Budget Travel Tips

I believe everyone should be able to travel, no matter how much money they have.

Of course, for International travel, you need some money to pay for passports, flights and other costs, but there are ways to travel for cheap that mean you can still have an incredible trip without breaking the bank.  

Some of the best travel experiences I’ve had have been eating the cheapest street food, sleeping in a hammock under the stars and spending time with local people. These kinds of travel experiences are far more special to me than lying by the pool of an all-inclusive hotel will ever be – and are always much cheaper!

That’s not to say that you can’t enjoy yourself at a hotel, far from it – and I certainly won’t disapprove if you just want to chill out in a nice place for a week before heading back to work!

My point is that travel can be whatever you want or need it to be.  It doesn’t have to be luxury, and it certainly doesn’t have to be expensive to be an incredible experience.

I started Tales of a Backpacker back in 2015 to share my travel stories when I went backpacking around South America. I had to travel on a budget because I didn’t have the money to do it any other way.

That trip changed my life.

10 months of exploring a new continent, learning about new cultures and meeting new people helped me to see the world in a completely different way.

I have created a whole series of resources to help you to make the most of your budget and to have the best time travelling, no matter how much money you have. 

From how to save money for travel, to saving money while you’re in a destination, to getting free accommodation and finding free activities in your destination, I hope you’ll be able to see that you can travel too.  

Below you’ll find some in-depth eBooks that are free to download, then a bunch of articles about managing your budget before and during your trip.

Then I have lots of articles about free things to do in cities all over the world as well as budget travel guides to help you enjoy specific destinations without breaking the bank.  Don’t forget, you can also take a look at the destinations page to find more information about where you would like to go.

Work exchanges are one of the main ways that I have saved money by getting free accommodation in exchange for a few hours work a day; you can learn more about work exchanges in the dedicated Work Exchange section here.

I also love staying in hostels (although these days I prefer a private room in a hostel instead of a bed in a shared dorm), so if you’d like some tips about staying in a hostel then check out these articles about hostels. 

I hope you find these useful!  Happy travels!

Read more of my budget travel tips:

Check out these destination guides to help you save money