|
![]() |
||
![]() |
|||
I am often asked how much is required to do an Around the World trip. It’s a difficult answer to provide,
since it depends on the region and attractions one wants to see, a person’s spending habits, and the level of luxury
that one requires during travels.
I can assure the doubtful that traveling does not have to only for the rich and wealthy; it can be done with limited funds. Here are a few guidelines to traveling on a budget for the independent traveler. 1. Set a budget. To travel on a budget, you need to set one from the start to have an idea of how much the trip will cost. I started with a skeleton budget – the bare minimum needed – by charting out the destinations I wanted, the costs of flights and things that I wanted to do in each country. To that, I added costs for accommodations and researched to see how much main attractions I wanted to see would cost. I then added the cost for food and incidentals that would come on the road. If you’ve never been on the road or have no idea of the cost in a region, an online cost calculator can be particularly helpful. By using a search engine, you can easily find several online calculators that allows you to determine a general budget per day, depending on your style of travel. 2. Use budget and local airlines to cut costs on flights. If you are traveling around the world, consider getting an Around the World ticket. For my initial budget, I had used Expedia, a popular travel search engine, to set the costs of flights. As I did further research, I found several budget regional airlines that were significantly cheaper than what was shown on Expedia. From my experience, Expedia searches the major airlines but neglects many of the local budget ones. An easy way to find local budget airlines is by googling “budget airlines” and the area you are traveling in. For example, in Australia, I searched “budget airlines Australia” and was able to find airlines such as Jetstar and Virgin blue. Between the local airlines in Australia, Vietnam and Thailand, I was able to cut $250 off the costs of flights, as compared to the originally quoted cost on Expedia. Many people traveling around the world will opt for cheaper Around the World tickets. I find that this is best for those with flexibility in their travel. Around the World tickets should be used as a skeleton in terms of the regions to be traveled; local transportation will likely need to be purchased on top of this. For example, a ticket might bring the traveler to the South East Asia region, but you might find yourself booking local flights or taking busses and trains to get around. For my trip, since I had such specific locations in mind and a limited timeframe, I found that there was no cost-benefit in booking an Around the World ticket. 3. Stay in hostels with free breakfast, a kitchen and free internet. Hostels have long been a means for budget-minded travelers to stretch their money further. Simply put, a hostel allows cheap accommodation by booking a bed in a room of many, often 4 to 8 beds. Communal bathrooms are usually down the hall. The amenities provided is often dependant on the hostel itself; some have a lounge area, bar and kitchen. Keep in mind that not all hostels are created equally; some may have more things available in the nightly fee as compared to others. Food can be one of the biggest cost, and not just for travelers. Back home, a glance over my bills often reveals that I’ve spent a good chunk of my salary just on dining out. During travel, cutting down on dining out can be one of the best ways to saving money. I look for hostels with a free breakfast. Many hostels will serve a simple breakfast during limited hours. Make it a point to always get up in time for the free meal. You can often snag some snacks for later in the day. A kitchen will allow you to go to the supermarket and create low-budget meals. There is no difference between cutting down costs back home and on the road when you have a kitchen; look for sustainable low cost meals. I tend to buy groceries to make simple wraps or sandwiches that can be packed into a ziplock bag. This allows me mobility about the city while letting me have my bagged lunch. If you are traveling with a laptop, try to find a hostel with free wireless. Depending on the country you are in, you may be able to find plenty of hostels that meet this requirement. A huge incremental cost to travel is time spent in internet cafes. With new technology and lower costs, I see more and more people on the road with small travel laptops. Having access to internet will allow you the ability to communicate with those back home and to research more about your trip. 4. Know your priorities. You will be lured by numerous tourist “once-in-a-lifetime” chances during your travels. Remember, tourism is the main source of income in many places. There will be many temptations along the way. By prioritizing the exact things that you want to see and accomplish in a city, you can remain focused on what you came to do. If you know your priority, then you may be less likely to splurge your limited funds on shopping. Priorities will depend on you. Some people enjoy simply partying and meeting people in a new city; others arrive with expectations to take tours to see nature. There is no right or wrong priority, there is simply knowing what you want to do. During my Sydney trip, I came with two goals: to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge and to meet the local Australian wildlife. The BridgeClimb was phenomenal, but it also meant that I was spending a good chunk of change on one attraction. To compensate, I had to have a larger budget for Sydney and had to cut costs on other activities. Know yourself – what will you enjoy and what won’t you enjoy? 5. Research ahead. You don’t necessarily need to have everything booked on your trip before you leave but it does help to get an idea of how cheap a hostel bed is or how much transport will cost. I like to book a couple days stay in a hostel prior to arrival in a city; it allows me find out if extra freebies such as breakfast and internet are provided. Knowing the cost of transport can be particularly useful in places where scams are more likely to take place. Before my Cancun trip, I researched and found out the cost of a taxi to the hotel. Upon arrival, I found that every shuttle and taxi had professionally printed prices (meaning, they were laminated and thus ‘not negotiable’) that were twice the amount that I’d researched! Knowing the normal cost, I was able to negotiate the price down. Remember – many countries are much less well off than ours. It’s natural for people to get creative in trying to get the most of our hard-earned dollars; to them, it’s a matter of survival. Being prepared will help you avoid getting ripped off. 6. Cut the crap spending. Both on the road and at home, spending on “nice-to-haves” such as coffee, cigarette, and expensive alcoholic drinks can easily suck a wallet dry. On the road, cutting the spending on this stuff can easily extend the length of your trip, allow an extra activity, or just allow you to go home with change in the pocket. I am an admitted coffee fiend. During my first week on the road this trip, I have gone through days of extreme caffeine withdrawal. Often times I have craved to get a coffee but even so, I try to be smart about it. If I cave and have a coffee, I make it an activity in itself. I’ll find a great location to have the coffee and slowly enjoy the event of drinking a cappuccino or an espresso. Many of my fellow hostel members have been smokers and it’s a bit unrealistic that they would quit smoking just to be on the road. A good way to minimize the cost of cigarettes is to buy loose tobacco and roll your own cigarettes. If you need to booze, be smart about it. It’s easy enough to purchase a bottle of wine with some friends on the road. Several places also have happy hours where you can get alcohol at ridiculously low prices. 7. Be flexible in adjusting. There will be tough days on the road where you might just throw budget to the wind and splurge on excessive spending. Don’t beat yourself up about it – simply adjust to meet your budget. Especially when you’re on the road, you might find an attraction or tour that you simply can’t pass you. See if there are other places in your budget where you can subtract a bit from. You might be able to make by with cereal and simple meals to allow the budget to recuperate. 8. Mind your shit – if your belongings are lost or get stuff stolen, it will cost you to replace it. An unfortunate truth of being on the road is that your stuff may be stolen. I’ve had my purse stashed before and clothing stolen from my hostel room. From these experiences, I’ve learned to always be aware of pickpockets and to lock up my stuff when possible. Keep a bearing of what you’ve packed and it will help avoid situations where you leave things behind or lose them. If it does get stolen or lost – look for bargains. One thing I learned on this trip is that budget shopping is extremely easy when you’re near Chinatown. A general rule of thumb I use is that where there are Chinese people, there will be good deals. I found this to be true when I needed to purchase a SD card reader and found a Chinese shop that cost half the price than the local shop in the mall. 9. Be realistic. If you’re normally a big spender, it may not be realistic to set a budget that would restrict yourself to a strict budget. It’s always better to set a higher budget than necessary. This will allow you money to blow lavishly at the end if you come out ahead. I generally set my ideal budget, then increase it by 20% to allow a more realistic view of what the trip will cost. 10. Discipline is key! In the end, it’s really a matter of discipline in keeping your budget in mind. Remind yourself of what your priorities are on this road; this should help reduce spending on excessive things. Do you really want to sacrifice your trip to Machu Picchu in order to do a bit of impulse shopping on the road? It’s all a matter of putting it in perspective. |
![]() |
||
|
![]() |
||
![]() |