Traveling the world is a great aspiration. But because of the perceived cost, many people let the dream stay on the shelf gathering dust until it becomes something that they regret never doing. Sadly, the fear of what the cost might be is enough to put so many people off even looking at a few options. However, you can travel the entire world on a budget. And you don’t need to sign up for 5 different ‘digital nomad’ courses on your Instagram feed either. 

The first thing, and the most obvious thing before we go into any tips is to start saving. It doesn’t matter how much, you just need to make a start.

Cheap Countries

If ‘travel the world’ to you means the big cities and bright lights, then you are always going to be looking at a high cost. They charge a premium because they are in the media as the ‘go-to’ destinations. But for every big-lights-bright-city area there is a smaller, cheaper and brilliant alternative. You know what your budget is, so rather than saying ‘I can’t go here for X amount’ switch it up. You’ll find that Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, China, and Vietnam are great places to spend time and make your money stretch. Bali and Thailand too! 

Work There

If you are planning on traveling for a few weeks or more, then find work. If you have a lot of computer skills, then the chances are you can already work on the go. If not, you are going to have to really muck in. Bars, food services, TEFL, work in the hostel that you are staying in are all possible. 

Find Free Activities 

If you are traveling from place to place jumping head first into all of the ‘must-sees,’ Instagram, tourist trap sites then you are going to drain your wallet faster than you can imagine. The first thing you can do as soon as you have decided on a location that you want to go to is simply google ‘free things to do in X’ and see what comes up. There will be a lot of things in the place that you probably didn’t think about. Sports, hiking, walking around the city or area, free museum days, and art galleries. There is so much more to every place on earth than just the ‘main’ attractions. 

Eat Smarter

While part of the joy of being on holiday is the luxurious food that we all indulge in, when traveling, you have to be a bit more revered. And, as you are looking to make your money go further, you should consider making changes. Fruits and vegetables are safe to eat almost everywhere, you’ll probably need to give them a wash though. After that, unless you are in a country with water you can’t drink from the tap – you should carry two water bottles with you at all times. Most cafes and coffee shops won’t mind filling these up for you. Where possible, instead of having meals in restaurants opt for something smaller like street food, or cook for yourself. 

Stay With Locals

This might seem a little odd, but in many places, you can stay with people who live in the area. Couchsurfing was a big trend a few years ago and is still one of the best ways to really get to know the locals, the region, and save a wad of cash. You can use sites like couchsurfing.com to find people to stay with. 

One Thing At A Time

If you are just feeling overwhelmed with all of the options and ways to cut costs, then it is time to think outside the box a little. Cruise deals are a great way to see multiple countries over the space of a couple of weeks. This means if you have a list of European countries that you want to visit, you can do it most efficiently, and the following year do the Carribean and so on until you have been everywhere that you wanted to see. Cruises are hugely budget-friendly once you add up all of the other options for seeing so many countries, with 3 square meals a day plus all of the extra activities. 

WWOOF

You can swap a hard day’s work for food and accommodation in the more expensive countries. USA, New Zealeand, Australia and some parts of Europe too. You’ll need to spend around $40 on membership to WWOOF, but you can then sit and go through all of the jobs that are available until you find something in the location that you want to stay in. 

Traveling on a budget is more likely to give you the world experience that you really want.