5 Top Tips to Travel on the Cheap!

N.B.: This guest post is brought to you by Roy Duffield, a fellow blogger from the UK.  Hope you will learn something from his tips.EOD

As kids we tend to think that life is free, and it’s hard to imagine that we’ll have to get jobs one day. We picture our dream lives, doing what we want, going where we want, when we want. All the while “Grown-ups” are telling us we are wrong, that one day we’ll become grown-ups ourselves, realise our mistake and have to settle down, get a job, get a mortgage, pay the mortgage, etc, etc…

For a while I feared this may be true…and then I discovered travel, and I became a kid at heart again.

The truth is, travel is a lot cheaper than you think, and whether you are tramping or travelling in luxury, there are always ways to save money, which in turn means that dream trip can last as long as possible.

Here are my 5 top tips to travelling cheap:

Accommodation

A major reason why a lot of people don’t travel is the cost. They say they can’t afford hotels. Well, I’m here to prove those people wrong. The cost of anything is relative to the GDP of the country you’re going to. Therefore, what we might class as a fancy hotel, can cost almost nothing in the cheaper countries in the world. Furthermore, when you think about it, you pay rent back home don’t you? Now say your rent is around £300 a month. That’s £10 a night, and trust me, there are a lot of nice places (nicer than a £300/month flat) out there for less than £10 a night…

Go long haul!

…which brings me to my next point. The other reason people often think travel is expensive and thus can’t understand how others do it, is because they’re thinking too short-term. One of the biggest expenses when going on holiday is the flight. Since most people only get a couple of weeks off work at a time, they are used to short holidays of a week or two. Now think about this: if a flight to Florida costs £450 and you go for 2 weeks, that’s £225 a week on the flight. However, if you go away for 3 months, backpacking the States, you’re only looking at around £35 a week. Much more affordable. Go away for a year, and the flight, spread out, barely costs a thing. Some great ways to extend your trip include learning a language as you travel, teaching one, or any other kind of work abroad (see below).

Couchsurfing

And there ways to cut down the cost of travel even further! Couchsurfing.org is a great example of how, if you are prepared to think outside the box a little, you can travel for practically nothing…and you also get a much richer travel experience, meet more locals, and so on. As long as you’re prepared to give as well as get – so, for example, offering to cook a meal for your hosts, teach them a skill, or about your own culture or traditions – this is the option for you! And don’t forget to ask the people you meet about their own money saving tips! Locals always know the cheapest places to eat, drink and shop.

Hitchhiking

And while we’re on the subject of travelling for free, hitchhiking is another great way to meet people, get deeper into the culture of the place you’re travelling, and save so cash that would’ve gone on buses, trains or even flights. You’ll also get more freedom than with public transport and you can choose which roads to travel, where you get on and off, etc. Just exercise some caution. There are plenty of great sites with tips for safe hitchhiking.

Work while you travel!

Finally, all of the above focus on how to cut your spending, but what about using travel as a way to make money? Whether you want to WWOOF (work on an organic farm), in a call centre, as an au pair, in a bar, or as an English teacher (TEFL), there are plenty of opportunities waiting for you all over the world, from Sydney to Cusco, Varna to Kamloops. If you’re a keen writer you can even make money from your blog, or also as a freelancer. There are plenty of organisations and websites offering various travel benefits in exchange for online content, whether it be a free room at a hostel, or a more long-term set up.

I hope you found this inspiring. Who knows, maybe one day we’ll all be on the move, livin’ the dream. But until then, happy travels! Don’t forget to let me know what you think or ask any questions in the comments.

Photo above is used under Creative Commons License.  Credit.

About the Guest Author

This has been a guest post by Roy Duffield. Why not check out his travel stories and notes from the road.

About Empress

Empress is a tech enthusiast who loves to read and write. She founded Empress Content Writing & Digital Marketing Services to help small entrepreneurs grow their business.

11 thoughts on “5 Top Tips to Travel on the Cheap!

  1. This post changed my entire perspective about traveling Agnes. You can say I am among those who don’t travel because of the costs they involve, but the ways you mentioned made me question myself. Hopefully I will be traveling again, thanks for the post.

  2. These are some really helpful tips given by you to travel on the cheap. According to me one more point can be added to your list. One can choose to travel in a group and share all the expenses that include, staying, food, internal travelling, etc.

  3. There is no point of traveling with lots of expenses. It just takes a little DIY effort and some creative thinking to come up with a trip that’s cheap, fun and memorable. Your points cover almost everything that needs to be considered for cheap traveling. You can also save up money on airline tickets. There are many discounts available on different travel sites. You can compare those and plan a trip. Thanks Roy for this great share!

  4. These are some really great points you have highlighted here. For help figuring out whether it is cheaper to fly or drive, you can browse many sites, which compares the cost of flying to the cost of driving to a given destination. If you ask me, I always prefer road trips as they are a great way to get a taste of local culture. Nice article! Thanks for sharing such amazing tips!

  5. Thanks for the tips planning a trip put a heavy load on the wallet i will definitely keep your points in my mind on the next family tour.

  6. I have one point regarding the section “go long haul”. This is fine whilst you have an annual leave entitlement. However if go over your annual leave entitlement then there is the opportunity cost of not earning income when you are on holiday with unpaid leave therefore you need to add the cost of your forgone earnings to the trip when calculating the actual daily trip cost. For self employed people this opportunity cost would be larger as you don’t have employee entitlements.

  7. Thanks for the tips. Traveling is one of the best way to improve your knowledge. Keep traveling, see the diversities and enjoy. Now i am planning for a trip……………!

  8. Transportation is great matter of worry in traveling because people mostly prefer to travel through air because of the speed and the luxury it offers so it will be better if you can find some discount on your flight tickets.

  9. Hey Agnes, great to write up the best travel tips for making traveling experience batter. But especially, I really like your hitchhiking idea, in this we can meet different kind of people and know more cultures.

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