Let’s talk about money. Probably the number one reason people don’t travel more is the expense (especially if we consider taking time off work as a kind of expense in itself). I’m not going to tell you that’s a bad reason, especially since I just came back from Iceland where I spent WAY more than I could have imagined possible, despite camping and going to exactly one restaurant the entire trip. However, if you are even a little flexible, the cost of travel is extremely elastic. So for the next few days I’m going to post a daily thought about making travel affordable. Just to make sure that you’re taking me seriously, consider that I traveled the world (that’s not an exaggeration, I circled the world and spent time on four continents) non-stop for 18 months and spent $12,000, flights included. Got your attention? Here’s today’s thought: CONDITION: When people (actually, scratch that. When Americans) hear how long I traveled, their eyes go wide and just behind their eyes is a question trying to explode out: “How did you afford to travel for two years?!” Just as apparent in this question is that they are silently multiplying whatever they spent over two weeks in New York or London by 52. So, short answer, I worked abroad and saved money. Necessary addition to short answer, I did not work as a CEO of a multi-national bank.
Somehow today’s topic is simultaneously a no-brainer like the previous topic, and also controversial. In a nutshell, if you’re flexible about your travel conditions then price immediately drops accordingly. Now before you assume I’m going to tell you how cheap it can be to hitchhike, couch-surf, and dumpster-dive your way around the world, let me be clear that comfort is a spectrum. Finding your place on that spectrum is somewhat trial and error, but my first point is that we need to look beyond what has become the “traditional” method of tourism, what I like to call the oh-my-god-I-only-have-ten-days-to-do-everything-so-let’s-spend-all-the-money-because-I-won’t-have-another-vacation-for-years style. My second point here is that if you love travel and feel that money is what’s stopping you from doing more of it, then it’s better to experiment with travel below your comfort-tolerance level than to never fulfil your travel dreams because you can’t afford to do it the “traditional” way.
I don’t know anyone who knows more about the extreme side of budget travel than Kent Foster, the Dromomaniac himself, who has been traveling for 25 years and often averages around $10 a day including flights (check out his website section on cheap flights; I would make that topic a How To Go Abroad post in itself except that he has already explained everything you’ll need to know). I have never seen anyone with his tolerance for living out of a small backpack, having no private space, making small talk with complete strangers while hitchhiking, and spending hours or even days to find the cheapest route from A to B. But the payoff is that he travels full-time, has been to over 100 countries, has almost daily experiences that are close to the stories we read to escape from our 9-5 lives, and is debt free. On the other side of the spectrum is someone who in 10 days abroad manages to spend the kind of money that would keep Kent on the road for six months, then spends the rest of the year complaining that travel is too expensive. Again, to clarify, if you can only get a week off a year and want to go big, that is the perfect place for you on the comfort spectrum. But if you’re using that standard to convince yourself that you’d have to be a millionaire to travel more, then think again. So what am I talking about really? Well, there are a lot of specifics, and things like Couchsurfing, hitchhiking, eye-red flights, and wild camping are definitely real things that save you real money and are much less likely to cause you harm than getting into your car to drive to work. But these are the extreme side, less plausible the older you are, and understandably intimidating (although if you want to approach practically free-travel, those are all the tools you need).
The key is research on three topics, Transport, Accommodations, and Food. These are the unavoidable essentials, and the more you can experiment with a budget-approach to each of the three then the cheaper your travel will be. Rather than taking the easiest way (taxi or tour bus), find out how the locals get from place to place. It will probably be more challenging and possibly uncomfortable, but definitely much less expensive. And seriously, hitchhiking; I know it’s not for everyone or possible everywhere, but take a minute to think about the magic of the fact that if you just stand on the right corner with your thumb in the air, sooner or later you can get to where you’re going for free (see www.thedromomaniac.com
for more hitchhiking tips, he taught me everything I know)! Of course you’d prefer to have your own room and working A/C, but that will cost at least five times the cost of a bed in a hostel, and a hostel will be much expensive and probably more cramped than finding a nice host on through couchsurfing. There’s sure to be lots of shiny restaurants with English menus in the tourist area of town, but stop to ask the locals where they eat, or even track down a grocery store to throw together your own lunch. I’m wandering into a different topic, but depending on the country consider tweaking the type of trip to make it more budget friendly. In India you can eat in a restaurant for every meal and have your own room in a “Hotel” and still stay under $10 a day, so problem solved. In Iceland, where the same style will cost at least a couple hundred dollars a day, maybe that’s the perfect place for that backpacking trip that’s been on your bucketlist! Not only will you be immersed in nature in a country that everyone visits for its nature, but walking around the country while camping and eating sandwiches is going to be the most budget friendly approach possible.
Country-specific tips and budget-travel websites are endless, but the important thing is the mentality. The model of travel we usually see seems to be based on spending large amounts of money to insulate us from the discomfort of being in an unfamiliar place. You’d be amazed by how quickly costs start to drop as soon as you step out of your comfort zone, which I think is an important part of travel anyway!
As I said, this topic could be rather controversial. If I missed something, or you think I don’t see the facts correctly, I’d love to hear from you!
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