Backpacking on a Budget

Hello Wonderful People!

Travel can be achieved in endless ways; long trips, weekend breaks, gap years, staycations, summer holidays or day trips. Despite being extremely different in length every trip will always be memorable as long as you’re exploring somewhere new, or doing something a bit different. Of course, the main obstacle between most people and their dream holiday is money. Sadly the magical money tree is yet to be discovered, so if you’re planning on taking a trip (big or small) you’ll need to do some budget planning before you go. Unless you’re a money bags and shower yourself with gold every morning, you’ll have to take every element of your trip into consideration. Transport, food, drink, accommodation, activities, spending money, clothing, insurance, visas and vaccinations all cost money (surprisingly enough) and the bills can soon rack up. Never let the expense of travelling put you off though, as you can do it on the cheap if you’re willing to compromise.

I am by no means a luxury traveller and budget backpacking is more my area of expertise. I’ve managed to travel round South East Asia, the east coast of Australia, New Zealand and South America over a 5 month period without completely breaking the bank. There are so many ways you can save money while travelling and still be guaranteed to have an amazing time. It can take a little while to get into the swing of things, so the first week or so into your trip can be very expensive. Looking back, my first week of travelling was a nightmare. I was a gullible tourist who fell for all the tricks of the trade and I definitely would do things differently if I had the chance. Booking lots of package trips, not haggling and eating at the most touristy restaurant are all sure fire ways of losing out on money. But it happens to the best of us and all you can do is learn from it (quickly) and become a pro bargain traveller.

There are loads of tips and tricks that can help you save the dollar dollar bills while travelling, and most of them involve being confident, street smart and having an eye for a bargain. If you’re travelling anywhere outside of the western world (which most backpackers tend to do) then your money will go a lot further. Exchange rates usually work in your favour when visiting Africa, Asia or South America, which means everything from food to accommodation is stupidly cheaper than what you’d pay back home. Also the rules of western shopping are flung straight out of the window and haggling becomes the best way to get a bargain. Backpacking on a budget can be really easy when you know what to do; so here are a few tips that helped me get from A to B (Asia to Brazil, if you will) without breaking the bank.

Shop around for flights

Don’t just book the first flight you see, always do your research. There are so many companies that do great RTW tickets that you’d be stupid to try and buy each flight individually. I’ve previously used two different companies to buy my flights; STA Travel and Round the World Experts. With STA Travel I got an absolute bargain! I got a flight package for £1100 that flew me from London > Dubai > Bangkok (overland) Singapore > Melbourne (overland) Brisbane > Auckland > London. STA were great, we paid an extra £60 for a multi-flex pass which allowed us to change our flights up to 3 times while we were away for no charge. This ended up being a great shout, as we extended our stay in Asia by 2 weeks, so had to change our Singapore > Melbourne flights. Thanks to STA there was no charge and completely hassle free. We also got a Youth Travel Card when we booked our flights, which was valid for a year and gave you discount in loads of hostels. My flights with Round the World Experts were good value, but I didn’t get any perks like with STA. For £700 I flew London > Rio De Janeiro (overland) Lima > London. These flights were pretty cracking value, especially as I was in South America during the World Cup. Always shop around for flights and don’t be shy to ring up different companies to get the best deal, it could save you a few hundred squids.

Barter for a bargain

Us Brits aren’t great at bartering as we never really get the chance to do it. So when you first land is Asia/Africa/South America it can take a while to get used to haggling for everything. When I first arrived in Thailand I must have been ripped off for everything, as I didn’t want to haggle for everything. After a few days though I soon got used to the bartering culture and started saving money all over the show. Whether your buying street food, jumping in a Tuk Tuk or shopping for souvenirs always haggle the price. You’re a tourist and stand out a mile, so sellers are bound to add a bit extra to the price (fair play to them, so would I), so don’t be shy to dispute it and try and get it down. In Cambodia my friend even haggled down a bottle of Coke in a supermarket. I kid you not! You'll probably feel like a fool at first, but give it time and you'll soon be a pro!

Don't buy package Tours
I made this mistake within a few hours of being in Bangkok and I'm sure I wasn't the first. As a happy, naïve, first time backpacker it never entered my head that people would try and con me out of my money. What a fool I was. I ended up falling for one of the oldest tricks in the book, when it comes to buying tours in Thailand. A lovely tuk tuk driver offered to show us the sights of Bangkok for a stupidly cheap price (like £1 each), so off we went like little lambs to the slaughter. Our first stop just so happened to be at his mates tourist office, where we went in to see the great deals he had. To be fair, they did seem quite cheap (especially compared to what you'd pay back home) so we were hooked. £360 later, we'd booked a 2 week tour of Thailand. Now, in the grand scheme of things we weren't massively ripped off - we got to do and see a lot of Thailand. But we could have done it SO much cheaper if we'd gone about it ourselves. We soon learnt our lesson, and didn't make the same mistake twice. Once in Vietnam, this proved to be a great money saver. We went on a Ha Long Bay 2 day cruise and spent half a day shopping around for the best deal and haggling. When on the boat we learned that we'd paid over 75% less that most on board - purely because they'd all booked package deals or gone with the first offer they'd seen. Always do your research, shop around and just because it's easier to book through a travel agent, doesn't mean it's cheaper.

Know Your Money
Getting to grips with a new currency and exchange rate can be pretty tricky, especially if you're moving from country to country pretty quickly. It's always good to research the exchange rates before hand, so you know exactly what you're getting. Picking a good bank card while travelling is an absolute must. Never just assume your normal debit/ credit card will work abroad. Even if it does, and your bank don't block it for suspicious transactions, you'll probably be hit with ridiculous charges and an unfair conversion. Researching the best type of card to use is something you should definitely do before you go away. There are so many options out there and depending what type of trip you're going on, some cards will be better suited that others. I used a Caxton FX Global Traveller card. It allowed me to easily top it up from my home bank account and gave me a great exchange rate when I withdrew money abroad. Plus there were no extra charges for withdrawing money in a foreign country. If you aren't sure what card to use then you can can use this handy little tool to help you decide.. Check it out here. Again, the moral of the story is to do some research and shop around for the best alternative. If you don't you could be hit with some nasty charges, or be completely blocked from your account.

There really are so many ways to save money while travelling, it doesn't have to be the most expensive experience ever (unless you're loaded -  then whoppie for you). The best advice is to research before you go, so you're already clued up (10 points if you're reading this post, doing your pre-trip research) and know what to expect when you arrive. Always be street smart and try not to fall for any tourist scams. This is probably unavoidable, it happens to the best of us, and the only way to learn is to get out there and do it for yourself!