Tim Patterson over at The Travelers Notebook has written a post on how to travel the world for next to nothing. His advice mostly falls into philosophy-of-travel type advice, but includes a few concrete tips too.
Here’s a summary of his points, paraphrased by yours truly:
1. Enjoy the simple things. This is good life advice in general, but for those with a passion for dressing flash and painting the town red in posh urban areas this won’t mean a whole lot.
2. Don’t consume more than you need. See above.
3. Travel slowly. This is a great point. When you travel slower, you spend less money on transport — plus you have time to discover the bargains in each destination. Not everyone has several months to kill on holiday, but you could try limiting yourself to a one- or two- destination week instead of trying to do, say, a hair-raising dash to check off all the items from your itinerary.
4. Leave your stuff and obligations at home. Unless you want to keep your job and apartment and therefore have to keep paying rent.
5. Leverage the power of a social network. Tim suggests CouchSurfing and WWOOF you get yourself free digs. Ladies, you might want to travel with a partner or carry some mace.
6. Barter your skill or get a job.
7. Get out of the city. Excellent advice. Cities tend to be expensive, dirty and dangerous.
8. Get a job that lets you travel. Unfortunately, most of those jobs suck.
9. Go with the flow.
The days of backpacking all over Western Europe at bargain rates are over. In fact, Western Europe is arguably the most expensive region on the world travel circuit. But some of the 22 countries in this survey are much cheaper than others. It turns out there are bargains to be had after all; you just have to get (way) off the beaten path.
This post follows up in the Cheapest Country series, which has so far included Cheapest Countries in Latin America and Cheapest Countries in Asia.
Here’s a wrap-up of the winners and why you should go:
Andorra: The Cheapest Country in Western Europe?
A tiny country wedged between France and Spain, Andorra offers great mountain panoramas and even better skiing. Better brush up on your Catalan.
#2. Portugal
Attractive beaches, beautiful country vistas, a rich architecture and history. Sound good? Relatively modest prices are the icing on the cake.
#3. Finland
Arguably more a part of Northern than Western Europe, Finland offers oodles of coastline, expansive and untouched wilderness areas for trekking, and a fine city brimming with culture: Helsinki.
What’s the cheapest country in Asia? This post compares the bare minimum travel costs of 17 Asian nations. Daily travel costs range from under $4 to over $30. Here’s a hint: the two cheapest countries both start with the letter “I”.
Continue reading ‘Cheapest Countries in Asia’
Some travel destinations offer much better bang-for-the buck than others. Have you ever wondered which countries offer the best travel bargains?
Here is a wrap up of baseline daily travel budgets for 16 Latin American nations.
Continue reading ‘Latin America’s Cheapest Countries for Travel’