16 BEST Budget Tips on How to Travel the World Cheaply

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By Pete R., a solo traveler, travel blogger, and photographer with over 10+ years of experience.

Updated on May 17, 2024 | Comment

Ever since I started traveling the world and blogging my journey on the BucketListly Blog, so many people have come up to me and asked me how I managed to travel the world for so long. People often associate traveling as a luxurious activity, which is somewhat untrue.

In my eyes, traveling is less of a luxury and more of a privilege. There is no denying that you have to be privileged in some ways (having a first-world passport, for example) in order to have the opportunity to travel, but that doesn't mean you have to be rich to do so.

I've been traveling for 8 years, earning mostly from my freelance side business and recently from this travel blog. My business and I aren't worth a dime compared to those people who regularly go on luxurious trips around the world, and yet, amidst all the traveling for the past 8 years, I still managed to continue accumulating my savings.

On a good year, I would be traveling to over 10 countries per year with a minimum of 2 weeks in each place, and yet, at the end of each trip, I still have enough money to go into my savings. How is that even possible?

Well, I am here to help you travel the world cheaply, as I have done for the past 8 years, with all the life lessons and tips & tricks I have learned along the way. These tips are what I often use to save costs for my travels, and they have never failed me once. Without further ado, let's take a look at the 16 best tips on how to travel the world cheaply.

Want to plan your first backpacking trip? Check out:How To Plan A Backpacking Trip

How to Find Cheap or Free Accommodation?

Stay in Hostels

I know, I know. Staying in a room with a bunch of random strangers may not sound very appealing to you, especially with all the terrible movies like Hostel painting a negative picture for hostels. But the fact is, hostels are one of the best ways to save costs when traveling.

Nowadays, hostels have become more and more attentive to the ever-increasing backpackers and travelers on a budget, so much so that sometimes, the quality of the hostels surpasses even those old, outdated hotels you often find around the city center.

Long gone are the days of sleeping on squeaky bunk beds with no privacy in a dingy room. Hostels nowadays come with capsule-style beds, curtains, equipped with modern and clean furniture, provide free buffet-style breakfast, fast WIFI, and so much more.

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A bed in a hostel often costs a quarter of a hotel price, and with the main demographic of hostels being backpackers who prefer walking around a city rather than renting a car, you are guaranteed to stay in a centralized location. This will save you even more on transportation.

Not to mention all the activities you can do with other travelers to save costs, like going on a shared tour with others instead of paying full price on your own for activities, further saving you even more money.

The fact is, the money you often spend while traveling goes almost entirely towards accommodation, and being able to save a third of that cost every night will save you a ton more money than if you are trying to save in other ways.

Not convinced? Well, let's think of it this way: when you travel, how often do you stay in your hotel room? Probably only for sleeping, while you spend the rest of the day out exploring, right? Why should you pay the full price of a hotel room and all its unnecessary amenities if you are going to spend only 8 hours a day?

It doesn't make sense to spend that much money on things you don't have time to enjoy, and hostels will allow you to strip all those down to the very core and only let you pay for what you really need: a bed.

Now, finding a good hostel is another story, and it would need another entire article to explain the art of picking high-quality cheap hostels to stay in. Ultimately, I recommend you take a look at Hostelworld or Booking.com and make decisions based on three things: price, location, and reviews. This should help you find a great cheap hostel when you travel.

Looking for an alternative to Airbnb, a vacation rental, or a homestay instead of hostels and hotels?8 Best Airbnb Alternatives to Use

Go Couchsurfing

Hostels are great and all, but if you are looking for a free way to stay in a place, you can try couchsurfing. For those of you who do not know what couchsurfing is, it is a community of people around the world who open their homes, sometimes offering a couch or an entire spare bedroom, to travelers for free. This way, they can meet interesting people, share interesting stories, and exchange cultures.

One of the most popular couchsurfing websites to help match you with a host is Couchsurfing.org, which is one of the first places I would recommend you browse through before you arrive in a new city. Contact a host whom you find interesting and message them to see if they want to host you.

With public references, reviews, and its verification system provided on the platform, you can ensure your safety when you go couchsurfing by selecting the host with great reviews from other travelers and a place in which you would feel comfortable staying.

All in all, couchsurfing is a great way to save on accommodation when traveling even further and provide you with a chance to meet some really cool locals, which is extremely valuable when you are visiting a new city.

How to Get Around Cheaply When Traveling?

Jump on a Good Flight Deal

One of the highest expenses when it comes to traveling is buying a flight ticket. But with so much competition out there in the travel industry nowadays, it should not be hard to come across a great flight deal to a place you want to visit.

Airlines like RyanAir, WizzAir, and EasyJet in Europe; AirAsia and Lion Air in Asia; and JetBlue and Southwest in the US often offer great flight deals during the summer to help entice travelers, so be sure to keep an eye out for that.

A friend of mine found a round-trip flight from Poland to Mexico for only $50~ USD! Can you believe it? An almost 10,000 km (6,156~ miles) long flight for less than $100 USD. I couldn't believe it when she told me about the deal.

The best ways to look out for cheap flights is to browse through websites like Skyscanner or Expedia, select a desired location, and instead of picking a date, try selecting an entire month instead, and pick the cheapest day to travel.

More often than not, Tuesday and Wednesday are the cheapest days to book your flight, so be sure to keep an eye out for that when you are looking to buy a flight ticket.

Take Public Transportation

One of the cheapest and best ways to experience a place is to act like a local and use public transportation. I understand that it can be quite confusing at first when you arrive in a new city and have to wrap your head around its public transportation system, but once you get the hang of it, you will be able to travel far and wide without breaking the bank.

If you are in a big city, try using their mass transit trains to travel around the city cheaply and conveniently. They are often the most straightforward form of transportation and shouldn't take long to get your head around. They are also cheap, reliable, and efficient.

For long-distance travel, buses and trains are some of the best ways to get around from one city to another cheaply and efficiently while allowing you to see the countryside as you travel. You can also save even more on accommodation if you take an overnight bus instead of a bus during the day.

It also helps that more often than not, bus and train stations are located right in the city center where you can then walk to your accommodation or the tourist attractions without having to take a taxi, saving you more money even further.

Nowadays, you can easily get a ticket for a long-distance trip on a bus or a train via websites like Busbud.com (for Europe and South America) and 12Go (for Asia) beforehand without having to deal with the chaos at the bus and train stations, so make sure to check them out before your journey.

Get a Rail Pass

For places like Western Europe and Japan, where even public transportation can get rather pricey, buying a Rail Pass beforehand will save you a ton of money when you move around the country.

Most developed countries with expensive public transportation usually offer tourists a Rail Pass to help them get around the country without breaking the bank. Usually, these passes will allow you to travel on trains as many times as you like for a fixed period of time. It often costs less than if you were to buy these tickets individually and will save you money in the long run.

That said, there are a few caveats. One is that you have to be a tourist, as these tickets are often exempted by the government to help international tourists. Secondly, you have to travel on a set schedule. Lastly, you have to buy it before you arrive in the country, so be sure to plan your trip accordingly and buy a Rail Pass in advance.

Many of these places also offer a student discount for Rail Pass tickets, so if you are currently a student and are under the age of 26, be sure to bring your student ID with you when you travel.

Switzerland has the Swiss Pass, which allows you to travel around the country as many times as you like within a fixed duration. Japan has JR Pass, Europe has Eurail Pass, and the US has AMTRAK Rail Pass, so be sure to plan your trip accordingly and make sure to buy these Rail Pass tickets before you arrive.

Hitchhiking

For those of you who are looking for a free way to get around a place when you travel, you can also try hitchhiking. I would recommend you hitchhike only in countries where hitchhiking is considered normal, such as New Zealand and Australia, or places where the locals are friendly and public transportation is scarce, like the Karakoram Highway in Pakistan.

Hitchhiking is a waiting game, and there are tips and tricks you should know before you start hitchhiking. First and foremost, check the law and make sure that hitchhiking is legal. You don't want to get in trouble with the police, especially when you are abroad and don't know the language.

Secondly, be ready to spend a lot of time on the day you are planning to hitchhike. It can take hours before you get picked up by a local, and even then, they might not take you straight to the place you want to go. So, you will probably have to hitchhike more to go further. I would often allocate an entire day for traveling when I plan to hitchhike to faraway places.

Thirdly, pick a good location for the cars to stop. Don't bother hitchhiking at a curve or in a city. Go outside of a city and stand on a road that goes toward your destination to increase the chance of cars passing through the place. Make sure you stand on a straight road with ample space for the drivers to consider picking you up and park for you to get in.

Lastly, take precautions by texting a friend the license plate and avoid flashing your valuables around. If you think something seems off about the driver, do not get in the car with him/her. Trust your instincts, and if something seems fishy, get out of the situation as fast as possible.

For friendly countries like Australia and New Zealand, you won't need to do it, but just in case, I have hitchhiked for many years in countries like New Zealand, Pakistan, and Kyrgyzstan without any problems. However, it is always better to be safe than sorry.

For those of you who are not comfortable hitchhiking, you can also try a carpooling app like Blablacar.com to match with a driver and travel with them inexpensively. They are available in most countries in Western and Central Europe, and it is one of the most affordable ways to get around the continent.

Walk

There is just no better way to explore a new city than to do it on foot. Walking is free, it allows you to experience the city as it is, and allows you to observe the authenticity of a place in a way that no other mode of transportation can provide.

Most tourist attractions in old cities are often concentrated in one area, most likely an old town area, and they are often within walking distance of one another. So, when you are choosing accommodation to stay in the city, be sure to pick ones that are centrally located and allow you to visit the tourist attractions on foot.

This way, it will save you a bit of money on transportation while allowing you to walk around the tourist attractions at your own leisure and enjoy the city the way it is meant to be, by exploring on foot.

How to Eat Cheaply When Traveling?

Eat Like a Local

One of the greatest joys of traveling to places like Thailand and Taiwan is trying all the street foods one can find at night markets. Local street foods come in many varieties to choose from, they are often very delicious, and best of all, they are dirt cheap compared to the exact same food sold in restaurants.

For example, if you were to go into a fancy restaurant in Thailand and order a Pad Thai, you would expect to pay a minimum of 60 - 100 THB for one dish. However, if you went out to the night markets where all the locals hang out, you would only be paying 35 - 40 THB per dish, which is half the price of what you would pay in a restaurant.

Eating like a local is one of the best ways to save money on food during your travels while still being able to explore the local cuisine. So, if you want to travel cheaply, be sure to visit a local market and try out whatever dishes the locals are having.

Thailand has the best street food in the world? Don't believe me? See for yourself:15 Best Street Foods In Thailand To Try

Cook Your Own Food

In some places, like Western Europe, New Zealand, Australia, and the US, the local food can still be quite expensive. Therefore, if you are looking to save some money, cooking your own food for lunch and dinner is the way to go.

If you are staying in a hostel, which I highly recommend you do if you are looking to save costs, you will most likely have access to a well-equipped kitchen that you can utilize to prepare your lunch and cook your own food for dinner.

With the kitchen available, all you have to do now is go grocery shopping and find cheap, local ingredients to cook with. Buying ingredients from grocery stores is often much cheaper than if you were to go out and eat in a restaurant in places like New Zealand.

In New Zealand, if you were to go out and eat at a restaurant, you can expect to pay around 20 USD per dish. However, if you were to buy ingredients to cook from the grocery store, you can get more than 4 meals' worth of food with the same amount of money.

As you can see, you are saving a ton of money if you cook yourself, but I would not recommend that you do it every day when you are traveling. After all, one of the greatest joys of traveling is tasting the local food, and trust me, you wouldn't want to miss out on that.

To balance it out, I would recommend that you try the local food in a proper local restaurant once in a while when traveling, maybe a meal or two per week, and then cook for the rest of the week. That way, you will be able to save money without sacrificing a crucial local experience.

How to Do Things Cheaply When Traveling?

Go on a Free Walking Tour

When it comes to participating in activities while traveling, there are many ways you can do it cheaply, and one of the most popular ways is to go on a free walking tour, which is often available in most big cities like Madrid, Hong Kong, etc.

Free Walking Tours are often operated by a local tourism organization or a freelancer. They will set up a meeting location, take you and other tourists around the city, and visit all the tourist attractions while explaining the history behind them, all for free.

Once they are done with the tours, they will ask the tourists for donations. If you enjoy the walking tour, you can give your guide a few dollars to show gratitude. They use the concept of Paying-it-forward, which I think is pretty cool and a great way for you to see the city without spending much money.

If you like to travel to big cities and are looking to find these free walking tours, be sure to check out TripAdvisor and all the available activities you can participate in. I often rely on TripAdvisor when I want to go on one of these walking tours and maybe meet some new people along the way.

Pick the Right Place to Do Certain Activities

Of course, you would want to do cool things when you are traveling; otherwise, what is the point of traveling, right? Sure, going on epic tours to the Amazon Forest and flying in a hot air balloon are expensive activities, but that doesn't mean that you can't do them cheaply.

The key to finding cheap things to do while traveling is in picking the right destination to do them in the first place. There are many activities out there that are expensive in one place and cheaper in another.

For example, if you want to get on a hot air balloon, it can cost more than 100 EUR to do so in Cappadocia, Turkey, whereas you would pay half the price if you were to do it in Luxor, Egypt. The same goes for extreme activities like ice-climbing, which can be expensive in Western Europe but extremely cheap in places like Peru and Nepal.

For those of you who are looking to participate in cool activities while traveling without breaking the bank, be sure to find the right city and country to do them in. Look for prices on Viator and GetYourGuide before planning a trip so you can compare the price and pick the best place to do them in.

General Tips on Traveling the World Cheaply

Do Not Exchange Money at the Airport

One rule of thumb when it comes to exchanging money abroad is to not exchange them at the airport at all, or use the ATM for that matter. They will often rip you off big time with ridiculous withdrawal fees, sometimes losing over 50% of the value.

I recommend that you rely on your credit card before you leave the airport, or simply prepare a small amount of money that is just enough to exchange at the airport. This will allow you to leave the airport and then exchange the rest later when you are at a proper currency exchange place.

Use Student Discount When Possible

In many places in Europe and around the world, there are often student discounts you can get for museums and train tickets. So, if you are currently a student, be sure to bring a valid student ID card with you when you travel.

Work While You Travel

Of course, if you have no money coming in when you are traveling long term, everything becomes even more expensive. So, if you have a skill set that is in demand right now, such as programming, graphic design, and digital marketing, you can offer your skills to local businesses and make some money on the side to help fund your travel.

There are many ways you can make money while you travel that can earn you between 100 USD per month and 4,000 USD. For some ideas, I highly recommend you check out a comprehensive list of 40 jobs you can do while traveling written by Matt from Expertvagabond.com.

Get Tips From Locals

No one knows a city better than those who live in it. So, if you are looking for tips on a place you are visiting - where to eat, what to see, and where to go - try asking a local you encounter for some advice.

A great place to start is the receptionist at your hostel. When you arrive at your accommodation, strike up a conversation with them. Ask them where all the cool kids hang out in this city, and they should be able to provide you with some really interesting local insights and tips you can use.

Pick Cheap Destinations to Visit

As the saying goes, it's all about location. If you want to travel the world cheaply, one of the best things you can do is to pick a cheap place to travel to in the first place.

Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, and South America, for example, are some of the most beautiful and cheapest places to visit in the world. They are cheap, offer plenty of awesome places to visit, and are very easy to travel to.

If you are new to traveling and are looking to save costs on your first backpacking journey, I highly recommend visiting Southeast Asia, a tropical continent full of rich nature and interesting cultures for you to indulge yourself in.

Countries like Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia are some of the cheapest places you can visit in the world. They offer a variety of interesting things to do for free, from hiking mountains to swimming in the ocean. They have great local cuisine that is cheap and delicious, which you can try, and the locals are friendly as well.

It is one of the best regions to visit in the world, and for those of you who want to travel the world cheaply, as I did, I highly recommend you start your journey in Southeast Asia.

That is it for the 16 BEST Budget Tips on How to Travel the World Cheaply. Have we missed anything? Have you found the guide useful? Let us know in the comments below!