Getting from point A to wherever B may be

It's no secret that I'm a travel junkie. Since I began earning a living wage, nearly every spare penny has gone to travel. And, mostly on a student stipend, I've made my way through 35+ countries. There isn't one secret to hitting the road (or the skies) on a shoestring, but here are a few pointers to book that killer deal.

Rome2rio is a fantastic starting point. If you've ever wondered how you might venture from point A to B, this site will break down all the different modes of transport and their price ranges. It's a great way to figure out if plane, train, boat, or car/car-share (or some combination of these) is your best bet.

Skyscanner.net has been my long-time favorite for its search capabilities. This site is limited to air travel, but its incredibly flexible search algorithm lets you run searches like

• Destination "Anywhere": figure out what destinations are most financially accessible from your starting point.
• Don't care when you fly? You can ask this search engine to check out flight prices across an entire calendar month, which is great if you want to take a vacation sometime in July or August, and you just want to find a good deal. 
• Need some budget-travel inspiration? Skyscanner even allows you to leave the travel dates unspecified, pulling up cheapest options regardless of date. This combined with destination: anywhere has been the starting point of many a fantastic adventure.

Kayak is a search engine of travel websites. It scans all your standard air carriers (including budget lines like Easyjet and Ryanair) as well as travel sites like expedia, booking.com, opodo, etc. After finding my inspiration on skyscanner.net, I always run my selected travel destination and time window through kayak to find the most competitive prices. (Tip: Once I've selected my flight, I always go straight to that airline's website to double check that fares aren't cheapest when booked directly through the carrier. It's not often the case, but can offer some savings.) I've also seen Momondo floated around on traveler forums as a very popular search engine.

For the students and under-26-year-old travelers, Student Universe and STA travel do offer the occasional killer deal.


Besides the above advice, a couple extra tips:

• Book early. If you can deal with planning up to 6 months in advance, you can get yourself an international flight for the price of a couple of drinks in a bar downtown.
• Be flexible on dates. Traveling out on a Thursday or back on a Monday can halve the cost of your journey, or more. Whenever you have the luxury, run your searches on kayak with specified dates + or - 3 days.
• Clear browser history and cookies. If using Google Chrome, run your searches on an incognito window. I've read over and again that websites notice if you've searched a trip more than once, and will up the price on subsequent searches. Not totally sure if it's true, but why chance it when clearing your history is just a click away from potentially cheaper airfare?
• Take advantage of the sharing economy. If the last leg of your trip takes you off the beaten track and far from public transport, check for local ride share websites that can let you travel for a fraction of the cost of—and way more convenience than—a car rental. And for shorter distances, keep in mind that uber is often half the cost of a taxi.

Hope this comes in helpful the next time you start dreaming of a faraway escape. Happy travels!