Travelling on a budget
Many people keep on asking me how I can effort my travels... there is a very simple answer: I always try to find the cheapest way as possible to go somewhere and to get around... (and yes I spent all my saving on my travels as well haha)
Anyways here are the websites I normally check when I'm planning to go somewhere:
1. www.skyscanner.com
This is my favorite website when it comes to cheap flights. Skyscanner is looking for the cheapest way to get you to your prefered country. What I like most about the website is that you can do kind of an open search meaning you don't have to pick a certain airport or a certain time. For example if you wish to travel to Valencia, it might be cheaper to go to Alicante or Barcelona since all cheap airlines are heading to those cities. So if you don't know that you can type in "Spain" and skyscanner will let you know which connection is the cheapest. From there you can continue your travel by bus or train which might be cheaper at the end than going directly to your destination by plane. Furthermore if you don't have any idea where you wanna go you can select "all countries" and let skyscanner show you the cheapest destination... Besides you can choose whole months when selecting the dates, so skyscanner even shows you which days are the cheapest for travelling.
2. www.goeuro.com
Obviously just a website for travels within europe but really helpful in case you would like to do travel a short distance. GoEuro compares the prices of trains, blablacar, flights and buses and let's you know which one is the cheapest way, which one is the fastest way and even combines different types of transportation to guarantee the best way
3. www.rome2rio.com
This is a very convenient website when you wanna travel within a city. I compares public transport of a city, kind of like google maps but much better when it comes to public transport. It will also show you the prices, too. It works everywhere.
4. www.urlaubspiraten.de / www.urlaubsguru.de
GERMAN websites (but similar webistes in every country). I prefer using those websites for real holidays. The people behind it are organizing a whole journey already for the cheapest possible way. You can get quite good deals there in case you are flexible.
5. www.airbnb.com
I'm sure you've heard of airbnb already. If not I will roughly explain it: people renting out private accomodations (rooms, flats, houses) in most cases really cheap compared to a hotel. Furthermore you can make your own food in your own kitchen which wouldn't be possible in a hotel. I really like using airbnb when travelling with a group of people.
6. www.hostelworld.com
In case I don't have any friends living at my destination that can host me, I usually go to a hostel. Next to the fact that it is really cheap, you can meet super nice people there too. When using hostelworld you can not only compare hostel when it comes to prices, They have this hostel ranking so real people are telling you the truth about the hostel... most important for me is always location and atmosphere (quite important when it comes to the possibility of bonding). And the reviews are helping quite a lot too.
7. www.couchsurfing.com
Couchsurfing is a website where you can connect to people who are offering a place to sleep for free! Sometimes you might even get a real bed in a private room. I personally am not a big fan of couchsurfing (can't really tell you why), But for sure it's a super nice way of get to know people as well (I did it once in Sydney and we've got a lot of insider facts about the city).