Solo travel: it’s a chance to go where you want, see what you want to see, unencumbered by anyone else’s time, schedule, or budget. What’s not to love? One drawback some find when it comes to solo travel is that for cruises, hotel rooms, or guided tours, the trip cost can be much more on a per-person basis than booking for a pair because these experiences were designed for pairs or groups.
However, it doesn’t have to be more expensive. If you’re looking to travel solo and affordably, reframe how you approach planning and booking your trip, and you can score great deals!
How to Make Solo Travel Affordable
The best part about solo travel is that you get to craft the trip around your own wishes, preferences, needs, and dealbreakers. To make solo travel affordable, celebrate and lean into these to create your itinerary. Dig into our solo travel tips below to help you plan a great trip and stay within budget:
Choose where you want to go based on your interests
One of the biggest impacts on your travel cost is the destination. Every destination has its own lodging and food costs, and any specific trip cost depends on the distance and availability of transportation to that destination. With group travel, the destination has to work for everyone, which can result in a more expensive trip. If you’re traveling solo, you have free reign.
Select your destination based on things you’re interested in – your hobbies, wish list places, or activities you enjoy doing. If you’ve ever wanted to visit a specific city, natural wonder, historic place, or attraction like a sports stadium, museum, amusement park, dust off the old bucket list and book a trip. Whether you’ve dreamed of sampling a specific cuisine or hiking a specific trail, you can curate the trip to whatever you enjoy most. Depending on your interests, consider a destination that’s off the beaten path (and often more affordable as a result.) This can help you find a destination that’s uniquely fulfilling and in line with your budget.
Choose a destination where you can go car-free
Getting around your destination can also add up. In many top metro areas in the United States, renting a car can cost around $100 per day. If you’re traveling solo and not driving to your destination, you would have to cover the whole cost of a rental car or rideshare. To lower your travel expenses, opt for a destination with public transit or where you can get around on foot for most of your local outings. This could mean a larger city, a beachside boardwalk destination, or a smaller town with a cute main street.
Visit friends or family
For solo travelers, accommodations like hotels can take up a disproportionate amount of your budget because you don’t have others to split the cost. So, eliminate that line item by traveling to visit friends or family. It’s relatively easy for many people to make room for a single visitor for a few nights, so this option is more realistic than showing up with a group in tow. If you have multiple households you could visit in a general area, you can spread out the hospitality by staying for a shorter time with different people.
Seeing friends or family can be the highlight of the trip, and this can save you money on activities if you’re primarily catching up and getting a change of scenery. If you don’t stay with a friend or family member, even meeting up with an old friend for a meal or outing can combat the loneliness some might feel with solo travel.
Travel off-season
Traveling off-season is a common travel savings hack, and it’s especially feasible for solo travelers. You only have one schedule to accommodate rather than multiple, so take advantage of travelling at off-peak times. This includes traveling midweek and planning your trip to fall between holidays and the summer travel season.
Book last-minute
Booking an entire trip last-minute for a group can feel unthinkable since there are more variables to consider the more people on the trip. With a single person travelling, it’s more realistic to pull off. Condé Nast Traveler says flights tend to drop in price three weeks before departure.
You can book your time off in advance (in the off-season, perhaps) and research a few destinations as a starting point, but wait to book until you see the best deal. Booking last-minute can also give you more confidence about booking basic economy or prepaid rates knowing you likely won’t face the prospect of cancelling your trip.
Take advantage of leftover single seats
If you’re traveling solo, you don’t need to worry about finding multiple seats together on a flight or train, or even a specific size of hotel room or vacation rental. That means you can score a deal for taking a single seat leftover between other groups. The same goes for admission tickets to seated events like sporting events, concerts, or theatre productions; single seats are often priced lower.
Reduce dining costs by embracing solo travel
Dining while traveling usually involves a lot of restaurants, whether for sit down or to-go meals. When solo traveling, you can certainly still enjoy dining out, but you can curb your cost by making choices that more closely mirror how you would eat on a normal day at home.
If you stay at a hotel, choose a chain that includes a complimentary breakfast; these are often less expensive hotels anyway. Stock up on snacks and grab-and-go foods at a grocery store to supplement meals or for a low-key, low-cost option. Head outside and enjoy your meal at a park or plaza while soaking up the atmosphere of your newfound destination. For those who don’t want to sit down at a restaurant and dine alone, this is a great alternative.
If there is a restaurant or cuisine you really want to experience (or you just want to head inside for a bit) go out for lunch rather than dinner to save a bit on your meal cost.
Choose the free or low-cost activities
This tip applies no matter how many people are on the trip. Check out local free parks, museums, waterfronts, libraries, and other attractions and work those into your itinerary to save on entertainment. Check out the social media profiles for the area that you’re visiting to learn about upcoming free events you could attend. If you’re the type of person who just wants to relax on vacation, this tip can be especially easy for you.
Conclusion
Embracing the benefits of solo travel not only makes the trip more fun, but allows you to stick to a price point that works best for you. Shake up how you approach travel. Opt for less traditional arrangements and special deals that are easier to score when you are the only person to account for. Use this as an opportunity to reconnect with people you don’t often see and meet new people on your travels. Solo trips can be affordable with a little extra planning.
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