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Are you planning to book a weekend break, but aren’t sure if you can afford one? There are lots of ways to save money on a city break. Between flights, accommodation, food, and spending money, the cost of a city break can soon add up and cost nearly as much as a longer vacation. With some travel know-how, saving money for your city break can be easy. Try some of these top tips for saving on a city break. I’m all for helping everyone save a bit of money! So save this post in your back pocket for when you’re ready to travel again.

Top Tips for Saving on A City Break

Try A Less Obvious Destination

If you’re planning a city break in Europe, then you can save some money by trying an alternative city break destination. For example, instead of Paris, try Montpellier. Visit Utrecht instead of Amsterdam, or Bologna instead of Venice. There are fewer tourists, but still lots to see, and be saving money, you can splurge a little on somewhere fancier to stay, like a serviced apartment. 

By choosing an alternative city break destination, you can save a lot of money on hotels, eating out, and attractions. 

Travel Off-Season

This is the simplest way to save money on a city break. If you can, try to avoid taking your break during the school holidays. Travel during the holidays makes everything much more expensive. 

Consider which city or country you want to visit, and how expensive it will be during the peak travel season. Is there a season that is most popular? For example, a city somewhere hot, like Venice, is likely to be more expensive during the Summer. 

Are there any events going on in the city you want to visit? To save money, avoid travelling during any major national holidays or big festivals in the city. 

Eat Like A Local

A good way to make the most of a city break is to eat out, but this can be expensive. A way to save is to make your own food where possible and pack picnics and lunches when you’re exploring. 

If you aren’t staying somewhere where you can make your own food, visit the local supermarket or farmers market and try to pick up some local produce. You could also try to find some street food vendors who are selling some authentic cuisine or look out for budget cafes near where you’re staying that the locals eat in. 

If you’re struggling to find somewhere budget-friendly to eat during your city break, then you could ask the staff in the hotel where you’re staying. I did this when I went to Barcelona on my first solo trip and saved money.

Save the money you would have spent on expensive meals out and put it toward other parts of your trip, like entry fees to attractions or souvenirs to take home. Spending less on food also means you won’t have to guilty about popping into any cafe that appeals to you for a coffee and a slice of cake. 

If you travel at the right time of year, choose the right destination, and save on key parts of the trip like food, you don’t have to spend a fortune on a city break. 

These are the top tips for saving on city break. Do you have any tips that you can share? Leave them in the comments below.

Thank you for reading and until next time, be well! x