Samantha Brown Shares Her Go-to Tips for Saving Money and Time While Traveling

Samantha Brown has been a professional traveler for years and as a vacation expert, she has one big secret: travel doesn’t have to be expensive. 

In fact, one of the biggest myths is that travel is always prohibitively costly, the TV star and host of “Samantha Brown’s Places to Love” told Travel + Leisure. Instead, Brown said there are a few things travelers can do to save on a big trip from looking closer to home and traveling on less-popular days or during the off-season, to even looking for small perks in budget-friendly hotels (like a pool) that make it feel as memorable as a luxury option. 

“There’s so much pressure for people to have these major trips and so they think ‘well, if I’m not doing that, then I shouldn’t travel at all.’ But… my whole mission as a traveler is to debunk that myth that travel is for the privileged,” Brown said. “It is not measured in miles or how much you spend or how far you go.”

Brown’s advice comes during the busiest summer for travel on record. And while costs tend to ebb and flow with the seasons, the travel expert said she decided to partner with Klarna, which offers payment plans for popular sites like Airbnb or Expedia, to help people manage the cost of a dream trip.

Another way to save on travel (and avoid travel headaches) is to fly on less popular days like Tuesdays or Wednesdays — a tip she herself uses when traveling for her TV show. Picking destinations during the off season can also be easier on your wallet.

“We are going to Costa Rica in July, and no one thinks of Costa Rica in July for very obvious reasons: it’s the rainy season. However, in July [for] like three weeks, four weeks, it’s this magical moment where the rains actually stop and so you’re benefiting from all the cheaper prices [and] not many people are there… and you kind of get this beautiful place to yourself,” she said. “I think a great thing to do is [think] where do you want to go in the summer and then just start planning it for [the] off season because it’s going to be half the cost.”

Of course, planning a trip is about more than just booking flights and hotels, it’s also about making the most of your itinerary. That’s why the first thing Brown does when she arrives at a brand-new destination is plan her return so she doesn’t have to worry about it during the trip.

“As I’m walking out of that airport, I’m not just looking for baggage claim signs, I’m actually looking around because most [of the time] that gate you arrived in is most likely the gate you will be departing from,” she said. “And so notice the restaurants, notice what are the amenities, notice if it takes you 30 minutes to get to customs. This is all knowledge that you now have when you return.”

Then when she gets to her hotel, it’s time to scope out the neighborhood.

“Where’s the deli? Where’s the local little store? Where’s the coffee shop? Where can we get groceries for our room? What’s the cute little walk? What’s the park?” Brown said. “I always just sort of want to hunker down… because a lot of times, especially when you’re out and about during the day… you don’t want to go from menu to menu or restaurant to restaurant. You just want to know.”

And while travel gear can sometimes be a great help, Brown said it’s often not necessary to have a lot of specific-use items bulking up your luggage. Instead, she said to utilize household items like an oven mitt to pack a curling iron or rolling up jewelry in a T-shirt.

“I feel like this idea that we have to buy so much for our trip, I think that just really cuts into your travel budget,” Brown said. But there is one exception: “You need really good shoes — that’s something that everyone should splurge on — great walking shoes.”