Travelers stories

Well you won’t be traveling to Monaco and staying at a five star resort on a budget, will you? Maybe so!  Mostly, traveling on a budget means finding the cheapest price for the experience you want.

 When traveling on a budget it’s best to keep in mind the following points:

1. Travel in the off-peak seasons. You can save up to as much as fifty per cent off air flights and accommodation costs if you plan to travel in low season times.

2. Stay away from popular tourist spots (unless they are on your ‘must-see’ list). If you can go off the beaten track with your destinations, things can be cheaper to see and do and your cultural experiences will be richer.

3. Try camping. Not only is it the cheapest form of accommodation it’s a great way to get up close and personal to nature. It’s the best way to see National Parks and Heritage listed areas. 

4. Look for special travel offers (or packages). But make sure you check everything that they include - and don’t include.

5. Invest in a travel pass where you are able. Most developed countries have a rail or bus transport system where you can obtain day, week or monthly passes that will get you around cheaply.

6. Get a work permit if you aim to gain employment while traveling overseas. Working can help subsidize places that aren’t so cheap, such as Europe and Australia.

7. Look for good exchange rates on the dollar. This may help you decide which country to travel to.

8. Think about shortening your visit to destinations that are expensive and increasing your length of stay in cheaper places.

9. Where possible use your credit card. The exchange rate is better.

10. When staying in a hotel, avoid paying for ‘extras’. Don’t touch anything from the honor bar. Don’t watch the in-house movies and don’t use the hotel phone. And try not to use room service too much!

 On the world scene there are some great places to travel on a budget for under thirty dollars a day. In Asia you can try India, Laos, China, Cambodia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Thailand, Sumatra and Burma. In Central and South America you can visit El Salvador, Bolivia and Ecuador. If you are after a budget experience in the Pacific, try Fiji or New Zealand. Over in Africa there are some great budget destinations such as Kenya, Egypt, Morocco, Malawi, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Ghana. Don’t forget the Middle East where places like Iran, Syria and Turkey provide excellent value for money and wonderful experiences for the budget traveler.

 There is no ‘best place’ to travel on a budget. Just be prepared to look around, avoid the pitfalls of unwanted costs in package deals or hotel bookings. If you want to travel and your budget doesn’t meet your expectations, be flexible and see if there is somewhere cheaper you might like to experience. You could be pleasantly surprised with your stay in India or Iran, when you thought you wanted to go to Tahiti.

This article was provided by:

Stuart S. Travel / Your All World Travel Guru who  can be found at  http://www.stuartstravel.com

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Whenever I travel to a major city on holiday, the first thing I do as a tourist is book myself on the city bus tour. I find it the best way to see what a city has to offer; it gives you a feel as to what the place is really like, and of course it takes you to most of the tourist attractions. I must admit I use to be a cynic and would mock the city bus tour as it went past, I couldn’t see the point of them, I preferred to do it my own totally independent way and I thought they were a complete  waste of money.

My viewpoint  changed when I was in Madrid about 10 years ago, I got dragged on to a city bus tour, I was literally dragged on kicking and screaming. In fact the only reason I got on the bus was because I knew it would take me to the Bernabeu Stadium, and I was planning on going there.

That first time city bus tour in Madrid was a new awakening for me; it was at that moment when I realised I had made a decision about not liking something without even giving it a try, I assumed it was naff and that it wasn’t for me. Here I was sitting upstairs on the open top bus, with the headphones on happily listening to the commentary, watching the beauty and chaos of Madrid pass me by.

I normally try to avoid bus travel like the plague, but it was nothing like taking a normal commuter bus, full of riff raff. I love the fact that they take you right to many of the major tourist destinations and you can then jump on and off   the bus when you’re ready and go to the next place of interest. If it’s a well run service, they run on a fairly frequent basis and especially for a city break, when you are usually their for only a short period of time, they give you the opportunity of not wasting time and effort finding where places are and then how to get to them.

Since that first bus tour experience, I’m not ashamed to admit I have been on a bus tour in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, Barcelona, Madrid (2nd time), Berlin, Paris and New York. They are defiantly worth the money you pay, even the extortionate overpriced ticket prices you pay in London!

Sitting on the top deck of an open top double decker bus lets you see a city from a different and unique viewpoint, which alone is worth paying for! I would recommend to anybody that hasn’t been on one before, to give it a try. If you are a cynic like I use to be, you could be in for a very pleasant surprise!

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