1. BE FLEXIBLE

Whenever you are looking for flights, use a calendar search to see the cheapest dates. Google Flights, Skyscanner, Hopper and ITA Matrix are good tools to use. If you don’t need to go during a specific time you can save money by going when it’s cheaper. I'm landing a couple days early for our Ghana trip in August 2019 because it's cheaper. Also be flexible on the airline, airport, etc as well.

2. SET ALERTS

Set up flight alerts for places you want to visit! Check Google Flights, Airfare Watchdog, Kayak, etc. There are lots of options for setting alerts to save you even more.

3. POSITIONING FLIGHTS

Often times routing through Europe can make travel to Africa cheaper (maybe colonizers want cheaper access the continent). AKA a “positioning flight”. A positioning flight is when you take a cheap flight from your home airport to the city of where another cheap flight is. Example: Let’s say flights from SFO-Morocco are $900 RT but you know flights from Spain to Morocco can be $200 RT (or less). So find yourself a $300 to Spain and consequently you now have a $500 flight to Morocco AND Spain (IF you want to chill there too). The flights with the * in the main photo use this method. This method works well for Northern Africa for it’s closer proximity to Europe.

4. USE MILES, SAVE MONEY

This is by far THEE best way to save money on flights. If your flight is expensive then it may be a great time to look at using miles or points instead and just paying the taxes (if there are any). Learn more about points and miles here. If you don’t have any points/miles or don’t know how to get any, stick around, we’ll be doing another Travel More Spend Less seminar soon…

5. DO YOUR RESEARCH

I can’t stress this enough. If you are a planner, research everything. If you are not, then at least research respectable travel companies that will do all of the leg work for you, like @TRVLBLK ?. Find out what you want to do, who the president is, any current events to know about, the political climate, foods you want to try, where to stay, the exchange rate, how much things should cost, etc. Being in the know can save you tons of money.

6. FIND A LOCAL

Do this. In your research I’d say try to find someone who is a friend/family of a friend to show you around. It’s almost always better to have a local show you places for at least part of your trip. They can tell you how to stay safe, how to save money, good places to go to take that Instagram breaking selfie, and how you can be a part of the conversation about local goings-ons. And often times they will find better prices than you, especially when bargaining.

7. CHECK ALL ACCOMMODATIONS OPTIONS

Don’t just check hotels.com, but other hotel sites like Agoda, Kayak, etc too. Also look at Vacation rental sites like AirBnB & VRBO. If hostels are your thing check Hostel World. I highly recommend to also try Couchsurfing at some point, it's like free AirBnB. I’ve had great experiences with it all over the world, and it can potentially save you thousands of dollars. Seems like a good idea right?

8. SAVE MONEY WHILE GETTING MONEY

I rarely exchange money before I go to a new country. Usually I prefer to pull money out of the ATM on site instead of exchanging money. This doesn't work in places like Cuba where US ATM cards probably won’t function for a while; but you can still get a good street rate if you're savvy in Cuba.

Using an ATM is usually cheaper… here’s my math: If you exchange $500 in country and they charge you $35 that’s 7%. But if you pull out $500 from an ATM and your bank charges you $5 to do that, then you’ve only paid 1%. I actually recommend mainly using a credit card with 0% foreign transaction fees when traveling. All major US banks have fraud protection built in so you won’t be liable if something happens. I bring at least 3 credit cards and 1 debit card with me on all trips.

9. PLAN YOUR GROUND TRANSPORTATION

Will you be renting a car when you’re there? Does UBER, Bolt (FKA Taxify) or some other reputable service work in the country you are traveling to? You should also check online to see the normal price for getting to/from the airport so you know what to expect. Similarly, when I was in Rwanda I got to try out Safe Motos; it’s basically Uber for motorcycles… very cool and it worked like a charm. In Bali I love renting scooters, it's always an adventure.

10. #LOUNGELIFE WILL SAVE MONEY

Last but not least, get you some airport lounge access. This will save you money on food, drinks and a relaxing atmosphere when in transit through an airport. The most popular lounge network is called Priority Pass. It features over 1200 lounges worldwide and a slick mobile app that lets you see lounge ratings, features (like which ones have showers, free alcohol, etc) and photos before visiting. You can now use it to visit many airport restaurants, not just lounges.

If you pay for your Priority Pass you will spend $99-$429/yr, but the access I have with Priority Pass is worth much more because I can bring 2 guests in free as well. Oh and my Priority Pass is free. The Priority Pass is bundled with premium credit cards such as the AMEX Platinum or the Chase Sapphire Reserve, etc. With the AMEX Platinum I also get access to the illustrious Centurion Lounge network as well. They have 9 amazing airport lounges now and 5 more on the way. UPDATE: The Priority Pass you get with the AMEX Platinum no longer allows you to use it at participating restaurants (but the Chase/Citibank version still does at the time of writing this).