Tips for Cheap Traveling

Since I started traveling, a lot of people told me they're jealous of me because they want to do the same thing. Well, here's the good news: you can. Unfortunately, those same people seem to be stuck in a routine they don't want to give up. Jobs, security issues, pets, you name it. I can't help you there, obviously. It's different when money becomes an issue. When you've finally committed yourself to traveling, you sometimes realize that your bank account isn't as healthy as you thought it was. If that's the case, here are some small tips that might help you out a bit.

Most of these tips are for backpackers, but there's no reason why they shouldn't apply to people who like to travel in style, if such a thing exists. Let's start with what will probably be your biggest cost: your ticket. For some reason, we're still inclined to believe whatever a travel agency tells us, rather than doing some research. Especially when you're flying to a different continent, it might well be worth it to check out some less obvious routes with a stop-over in some obscure country rather than going with a direct flight or a stop-over in the United States. If time is not an issue, check out flights to neighboring countries. These can be a lot cheaper, and once you get there you can take a cheap bus or flight to your final destination. Maybe not always the most obvious way, but it can save you up to a few hundred dollars.

Once you arrive at your destination, you need a place to stay. When you arrive at night, it might be better to have a place booked for the first night, as it's not always a good thing to wander around unknown territory with a backpack after sunset. There are plenty of options to book cheap hostels on line, but if you really want to save money, there is one excellent alternative called couchsurfing. This is a community of people who most of the time travel themselves and want to help out people who travel on a budget. They'll have either an extra bed or a couch available where you can crash for one or two days. It's important to be very clear about your intentions on how long you want to stay, as most of the times these people have a social life too. Even if you don't plan on staying at their place, it's a good way to find a guide who can tell you where the cheap places are in town, and to meet some of the local people.You get in touch with them through various web-sites (I assume most people are familiar with the concept of search engines...) and after exchanging a few e-mails, you agree to meet for coffee somewhere (or something stronger) or you meet at their place, depending on how well you get along in the mails.

If you go to a hostel (again, this is assuming you're backpacking) it's always good to look for a place with a kitchen. Cooking your own food is cheaper than going to restaurants or comidas or whatever they call them in the country you're at. If you're not too keen on cooking yourself, you might want to befriend some of the other travelers and tell them you'll chip in for food and make a deal that they cook and you do the dishes. Also a good way to meet other people, and traveling together is another way to save quite a bit of money. When you know that people are leaving, ask them whether they have any food left in the fridge. Nobody travels with food and nobody wants food to go bad, so it's a win-win situation.

Once you've met people you might travel with for a while, it's a whole lot cheaper to get double or triple rooms. A lot of places charge per room, no matter whether there's 1 or 3 people staying, or just charge a little bit extra for sheets and maintenance. This requires some faith in the people you travel with, but it can be a lot of fun. If sharing a room is a bit too much for you, sharing a cab is a good start. Especially to and from airports, it can save you a few dollars, as they'll overcharge you no matter what.

Finally, if you do go out to eat or drink, check out daily specials and happy hours. Most of the tourist orientated places have them, and if you're a hard-core party animal, it can make a huge difference in your budget. Especially for girls, a night on the town can be very cheap as there seem to be Ladies Nights all over the world.

Well, it might not be much, but if you follow these rules, I'm sure you'll save some pennies here and there. And if it does save you more, I'll be happy to tell you my Pay Pal account. As a poor traveler slash writer, I'd better start living up to my own rules....