Your Ultimate Guide to Travelling on a Budget
Have you ever wondered how people manage travelling on a budget? How they can afford to take Gap Years or go on multiple holidays each year? Well, this is a guide to help you understand how travel can be completely affordable! You just have to be smart about how you spend your money…
Backpacking isn’t for everyone as I know some people go on holiday to enjoy the finer things in life. But if you are willing to give backpacking a go, then this guide should help you stretch your money as far as it will go!
Below are some key top tips to take away and see if you can follow these tips on your next trip to save you some money…
7 Tips for Travelling on a Budget:
1. Stay in Hostels
A hostel is usually the most cheapest option for accommodation when travelling. On average, hostels are 30% to 70% cheaper than hotels. It will involve you sleeping in a dormitory which could have 4/6/8/10 or even more beds in! Hostels are a great way to meet other travellers (including other people travelling on a budget). They are very sociable places and often the hostels will put on activities for travellers to help you get to know people and to have fun! They may also offer information about transportation or tourist attractions or may even help you to buy tickets and arrange tours for you.
Positives about hostels:
- Very sociable places
- Great way to meet other people
- Usually very cheap
- Can give you great deals for tours/attractions/transportation
- Good location
- Communal kitchen: saving up money by cooking some of your food
Negatives about hostels:
- You may not like the people you are sharing a room with
- People may snore
- Sleeping may be an issue if people come into the room late at night
- The hostel may not be well-kept
- Sharing a bathroom – this is not for everyone
2. Travel the local way on public transportation
Usually, locals know the best and cheapest way to travel, so if you are on a budget this is the best way to save some money on travelling. This may involve taking a bus or a train or maybe even a shared taxi to reach your destination. Although this may seem a bit scary, this will save you so much money and you will get to interact with locals or other travellers! It is a more authentic way of seeing a country.
Public transport can be more difficult to take in some countries. Problems you may face may be:
- Language barrier. Often this is not a problem, as long as you know the name of your destination you can say this to the driver and they will either say yes or point you in the right direction. If you are struggling then the best thing to do is to use Google Translate to translate whatever you want to ask or say.
- No timetable. This happens quite frequently that there is no bus schedule and they leave whenever the bus is full. This can be frustrating as you may be waiting a while to leave and it is difficult to plan what time you might arrive. To prepare yourself for this, always leave early and with enough time to reach your destination.
- Luggage stored on the roof of the vehicle. Whenever luggage is being loaded onto a bus you should always make sure you wait till it is stored away before boarding a bus. You do not want your luggage to be left behind or stolen. It is often stored on the roof of a vehicle in some countries which is fine until it starts raining. You should make sure to wrap all your clothes and valuables in plastic bags which will avoid them getting wet.
- Delays or cancellations. This can often happen as things just don’t run as smoothly in some countries. I remember one time one of my trains in Egypt was running 3 hours late. Have low expectations for trains/buses being on time and allow for this in your schedule.
3. Walk as much as you can
It seems like an obvious point, but so many people will get taxis between destinations when really it would have been possible to walk. Even if taxis are cheap, each taxi you take adds up and eats into your travel budget! Walking is completely FREE and a brilliant way to see the place you are visiting!
When you walk around cities between tourist attractions you often come across things you may not have realised were there. This could be things like some cool street art or even just a bustling market. It is a great way to immerse yourself in the local culture.
I have often found that when you walk around random people might make a conversation with you. You may also get invited for some tea or find some tasty food in a restaurant along the way. You would be surprised at the amazing things and people you come across just by walking!
4. Travel during Low Season
Travelling during the low season for the country you are visiting can really help you to save money. Often during low season, hostels/hotels, taxis, tourist attractions will put down their prices as they aren’t getting the same amount of business as in the high season. This can help you to travel on a budget and make your money go as far as possible!
Positives to travelling during the low season:
- Cheap deals for hotels, tourist attractions, taxis
- You may have a room all to yourself in a dormitory
- Tourist attractions will have less crowds
Negatives to travelling during the low season:
- Bad weather – it may be way too hot, cold, or rainy
- You may feel lonely as there may not be many people travelling
- Attractions may close early or may not be open altogether
- Buses/trains may have reduced schedules or may not be running
5. Pack light and don’t take hold luggage
This may seem impossible but you have to ask yourself… do you really need all those clothes? Packing light can save you SOOO much money. Taking hold of luggage really adds to your costs as you may have to pay extra to take it on the plane and may even have to pay to store it on buses as well. If you are travelling for over 3 weeks then it makes sense to take a proper backpack. But it is entirely possible to travel with a small rucksack for trips that are a few days or even 3 weeks long. The best thing about packing light is the fact you don’t have to carry around a heavy bag with you for weeks on end!
REMEMBER you can do laundry when travelling so you will be able to wash your clothes, underwear and socks. So you don’t need to pack a million pairs of socks!
Tips for packing light:
- Put liquids such as shampoo, moisturisers, and conditioners into small bottles of less than 100 ml so they can fit into the small bags used for passing through the airports.
- Buy anything over 100mls either duty-free at the airport or in a shop when you reach your destination.
- Army pack your clothes. Roll them up tight and you will be able to fit more clothes in this way.
- Pack a travel-sized brush, towel, underarm roll-on deodorant, toothpaste etc
- Only pack what you absolutely need
- Use compression packing cubes – this will allow you to pack more in less space
6. Be flexible with your dates
When searching for flights, keep in mind that weekend flights are way more expensive. Sometimes they turn out to be double the amount of a weekday flight. Always be flexible with your travel dates and don’t be set on a specific period. Websites like kiwi.com and skyscanner.net have the option to show the cheapest travelling month to a certain destination.
If you do want to travel on a specific month just choose the “whole month” option for the travelling period and they will show you the cheapest flight for that one specific month. Also, Booking.com has proved to be a really good option for me when booking flights around India, mostly because they offer ticket options with checked-in luggage.
7. Choose a travel card to avoid bank fees
A great way of saving money is by opening an account at an online bank such as Revolut or Monzo. Picking a travel card travel card just makes sense if you want to save money. With a travel card, you won’t get hit with big bank fees when you use your card abroad. It lets you spend and take out cash at the real exchange rate without any sneaky charges from regular banks. That means more money in your pocket for your travels, so you can enjoy your trip without worrying about extra costs.
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