6 Reasons To Request Free Samples Before Your Vacation

Using free samples on vacation is just one way to stretch your travel budget. For more tips, check out our How To Travel On A Budget (10+ ways to save money on your next vacation) post.

6 Reasons To Request Free Samples Before Your Vacation

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Free samples are usually trial sized.

Most product samples are trial sized. Because free samples are smaller, there’s a very good chance you’ll finish the bottle or tube when you’re on vacation. A little goes a long way when it comes to products like serum or hair spray, so a sample should last your whole trip. Then, you can throw away the empty bottle before you head home.

And that means, you’re not lugging a full bottle of shampoo and conditioner on vacation, then dragging an almost-full shampoo and conditioner back home. Same with something like toothpaste, body wash, and anything else you might need in the bathroom.

And, let’s be honest. Those aren’t the only things you pack in your toiletry bag. So that bag can get full pretty quickly, not leaving you much room for your hair brush, make up, glasses, and everything else you need for your daily routine.

Free samples are lighter than full-sized items.

When you’re checking a bag when you’re flying, you have to worry about the weight of it. If you’re not flying in first class, your luggage can only weigh a certain number of pounds. If your bag is overweight, you have to pay an additional fee.

How awful would it be if a few ounces of a full-sized body wash was the reason you had to pay more for your checked bag?

If you pack samples, there’s a much smaller chance of that happening. And, if you do exceed the weight limit, it’s easier to throw away a free product sample than a full-sized item that paid full price for.

Free samples take up less space in your bags.

If you pack like me, every single inch of your bag is filled. Every pocket and every hidden section has something packed inside it. Especially when we go to Japan. My bag is always packed with gifts for my family over there, so I can’t waste space on mouthwash from home.

Free samples take up way less space. Which leaves more room for extra pairs of shoes.

Which I should probably pack on every trip, to be honest. My sneakers got ruined on a trip to Florida a few years ago. A hole ripped through the sole. And my dressy flip flop fell apart on our walk to our hotel in Las Vegas. So having space for an extra pair of shoes is clutch if yours enjoy falling apart as often as mine.

Plus, for the journey home, you’ll have more room to pack souvenirs since you don’t have to save that space for full-sized hair care products.

You can carry free samples in your carry on bag.

If you’re flying from the United States, you can’t carry liquids that are over 3.1 oz. onto a plane (with the exception of hand sanitizer). Cumulative, sure, no problem. But individually, nope. Those have to be packed into checked luggage and stowed under the plane during the flight.

Sample sizes are always exactly 3.1 oz. or smaller, meaning they comply with the limit and you can pack them in your carry on. That’s great for people like me who only bring a carry on (because we’re too cheap to pay for checked luggage).

If you are using free samples at home and finish a sample, keep the bottle. You can just refill that bottle and know that you are within the 3.1 oz. limit. That’s the best way to bring your favorite products on a trip, if you can’t find samples of them. Plus, that means you don’t have to buy overpriced empty travel bottles.

You won’t feel bad if you forget to pack the free samples when you go back home.

After I got my belly button pierced, I had to clean it with expensive soap for quite a while. During that time, my family stayed overnight at a hotel, so I packed my full-size bottle of liquid soap. And, in the bustle of leaving the next morning, I forgot it.

I was so mad the whole car ride home. 

And you know, that incident was half my lifetime ago and I still think about it every time I stay in a hotel. And, to be on the safe side, I double check the shower before we check out, just in case anything is left behind.

If I had a small free sample of soap and left it at the hotel, it wouldn’t still be in my thoughts decades later.

Free samples are free.

This is the most obvious reason. If you’re frugal like me, you want to save as much as you can … even if you’re on vacation. So instead of spending your hard-earned money on small bathroom products for your toiletry bag, use free ones. Those pennies add up. And then, you can spend that money on something like lunch out on your vacation.

And, even if you pack your own body wash free samples to use during your stay, the hotel might provide you with small bottles. Use those instead and save yours for your next trip.

More Ways To Save On Your Trip With Free Samples:

I am a big fan of stretching your budget. I don’t ever want to not go on a trip, but they’re getting more expensive. So if you can save here and there, you can still afford that well deserved vacation.

The tips above focus mostly on HBA samples, but you can actually get free snacks as samples too. That’s actually one of my tips in our How To Save Money On Snacks For Road Trips post. Those samples might also come with high-value coupons too, so if you really do like the item, you can use the coupon next time you’re at the grocery store.

That’s such an effective way for brands to build customer loyalty and a great way for us to stretch our grocery budget.