[message_box type=”note” icon=”yes”]Check out more tips on traveling and join the conversation on our forums. Open Forums[/message_box]

Traveling is something that everyone desires and loves. And to travel around the world is a dream come true for people. But everyone has the same sob story, which is that people don’t have the budget for such an expensive trip. And thus, they eventually have to cancel their travel plans.

Who says you cannot travel the world on a low budget? Of course you can! You just need to make a few changes in your schedule and plans, and it would totally work. You can then travel all over the world easily.

Accommodation

The first and foremost and the most important money saving tool is that you need to find the perfect place to live which is not at all expensive, plus totally comfortable. SO try not to book hotels when you go out, and swap them for hostels or workaways. Workaways are usually where people can work for small businesses or other families, and in exchange they would get free food as well as housing.

Another great way to save money on accommodation is to try couchsurfing. And if you are not comfortable with this, then you could just stay in large hostel dorm rooms. And you could even share your space with a local, which is even more exciting. Camping too is another great way to save money on accommodation, and not just that, you’ll have loads of fun and adventure if you go camping.

Airline Ticket

A round the world airline ticket is purchased through an Airline Alliance, and this of course makes it easier to travel rather than buying individual tickets for every location. This helps you save a huge amount of money.

Apart from this, there are a lot of other ways to earn free flights, if you really are keen on travelling. What you could do is just sign up for a few travel credit cards, through which you could collect miles and hola, you could easily travel for free. This is mostly for amazing destinations like Central America, Europe, Australia and Scandinavia.

Eat Street Food

We know that a part of everyone loves street food, so then why should you try and east expensive foods from high end restaurants when you could easily do with the street foods. Food consumes a major portion of your budget and if you cut it down then it would be really advantageous to you.

So the best way is to talk to the locals there, and learn more about their customs, traditions and famous street foods. Ask about what are the things that are a must try and do try all the customary street foods.

Give up your phone plan

It’s pretty expensive and hard to use a sim card when you are travelling abroad, since you need to take sims for every single destination. Thus, it is better if you just a hotspot or wifi in a café to connect to the people at home. Thanks to WhatsApp and Facebook adding call and video chat features, you don’t really need to invest hefty amounts in additional sim cards.

Download apps for budgeting

It may seem weird, but you do need to keep track of all your expenses. Budgeting apps help you in keeping a tab, even if it may be for the smallest of expenses, say even buying a subway ticket. Trust us, all those subway tickets, and small knick knacks add up to a lot.

Even though you may not be spending a lot on big things, but small spending’s in bulk are also pretty heavy on the pocket.

Use Public Transportation

Using public transport is not only cheaper, but also the best way to know about a city. Taxis are especially expensive, and a cheaper alternative could be to rent a car for a few days. This way you can easily travel according to your own whims and fancies, and its so much more fun too. Just try and search for the best car rental deals, and you would be able to get ample of them. And if you’re fond of bikes, then you can rent a bike too and explore the city.

Try taking buses, or hitchhike with people. Make a tourism card, which would offer you great discounts as well as free access to famous attractions as well as museums, plus public transportation too. The London Pass, or the Paris Museum card are some examples of passes which you should totally get.

Drinks – Especially water!

Order drinks only in places where there are great discounts. Alcohol in some countries is not very expensive, so you could easily drink wine and beer. And if you are in a large group, see that you split all such expenditures with everyone.

Plastic bottles of water can be really expensive, thus you can try drinking from the tap. A great hack is using a Steripen to purify your water wherever you go. That ways you wouldn’t even have to buy such costly bottles every time, and this would just be a onetime investment.

Plan your destination first

First plan your budget, and then plan your trip. A small budget would mean less months in countries like Europe, but mean more time in probably South America. And if you travel in India, its obviously way more cheaper. Thus, its important to plan your travel dates, and it is recommended that you go in the off season, so that you save a lot of money on travel and living..

So, planning a budget trip just requires some effort, but it can easily happen. Try to hike more, go to free museums, walk more and try to explore the place rather than spending huge amounts in clubs, which you could do anywhere. You can even teach English overseas, as that’s one of the best way to make some extra bucks to travel. And once you’ve collected enough, then don’t think twice, just book it right away and fly off. Because, however clichéd it might sound, but you only live once!