I didn’t start traveling until I was about 30 years old, so I never experienced the gap year/party hostel mode of travel. But I have always been a budget traveler, so I’ve had to learn how to balance budget strategies with making decisions that felt age and comfort-appropriate. I don’t think budget and comfort are mutually exclusive concepts, but I do think you have to know the budget travel tips and tricks that will give you a happy medium while on the road.
Image credit: Shawn Ford
Travel can become extremely affordable when you learn how to use the local resources. Depending on where you travel to, it could make your trip even cheaper than just staying home! In earlier posts I talked about how to overcome the biggest expenses of airfare and lodging by using frequent flyer miles and staying with couchsurfers or in hostels. I’ll discuss other lodging options in future e-mails, but those are the main ways I save when I travel. After those big expenses, the next big money pits are food and ground transportation. However, if you learn to use the resources that the locals use, you may find you spend even less than you do on food and transportation at home, especially in some of the world’s cheaper destinations, such as many countries in Latin America and Southeast Asia.