Being on a budget inspires creativity, spontaneity, and fun.
When I first began travel backpacking, I had no idea what budget traveling would be like. I thought that I wouldn’t be able to fully enjoy my time in the places I visited because of how limited I was on money. However, what I ended up learning was completely different from what I expected.
It forces you into situations that can turn into opportunities for an amazing experience. These situations wouldn’t occur if you were willing to just pay the extra money to bypass them.
Just to make this clear, I’m not saying whether being on a tight budget is better or not. I just want to show you from my own experience after trying out both ways, that there can be many advantages to not having a lot of money for your travels and that living practically in poverty while on the road isn’t as bad as you think.
1.
Staying in Hostels, Homestays, and Couchsurfing Unlocks Unique Experiences
When you’re on a tight budget, hotels are most likely the last place you’ll look to for accommodation. To even some travelers, they would rather sleep in a bus-stop than pay for a hotel. It’s a lot of money compared to all the other options out there. It also completely lacks the ability to provide opportunities for cultural experiences.
Hostels
Hostels are my favorite type of accommodation. They are the next cheapest accommodation after hotels and provide everything a backpacker can ask for. You can meet likeminded travelers here, ask the local staff questions about the area, and possibly even be able to sign up for tours through the hostel.
Homestays
Staying in a homestay is sleeping at the residence of a local family from the city you’re traveling. It’s like couch surfing, but instead, you still must pay, and they will most likely include a family lunch/dinner for you. Sometimes you can offer to help with any household chores as a gesture of gratitude for letting you stay with them. It’s a nice way to learn about how local families live and try some homemade food. You can even ask them questions about their culture and if they have any tips for you on what to see/do.
Couchsurfing
This one is something all backpackers must do during low-budget travel! Couchsurfing is an app/website where you get in contact with a local host who is accepting people to stay in their home for free. Most hosts are travelers themselves, so they understand the struggle of finding accommodation and hence share their homes with others. It’s an amazing opportunity to get to know a local who knows the in and outs of the area you’re in. It’s also common courtesy to offer something in return to the host like for example picking up the tab after dinner somewhere of their picking or buying them a six-pack of beer for their home.
2.
Walking is an Experience in Itself & Free
Often while traveling through a country you just follow a list of must-see attractions and look for experiences that are grand or highly spoken about. Having this mentality makes you forget that this is a foreign land and something as simple as getting lost in a unique neighbor could end up being an amazing experience.
Without thinking, we instantly look for a taxi system of some sort to take us straight to our destination, ignoring everything on the way there. Maybe it’s because we feel like we’re short on time and want to be as efficient as possible. A valid excuse to not have to walk, but could lead to missing out on some valuable experiences such as:
It saves you A LOT of money, is a great form of exercise, and most importantly gives you an opportunity to get a real taste of the city you’re visiting.
- Randomly stumbling upon a beautiful park or a building with detailed architecture in some corner of a neighborhood.
- Finding a local bakery, small restaurant, or food stall with potentially the best food you ever tried.
- Getting stopped to attend some type of cultural performance that can show you the countries art of dance, music, & theatre.
All these experiences are either free or cost something very low that a budget backpacker can afford. At first, it will be tough to get yourself to begin walking to places instead of using quick transportation. But I guarantee that all it takes is one random encounter of a great experience while walking and it’ll motivate you to want to do this more often in hopes of something like that happening again.
3.
The Experience of Satisfying Your Hunger on a Low Budget
Deciding on how to satisfy your hunger on a tight budget can be annoying at times but at the same time fun and adventure worthy.
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Here are some food options that can offer opportunities for a memorable experience.
Cook At the Hostel
Cooking up some food in your hostel means you must go to a local food market to buy ingredients giving you the opportunity to compare their stores to what you know back home. Another great benefit to cooking food at the hostel is that it brings people together. You can offer to share your cooking with others which introduces you to people and creates a better atmosphere for everyone in the hostel.
Explore by Foot
Window shopping for somewhere to eat for cheap could possibly bring you to the most delicious meal you’ll ever have. You never know what you can stumble upon which creates the fun and excitement in the whole search.
Ask Locals for Help
Asking help from locals can lead you to some good food that isn’t mentioned on Lonely Planet or the internet. Since they live in the area you’re visiting, they know the most delicious and cheapest places around. There’s even a possibility that some would take you and join you for lunch/dinner.
What I want to say in this post is that being on a tight budget while traveling isn’t a bad thing and doesn’t make you miss out on much. I want to go as far as to say that even if you’re rich and willing to have no budget at all while on the road. Forcing yourself to live on a tight budget will give you a whole new perspective of the country. It will also unlock countless opportunities to have experiences of a lifetime. Being able to see the real importance of low budget travel is no doubt a big quality of a blissful backpacker.
