay.

Some can involve multiple self-transfers, where, in the event of a delay, the responsibility to get to your next destination is solely yours (including paying for the next available flight option if you miss it).

When choosing our flights coordinator, Flights 360, your travel experience is their number one priority. They will present you with the best options available at competitive prices, plus take care of all important details. Get your quote today. 

4. Book Early If You Can

Booking early can allow you to typically save more money, plus provide you with more options to choose from, such as competitive flight deals. This also allows you additional time to save up, whether that’s for a trip payment or topping up your travel fund. 

Considering our easy 0% payment plan? Booking early means you can split your trip fee into smaller payments each month, until the month before you depart.

5. Emergency Travel Funds 

Everyone going abroad should keep an emergency travel fund alongside standard costs. Chances are, you probably won’t need to use it, but you should still always have it as an option. Financial safety nets are not just about peace of mind. It’s about travelling safely and smartly.

An emergency travel fund should cover the costs of extra nights of accommodation or a one-way flight home. Some countries may require you to show proof of these funds as part of their entry requirements, such as on a Working Holiday Visa for Australia.

6. You May Go Slightly Over Budget

Part of the fun of exploring new destinations is all the spontaneous moments. Maybe it’s going out for drinks with your new travel friends, or that optional day trip that sounds too fun to miss.

Travelling on a tight budget is completely doable, yet we recommend factoring in going around 10% to 20% over your total spending goal (for some destinations, this may be a difference of £30 or so). 

Some days, you may find yourself spending hardly any money. On others, you may fancy treating yourself! Even budgeting pros deserve to keep their options open now and then.

7. … Yet You Can Still Save on Smaller Costs

All those single-use plastic bottles? Bring a reusable water bottle and fill it up after clearing through security. You could even choose a brand like Water-to-Go, which comes with a built-in water filter.

Why not pack your own snacks for the plane journey? So long as they meet security regulations, it works out to be way more budget-friendly to bring a few with you rather than shopping at the airport. 

8. Get an International Card

Whenever you use your standard payment card abroad, you may notice that it adds a small extra foreign transaction fee. It may not seem like much, but these add up over time. Getting an international debit or credit card is one of our best travel saving hacks, as it will give you a more realistic idea of daily spending costs (with zero foreign transaction fees added on top).

9 Pack Light

It’s tempting to buy a whole new wardrobe for your travels, but trust us, you don’t need to be taking loads of stuff! You’ll probably find yourself repeating and rotating the same few essentials, so lean into that and pack accordingly.

Staying at hostels? Laundry is often more affordable compared to hotels, and you can typically use self-service machines. Your group leader will make you aware of which accommodation provides laundry on one of our tours.

How much you want to pack depends on the destination and how long you’re travelling for. Although it’s generally best to aim for 1 to 2 weeks’ worth of clothing and work with that. Regardless, make sure the material is the right fit for the climate.

10. Save With Customer Benefits

Did you know that when you choose us, you also gain access to unique customer discounts? Find the perfect backpack, book add-on activities on your travels, get a fee-free money transfer, and more. You can also get 5% off our trips if you’re a returning traveller! Check out our Customer Benefits page for all the details.

So there you have it! Now it’s time to put these ideas into action, so you can start saving up and make those dreams happen. Speaking of, we have 200+ tours for you to explore! ✈️