How to travel on a budget and why this will completely change your life

Photo by Deanna Ritchie on Unsplash

Many people think that if you want to travel, you need money... a lot of money. This is such a wrong and limiting belief, a big fat excuse for people who don't have the guts to travel.

Actually, for a long time, I believed the same thing – that you needed a lot of money so you could afford a vacation. Many people still think like that. The thing is that is not completely wrong. It all comes to your priorities. If you want to chill out in a hotel room, drinking cocktails by a pool, doing nothing, ops, sorry I meant “sunbathing” and pretending that you have more money that you actually have... well, yes, you need a lot of money. But if your priority is to visit a new place, meet local people, discover a new culture, walking on small hidden streets and tasting the real life of the place you are visiting, this article is for you.

I have been thinking for a longtime that many people complain about not having enough money and how this stops them to do the things they want to do. For me, if you really want to do something and you don't do it, that means you don't really want to do it. When you want something, you go for it, no matter what. There is nothing stopping you! This is the brutal truth! Everything else is just excuses, mostly based on fears and lack of confidence.

So last year, I decided to travel on a budget for the first time in my life. I did not have a lot of money and I had two weeks off of my job. The plan was to go to Barcelona, Toulouse, Montpellier and Marseille and try to keep my budget as tight as possible. What did I do to achieve that and what did I learn from this trip? Fasten your seat belt!

Prepare your trip.

If you want to travel on a budget, you have to prepare your trip a couple of months before. Get clear on what you really want to do and where you want to go. What is the purpose of your trip? Why do you want to go to this place? These are very basic questions but they will give you a very important information about your true motives and also, how to plan your stay and your budget. Once you did that, find information about the lifestyle in this country. Is it cheaper than the country you actually live in? Is it more expensive? This will help you a lot to plan your budget and to figure out if you have the money you will need or you have to work a few more months.

In my case it was pretty easy, as I live in France and I did not go too far away. So I started looking for cheap tickets maybe 2 months before the actual trip.

Try different vehicles.

Many people think that if you go abroad, you definitely have to travel by plane. Well, if you live in France and want to go to Australia, maybe the easiest way to do it is by plane. But other options exist as well. I love traveling by bus. Yes it is long and tiring but I don't mind. Sometimes, the person next to you is cool and you can start a conversation. Also, you could see beautiful views through the window that you would not see if you travel by plane. And don't forget that buses are way cheaper than planes. It is the same thing with cars. Sometimes renting a car is cheaper than using public transport, especially if you want to stay longer in the country and see more things. Nowadays, you have websites like blablacar where you could find other folks wanting to share their car and go to the same place as you. So don't miss that! Many people travel by bike. You have international bike lines and you can literally travel the whole globe by bike. And also meet cool bikers on the road. Last but not least, you can hitchhike. Yes, I know that for many of you this sounds scary and crazy but it is such an amazing experience! Although, I highly recommend to that with a friend and not alone. Anyway, everytime I hitchhiked, I met great, amazing, joyful, good people and I felt so fortunate to spend my time with them. I have always had amazing conversations and so much laugh with these beautiful people. This is one of the experiences that make me remember that good people still exist.

So be open to new experiences.

Couchsurf or find a hostel.

Both – couchsurfing and hostels are great! You don't spend much money, if you couchsurf you don't spend money at all, and you meet great local people or other people traveling and willing to share their experience with you. Local people will show you places which are not really touristic but that could give you the real taste of the life in the country. Other travelers are very often willing to go out, explore the city, have fun, have drinks and spend their time with other people who are traveling as well. I met great people through CS, people I am still in touch with and feeling so fortunate to know them.

So don't be afraid to meet new people and try CS or find a cheap hostel.

When it comes to food – go back to the basics.

Food is a very important part of any trip. And while I like traveling on a budget, I always try to eat healthy and this could be a big challenge when you are not in your own home cooking your own meal. When I travel I rarely cook so I really try to stay close to the basics – eating fresh fruit and vegetables, nuts, salads, drinking water and tea. If you travel in the summer it is very easy to go to a market and buy something and eat it in a beautiful park or on the beach, by the river... In the winter it could be more difficult because it is cold but you could always find a place like a mall or another covered public place where you can eat a salad or a sandwich. At the end, I think that it is good to go at least once to a traditional restaurant and eat a typical meal for the country. You will have a very good souvenir and you can have an idea of what people in this area like to eat. It also reveals so many things about the culture, the traditions and the mentality.

Walk.

Another thing that I highly recommend when it comes to traveling on a budget is do not take public transport! Just walk! Get lost! It will save you money and it will allow you to see so much more. The best places I have visited during my trips were not necessary the touristic ones but those that I found while I was searching for them. So walk, walk and walk. It is also a great way to work your body out while you are away and can't go to the gym.

How does this change your life?

If you still don't know how traveling on a budget can completely change your life and your perception of travel, you just have to try it and feel it by yourself. Meeting new people, going out of your comfort zone, realizing that discovering a new culture rather than drinking cocktails by a pool, give you a whole different perception of the world. You see bigger, larger. Your eyes open for things that you didn't know existed. You go back to the basics in terms of food, of transport, of communication. You connect again with people and you connect again with yourself. While you travel, you learn so much about yourself, about who you really are. You literally become a better person. It is a real transformational experience! When I came back from my trip, I felt this great feeling that everything is going to be ok, that you can always find a way to get what you want and that no matter what you are going through, you are going to be fine! Love, Elena