dlish

'travelling on the cheap'

recently ive been thinking about travelling to more destinations in the next 12 months. ive managed to go to quite a few places this year - 6 countries to be exact (with 3 more destinations - 1 of them new- before year end), and looking forward to the next 12 months.

the credit crunch and all the financial worries has everyone worried. so im looking at doing things on the cheap this coming year. ive followed Skizziks blog and posts about his travels over the last month or two and realised that you can go really cheap and still hav a swell time. i was also talking to a friend of mine who has two friends that travelled from south africa to dubai on motorbikes. they are continuing their journey through europe. they were doing it cheap...camping it where they could. i absolutely love the idea, and wish my life was that flexible. i'll probably never do it like that, but at least i can dream.

so what are your ideas on how to 'travel on the cheap'.

i found this article which i found enlightening. it highlights many pros as well and cons on travelling to cheap destinations.

Excerpt: The World's Cheapest Destinations

what would you recommend in order to reduce costs? are there any trade secrets? i know that hitchhiker sex is an option, but it isnt for me!

im planning the machu pichu charity trek in Peru mid next year and plan on doing a few sth american countries while im at it...

so give me your thoughts and ideas!

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skizziks

Stay in hostels with a kitchen and buy and cook your meals, much cheaper than eating out and healthier as well (unless you are in a country with really cheap street food). Wash your own clothes.

dlish

do most hostels provide the services of washing machine?

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Halx

Has anyone tried couch surfing? I actually hung out with a large group of couch surfers last night. They all operate out of couchsurfing.com, which has profiles for hosts and surfers, which makes the whole process fairly safe. This takes a large amount of the cost away from traveling.

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Tully Mars

I've only done the hostel thing a couple times years ago. I don't remember any luandry rooms. Kitchens often seem to be available. I do know most place I've gone I can usually find a place to have my clothes washes, dried and folded for next to nothing. I just spent several nights at the Hyatt in Cancun. They have a bag in the closet where they advertise laundry services. Prices were roughly $5 USD per shirt. I had a bag of dirty luandry to do and wasn't interested in forking over $100 to have it done. I took it into town and found a place that did it by the kilo. I don't remember the per kilo price but my whole bag set me back about $7. Fresh, clean, folded and sealed in a plastic bag. Left it at 9am and picked it up around 3pm.

I found this luandry by asking the bell boy at the front desk. Bell boys, waiters, taxis driver etc... I'm sure you know, have all the valuable info on how to go native.

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skizziks

most hostels dont have a washing machine but offer a service that might be more expensive than if you go to the place yourself and get it done, but its convienent. some hostels do have machines, you can see many of them at Hostels & Youth Hostels Worldwide - Online Bookings.

Halx - couch surfing is great, its tough to get started, as it goes on recommendations. People ive talked to who do it love it though. It is a great way to go, if there are people in the area who are couchsurfers.
-----Added 21/11/2008 at 07 : 43 : 22-----
The Hyatt is not a hostel. If there are bell boys, its not a hostel.

Tully Mars

Hmm, you read my post and thought I confused the Hyatt with a hostel?

See when I stated-


And...

And...

And...

I thought I was making it pretty clear I wasn't staying in hostel and wasn't willing to pay the cost of having a place like the Hyatt do my laundry.

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ASU2003

Where are you thinking about going?

In the US, you can camp for free on national forest land, although there are no services most of the time. I did it for one night just south of the Grand Canyon. I paid the $20 to get into the park and then hiked and camped another two nights down in the canyon. It was a great trip and didn't cost very much.

I did a similar trip in the Canadian Rockies., but stayed at the campgrounds and really nice hostels around Banff and Lake Louise. I will definitely go back there again.

In Sydney, I got the 7 day subway/ferry/bus pass instead of renting a car. It was a great deal and much easier than trying to figure out my way to different places and park everywhere. They still charge you extra for the trip to the airport and back though.

If you really want to save money, think about washing a few clothes in the bathtub by hand in the morning and then letting them air dry during the day. Or buy clothes that don't require much washing (nylon stuff, swimsuits).

Other ideas for traveling cheap is to have a large group. Car transportation costs can be split as well as some other things.

The other thing is to look to do things that don't cost money, or at least very much money.

dlish

one question..

what about the airbus judyjade??

ASU - im planning south america. im mentioned it in my opening post. anyone else have experience in travelling sth america on the cheap? as for a large group..not sure about that..it will be an offshoot from the charity trek in peru that ill be doing. most people will head home, but since im there id rather see more of sth america!

i plan on doing my own washing..i dont have issues with that.

in sydney ive got accomodation at my parents, so i have no problem there .

the couchsurfing site looks interesting...just need to get a foot in the door.

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ASU2003

I see that now...oops

Have you ever watched The Motorcycle Diaries movie? Amazon.com: The Motorcycle Diaries (Widescreen Edition): Gael García Bernal, Rodrigo De la Serna, Mercedes Morán, Jean Pierre Noher, Lucas Oro, Marina Glezer, Sofia Bertolotto, Franco Solazzi, Ricardo Díaz Mourelle, Sergio Boris, Daniel Cargieman, Di
That should give you some tips on traveling cheaply.

But South America would take some pre-planning to make sure that everything went well.

Tully Mars

No worries, I do that all the time. Read something and later find out I did more mis-reading then reading.


My elderly lady friend just came back from Columbia. I have a different opinion of the country after listening to her stories.

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spindles

I've done the camping and travelling thing. My brother and I spent 3 weeks in north America (Alaska, Canada and North West US). We stayed with friends in San Franscisco, mostly camped in Alaska (but did spend a couple of nights in Motels). We probably spent more nights camping than anything else. Most RV parks have a small 'camping' section (if you are doing this in OZ, the caravan parks usually have better camping facilities than most RV parks we stayed in). We also camped in Rec Parks (the one we stayed at in Nevada had hot showers and flushing toilets included in the few dollar camping fee) and State Forests (the one I recall had a pit toilet and no shower).

My wife and I also did this kind of trip in Tasmania - some of the camping spots were amazing (the caravan parks in Strauchan and Mole Creek were highlights).

The other way to really save money when travelling is to go off peak season. Heaps less people, and usually a lot cheaper.

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snowy

There are loads of good state parks with excellent camping facilities in the Pacific Northwest. In both Oregon and Washington, the larger state parks with camping typically have shower facilities (though some parks in Washington have pay showers), and some of the state parks even have yurts to stay in. A yurt runs from $25-35 a night depending on the park and the season. It comes with heat and even cable television (you bring the TV) for an extra charge in some parks. The yurt sleeps a few people comfortably. Some other parks also have cabins, but I'm of the opinion that the yurts are way cooler.

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blahblah454

I am going to Cuba on an all inclusive for under a grand in 2 weeks. I am pretty pumped about that as I have only been in Canada and the Northern States.

I am also going on a 2-3 week trip in Thailand next April that I plan on doing as cheaply and still seeing as much as I can.

Anyone have any good ideas for neat things to do in the Thailand area?

Craven Morehead

Befriend a commercial pilot and inquire about a buddy pass. The name may vary between carriers but its essentially a reduced fare pass.

Or do as I did, put your son through a 4 year college in aviation and then fly for free once he becomes a commercial pilot. However, I've got years of flying ahead of me before I get on the upside of that equation.

dlish

where abouts in thailand blah? phuket can get boring pretty easily if you want to stay in one spot.

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blahblah454

Bangkok to start, then anywhere our hearts desire. Friend has a conference there for a week, so its a free hotel and all that comes along with that. After that we go where we want, Singapore is on the list. And no we plan on moving all over the place for the time we are there.

dlish

ask charlatan since he's in the area.

i spent a few days in Bankok. i didnt like it. too much smog and traffic..only good thing about being there was that it was chinese new year and they had dragondances and lots of cultural stuff happening at the time.

ill be in Hong Kong in a few weeks

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Tully Mars

Bastard. I love HK. Been trying to get there for some time.

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skizziks

In Bangkok, go see a muy thai fight. Go to Erewan national park, its pretty awesome. You can go to Doi Inthanon, the highest point in thailand. i heard james bond island isnt´that great. i went to pattaya and wasnt too impressed, no reason to go except drinking and whoring.

sorry for the thredjack. back to the topic.

lotsofmagnets

i´ve had over 100 people stay with me through cs and have surfed through sweden, finland and the netherlands as well as visiting old guests in england, belgium and other places. wouldn´t recommend it for everyone though as it takes a specific type of person to do it.

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dlish

i know..haha.. im taking it en-route to sydney for the xmas break. will be in sydney for another 2 weeks then back here.

oh..and ill be travelling to your favourite destination again..yemen next week.


blah - skiz is right..go to a muay thai fight its pretty cool. ive been to james bong island and phi phi island and all those islands around phuket. its nice..for a while..but id rather the adventure.

magnets - if i was younger id couchsurf...sound enticing..but im not a europe sort of person..besides the euro would be a killer..id rather travel cheap places where i could get the most bang for my buck

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Charlatan

If you end up coming here, let me know. I'd be happy to give you some advice about what to do and see in my adopted home.

Other than Bangkok, where are you thinking of travelling?


As for Hong Kong... I was supposed to go there a few weeks back but fucked up my tickets. We are just deciding when to reschedule the trip... Christmas or Chinese New Year.

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dlish

ill be there 18-22 december. if you are there then, we should catch up!

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