Bumming around the world
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
Most aspects of the travelling experience may be made cheaper than it may look at first. There are many ways to cut down the expenses of travelling, by choosing cheaper ways of travel, accomodation and similar things. There are also possibilities of taking a job for a time while on the move.
Here's some advice on how to make independent travelling and backpacking cheaper and more affordable.
ACCOMODATION
In many cases, accomodation is among the things that will take up most of the money you've brought with you. While some places accomodation is generally expensive, there will be most of the times some cheaper options as well.
CAMPING: As long as you crash out in the wilderness campimg will be free. Although some countries have some stupid law against such activities, it isn't exactly a capital crime and many places it's also legal. Before you do crash out just about anywhere however, it would be a good idea to check out safety and the amount of risk you take of getting robbed, stabbed, assaulted or other nasty things that tend to make travelling rather uncomfortable.
Using camping grounds will of course cost you something, but it will be among the cheapest accomodation available for travellers together with hostels. Many hostels, guesthouses and also some hotels will let you camp on their grounds for a small fee as well, although only some very few will actually advertise this.
HOSTELS: Hostels are usually among the cheapest forms of accomodation available, usually much cheaper than most hotels and similar places. Hostels are also found in many parts of the world. You will probably meet a lot of other travellers and backpackers staying here too. Many places will also let you use a common kitchen for self-catering as well. You might also be offered be a discount if you stay for a certain amount of days, or sometimes you might be able to beat down the prices by paying for long stretches of time at once.
RAILROADSTATIONS AND BUSSTATIONS: This is of course free, and also very uncomfortable. There isn't exactly a bed to spread out on, so you have to do with benches, and the fact that you may at any time of night get thrown out. Before "laying down" for the night, check if the station close at night or if it stays open 24 hours a day, since you will most defenetely get thrown out if it isn't. Looking like a potential traveller (by for instance bringing along a backpack or similar device) will probably lessen the chance of anyone wanting you to clear out of the place. A piece of advice: This is not a way of sleeping that will do you any good for more than a day or two at a time, if you really really doesn't have to.
ROOFTOPS AND GARDENS: In some places of the world many hostels and hotels will let you sleep on the roof, garden or a similar place for a small fee. This is an excellent way of sleeping, at least if the climate is ok, not too cold and the mosquitoes have all gone for a holiday somewhere else at the time. It is usually a good idea to bring your own sleepingbag, although a matress can many times be provided for.
SHARED APPARTEMENTS: For longer stays in (mostly) big cities, it may be an idea to check for possibilities to rent an appartement. The cheapest ones will be appartements that you have to share with others. Shared appartements will usually be cheaper than hostels and also a lot of fun, since you will meet many people that are also staying there temporarily.
EQUIPMENT THAT MAY MAKE THINGS EASIER AND CHEAPER
What should you bring to make travel cheaper. Of course it always depends on how you want to travel, but certain things are worth considering before leaving.
INTERNATIONAL STUDENT IDENTITY CARD: This card, called ISIC-card for short, is an excellent thing to bring with you to recieve a wide range of discounts, from transport-expenses and accomodation to museums, cinemas and concerts. Always flash it, the worst thing that happens will be that the guy/girl behind the counter will not give you a discount since there isn't one. It may be difficult to obtain this card if you can't prove that you're a student, but it may not be completely impossible either. You can apply for one at universities and certain travelling agencies specializing in youth travel, like USIT Campus and Kilroy Travels.
SLEEPINGBAG: Bringing along a sleepingbag is a very good idea to make things easier and cheaper. Many places charge extra if you don't bring your own sleeping gear, so bringing along a sleepingbag is an excellent idea. It is also very important if you intend to do some camping.
TENT: Essential for camping of course (anyone intending to camp should know that without being told it at all). While many camp sites will also hire out tents, bringing your own will make it cheaper. There will also probably be many a time when a tent would come in handy and you are nowhere close to so much as a single sign telling you that there are "Tents for hire, 100 yards this way".
YOUTH HOSTEL ASSOCIATION CARD: Will in many cases give you a discount on your stays at youth hostels. Although they are called youth hostels, there will seldom be an agelimit at the different places, and only some places favour young people in front of the older folk.
FOOD
You certainly have to eat some while on the road as well! There are many options, and the easiest will be the most expensive ones of course: restaurants! There are however different lots of different levels of prices in between the different restaurants, and other options are also open.
RESTAURANTS: This is the easiest, and most expensive. Of course, at least most places you pay the extra to get service, nice food etc., but many times you will have to do without because of the money involved. At the same time the price levels in restaurants differ a lot from place to place, depending on service, quality, exlusiveness and other factors. So you may find bargains once in a while among this group too. You will have to look carefully for them at most times, though... But just like the street stalls mentioned below, this places may also be rather dodgy at times, even if they look nice on the outside. So be careful!
SELF-CATERING: When possible, this will mostly be the cheapest way of eating, and the dullest. Of course you get what you want, and for less money you will usually get a much larger amount of food than at a restaurant or similar places. This is the cheapest way of eating while on the road, just as it is when staying home. Another good side with self catering, is that you have more control of the things you eat, since you know yourself what the food is made by and may make sure it is thourougly cooked to kill bacterias.
STREET STALLS & CHEAPER PLACES: This places will mostly be quite a lot cheaper than the restaurants, and may be a lot more fun to go, since many locals will use them as well. In certain parts of the world you should be a bit careful of eating at certain of this places, and some advice may be a good idea. Usually busy places have better food, since it will be fresher than at places with less activity. Eating at places where many locals go are also a good idea, since they will mostly know what places to avoid. And maybe most important of all: always check that the food is properly cooked! Thourougly cooked or fried food will have killed any (at least most of them) bacterias prevously in the food, and may make things a lot safer for you than it could have been.
TRANSPORT
Another important source for expenses are the actual moving about, and it may be one of the aspects that sucks up the most dough along the way. Here's a couple of tips on how to make it cheap. Firstly, always remember to inquire for discounts for students, youths etc. when buying a ticket. Quite a lot of companies operate with some discounts that you may use, even if you're not aware of it.
BUSES: In most places, buses tend to be among the cheapest public transport systems. They are of course less comfortable than trains, and slower than both trains and planes, but they will usually be the cheapest way of getting around a country or region. Only the cheapest airfares are competible with the prices of buses. Many bus companies also operate with certain discounts and also buspasses which may be valid for instance for 2 weeks. If you're about to travel a lot, buspasses will be a cheaper way of travelling than buying the tickets as you go. In many countries there are also a lot of competing bus companies that may work with different prices, so there may be money to be saved by checking more than one bus company.
HITCHHIKING: In many places of the world hitching is free, while in other places it may be usual to pay a small fee for the service, at least for tourists. Hitching is a great way of getting around, although the time it takes to actually get a ride differs a lot from place to place, and may make you hate certain places and lots of people that just pass you by. A good dose of patience is certainly a valuable thing to bring along. Also, in many parts of the world, hitching may be rather risky or even completely out of the question. Check security before you start standing in the roadside with your thumb out. It is often helpful to bring a sign telling people where you want to go, and it also makes you more visible for the drivers.
ORGANIZED HITCHING: In certain parts of the world, particularly Western and Central Europe, but also places like Canada, there are certain firms that organize hitches. You only have to pay a small fee and some gas money paid to the driver, with whom your driving with. This form of transport is cheaper than both buses, trains and regular flights. Especially well established is the Mitfarhrtszentrale in Germany, where most bigger cities will have a branch office, and it will be pretty easy to pick up a lift to many destinations around the country, as well as other neighbouring countries and cities, say Amsterdam and Prague. This is a very cheap and reliable way of getting around, but unfortunately there isn't too many countries that are working with such an excellent system yet. It may seem to grow and getting more popular, at least in some places.
PLANES: The easiest and fastest way of getting around, and with a bit of luck, it may also be incredibly cheap. Many times it depends on where you buy your ticket, since prices vary a lot from country to country. Most of the cheaper tickets will probably be found in the richer countries, but the kind of ticket you buy will also have a lot to say. Some of the cheapest
flights you can get are charter flights which tend to be quite a lot more affordable than the regular flights. Last chance and standby tickets can also be an option in many places and may be worth checking out. It doesn't always work like this however. For some obscure and unexplainable reason, tickets in some places get more expensive the closer you get to departure. There are also the possibility of buying a so-called round-the-world ticket or round-trip ticket, which will take you on a journey to a certain amount of stops in different places. This ticket will for most of the time be cheaper than buying ticket after ticket as you go. With a bit of sniffing around, there may be lots of possibilities to find cheap tickets, and in some instances flying will be among the very cheapest way of getting around.
TRAINS: More expensive than buses, and in many instances not much cheaper than planes, they are at least more comfortable than both. At least they tend to be for most of the time. Like buspasses, railpasses will suddenly make travelling by train a lot cheaper than buying single tickets, especially if you're about to travel a lot while your railpass is valid.
WORKING
Another way of making your money last longer may be by taking a job or two along the way. Many places are extermely stingy when it comes to submitting working papers, and in most cases you may just as well give it up altogether doing it the legal way. This does not mean you will not find a job however, just don't tell the government about it. Some ideas for work:
CASUAL WORK: This is the kind of work that many travellers and backpackers find themselves doing. You may find casual work in lots of different areas of work, you may for instance end up working in restaurants, pubs, building sites, sports instructors, language teachers, seasonal farmwork and as handymen for private persons. One thing is for sure: you may very well end up with a job you never thought you would ever do! This may pay off some of your expenses, but the wages will seldom be anything to write home to your mum about. At least it should be enough to cover your expenses while you're staying in the place you're working, and also stock up some to move onwards. Most of these jobs are less than legal, so be a bit careful about telling everybody about it. Previous experience or education in the field of work will also be a positive asset when applying for a job. This will mostly be true in certain areas like sports instructors and language teachers. While some places like Israel, the heaven of casual work worldwide, might prove very easy to pick up casual work, other places might be a lot harder. It differs a lot from place to place how easy it is to pick up such jobs as these.
DUAL PASSPORTS: With the right parents or family tree, you might be among the people who can apply for an extra nationality... Specially many can apply for British passports, since the British Empire for quite some time, had a tendency to colonize huge areas of the world, which has left a lot of grandfathers and great grandfathers around in other countries. If you do have parenthood that held a different passport than yourself, you might be entitled to one yourself too. So this is an opportunity to get the chance to live and work in another country than you original one too!
HANDS ON JOBS: Working for people only for a day or two is called Hands On. This work is more available than other kinds of jobs for people who do not have a working visa, and is mostly available in the construction business. You might get such a job by just walking around and asking if people need help at different building sites you see in cities you visit.
HOSTEL WORK: Most backpacker hostels employ at least 2 or 3 travellers at any time for reception, cleaning, hustling and similar jobs, and give free accomodation and possibly wages if the working hours are longer than a few hours a day in return. This kind of jobs is possible to get almost wherever there are hostels, and might be as easy to pick up as asking in the hostel reception at check in.
VOLUNTARY WORK: You may find voluntary work in lots of different places and in many different areas of work. There are certain organizations distributing lists of possible voluntary work, like WWOOF for organic farms, Green Volunteers for nature conservation and probablyt others that may help you with other kinds of jobs. Most of the organizations may be contacted by the internet. Since this is work where you will not get paid, most countries will not count it as labour, and in many places it will therefore be legal to work as a volunteer.
WORKING WITH PAPERS: To be able to work legally, you would need to obtain the proper papers, so that you will be able to pay taxes, national insurance or similar things. To get this papers, you will most likely have to go through an enormous amount of hassle! Some areas are easier, at least for some of us... If you are a citizen of any EU or EEA country, you might work legally in any EU country, and also in a couple of other places like Norway, without having to apply for work permits. There are also certain agreements between other countries that might give you the same oportunities other places. Some countries also operate with deals that make it easier for you obtaining working permissions for a certain amount of time. If you want to work legally, which will also give you some extras, like social security, check out the possibilities carefully, so that you know the easiest way through a bureacratic papermill that you might never have seen the equal too!
Here's some advice on how to make independent travelling and backpacking cheaper and more affordable.
ACCOMODATION
In many cases, accomodation is among the things that will take up most of the money you've brought with you. While some places accomodation is generally expensive, there will be most of the times some cheaper options as well.
CAMPING: As long as you crash out in the wilderness campimg will be free. Although some countries have some stupid law against such activities, it isn't exactly a capital crime and many places it's also legal. Before you do crash out just about anywhere however, it would be a good idea to check out safety and the amount of risk you take of getting robbed, stabbed, assaulted or other nasty things that tend to make travelling rather uncomfortable.
Using camping grounds will of course cost you something, but it will be among the cheapest accomodation available for travellers together with hostels. Many hostels, guesthouses and also some hotels will let you camp on their grounds for a small fee as well, although only some very few will actually advertise this.
HOSTELS: Hostels are usually among the cheapest forms of accomodation available, usually much cheaper than most hotels and similar places. Hostels are also found in many parts of the world. You will probably meet a lot of other travellers and backpackers staying here too. Many places will also let you use a common kitchen for self-catering as well. You might also be offered be a discount if you stay for a certain amount of days, or sometimes you might be able to beat down the prices by paying for long stretches of time at once.
RAILROADSTATIONS AND BUSSTATIONS: This is of course free, and also very uncomfortable. There isn't exactly a bed to spread out on, so you have to do with benches, and the fact that you may at any time of night get thrown out. Before "laying down" for the night, check if the station close at night or if it stays open 24 hours a day, since you will most defenetely get thrown out if it isn't. Looking like a potential traveller (by for instance bringing along a backpack or similar device) will probably lessen the chance of anyone wanting you to clear out of the place. A piece of advice: This is not a way of sleeping that will do you any good for more than a day or two at a time, if you really really doesn't have to.
ROOFTOPS AND GARDENS: In some places of the world many hostels and hotels will let you sleep on the roof, garden or a similar place for a small fee. This is an excellent way of sleeping, at least if the climate is ok, not too cold and the mosquitoes have all gone for a holiday somewhere else at the time. It is usually a good idea to bring your own sleepingbag, although a matress can many times be provided for.
SHARED APPARTEMENTS: For longer stays in (mostly) big cities, it may be an idea to check for possibilities to rent an appartement. The cheapest ones will be appartements that you have to share with others. Shared appartements will usually be cheaper than hostels and also a lot of fun, since you will meet many people that are also staying there temporarily.
EQUIPMENT THAT MAY MAKE THINGS EASIER AND CHEAPER
What should you bring to make travel cheaper. Of course it always depends on how you want to travel, but certain things are worth considering before leaving.
INTERNATIONAL STUDENT IDENTITY CARD: This card, called ISIC-card for short, is an excellent thing to bring with you to recieve a wide range of discounts, from transport-expenses and accomodation to museums, cinemas and concerts. Always flash it, the worst thing that happens will be that the guy/girl behind the counter will not give you a discount since there isn't one. It may be difficult to obtain this card if you can't prove that you're a student, but it may not be completely impossible either. You can apply for one at universities and certain travelling agencies specializing in youth travel, like USIT Campus and Kilroy Travels.
SLEEPINGBAG: Bringing along a sleepingbag is a very good idea to make things easier and cheaper. Many places charge extra if you don't bring your own sleeping gear, so bringing along a sleepingbag is an excellent idea. It is also very important if you intend to do some camping.
TENT: Essential for camping of course (anyone intending to camp should know that without being told it at all). While many camp sites will also hire out tents, bringing your own will make it cheaper. There will also probably be many a time when a tent would come in handy and you are nowhere close to so much as a single sign telling you that there are "Tents for hire, 100 yards this way".
YOUTH HOSTEL ASSOCIATION CARD: Will in many cases give you a discount on your stays at youth hostels. Although they are called youth hostels, there will seldom be an agelimit at the different places, and only some places favour young people in front of the older folk.
FOOD
You certainly have to eat some while on the road as well! There are many options, and the easiest will be the most expensive ones of course: restaurants! There are however different lots of different levels of prices in between the different restaurants, and other options are also open.
RESTAURANTS: This is the easiest, and most expensive. Of course, at least most places you pay the extra to get service, nice food etc., but many times you will have to do without because of the money involved. At the same time the price levels in restaurants differ a lot from place to place, depending on service, quality, exlusiveness and other factors. So you may find bargains once in a while among this group too. You will have to look carefully for them at most times, though... But just like the street stalls mentioned below, this places may also be rather dodgy at times, even if they look nice on the outside. So be careful!
SELF-CATERING: When possible, this will mostly be the cheapest way of eating, and the dullest. Of course you get what you want, and for less money you will usually get a much larger amount of food than at a restaurant or similar places. This is the cheapest way of eating while on the road, just as it is when staying home. Another good side with self catering, is that you have more control of the things you eat, since you know yourself what the food is made by and may make sure it is thourougly cooked to kill bacterias.
STREET STALLS & CHEAPER PLACES: This places will mostly be quite a lot cheaper than the restaurants, and may be a lot more fun to go, since many locals will use them as well. In certain parts of the world you should be a bit careful of eating at certain of this places, and some advice may be a good idea. Usually busy places have better food, since it will be fresher than at places with less activity. Eating at places where many locals go are also a good idea, since they will mostly know what places to avoid. And maybe most important of all: always check that the food is properly cooked! Thourougly cooked or fried food will have killed any (at least most of them) bacterias prevously in the food, and may make things a lot safer for you than it could have been.
TRANSPORT
Another important source for expenses are the actual moving about, and it may be one of the aspects that sucks up the most dough along the way. Here's a couple of tips on how to make it cheap. Firstly, always remember to inquire for discounts for students, youths etc. when buying a ticket. Quite a lot of companies operate with some discounts that you may use, even if you're not aware of it.
BUSES: In most places, buses tend to be among the cheapest public transport systems. They are of course less comfortable than trains, and slower than both trains and planes, but they will usually be the cheapest way of getting around a country or region. Only the cheapest airfares are competible with the prices of buses. Many bus companies also operate with certain discounts and also buspasses which may be valid for instance for 2 weeks. If you're about to travel a lot, buspasses will be a cheaper way of travelling than buying the tickets as you go. In many countries there are also a lot of competing bus companies that may work with different prices, so there may be money to be saved by checking more than one bus company.
HITCHHIKING: In many places of the world hitching is free, while in other places it may be usual to pay a small fee for the service, at least for tourists. Hitching is a great way of getting around, although the time it takes to actually get a ride differs a lot from place to place, and may make you hate certain places and lots of people that just pass you by. A good dose of patience is certainly a valuable thing to bring along. Also, in many parts of the world, hitching may be rather risky or even completely out of the question. Check security before you start standing in the roadside with your thumb out. It is often helpful to bring a sign telling people where you want to go, and it also makes you more visible for the drivers.
ORGANIZED HITCHING: In certain parts of the world, particularly Western and Central Europe, but also places like Canada, there are certain firms that organize hitches. You only have to pay a small fee and some gas money paid to the driver, with whom your driving with. This form of transport is cheaper than both buses, trains and regular flights. Especially well established is the Mitfarhrtszentrale in Germany, where most bigger cities will have a branch office, and it will be pretty easy to pick up a lift to many destinations around the country, as well as other neighbouring countries and cities, say Amsterdam and Prague. This is a very cheap and reliable way of getting around, but unfortunately there isn't too many countries that are working with such an excellent system yet. It may seem to grow and getting more popular, at least in some places.
PLANES: The easiest and fastest way of getting around, and with a bit of luck, it may also be incredibly cheap. Many times it depends on where you buy your ticket, since prices vary a lot from country to country. Most of the cheaper tickets will probably be found in the richer countries, but the kind of ticket you buy will also have a lot to say. Some of the cheapest
flights you can get are charter flights which tend to be quite a lot more affordable than the regular flights. Last chance and standby tickets can also be an option in many places and may be worth checking out. It doesn't always work like this however. For some obscure and unexplainable reason, tickets in some places get more expensive the closer you get to departure. There are also the possibility of buying a so-called round-the-world ticket or round-trip ticket, which will take you on a journey to a certain amount of stops in different places. This ticket will for most of the time be cheaper than buying ticket after ticket as you go. With a bit of sniffing around, there may be lots of possibilities to find cheap tickets, and in some instances flying will be among the very cheapest way of getting around.
TRAINS: More expensive than buses, and in many instances not much cheaper than planes, they are at least more comfortable than both. At least they tend to be for most of the time. Like buspasses, railpasses will suddenly make travelling by train a lot cheaper than buying single tickets, especially if you're about to travel a lot while your railpass is valid.
WORKING
Another way of making your money last longer may be by taking a job or two along the way. Many places are extermely stingy when it comes to submitting working papers, and in most cases you may just as well give it up altogether doing it the legal way. This does not mean you will not find a job however, just don't tell the government about it. Some ideas for work:
CASUAL WORK: This is the kind of work that many travellers and backpackers find themselves doing. You may find casual work in lots of different areas of work, you may for instance end up working in restaurants, pubs, building sites, sports instructors, language teachers, seasonal farmwork and as handymen for private persons. One thing is for sure: you may very well end up with a job you never thought you would ever do! This may pay off some of your expenses, but the wages will seldom be anything to write home to your mum about. At least it should be enough to cover your expenses while you're staying in the place you're working, and also stock up some to move onwards. Most of these jobs are less than legal, so be a bit careful about telling everybody about it. Previous experience or education in the field of work will also be a positive asset when applying for a job. This will mostly be true in certain areas like sports instructors and language teachers. While some places like Israel, the heaven of casual work worldwide, might prove very easy to pick up casual work, other places might be a lot harder. It differs a lot from place to place how easy it is to pick up such jobs as these.
DUAL PASSPORTS: With the right parents or family tree, you might be among the people who can apply for an extra nationality... Specially many can apply for British passports, since the British Empire for quite some time, had a tendency to colonize huge areas of the world, which has left a lot of grandfathers and great grandfathers around in other countries. If you do have parenthood that held a different passport than yourself, you might be entitled to one yourself too. So this is an opportunity to get the chance to live and work in another country than you original one too!
HANDS ON JOBS: Working for people only for a day or two is called Hands On. This work is more available than other kinds of jobs for people who do not have a working visa, and is mostly available in the construction business. You might get such a job by just walking around and asking if people need help at different building sites you see in cities you visit.
HOSTEL WORK: Most backpacker hostels employ at least 2 or 3 travellers at any time for reception, cleaning, hustling and similar jobs, and give free accomodation and possibly wages if the working hours are longer than a few hours a day in return. This kind of jobs is possible to get almost wherever there are hostels, and might be as easy to pick up as asking in the hostel reception at check in.
VOLUNTARY WORK: You may find voluntary work in lots of different places and in many different areas of work. There are certain organizations distributing lists of possible voluntary work, like WWOOF for organic farms, Green Volunteers for nature conservation and probablyt others that may help you with other kinds of jobs. Most of the organizations may be contacted by the internet. Since this is work where you will not get paid, most countries will not count it as labour, and in many places it will therefore be legal to work as a volunteer.
WORKING WITH PAPERS: To be able to work legally, you would need to obtain the proper papers, so that you will be able to pay taxes, national insurance or similar things. To get this papers, you will most likely have to go through an enormous amount of hassle! Some areas are easier, at least for some of us... If you are a citizen of any EU or EEA country, you might work legally in any EU country, and also in a couple of other places like Norway, without having to apply for work permits. There are also certain agreements between other countries that might give you the same oportunities other places. Some countries also operate with deals that make it easier for you obtaining working permissions for a certain amount of time. If you want to work legally, which will also give you some extras, like social security, check out the possibilities carefully, so that you know the easiest way through a bureacratic papermill that you might never have seen the equal too!
