Truth is, we all love budget travel, we all dream of spending the next summer holiday wondering around the streets of Barcelona, enjoying the Hawaiian sun, taking a selfie with the sphinx, eating healthy meals on a budget, or even just wondering on a very long trip around the world on a budget. But the harsh truth also is that not everyone of us have the means to do so, nowadays, traveling can be very expensive, and the dream of flying around the world may become an impossible thing to do.
But there is always a way right? yes, if you want to travel on a budget you absolutely can! and we are here to tell you that traveling now is not just a ‘’rich people thing’’, and we assure you that you too can do it even on a budget, it will take some serious travel planning, and you have to know your way, but it’s reachable, and with the travel on a budget tips we are about to give you, it becomes possible for you too to realize your dream of traveling around the world and of course on a budget, and enjoy the most beautiful vacations that you always have dreamed of.
First thing you have to do is to plan your trip. budget travel planning can be tricky but do not worry we will walk you through it so you will be able to do it on your own. (we will assume you want to travel using airlines, if not, here is an article that may help ), never use a traveling agency unless if you find one that is extremely low coast, because these agencies, especially big and famous ones can and will charge you tremendous extra coasts, because you know, the guy who will pick you up at the airport is not going to pay himself.
So our main advice here is to travel plan your trip a few months ahead, be mindful of your goal to do it on a budget so you can get the most fun out of it, without making any heavy or unwanted spendings, search online for cheap flights or discounts, you will sooner discover that some airlines make big rebates in various occasions along the year, this step might be the hardest, but with some hard work and time it’s absolutely worth it, and you can get lucky enough to find a very cheap ticket, and some of these can be seriously low price, and by low price we mean that some can go up to 70% discount.
One little additional tip here to make sure that you can get the most of our budget travel guide, is that you don’t have to always pay for a flight that will take you to the national airport of the country you want to visit, as in fact the national airport can be the latest station you flight lands in, however, if the plane is landing in a nearest airport before heading to the national, that may be a good opportunity for you to take a road trip and make your vacation even more extraordinary, not to mention, on a budget. Another important thing is Make sure to pack everything you may need in your trip so that you would not have buy anything extra, and have an idea on eating healthy on a budget.
It is best for your chosen destination to fulfill the highest of your expectation. You may be seeking to see the heritage and the traditions of some people, or you enjoy the distinctive features and wonders of the world’s natural scenery, or you are just looking for a place that offers something new and different from what you are accustomed to and enriches your experience in life. This thing in particular is very tricky and misleading so Instead of wasting your time and budget to visit famous and big cities. There many countries that you can visit such as Morocco, Zimbabwe, Egypt, India…
These countries are not only rich in content nature and culture but a trip to them will be extremely cheap and the difference in currency will chock you on how few you will spend. Avoid the tourist traps that everyone go to visit. Be wary of anything with lots of commercial advertising. Again, do your research and find out what real people think are the coolest things to do in a place. Often the most interesting stuff is free, but free stuff has no ad budget so you’re never going to hear about it if you don’t search and ask.
Talking about transportation, when you are traveling on a budget, forget something called a cab, a taxi or an uber, these exact three things are very expensive, and if you like to visit a lot of places in the city and discover as much as the day allows you, you may end up broke. On the other side, trains and buses aren’t any more effective than taxis, but certainly less expensive. Transportation also needs a bit of planning so make sure to have a list of the train schedules and bus lines, and you can always ask a local about the cheapest way to get to your destination.
Now that we have the transportation down, let’s talk a little bit about the accommodation, some people love to spend holidays wondering around fancy mansions and multiple stars hotels, but remember, we are having the on a budget talk. The truth is, hostels in many countries and cities can be as good as a normal hotel. The hostel is an establishment that gives catering services just like hotels, the only thing different is that you can rent a shared room with somebody else. Hostels can be very cheap because the coasts are split in half with your ‘’hostel mate’’, and it is a great way to make new friends, discover new mentalities and not to mention, have a little bit of ‘’culture talk’’.
There are many website that provide booking and information services for famous hostels around the world such as ‘’Booking.com’’. also it is important to find hostels that have kitchens so that you can make your own food. It is safer for your budget that way for cooking your own meals is a lot cheaper than eating out. You may also want to make meals with your new friends and share the supplies money which will be a lot more fun and way cheaper.
Or you can try CouchSurfing. Couchsurfing brings together over 6 million people from over 100,000 cities from around the world. So be sure that where ever you are going to travel there is a generous host that will be glad to have you over. Always send your requests in about a two weeks or three before your planned arrival time.
Read host’s profile, and see what you can give to your host back, it may be an interest in your culture or even a simple meal recipe. This will be a great deal to your budget as hosts never are interested in money, not just that this may even win you some free meals and great tours on the place you are visiting, (but hey, make sure to welcome them too when they visit your home town).
The next thing is that you have to make sure to get it down is food, we do not have to tell you how expensive meals and fancy restaurants can drain your resources, you already know that, on the other hand, try to get more street and popular cheap healthy meals, if you do not know how fun quick cheap meals can be and how to eat healthy on a budget.
Also, and when booking a hotel room or a hostel, you definitely need to go for the ones that provide a breakfast meal alongside with the room, also many super markets provide some canned meals that can make a healthy meal and low budget so make sure to have that as well. Always use TripAdvisor or Yelp to find restaurants. You do not want to wander randomly and find yourself in a flashy restaurant in a touristy area: it will for sure be way overpriced, and the worse off all you will be disappointed in their food. The best place in town may be just around the corner. With a little harmless research, and asking around you will find some great places to eat and respectively to your budget.
Final thought, and as mentioned above, many of the things we need while traveling can be found on a low price or discount, starting from the transportation, accommodation and food, so it’s not an impossible nor a hard thing to do if you want to travel on a budget, you just need to make some premade preparation, focus on what you have a schedule everything, and then enjoy your time.