Budget Backpacking 101: Expert Guide to Traveling on a Budget
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Loading... - Nolan Doyle
- 02 Aug 2022
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You’re about to enter the remastered Budget Backpacking 101 guide. We can call it sincerity in publication or we can call it a cool narrative technique but, either way, I’m admitting that this is a super-charged version of our original piece.
Why am I telling you that? Because it’s important to respect change. Arrghhh, change! Man, you are either a broke-ass budget backpacker or about to be a broke-ass budget backpacker so you better get used to change.
Enclosed in this piece you’ll still find the original tips for backpacking on a budget. But, to me – The Remasterer (god, that’s such a cool name I just gave myself) – that feels like a middle: a middle of the story.
Before you hit the road travelling abroad on the cheap (with our super-charged budget backpacking tips), there’s a beginning phase – preparation for the journey. Knowledge is power.
And after you come back from backpacking around the world with no money (because you’ll probably be bone dry by that point) there’s a post-journey phase too. Of course, there’s a post-journey phase! If you think that it’s as simple as throwing yourself to the wind for a year and then just ‘going back home’…
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How to Travel the World on a Budget
So this is it: your full-blown 101 to backpacking on a budget. Let’s get you away from the daily existential grind of your meaningless existence and out there into the world where the colours are just a little bit brighter and the food tastes just a little bit better.
If you’re interested to see how backpacking and the definition of “being a backpacker” have changed over recent years, make sure to have a quick lil peek at our backpacker statistics guide.
Now let’s find out how to travel the world on a budget!
Travelling Cheap: The Preparation Phase
Right, so you’ve decided to fuck off! There’s a semi-decent chance you’ve even told all your friends and family that you’re fucking off ‘indefinitely’. Awesome, well done! That’s the first best step in the greatest decision you’ve ever made.
Now, you know you’re going to take the plunge into travelling life.
I want to travel the world; where do I start?
Let’s talk finances.
How Much Does it Cost to Travel the World?
If you think I’m going to give you the exact digits, you’re dreaming, mate. There are so many variables into how much it costs to travel the world that it makes my eyeballs rotate back into my skull.
Let’s break it down into more specific (i.e. better) questions:
Could I travel the world for a year with $10,000?
Good question! The answer? Most definitely, without a doubt, yep! I can confirm it is super possible and you can even take your budget trip a lot further than that. In fact, I’d argue that travelling the world for a year will teach you the true value of $10,000 and just how far that can take you. That is a helluva lot of money.
What variables affect my budget?
There are lots and many of them you’ll discover for yourself as you level-up in the no-frills cheap travel lifestyle. I would say the three most influencing variables are: your commitment to the cause of grungy dirtbag-style backpacking, your ingenuity and interpersonal abilities, and your destination choices for your cheap trip abroad (more to come on that).
What am I aiming for with a daily budget?
Again, that largely hinges on the variables. But what’s the gold standard? Less than 10 dollarydoos a day (that’s USD, adjust appropriately).
The world is not equal. That’s another lesson you will learn on your journey. The price of one cigarette in Oz can buy you a meal in India with rupees left over for the homeless man parked opposite the Dhaba. Welcome to Earth.
Now, as tragic as that is (we’ll get to ethics and system-shock too), it’s also a key component of your budget travels. Your $10 daily travel budget simply carries you so much further in some places.
Some of the best budget vacation options are obvious: the cheap places to travel in Southeast Asia, or Central and South America, etc. Places where the cost of living is lower and our western currencies go a lot further. There are also less obvious choices too like the cheap places to travel in Europe (there are plenty of those as well).
If you’re planning your international globe-trots based around the cheapest places to travel, I would recommend our roundup on the subject. I would like to reiterate though, that living in an electricity-less hut without clean drinking water deep in a jungle somewhere is not a necessity for travelling on a budget. It is damn fun though!
Buying Backpacking Gear: To Budget or Not to Budget
It might sound counter-intuitive to spend a buttload of cash on gear before you go backpacking around the world with no money but there is logic in it! One way or another, you will need gear and the right gear can save you money in the long run.
Buying discount or used backpacking gear can mitigate some of these costs but, as with most things in life, there are simply some things that are better to invest in new and expensive. The right purchase before your travels can go a very, very long way. Read More...
