HOW TO travel ON A budget IN 2021

Posted: 4/8/2021 | April 8th, 2021

As vaccinations increase and testing becomes easier, lots of parts of the world will be open to travel again soon.

After over a year of restrictions and lockdowns due to COVID, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.

It won’t happen anywhere all at once and, what does happen, will be limited at first. But, as the year progresses, a lot more and a lot more of the world will open up and we’ll be able to do that thing that brings us so much joy: travel.

But, even with travel happening again, when you are starved for time or money (or both), travel can seem like a pipe dream. A wish that might never be fulfilled, no matter what the world looks like.

Luckily, there has been a wave of positive developments for those who want to travel more: more affordable airfare, a lot more deal-finding web sites (and other information) online, complimentary walking excursions in a lot more cities, and a lot more opportunities to bypass the standard travel infrastructure and connect directly into the local way of life by means of the sharing economy.

Most of that infrastructure will return in a post-COVID travel world. And, due to travel companies needing cash, there’s also a lot of money-saving deals ideal now, helping to make future trips affordable.

So, as the world starts to ever so slowly reopen, I want to share some ideas and tricks on how to travel on a budget this year!

1. change Your Mindset

Changing your mindset might not be a standard budget tip, but it’s crucial nonetheless. regularly remind yourself that travel is possible while taking concrete steps to make it a reality. action begets action — even if it’s just baby steps.

Start with a “yes, I can” mindset. Don’t think “I can’t travel” — think “What’s one thing I can do today to make my trip closer to reality?”

Life is a mental game. Do one thing each day that gets you closer to your trip and you’ll find yourself building unstoppable momentum.

2. Come Up with a savings Plans

Unless you’re bill Gates, we all need to save a lot more money. Mas como você faz isso? While life is expensive, I do believe there are always ways to save a little more. There’s always something you can cut. A little bit of savings adds up a lot over time.

Get into the routine of putting money into your travel fund frequently — even if it’s just a few dollars a week. Every little penny will help. The a lot more you save, the a lot more you want to save. It sort of becomes a game. It’s no longer a chore.

Here are some articles on how to save money:

22 ways to cut Your expenses and have money for Travel

The utmost guide to traveling Cheap

How Michael saved $14k in 6 Months Making $9 Per Hour

How I find the money to Travel

3. score a flight Deal

One of the things that people always tell me holds them back from traveling a lot more is the cost of flights. But, let me tell you, there’s a lot of deals ideal now.

All the airlines are trying to fill planes and are using a lot of deals for summer and fall travel ideal now. After all, they need to make up for a lost year and are desperate to get people on planes.

The crucial to finding a low-cost flight is to be flexible with your dates and your destination. If you have your heart set on “Paris in June” you’ll be forced to pay whatever the flight costs. But, if you open that up to “France in the summer” — or even “Europe in the summer” you’ll be able to find much more affordable flights considering that you’ll have a lot a lot more wiggle room to test dates and destinations.

I like to use Google Flights and Skyscanner to browse my options. I type in my home city and then pick “everywhere” as my destination. I then base my plans around where I can fly to for the least amount of money.

However, if you don’t want to do that (I think it’s a best Friday night activity), you can check out some of the following web sites that search for deals and email them to you:

Scott’s low-cost Flights – the best web site for finding flight deals from the US

The flight deal – extraordinary deals for flights all around the world

Secret flying – another site with amazing flight deals from around the globe (they find a lot of Asia/Africa/South America deals not found elsewhere)

4. get Points!

Travel hacking, the art of collecting points and miles, is a terrific way to travel on a budget. By getting point-yielding credit scores cards and using a few basic techniques, you can get hundreds of thousands of miles — without any additional spending. These points can then be cashed in for complimentary flights, complimentary hotel stays, and other travel rewards.

I’ve earned many complimentary flights, upgrades, and hotel stays from travel hacking. By optimizing my spending and paying attention to which cards earn the most points where, I’ve saved thousands of dollars — and you can too!

Here are some resources to help you begin:

How I earn 1 Million frequent Flier Miles Every Year

The utmost guide to picking the best travel credit scores Card

The utmost guide to travel Hacking

Even if you aren’t American, you still have options, as points and miles have gone global:

Points Hack (Australia/New Zealand)

Head for points (UK)

Canadian Kilometers (Canada)

5. use the Sharing Economy

The sharing economy has led to a plethora of new money-saving and community-building platforms that have made travel even a lot more affordable, personal, and accessible. It’s never been much easier to get off the vacationer trail, connect with locals, and experience their pace of life. I live by these web sites when I travel! You must too.

Here are some of the best sharing economy sites to help you get started:

Airbnb – the best platform for finding rooms, apartments, and homes for rent by locals.

Couchsurfing – terrific for finding complimentary accommodation (often on people’s couches) and meeting travelers/locals. The hangout feature on the app is my favorite, as you can see who is around to meet up.

Trusted Housesitters – the most detailed web site to find house-sitting gigs. You enjoy a place on holiday while the homeowner is on vacation.

EatWith – allows you to eat home-cooked meals with locals (it’s the Airbnb of food). It always leads to interesting encounters, so it’s one of my favorite things to do.

BlaBlaCar – A ridesharing app that pairs motorcyclists with verified locals who have a spare seat in their car.

RVShare – allows you to rent RVs and campervans directly from locals.

6. find the Free!

The world is awash with amazing complimentary travel resources (like this website) that can help you travel on a budget. No matter where you are going, there’s probably a blog post on what to do and see there for complimentary or cheaply. someone has been there and they’ve written about it! Make the best use of all of them to help you plan your trip.

My favorite search term is “free things to do in X.” You’ll always get a result!

Additionally, don’t be terrified to walk into a hostel — even if you aren’t staying there — and ask them what to do for cheap. Their clientele is budget sensitive, so they always know what to do and where to choose little money.

Local tourism boards will also have tons of info on complimentary things to do as well (more on that below).

7. stick to Public transportation

If you’re on a budget, skip the taxis and rideshares like Lyft or Uber. Unless you can lower your cost by sharing a ride with other passengers, public transportation is going to be the most economical way to get around. Not only will it save you money but you’ll get to see how the locals travel too.

Google Maps normally can give you a basic introduction of the public transportation options and prices available. You can find information about day passes and/or multiday passes from your local hostel/hotel staff (as well as from local tourism offices). For low-cost intercity travel information, check out Rome2Rio.

8. use local tourism Offices

Local vacationer offices are a wealth of knowledge. They exist solely to supply you with information on what to see and do. They typically have tons of discounts not found anywhere else and can also keep you updated on local events, complimentary tours, and the best spots to eat. They can help you find public transportation discounts and/or multiday passes too.

Don’t skip the local vacationer office! They are a significantly underutilized resource.

9. get low-cost Accommodation

Accommodation is one of the greatest fixed costs travelers have, so minimizing that cost can cause big savings on the road. I’m sure lots of backpackers would sleep in a barn if it were the least expensive accommodation they could find! Heck, I’ve slept in hammocks in national parks to save a buck!

Since you have to stay somewhere every night, minimizing this expense can save you a lot of money off the total cost of your trip. stay in hostels, use Couchsurfing, stay in empty university dorms, camp, or try an Airbnb.

Since there’s a lot of ways to cut your accommodation costs, here are my articles on how to get accommodation deals:

How to find the best apartment or condo Rental

How to find low-cost and complimentary Accommodation

How to Crush it on Couchsurfing

And here are the web sites I use to book low-cost places to stay:

Booking.com – For finding budget hotels and guesthouses.

Hostelworld – the best site for finding hostels.

Agoda – another terrific hotel website, specifically for Asia.

Hotel Tonight – uses discounted last-minute hotel stays.

Airbnb – For finding private rooms, entire apartments, and homes for rent by locals.

10. eat Cheap

Other than accommodation, food is one of the greatest travel costs. After all, everyone needs to eat. but there are lots of ways to eat on the cheap:

Go grocery shopping and prepare your own meals

Shop at local markets

Use apps to find deals (Yelp, Seamless, LaForchette, TastEcard, Ricebowl)

Além disso, use a regra de cinco blocos. Parece haver esse muro mágico que circunda áreas de turistas. Muitas pessoas não passam por isso. Foi minha experiência que, se você caminhar cinco quarteirões em qualquer direção de uma grande área de turistas, acaba perdendo a multidão e encontrando os restaurantes locais.

Na minha experiência, os restaurantes de turistas não se importam com a qualidade, considerando que esses turistas não estão voltando. Os moradores se importam, portanto, os lugares que atendem a eles precisam ser melhores – e muito mais acessíveis – ou saem do negócio. Esses são os lugares em que você deseja comer. Use os recursos acima para descobrir onde os habitantes locais comem e evitar alimentos ruins!

Confira esses artigos para obter idéias sobre como comer de baixo custo em todo o mundo:

Como comer de baixo custo em todo o mundo

Como comer em todo o mundo em uma dieta baseada em plantas

11. Viaje como você mora

A maioria das pessoas em seus destinos não gasta muito dinheiro por dia, como os turistas. Você também não está no seu dia-a-dia. Então, leve essa mentalidade com você. Caminhe, faça transporte público, mercearia, passe um dia em um parque e procure acordos. Faça as coisas que você faz em casa todos os dias para manter seus custos baixos.

Muitas pessoas também entram nessa mentalidade de que, quando vão na estrada, só precisam gastar, gastar, gastar, gastar. Isso definitivamente não é verdade. Não há lei que diga que você precisa gastar mais. Seja inteligente com o seu orçamento – assim como você está em casa. Isso ajudará você a economizar dinheiro e impedi -lo de voltar para casa cedo.

12. Trabalho e voluntário para diminuir suas despesas

Se você é um viajante de longo prazo, considere o voluntariado ou fazendo uma troca de trabalho para reduzir seus custos. Existem inúmeras opções por aí, como estadias agrícolas, trabalho em albergues, ensino nas escolas e muito mais.

Você normalmente precisa se comprometer por uma semana ou mais, no entanto, essas oportunidades permitem que você obtenha uma experiência de viagem muito mais profunda e muito mais sutil. Aqui estão alguns sites para ajudá -lo a encontrar oportunidades adequadas:

WWOOF – WWOOF (grandes oportunidades mundiais em fazendas orgânicas) é um programa que conecta você a fazendas em todo o mundo, onde você pode trabalhar em troca de alojamento e quadro.

WorldPackers – Worldpackers usa os viajantes a chance de encontrar experiências voluntárias no exterior. Além dos albergues, eles podem ajudá-lo a encontrar experiências com ONGs, casas de família e projetos ecológicos em todo o mundo!

HelpX – como WorldPackers, o HelpX usa trocas como fazendas, casas de família, B&Bs, albergues e barcos a vela.

Workaway – Workaway é muito parecido com o HelpX, exceto que possui muito mais oportunidades de emprego pagas (embora também tenha oportunidades de voluntariado).

***
No mundo antes da Covid, o mundo estava cheio de maneiras diferentes de viajar com orçamento limitado. No mundo pós-Covid, essas maneiras acabarão por voltar. Alguns podem não serem ideais devido a políticas de distanciamento social e conforto do consumidor, mas estarão lá.

Mas, não importa o quê, haverá muitas maneiras de viajar este ano. À medida que o mundo reabre, comece a planejar sua viagem. Há muita demanda e você não quer ficar preso perdendo as ofertas! Dê o primeiro passo. A ação gera ação. Depois de começar a se mover, todo o resto fica mais fácil.

Como viajar pelo mundo por US $ 50 por dia

Meu guia de brochura mais vendido do New York Times para viagens mundiais mostrará como dominar a arte da viagem para que você saia do caminho batido, economize dinheiro e tenha uma experiência de viagem mais profunda. É o seu guia de planejamento A a Z que a BBC chamou de “Bíblia para viajantes do orçamento”.

Clique aqui para aprender muito mais e comece a ler hoje!

Reserve sua viagem: idéias e truques logísticos
Reserve seu voo
Encontre um voo de baixo custo usando o Skyscanner. É o meu mecanismo de pesquisa favorito, porque ele pesquisa sites e companhias aéreas em todo o mundo, para que você sempre saiba que nenhuma pedra é deixada sobre

Reserve sua acomodação
Você pode reservar seu albergue com o Hostelworld. Se você quiser ficar em algum lugar que não seja um albergue, use o booking.com, pois eles consistentemente retornam as taxas mais baratas para househs e hotéis.

Não se esqueça do seguro de viagem
O seguro de viagem o garantirá contra doenças, lesões, roubo e cancelamentos. É uma proteção detalhada em