Want To Learn How To Travel Cheap as a Backpacker? Follow These 5 Steps:
I get asked constantly, “Taylor, how do you manage to travel so cheap? What’s the secret?” Well, there are necessary things that each traveler must do before even embarking on their journeys. We’re not talking about special rates on promotional credit cards, or finding the best deals on hotels for short-term stays, no, we’re talking about honest traveling with the little money in our pockets to set out for the goal that we have been inspired to take on. Read these 5 Things To Do while you travel in order to get the most out of your travel budget.
1. Stop Looking For Hotels
The concept of hotel life in a foreign country always surprised me. As someone who despises the luxury of a western-style life while abroad in the concrete jungles or hidden rural oases of new countries, I can never imagine attempting to become accustomed to the tourist trapped locations of modern hotels within a world of entirely different lifestyles and standards.
My biggest gripe: Hotels are owned by corporate conglomerates, typically of foreign entities that take advantage of tourism and do not circulate their profits back into the economy. All of that money gets sent back to the pockets of major players within the hospitality and tourism industry. Take a look at Hawaii, as spoken by Hawaii Business Magazine, only one native Hawaiian family in all of the islands actually own a hotel. They have no say on the economic standings backing the tourism industry to the islands, and that money is escaping to elsewhere, leaving thousands of native Hawaiians to work the underpaid jobs for being in their own country.
This problem is perpetuated across the globe, forcing locals from a country to submit to the pressures of foreign entities and deepening their pockets off of the backs of natives and tourists who pay. So how can we stop the notion of taking advantage of the people whose country we enjoy and should give our upmost respect to?
STOP PAYING FOR HOTELS
Travelers have been blessed with the opportunities for meeting others on the same adventure, and connecting with those also on limited funding. These places consisting of all ages, all backgrounds, ethnicities, and character, there is no other location to stop in for a night or few, than a hostel to find friends and cheap lodging. Sometimes, these locations even come with their own meals and tourism information for your stay and pleasure. You can search for such hostels through sites like Hostelworld and Hostelz, offering cheap prices for budget-travelers to be friendly on their bank account. Further, if enough travelers meet and decide to travel together, prices are sometimes negotiable depending on the owners of the hostel, allowing for cheaper rates than that online, but there’s no guarantee.
With sufficient research, one can find alternatives in any location, especially as a young backpacker. If adventure is what you’re looking for, then no adventure should go without thorough planning. It is important to weigh numerous options about what a certain city has to offer, and what can be provided within the area. Locals in certain foreign countries let out their homes on services like Airbnb and VRBO; however, certain countries may have their own services for people interested in staying in a room or even whole apartments through local websites. The best way to find these is to do a quick google maps search prior to your arrival or even during your day walking around.
I’m guilty of it, but I typically don’t purchase a room to rent until I’m stumbling back home from a bar and I get lucky walking into a side-street motel. Also to not beat around the bush, travelers are privy to the local rizz, and many travelers can find themselves lucky with making a conversation or two with some very generous locals willing to share a night with you. That being said, it’s not a reliable method of finding a place to stay, and telling you to speak to locals and hope to find a place for the night is not recommended in the emphasis of safety.
I have been in the situations in the past where I have arrived from a travel late at night and I tell the cab driver to drop me at some random hotel they recommend. In such cases, I have been poorly duped into squandering funds on places that are unfit for cockroaches. Well, you live and you learn. A thorough search of reviews will save you not only time, but money and effort in attempting to make your destinations fulfilling and cost-effective. The only thing travelers must be aware of is life will be different in local-owned businesses. Sometimes, the shower is different, or there is no aircon, or it’s not up to the “cleanliness” of your typical hotels. Just remember, big expensive hotels just hide their dirtiness better, it doesn’t make them cleaner.
Step 1: Pre-plan destinations and research local areas for hostels and well-reviewed locations for a satisfactory experience at a lower cost. Use sites like Airbnb or VRBO to check local short-term rental possibilities and compare with local owned hotel/motel/hostel options.
TO BE CONTINUED…
