How to travel on a Budget

A lot of people ask me how I manage to travel so much. My answer is only one. Work hard to save money and travel on a budget. Being able to work while travelling or being sponsored to do it is something we would all want but to be honest is almost impossible to achieve so don´t make too much expectations about it.

Saving Money

Obviously how much money you can save will depend on what type of job do you have and what are your expenses. My only advice is that if you really want to be a traveller you should make it a way of life. This means that you wil save money for your next adventure instead of spending money on other stuffs. Material things disappear, experience stay forever.

Travel on a Budget

Saving money while you are on the road is not as hard as you might think. I´ll give you some tips that can help you as much as they have helped me. This can make you travel longer or saving money for future trips.

Booking your Transport

As important as choosing what flight to take is choosing what type of transport you are going to use. Most travellers just think on plains as the only option but trains, buses, boats or others could be a better choice. Always look on the web, or facebook groups for the cheapest way of getting from A to B. Then decide if the money saving is worth it instead of flying. If your choice is a plain ticket, consider that best fares are usually between 4 and 1 month before the flight for international departures. Planning in advance makes you save money but less flexible trips. Regularly check www.kayak.com, www.skyscanner.com and www.hopper.com apps to compare fares and find ut the cheapest flights and dates. Some of this apps will alert you when fares go down.

Night flights, night trains or night buses are a good way of saving money on accomodation and spending less day time travelling instead of getting to know the places.

Booking your Accomodation

Accomodation is a big part of your spendings while you are on the road. I try to save as much as possible on this because for me,  the important thing is the places you are visiting and not where you are sleeping. Hostels are the best option for single travellers because they are cheap and they let you meet other travellers as well. For couples or friends it could also be a good option because most have private rooms but common spaces to share and meet with others staying there. Airbnb could be a good option in some cases when you travel in groups. Check the following webs and apps to compare and find the best deals: www.hostelworld.com, www.booking.com, www.agoda.com, www.airbnb.com. Consider that prices are always cheaper when you book in advance and will let you choose from a wider range of options. A good way to save money but a risky move is arriving without a reservation because some cheap places don´t appear on the web. To reduce the risk you can book places that have no cancellation fees in case you don´t find a better option.

When you book a place, try booking just 1 night so you can look for other better and cheaper options once you arrive and also so you don´t have to pay i case your plan change and you want to leave.

Click here to tips on how to choose the best place to stay.

Moving Around

The transport you choose to move around the places you visit have a great impact on your budget. To save some money you will have to sacrifice some comfort. The first place where you can start saving money is on your arrival. Try looking for buses or public transport to get from the airport or bus station to the city. Always check on the web which options do you have and the prices so you don´t get any surprise. Good advice is to have a small amount of local currency to pay on your arrival. Once on the city, try walking as much as you can. I usually walk on average 10 km a day. If distances are long, try using the public transport. You will not only save money but get to feel like locals move around. If public transport is not possible, try using Uber or other platforms that will be more secure for travellers and at a lower price.

Eating

What you should reduce the most if you want to save it´s eating at restaurants. Try local street food for better experience, better food and at lower prices. In some cases street food could be even cheaper than cooking your own. This is more common in less developed countries. If it´s not the case, buying your food at the supermarket and cooking at your hostel or place it´s a great option. It lets you share with other international travellers that are also cooking. This way you will learn about their country dishes so its a great cultural experience as well. Another tip is buying some snacks to carry during the day while you are discovering the city or doing some activies. This way you can avoid paying for restaurants or tourist points where prices are higher.

Others

An important issue is exchanging your money abroad, specially when travelling to many countries. I try to avoid this as much as possible. I try paying with credit card because in my case it doesn´t have international fees. Every time you withdraw money on an ATM you can be charge a fee on the ATM and on your bank. Try withdrawing as less as possible to avoid fees and be sure to know your bank fees before travelling. Always carry some dollars in case there are no ATM´s.

Avoid buying stuff at touristic places. Try visiting and shopping places where locals go. Products would be the same or better at lower prices.

Check tours and activities to do. Once you select your favorities, try looking for information on how to do it by yourself. Remember that agencies must charge you a fee to keep the business running so sometimes you could do the exact same tour for a lower price because you go directly with the ones that make the activities. In less developed countries, never pay the full price of any tour. They will charge you more if they think you got a lot of money so avoid saying your wealthy nationatilty to pevent them from trying to charge you more. Bargain it´s a must to control your budget in those countries.