How to travel the world cheap? It’s the number one question that has probably come up for you if you’ve ever thought of getting out there and seeing the world. There’s no better time than the present to get on the move and start to explore.
We live in a great age with many options to travel as cheap as possible. There are a lot of blogs and YouTube channels sharing amazing tips for any country you can think of. So much great information now exists that wasn’t available decades ago and it can help you plan an amazing trip.
If you’re wanting to travel, you want to get the most out of it and experience as much as you can. You’ll want to find amazing places to stay, see the greatest sites, and eat all the best food you can find.
Understandably, you might be worried about the cost of all this and want to know how to travel the world cheap.
Here are 7 essential tips and tricks to see the world without breaking the bank:
1. Sign Up For Airfare Notification Sites
There are people who scour the internet daily to find the best deals on flights. They do all the legwork and pass them on to you. It’s a great idea to sign up for some of these so you get instant updates when cheap deals come up.
Airfarewatchdog.com is great and also Skyscanner. If you don’t mind going last minute, you can find amazing deals on sites like this.
2. Join Travel Rewards Programs
This is one of the best ways to travel the world cheap, and sometimes for free. If you’re using a credit card for monthly purchases, you need to get one that gives you air miles for rewards. There are various cards depending on how much you will spend each month that can help you build up a lot.
Most cards come with a sign-up bonus of enough miles to at least get you a free domestic flight and you can combine miles from multiple cards. Collect miles and look for promotions that offer the most bonus ones and you can to really cut down on air travel costs.
3. Plan Your Travels Around Cheaper Countries
If you’re spending long stretches of time in places like Paris, London, Sydney, New York, etc the costs of these places will add up quickly. Countries like Canada and the U.K can also be expensive throughout them so to travel the world for cheap you want to include countries where your money will go further.
Not only are these countries less expensive, but they are also ones you definitely want to explore. Some of the best, and cheapest will include:
- Mexico
- Indonesia
- India
- Columbia
- Cuba
- Bulgaria
- Turkey
4. Travel During The Right Time Of Year
You’ll want to avoid peak travel seasons – especially around the holidays – if you’re looking for the ways to travel the world cheap. This “high season” is June, July, August, and Dec-15 to Jan-10. The slower, and cheaper, time to travel will be from January 1oth to around the end of March so keep that in mind if you’re looking to travel.
5. Book An Around The World Ticket
This will be your best value and a great way to see as much as possible. An Around The World ticket will take you from one city through multiple others of your choice and bring you back around to the start. You will get a discounted fare compared to booking all these flights separately.
There are a few things to keep in mind when considering this type of ticket; the prices are determined by the miles so the more countries you see the more miles you travel and the higher the cost of the ticket.
Don’t think you need to see as much as you can all at once so limit your destinations to not only save money but to get as much quality time in the countries you go to.
6. Don’t Think You Have To Fly Everywhere
You’ll need flights to get to certain destinations but once you get there to make use of overland travel as this is a great way to save money and also see more of the country. Europe has a great rail network and you can buy a Eurorail train pass to again see as much as possible but keep travel costs down.
Don’t forget about the buses as they will be available everywhere. Greyhound will always be an option but in places like Australia you’ll have the “hop-on-hop-off” buses like “Oz Experience“. These allow you to stay on the same ticket but spend more time in places that catch your fancy. New Zealand also has its great “Kiwi Experience” buses.
7. Book Stopovers
A stopover will give you more time to experience a country without changing any of your cost. Look for cities that offer free, or cheap, stopovers for certain amounts of time. This is like having a connecting flight but instead of 90 minutes you can have a day or two and can see more of the city you’re in.
A few cities great for doing stopovers are:
- Tokyo
- Hong Kong
- Fiji
- Amsterdam
- Seoul
Final Thoughts
These 7 tips are a great place to start if you’ve been wondering how to travel the world cheap. The world has become a smaller place and more and more countries are now accessible. The main thing is to get out there and see it. But be warned, once you start traveling, it can be very hard to stop.
Do you have any favorite tips or tricks for traveling as cheap as possible? Please share in the comments below!
References:
- https://travel.state.gov/
- https://www.thrillist.com/
- https://www.airfarewatchdog.com/
- https://www.skyscanner.ca/
