The budget travel industry has been booming in the past several years. It’s especially grown in popularity among millennial travelers who don’t have the funds that their parents’ generation had to put aside for travel and other “extracurricular” spending activities. Want to explore the city during your next business trip or have a stopover and want to visit the city? Book a day stay with HotelsByDay and use these budget travel hacks for a cheap travel solution. A hotel by day is the perfect economical pairing: from Arlington’s Crystal Gateway Marriott to New York City’s Clarion Hotel Park Avenue to Los Angeles’ Shade Hotel Manhattan Beach, and beyond, there’s a day stay hotel partner in every major city.

Calculate which transportation method will be cheapest

Tracking the cheapest transportation method is essential if you want to save money right off the bat. If you plan to drive, calculate the cost of gas and parking ahead of time. Compare train and plane ticket prices if those are viable options as well. You can oftentimes find discounted tickets for both trains and flights (especially if you are flying within Europe). If you plan to fly, check up on budget airlines to see if they fly into the airports you’ll be traveling to. Use Google Flights or Skyscanner to compare flight prices. Additionally, if you are a student, under 26, a senior citizen, veteran or current military personnel, you may qualify for discounts so be sure to search for those.

Skip restaurants and shop at the supermarket

Make the decision to skip the expensive restaurants and tourist traps. Instead, eat cheap by shopping at grocery stores and bakeries. Do pastries for breakfast and grab sandwiches for lunch. If you want to splurge a little, treat yourself to one nice meal per day and go cheap for the other two. So, have dinner out. If you want to eat out but still keep it cheap, try to find a chain restaurant to have a meal at.

Pack light, avoid overweight baggage charges

If you do choose to take a budget airline, be sure to take note of their baggage fees as some budget airlines charge more for baggage or have more restrictions on how much baggage you can take on the plane. So, read up on what those fees might be for your specific airline and pack accordingly. Weigh your bag prior to arriving at the airport to avoid having to pay an overweight bag fee. As a general rule of thumb, it’s good to pack as light as you can. Aside from avoiding baggage fees, you’ll thank yourself later when you aren’t hauling a huge suitcase around town.

Get your bags ready and hit the road for some fun! Budget travel does not mean boring: Book a day stay with HotelsByDay.