a round-the-world trip at a lower cost

In a previous article, I talked to you about my various plane tickets, article here, where I spent less than 1500 euros to visit about ten destinations in 4 parts of the world (excluding Europe). In this article, I will give you some of my tips for doing a world tour at a low cost.

A cheap world tour

Here are ways to limit your costs during your world tour:

• Work and travel:

In 2009, I went on a 20-month world tour!! You might say that’s huge, but actually not so much because I traveled and worked at the same time. I had the opportunity to work for 8 months out of the 15 months in Australia, which then allowed me to spend 4 months in Asia. Here is a small list of the best jobs abroad!

• Working on a world tour:

There are websites where you can work in exchange for food and accommodation (HelpX, Workaway, woofing). The principle is simple: you work 4 to 5 hours a day and you get a place to sleep and at least one meal. The advantage of this solution is that you can work for your keep anywhere in the world. The downside is that you have to find hosts in advance, which can become a constraint.

You can start without any skills at the beginning, you just have to want it, give yourself the means, and work hard. TRAVEL HARD = WORK HARD

• Personally, I work on my computer which allowed me to finance my trip.

Some jobs carry risks, it is better to be insured and have travel insurance to travel and work peacefully. I wrote an article about travel insurance giving you all the advice to choose your insurance in this travel insurance comparison.

So, you are on a world tour but you don’t want to work, here are some solutions:

• Do couchsurfing, the principle of couchsurfing is simple, you borrow the sofa, a bed or a place to sleep at your host’s for free. Your host can also invite you to dinner. It’s a very good solution to meet locals and discover places off the beaten path. The downside is that you have to book in advance and it can sometimes be difficult to find hosts in some big cities.

• Stay in youth hostels, it’s the solution I use the most because the hostels I choose often have a very good location and a good quality/price ratio. I like the freedom to act and do what I want. It’s the most economical paid solution possible except in some areas like Asia where you go more to hostels for the atmosphere than the price. Some youth hostels also have loyalty cards and by going there regularly, you save on your accommodation throughout your trip. Experiences in youth hostels shape your trip and I have most of my best memories with people I met there. I talk to you here about experiences before my 2014 world tour.

• Use alternative accommodation means, stay with locals, I remember a weekend in Sydney, Australia during Mardi Gras week. All the hostels were almost fully booked, I used Airbnb to find a bed in a shared room with a local 15 minutes from downtown for 5 dollars cheaper than the price of a hostel but since it was Mardi Gras weekend, I saved several tens of dollars.

These are easy and accessible solutions that I recommend.

Other parallel solutions I use to have a low-cost world tour:

• Hitchhiking, it’s never easy the first time but once you get over it, you use it a lot, I only take positive things from my hitchhiking experiences! It allowed me to meet people I would never have met and also meet people who are more open than most locals regarding travel. There are places where hitchhiking is very easy and others more difficult. By the way, I traveled entirely by hitchhiking in New Zealand for 45 days (over 3000km, see photo).

• Camping, it can be a paid or free solution, combining hitchhiking with camping is the ultimate solution to spend less when traveling. During my 15 months in Australia, I camped for 6 months in several dozen different places (on road trips or in paid or free campsites). If you are bold and in a medium-sized town, you can ask to camp in someone’s garden for free.

• Take the bus, boat or any night transport, it is not a recommended solution for those who do not have deep sleep and it is not always comfortable. Traveling at night in Asia by night bus can be a very pleasant solution or even by sleeper boat if you travel in the islands. Here is my night bus ticket where I paid 68 dollars in Canada (the trip usually costs at least 50 dollars and a night in a hostel 30 dollars).

It’s sometimes a painful solution but if you are limited in time, traveling at night is the best possible solution and allows you to spend less.

• You travel low cost, when you travel saving money or spending less or at low cost is often synonymous with reduced comfort. I proved that by moving smartly and using low-cost airlines (see link at the top of the article), I could travel very economically. You can also use carpooling which is a good low-cost means of transport.

All these experiences, whether working abroad or traveling low cost, have given me unforgettable travel experiences.

Low-cost world tour destinations to prioritize

After giving you some ways not to spend too much during your world tour on transport, accommodation, and travel mode, I will give you a non-exhaustive list of possible countries (excluding Europe) where you can travel cheaply. Let’s not hide it, but these are developing countries.

• Low-cost countries in Asia:

Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, China, India, Mongolia, Indonesia, Nepal, etc.

For each of the Southwest Asian countries, you can easily get around by renting a scooter to go from place to place for less than 5 dollars a day.

• Low-cost countries in Central or South America:

Guatemala, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Ecuador, etc…

In each of these countries, you can do multi-day hikes for less than 20 euros per day.

I also recommend South Africa where I went for two months.

If you want to know everything about the cost of living in countries, I recommend the site: http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living, you can find prices there to get an idea for your world tour budget.

PS: if you are looking for the cheapest possible, it is best to do an Asian tour instead of a world tour. If you want more opinions, here are my best world tour destinations in 2015

For each of these countries, you can use less than 20 euros per day.

The most economical activities on a world tour:

Some activities do not require any cost regardless of the country you go to. I will give you more information on this subject.

• Go to the beach, hike, do outdoor activities cost not a single cent.
• You can type “free things to do” and the name of the city where you are. You may find free museums, local markets, etc. You will find more free activities than you think.
• There are also free walking tours in some big cities. The principle is simple, you pay a little something you think is “fair” or nothing if you want for your guide.
• You are going on a world tour, instead of always being busy, why not settle in one place from time to time for a day and focus on a foreign language (Spanish or English). It’s always better to prepare a minimum in the foreign language before arriving. The longer you stay in one place, the less you spend on transport.

There are many other examples that are not exploited.

Conclusion for low-cost travel:

You get nothing for nothing and traveling at a low price requires some sacrifices. You often have to think about an alternative mode of travel if you want to spend less or pay cheaply. All these experiences have more or less changed my life and my vision.

You can travel for free, travel for 500 euros per month for 1 month, 3 months, 2 years if you step out of your comfort zone.

And you? What is one of your favorite solutions to travel around the world at low cost?