Single Mum Travel Tips: How to Travel as a Single Mum on a Budget

Since my divorce, people have been asking me for my single mum travel tips. Going from a good salary as a married couple to losing around 90% of that, compounded by the Google updates that significantly reduced my website traffic, is a shock to the system, I won’t lie.

I have always loved travelling, which is also why I started this website. To help more Muslims to travel. Muslim Travel Girl was born almost 12 years ago, when I became Muslim, and so not many Muslims travelled.

Since then, things have progressed significantly, and the halal travel industry is now one of the fastest-growing segments in the travel industry.

However, let’s stick to the travel tips for single parents that I use and tricks for travelling on a tight budget as a single mother with a 6-year-old. Because my passion is to show my daughter the beautiful world Allah SWT created.

10 Money-Saving Travel Tips for Single Mums

1. How to Audit Your Spending for Travel Savings

Yikes, this is harder than we think. I really struggled to differentiate between my needs and wants. Especially when, over the years of tax-free income, my wants had become “needs”.

Emotional shopping is also a thing when we want to hit that dopamine.

So, I had to sit down and be ruthless with my budget, distinguishing between what was actually a want and a need. Then, I gave myself some grace to adapt to the travel priorities for families. I love reading MoneySavingExpert for that reason.

What is actually important to me? What do I want to live my life and be happy?

I realised that many of the bags or clothes I wanted are amazing, but they are not worth sacrificing time with my daughter or stressing over.

I want a life where I can attend her school performance because the smile I get when she asks me, “Mummy, can you come?” is worth any bag and toy I said no to.

Especially at the beginning of a separation or a divorce as a single mum, travelling is probably the last thing on your mind. But for me, it is one of those important things. 

It might not be 5-star like it was before, but it is still creating travel memories and expanding horizons.

Having said that…

On a trip to Paris during the Olympics last summer I managed to get a fantastic deal in the city centre for £112 for a hotel worth £250+ a night. So it pays off to look around.

2. Budget Airlines and Flexible Date Strategies

Don’t pick the destination, pick the deal. School holiday travel is, without a doubt, expensive. 

If you have specific destinations, you will always find the holiday expensive. 

But if you open Skyscanner everywhere for the cheapest options within days, you will find something you can afford. 

This is one of the best budget travel tips for affordable travel with children.

Budget airline tips are my favourite way to travel halfway across Europe and even the Middle East. 

Most of the time, I go with a capsule wardrobe, travel, and fit everything we need into hand luggage (cheaper) and the free Ryanair underseat bags. 

This hand luggage only travel approach is perfect for cheap flights with kids.

Having flexible travel dates is crucial for budget travel for single mothers – this flexibility allows you to take advantage of the best deals available.

3. Have a Yearly Bird View on Your Dates

I love doing this for the year, and I do have a video on my YouTube channel explaining in more detail why.

But every year I put all my daughter’s school holidays into the calendar and then plan holidays, especially flights, as soon as the sales come. 

I will also book fewer days and not leave on a Saturday since flights will be more expensive. It might even be worth it to take your child out of school a day earlier. Usually less problematic than a week.

Yes, you might be going for fewer days, but that also means less expense. 

I usually book either super early, like 11 months in advance or a week before flying out.

The trick is not to be attached to the destination too much, and if you can do the opposite of what everyone does. 

For example, don’t go to Tenerife in May school holidays, go to Barcelona or another city break with a beach if it is cheaper. 

What drives prices is demand, so think of that before booking your next trip, it could save you hundreds. 

4. Single Parent Travel Costs: Budget Breakdown

Travel costs for single parents vary greatly depending on destination and travel style. From my experience, here’s what you can expect for affordable travel with children:

UK Budget Travel:

• Weekend city break: £200-400 for two
• Week-long UK holiday: £400-800 per person
• Using points and cashback: Reduce costs by 40-60%

Europe Budget Travel:

• Budget airline tips: £50-150 for flights within Europe
• Accommodation: £30-80 per night (family rooms)
• Daily expenses: £40-60 for food and activities

Money-saving breakdown for single parents:

• Flights: Use points/miles to save £200-500
• Hotels: Book during sales to save 30-40%
• Activities: Free walking tours and museums (love these!)
• Food: Mix of restaurants and grocery shopping – usually snacks, drinks and sweets 

The key to travel budgeting is a little extra on a trip, like 20% for unexpected expenses.

I typically budget £80 per day for both of us in Europe, but often spend much less using these strategies. However then I don’t have to stress about my budget.

Like, my breakfast is either hotel included or cereal with milk from the grocery store. 

5. Maximise Cashback Travel Rewards

I can never stress this enough, but using cashback travel rewards websites like Topcashback (use my referral for extra points) can help you accumulate cash for those flights very fast. This is essential for travel budgeting tips and building your emergency travel fund.

This year, when my insurance had to be renewed, I went to the cashback websites and checked their offers.

Just for using their link (which I had checked it was not more expensive than without), I managed to get £40 for my car insurance and £40 for my house insurance.

This is money that goes to my travel pot. I don’t touch this cash but transfer it to my Revolut pocket account, and it stays there to book those flights I need. These travel savings strategies are perfect for single-parent holiday planning.

If you don’t have Revolut, I use those for spending abroad as the exchange fees are much lower. You can sign up here. 

I know on a single income, there is always an emergency or something you need to buy, but put those in the pot and forget it exist.

By the end of the year, you will have a few hundred for flights. This approach to cashback for travel is one of my top travel hacks for single mothers.

Tip: You must shop via the link every time to receive cashback, but I never shop any other way. Once you get used to it, it becomes second nature.

6. Travel Points Strategy for Single Parents

Reading through this website or checking my social media, you will see that sometimes I fly business class or stay in 5-star hotels around the world.

I even did a 24-hour Umrah budget travel in Ramadan worth over £4,000 for under £500.

How?

Using points for family travel and miles.

For the past 10 years, I have been teaching my courses and sharing my book with over 1,000 students on how to create Muslim-friendly travel experiences. 

Travel loyalty points and credit cards are not Haram, and they can really help, especially when you are a single mum with children.

Again, like the cashback, I have a credit card that I use as a debit card (never accumulate debt). I pay it off monthly, but always use the card for my shopping apart from direct debits. 

This credit card points travel strategy is ideal for beginners seeking travel rewards.

This way, every single pound gets me a point, and those can accumulate faster than you think. These airline miles for families strategies are game-changers for solo parenting travel.

Now, points and miles can be confusing, so it is essential to know the strategy. Check out my posts to find more information on travel rewards programs.

If you are a single mum, it is important to sit down and decide which one you want to accumulate for.

Hotels or Flights?

Because they have different strategies, and the points are worth different. 

This flight and hotel points strategy decision is crucial for your overall travel planning.

For example, if you want a long-haul trip and you don’t care for nice hotels, then accumulate miles.

The starter card I love and recommend is the American Express Gold, especially as it is free for the first year.

I accumulate my Amex points as part of my strategy, and I then use those to fly back to the UK when flights are expensive.

For example, I have family in Greece, and we visit every year. However, a flight to the UK from Greece at the end of the holidays costs nearly £400 per person. These Greece travel tips include using miles strategically.

This is when I use my miles, as I can spend 10,000 Avios and only £50 for the same flight per person.

Those are the miles I accumulated through my yearly spending. This approach to European budget travel has saved me thousands.

Even during my Easter break to Oslo, I used my points because prices were £618 during the Easter weekend.

If you care about hotels, for example, more than flights, and you only want to travel in Europe on budget airlines, then accumulate points for hotels.

The Hilton debit card or the American Express Marriott cards are good options. Though both are paid in the UK, we have minimal options for UK budget travel.

If you are in the USA, you have way more cards you can choose from, and my favourite USA credit cards are linked here.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to send me a message.

Warning: When you start your miles and points journey, it will feel slow. Especially if you don’t engage in credit card churning, as is common in the US, but it will be worth it in a year.

7. Best Travel Insurance for Single-Parent Families

Travel insurance savings are crucial for single parent travel. As a solo parent, you can’t afford to take risks. 

I personally have the American Express Platinum card (affiliate), which comes with full travel insurance for myself and my daughter. It is one of the reasons why I have this card. 

However, it is way more advanced, so here are some things to keep in mind when shopping for a family travel insurance.

Budget-Friendly Options:

• Annual multi-trip policies: Better value if you travel 2+ times yearly
• Family coverage: Often cheaper than individual policies
• Cashback opportunities: Book through TopCashback for extra savings

You can use a website like HolidayExtras for travel insurance or car hire, including purchasing your car hire excess (which I do), as these can be very expensive through rental companies.

8. Reward Portals vs Cashback: Which Saves More Money?

A faster way to accumulate points, especially miles, is to use reward portals, travel like BA Avios or Virgin.

Reward portals are like cashback, but they give you a better return on your spending. However, you only earn one particular currency (ie Avios or Virgin miles, AA miles, etc).

Personally, I use reward portals for the majority of my spending, especially clothes and things I need for the house.

The reason is that cashback websites can give you 1%, for example, of an Argos shop, but a reward portal can give you 4 miles on the same shop, which is a much better return on your money.

insurance and major purchases, I would compare and choose the best. Even Chat GPT can help with the calculations. LOL

Here is an example:

If you spend £1000 (or convert to dollars, the USA system works the same way) in the year on clothes and other things for the house, you can earn approximately £60 back, maximum via cashback.

However, if you use that £1000 on reward portals with an average offer of 10 points per mile, you will get 10,000 miles.

This can vary from £100 to £500, as seen in my flights to Greece for the summer.

Take Advantage of Sales and Deals

9. Take Advantage of Travel Sales

Every hotel and airline offers travel sales and deals throughout the year. Sign up for my email newsletter, and I send out those, but you can even sign up for the brands you are interested in.

Usually, they are every 3 / 4 months from December.

You want to book hotels during that time. I book hotels with Hilton or Holiday Inn as I have status, and they have decent budget options.

I then use those points to offset some other stay.

However, even hotels in the UK, such as Travelodge and Premier Inn, which are decent mid-range properties, had some very good sales in the UK starting from £39. 

I even found some options in Zone 1 with Travelodge Central Bank in London, during the August holidays, for around £69 to £80. I stayed in this hotel years ago, and it is central and decent.

You just have to keep an eye out for them. These strategies work for both budget travel destinations in Europe and the UK.

10. Use Coupon Codes To Automatically Save

I use coupon code widgets on my laptop to automatically scan for coupons. This is such an effective way to find cheaper prices or just save money.

I have saved a few hundred when I do this, and honestly, it is nice to be able to do that. I (sometimes) put that money aside in my travel pocket so I can then use it for activities and things I would normally pay cash for.

I use Rakuten, Coupert, and Honey, which are just add-ons that scan for coupons. You can even use AI to do this for you, though I don’t find it as effective.

Those same websites also exist in the USA, so make sure you download the extensions.

For example, booking museums or tours when visiting cities through Get Your Guide can give you discounts.

This way, the money spent on travel extras and experiences doesn’t feel too expensive.
These single mother travel hacks have given me the opportunity to travel anywhere with my daughter.

I use my 2-for-1 credit card vouchers for reward flights, so I use fewer miles. This is a little more advanced, but I also plan well in advance. 

I have many more tips, so I think I will be doing a part series on these posts because I do a combination of all of those.

I might even turn this into a YouTube series for my channel, as I want to help as many single mums/dads as I can with travel tips after divorce.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that travelling doesn’t have to be expensive. You can even stay in hostels, such as some easyHotel types. There are now many options, and even train travel around Europe is enjoyable for the kids. This affordable travel option opens up numerous possibilities for families.

As someone who had not left the country until they were 19, I know how important it is to travel to expand your horizons and see other opportunities. Mindful travel spending and work-life balance travel are crucial for single parents.

If you are single and have read that and feel, ‘Yes, but I still don’t have the money,’ know that even a trip to the park or the local museum is just as cool for the kids as a trip to Europe. 

Well, if they are teenagers, maybe a little bit less, but still important. 

Frequently Asked Questions About Single Parent Travel

I would love to know your travel tips for solo parents travelling with children.

More Blog Post to read

• Solo Umrah Travel Tips & Advice for Muslim Women Going Alone
• The Safest Cities For Solo Muslim Women In Europe To Travel
• The Best Muslim Friendly Resorts in Europe
• European Countries with the Largest Muslim Population- Halal Holiday Ideas
• 9 Awesome Travel Tips Every Muslim Traveller Should Know

Share with Friends