How to Travel on a Budget Forever and Ever
You want to travel for as long as possible right? Struggling with a lack of funds though? No problem! You can definitely travel on a budget and keep your small pennies going and going. Grab your notebook and get ready. Here are 10 ways to Travel On A Budget Forever and Ever! Onwards budding adventurer!
1.Teach English Abroad
One way to see the world is to get a job working abroad! There are many ways that you can support yourself by travelling. Think about every skill you possess and offer it up wherever you can. My friend offers to cut peoples’ hair in hostels, another friend offers to sew peoples’ clothes. My favourite job however, which pays very well, is teaching English.
I travelled for 5 years teaching English before getting into travel blogging as a source of income. Aside from the money, you’ll be able to fully immerse yourself in the countries you teach in and really get to know the locals on a longer-term basis. If you want to pursue this career path, Teacake readers get 35% off MyTEFL’s online course which will give you everything you need to be free and go see the world!
2.Stay Updated With Travel Deals And Cheap Flights
Many airlines and travel agencies offer special discounted rates or packages to specific destinations. I’ve found some great bargains and saved a lot of money by keeping my eye on these. I recently flew back from China to the UK last minute after my Jiu Jitsu course for £180 = $240. Not bad! I recommend downloading the Skyscanner app right now to get access to some of the cheapest flights and hotel deals in various countries. Go check them out!
3.Cook Your Own Meals Or Eat Street Food
A great way to travel on a budget is to cook your own meals. If your accommodation has a kitchen, take advantage of it! If you’re camping, don’t forget to pack a light-weighted stove for yourself and you’re set. I always go to the grocery store at the end of the day to cook too because that is when food is discounted. In Japan I used to get the best sushi at the end of the day. The supermarket wanted rid of it, my belly was happy to take it.
If you don’t fancy cooking, head right for the street. Street food is cheap, truly local and a great way to hang out in the community and get a feel for the country. To get the best dish, head for the stall with the long line! This shows the locals like it and the food isn’t just sitting there. I have some great ideas for you in you’re eating in Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok!
Another way to eat out is to go to community places that offer food to you and you pay as much as you can for it. I’ve found these all across the world. I ate amazing curry for free when I had no money in Austria and filled my belly with fresh vegetables at a hippy hang out in Taiwan.
4.Travel In The Low Or Off-Season
Peak tourist season means higher rates but getting to where you want to be in the low or off-season can be much cheaper. Do your research and find out what the best low season months are to visit your dream destination. Weather conditions may admittedly be a little colder but you won’t be fighting hordes of tourists at famous sights, you’ll always get a seat on transport and accommodation will definitely be cheaper and available. I visited Japan in Winter back in 2013 and had a blast catching the sumo wrestling at this time! There’s nothing wrong with checking out what the cheap places to travel are too. They’re just as good as the expensive ones!
5.Take Advantage Of Credit Cards With Travel Rewards
Invest in credit cards that offer travel and hotel rewards or free miles, especially if you’re American. Americans have the best deals! Many travelers take advantage of the travel perks that they earn when using these type of cards and end up flying for free and staying in hotels for a couple of pennies. Nomadic Matt knows how to work the system. Check out his credit card hacking tips.
6.Stay With Locals, House Sit or House Swap
Hotel accommodation can be pretty expensive. Hostels are cheaper and I do use them a lot. However, if you really want to save your pennies and meet locals, use Couchsurfing. Locals offer free accommodation in their own home and in return it is polite to spend time with them, teach them something about your country or cook them a little dinner. My advice to you is to check the host’s profile thoroughly and make sure you fill in your profile too. Stay with someone who has good reviews and some experience.
If you’re willing to put some work in, look towards Workaway or WWOOF. In exchange for you working for them for a couple of hours, they’ll give you food and board. It’s a great way to learn a new skill, hang out with the community and keep travelling on a budget.
Another novel way to travel abroad is to offer house sitting services where you can watch a family’s house while they go on holiday. You will most likely have to do a few chores such as watering the plants or looking after the owner’s pet. It’s a great way to get free accommodation and stay in a lovely place! Check out Trusted Housesitters and Mind My House to get started.
Have your own house? How about taking part in a home exchange programme? You stay in their house. They stay in yours. It’s best to do your research beforehand by checking character references to make sure they’re not renowned for smashing up places but aside from that, all is good!
7.Get City Tourist Cards
Getting to explore a new city and visiting various tourist spots can also drain your budget. There are ways to get around it though. If you can, walk everywhere. Visit the free parks and museums. Check if the country’s tourism board offers special tourist cards! These cards can offer free access to some of the tourist sites and give substantial discounted rates inside and on the outskirts of the city.
8.Join Free Walking Tours
Talking about walking around a city, lots of companies offer free walking tours. I did quite a few in Edinburgh Scotland and had a really fun and informative time. My favourite walking company is Sandemans. They have numerous walking tours around the world and every one that I have gone to has not failed to disappoint. Why? The guides work for tips so they put 100% into every walk they conduct.
9.Hitchhike
I understand it isn’t for everyone and you may have your reservations but hitchhiking is a great way to travel on a budget. You’ll get from A to B and meet some interesting people for sure. To give you some motivation and courage to do it, especially if you’re a female traveller, check out Mind Of A Hitchhiker. I love her. If you want a more ‘guaranteed’ ride, ride-sharing is also a great way to get around. I personally love Bla Bla Car but these type of sites are better for Europe. You’re not going to get much of this at all in Asia!
10.Join the Cheap Nomads Facebook Page
These guys are pros at how to travel on a budget forever and ever. The free nomad group is really active and you’ll pick up lots of ideas and opportunities from them each day. They cover all areas of the globe and will give you more inspiration beyond these 10 tips. Happy cheap travelling!
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I’m always trying to find more ways to budget while traveling so I can stay overseas for longer. Making your own food can really help save some cash, and I love staying with locals when I can.
Staying with locals has given me some of my most fondest memories!
Great list of ways to travel cheap. When I toured Ireland for 6 weeks I made my own food in the hostel and traveled by bus to get from town to town. Really helped with the expenses.
Making your own food and using public transport is definitely some great ways to travel on a budget! Thanks Lara!
Some excellent advice here! I love how you’ve covered all the bases for people too whether they’re interested in sourcing a job abroad like teaching English, or traveling full time but without a job and on the cheap through strategies like housesitting etc. Thanks for the inspiration – proof that it can be done!
Thanks Meg! Proof that it can be done for sure! 7 years and counting for my travels so far :)
These are some good suggestions, although I prefer ridesharing to hitchhiking. I have hitched a ride, but only with female drivers. I prefer street food to cooking on the road because I can cook pretty much anything I want at home.
Excellent point Stella! Ride sharing is definitely an alternative. I’ll pop it into the post :)
This is truly a simple but ultimate guide! Thanks for sharing this one Alice. We wish we could travel forever and ever but our lifestyle won’t allow it. So for now, we’d settle for loads of trip every year.
Whenever you can travel and you go for it, good for you!
Awesome handwriting. Also, I think its really practical that you put 1. as the way to finance travel through work. Very realistic & positive :D
Thank you so much Mario :) I recommend teaching English abroad. It really helped me get the ball rolling on my solo travels.
Amazing post! I’m always telling everyone how many options are out there if only they would look!
There’s definitely a ton of options and hope for travellers out there to spread their well earnt pennies :) Thankyou Janet!
All solid tips. I love how you talked about traveling low season, and I can’t agree more.
I’m in Europe right now, and I refuse to travel around Europe in July / August again. Everything is way to expensive than what I remember. I’m always traveling in shoulder seasons.
Hey Dave, we are in Europe now too and I couldn’t agree with you more.. everything is alot more expensive during the summer months.
Excellent point! I travel Asia mostly but for more expensive places like Europe, travelling in the low season is very wise!
I love this post! So many people overestimate the cost of travel. If you are willing to search a little, you can definitely travel on the cheap!
Favs: Free Walking tour , Stay with a local (we do via Couchsurfing) and Eating Street Food :)
Safe and Cheap Travels :D
Thanks Jazzy! There are so many ways to scrimp and save. I hope this post helps a lot of adventurers out!
Great tips, I think staying on top of deals is the MOST important thing to keep your travels going
Right on Jon!
This article is awesome and couldn’t have been posted at a better time. I’m already an expat but currently researching how to ditch my full time job to have more time and flexibility to travel. Something about having no income at all while I travel feels a little disconcerting to me. Did you feel like you had enough time to explore when you were an English teacher? I’d also really love to teach yoga on the go!
I definitely felt like I had enough time to explore! In fact, I love teaching and being in one country for a while so that I can truly get to know the culture. Choose your TEFL job wisely and you can get up to 3 months or more holiday a year!
City passes are so under-rated. It’s the best way to inexpensively experience the touristy side of a city. And the air miles credit cards are amazing too. Really the most valuable travel hack ever.
Agreed Rob! City passes are going to save you a lot of money! I personally need to up my game on the credit card air miles :)
Yesss, love this article!! We follow mostly the same rules (except for the flying deals then as we don’t take airplanes ;) ) Great tips!! We also mainly teach abroad to finance our trip, we hitchhike, camp in the wild or use house-sitting and couchsurfing. Making your own food or eating in little local restaurants also makes a big difference in the budget! And there are so many things to do for free without missing out on spectacular sights or activities!
Agreed! There’s so much cool stuff that you can see and do for free!
Loved it!
I need your help as I want to be a traveller and not to settle anywhere but I do not know from where should I start. I am a student so I do not have my own income, and do not want to ask from my parents
Is there something I could do?
Hi Upma! How long do you have till you finish your studies? I recommend taking mini adventures around your area whilst you study. Once you’ve got your certificates you will be a little more free :) Travelling and working at the same time is a great way to start. Workaway is fantastic as well as teaching English (you don’t have to be a native speaker) or being an au pair!
I am in my first year of college and there are 3 years of my studies left and I love your advice thankyou
Interesting tips… I would like to try a few especially house sitting. I have been reading and it a lot but India does not have too many of these options
These are some really great tips. Though honestly I may not be able to try or adopt all of them. Doing your own cooking is an important tip as this way you not only save money but also have a healthier option.
Very true! Travel on the cheap and staying healthy at the same time is very important!
Always wanted to try a house swap but never really had an opportunity to. Great ideas!
I’ll keep an eye out for those free walking tours!
Amazing compilation!!! Great tips!!!
Thank you!
Not drinking alcohol cuts down on your expenses.
It sure does!
Love the tips! I don’t have a stove right now but I already save some money by making my own breakfast of just yoghurt and fresh fruit I find on local markets!
Xx
Fantastic tip! I eat fruit and yoghurt regularly for breakfast on the road – keeps you in top shape whilst you’re having awesome times :)
Hey,
There are some great ideas here. I have hitchhiked around towns but nervous about longer journeys. Maybe the next trip!