Guide to Budjet Travel

Travel as if you lived there
Traveling on a small budget (or the desire to stretch it as long as possible) involves developing strategies! There are plenty of tips and tricks. The most important thing is to find those that suit you. On my first big trip, we had no plan. Our only guideline was our budget: “when we have no more money, we go home”… And that’s exactly what we did, coming home with less than a dollar in our pocket!

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We have, at times, lived with a very low standard of living, eating white rice every day and sleeping in places that are dilapidated to say the least like hostels for example. Over time, we adopted another course of action, less based on the budget and more on our needs. Respect a certain balance and comfort of life. Finally, the formula that works for me is to live as if I lived there. This means, for example: on the food side, to frequent the establishments where the locals go; on the transport side, to move with the transport they use… And that also means traveling more slowly: seeing less, but better! A more immersive journey closer to the reality of the country's inhabitants.

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Use the same services as locals

Service offers and companies that develop to meet tourist demand generally charge quite high costs. A meal at a restaurant that serves Western food will cost two to three times the price of a good meal at a restaurant frequented by locals. Choose these restaurants, markets and street food stalls. When you arrive somewhere new, ask the locals about the best places to eat in town, or just look at the restaurants that have a high influx of locals. This is the best indicator of quality. Street food remains the most affordable. For only a dollar, you will often have a full meal in some countries. For transport, the principle remains the same. Private shuttles that serve the most touristic destinations in a country often have exorbitant prices. For example, in Panama, this type of transport costs around US$40 for a three-hour drive. By local transport, it costs only a few balboas to travel the same route. The latter are certainly much slower, less direct and less well maintained, but they are also much more economical. Using the same services as the locals will save you a lot of money, and at the same time you will be able to share moments with the people of the countries you visit and discover more about certain aspects of their culture.

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Limit your alcohol consumption
When traveling, one of our biggest expense items is food. We cannot limit ourselves, because it is unthinkable for us to discover a country without doing it through its gastronomy. In Armenia vodka is almost no more expensive than bottled water, however, in many countries alcohol quickly raises the bill for meals and outings. Limiting your alcohol consumption sometimes saves a lot of money and you enjoy your trip just as much. In Tahiti, for example, a bottle of vodka costs no less than 45 dollars in stores… and a pack of 6 beers around 20+ dollars. Consuming less to travel more and enjoying every encounter and moment of our travels is one of the travel saving tips !