BEST PRICE
FIND THE BEST PRICE
Find the Cheapest Flights, Cars and Accommodations
travel websites that stretch your travel budget
Browse hundreds of free and inexpensive travel options for transportation and accommodations neatly organized from least-to-most expensive. To quickly and easily find the best and least expensive option for you, start at the top of this page, then work your way down. The first option that suits your needs will likely be your most economical option.
FREE WHEELS
Drive Cars for People Relocating
U.S.: autodriveaway.com Canada: hittheroad.ca
FREE TAXI RIDES
Sign up to Uber and get a Taxi Credit on your first ride
U.S.: Sign up here for a $30 credit Canada: Sign up here for a $20 credit
CHEAP RENTALS
- autoslash.com: After you book your rental, autoslash continues looking for lower prices and automatically rebooks you when it finds a lower fare for an identical itinerary.
- insuremyrentalcar.com: Get rental car insurance for as little as $7.50/day, $19/trip and $99/year.
FREE STAYS
Free Campsites: freecampsites.net
Travel Hospitality:
- couchsurfing.com
- globalfreeloaders.com: Requires travelers using the service to also host a traveler within six months of signing up
- hospitalityclub.org
- homestaybooking.com
- homestayclub.com
- homestayfinder.com
- servas.org
- wimdu.com – Also offers private rentals
- worldwidehomestay.com
Home Swapping:
- homeexchange.com: Featured in the movie ‘The Holiday’
- homeforswap.com
- thevacationexchange.com
Housesitting:
- caretaker.org
- housecarers.com
- housesit.org
- housesitmatch.com (Australia and the U.K.)
- luxuryhousesitting.com
- mindmyhouse.com
- trustedhousesitters.com
Group Travel Operators:
Contact these travel operators and ask how many people you would need to sign up at the going rate in order to go for free. A great trick for collects students is to paste posters all over camput to promote a spring break getaway. I know people who did this every year college to get a free trip.
Repair hiking trails for room and board:
World Wide Organic Farming: Some farms even offer hourly pay:
More Voluntour Opportunities:
- caretaker.org
- globalvolunteers.org
- helpx.net
- idealist.org
- podvolunteer.org
- rotary.org
- unitedplanet.org
- volunteervacations.com
CHEAP STAYS: Least-to-Most Expensive
Camping – National Campground Directories:
Australia: camping.com.au
Canada: camping-canada.com
Europe: campingcheque.com: Access over 640 campsites in 29 countries for as little as 16 Euros a night
New Zealand: tourism.net.nz: Go to Accommodations > Campsites and Holiday Parks
U.S. & Canada: uscampgrounds.info
Attend Timeshare Presentations for Discounted Fully Furnished Accommodations:
Intervalworld.com has a global timeshare directory
U.S. Resorts:
- hiltongrandvacations.com: Go to ‘Learn about Ownership’
- orangelake.com
- westgateresorts.com: Full apartments for three nights for as low as $99
Worldwide:
- clubintrawest.com: Complete the Discovery Stay application
- diamondresorts.com
- hyattresidenceclub.com: U.S residents can get two nights in a one bedroom apartment in Sedona or Key West
- rci.com: Has more than 4,500 resorts. Non-members can get three nights in fully furnished apartments
- shellvacationsclub.com: Over 2,600 member resorts worldwide
- wyndhamvacationresorts.com: From London through the U.S., Pacific to Australia
Shared Accommodations: Hosts offer accommodations at prices comparable to hostels:
Vacation Rentals:
vrbo.com (VACATION Rals by Owner): Fully furnished homes and condos for the price of a hotel or less
Hostels:
- Find 5-Star Hostels at HostelGeeks.com. Their e-book ‘Greatest Hostels of Europe’comes with discount codes for most featured hostels.
- hostelz.com: Shows a price comparison of all the major hostel booking sites so you can see where to get the lowest price.
- hostelbookers.com: Offers a lowest price guarantee and does not charge booking fees
- hostelworld.com: Browse user reviews and their app has GPS integration to find places nearby
Bed & Breakfasts:
- bedandbreakfast.com: Search B&B’s anywhere in the world. Set up an account and tag areas of interest for weekly deals
- bedandbreakfastworld.com: Over 26,000 B&B’s registered worldwide
Hotels:
- backbid.com: Post your hotel booking on backbid, then competing hotels try to lure you with better offers
- eurocheapo.com: Cheap hotels in Europe
- hotels.com: Get one free night for every 10 bookings
- travelponey.com: This startup covers several dozen cities and often beats every other website
- trivago.com: Scours 650,000 hotels from more than 150 websites
- Triphop.com shares with you the booking commission they receive from the hotel with you 50/50. It isn’t uncommon for your portion of the commission to range from 10-15% of the room cost.
Price Drop Refunds: If rates drop after you book, you get refunded the difference:
- flightnetwork.com: If the posted rate of an identical booking drops after you pay, you can get refunded the difference if you submit a claim
- tingo.com: If the posted room rate of an identical booking drops after you pay, you are automatically refunded the difference
For the Night Hawk:
bookadayroom.com: Discounted hotel rooms for daytime stays
Last Minute Bookings:
- hoteltonight.com: Select your city and get a list of heavily discounted rooms for that night
- Lastminute.com: Lists hotels offloading blocks of empty rooms likely to go unsold
- room77.com: Shows views by room number and hotel staff share their feedback on rooms and how their hotels operate
For the Distinguished Traveler:
wantmegetme.com: Get upgrades, special treatment and free Wi-Fi at five star hotels
International Cruise Line Directory:
routesinternational.com: Go to ‘Cruise Lines’
CHEAP FLIGHTS
Russ’ Favorites
- hipmunk.com
- kayak.com
- skyscanner.com
- wowair.com: Flights from DC or Boston to Europe for as little as $99 round trip (taxes and checked-bags extra)
Sign Up for Real-Time Price Drop Notifications
Best Price Guarantees
– Companies that match lower fares for identical bookings in addition to a credit redeemable for a future flight in the amount of:
- $100: Alaska Air, Delta, JetBlue, United
- $50: American, Air Canada, Expedia, Orbitz
- $10: Flight Network (Applies to fares offered by Canadian travel agencies)
*Priceline offers double the difference between their rate and the lower price found elsewhere.
Airlines that Refund the Difference If Fares Drop After You Pay
Travel Suppliers that Refund 100% of Price Drop Amount
- Alaska Airlines
- Flightnetwork.com
These Airlines Refund Price Drops Exceeding:
- $75: AirTran Airways, Virgin America, JetBlue Airways
- $100: Hawaiian Airlines
- $200: American Airlines, Delta, United, US Airways
Round the World Tickets:
airtreks.com: Specializes in complex multi-stop international journeys
Airline Alliances:
Flight Specific Search Engines:
- airfairewatchdog.com: Sign up to the newsletter for deals out of your home airport
- flightnetwork.com: Offers a best price guarantee and price drop refund policy
- google.com/flights: True to google, its nice, simple and easy to use and find good prices on flights
- pintrips.com: A ticker shows you real-time fares on routes that interest you
- selloffvacations.com: Canadian eh? This website regularly has jaw dropping deals
- theflightdeal.com: Find rewards flights that average out to six cents per mile or less
- whichbudget.com: Budget airline search engine
Activities and Excursions:
liftopia.com: Offers discounted lift tickets at ski resorts worldwide