How to travel cheaper by traveling longer

One of the biggest misconceptions people have about travel is that short trips cost less than longer ones.  In reality, a month-long journey is not just cheaper than four one-week vacations; it can in fact cost about the same as one typical one-week vacation.  Similarly, taking a year off to travel can easily be a better value (and a more memorable experience) than a decade of hurried, two-week vacations.

The secret here is not merely a matter of budgeting and planning; it's a matter of mindset.  Here are five strategies, taken from my book Vagabonding, on how to adopt a mindset that can make a long-term journey affordable:

1) Take out the middleman

Resist the temptation to purchase your travel specifics in advance.  As wonderful as that Ugandan safari looks in the promotional literature of a Dallas-based travel company, shopping for the same experience when you arrive in Africa will be infinitely less expensive — and you'll have saved yourself the trouble of adhering to a fixed date.  The same goes for air travel.  A discounted "round-the-world" flight ticket might seem tempting but it's generally better to buy a one-way ticket to your first destination and plan your ongoing transportation as you go.  Not only is it cheaper this way (thanks to frumpy local airlines such as Biman Bangladesh, Aerocaribbean, and SkyEurope), it allows you a more organic experience — since you'll have a much better feel for your travels en route than you will before they begin.

As a general rule, remember that pre-packaged adventures and micromanaged arrangements — even those touted under the guise of "budget travel" — are for people who can only spare a few days away from home.  Long-term travel is all about setting your own pace and finding your own way — and you can rest assured that everything you see in a glossy brochure in Milwaukee will be just as available (and ten times cheaper) when you arrive independently at your destination.

2) Go slow

One of the advantages of long-term travel is that it allows you to see and experience things at your own pace.  This will ultimately save you money, since a slower travel tempo better integrates you into the local economy, and allows you to wander around and find your own adventures.

Hence, when planning, don't aspire to "do" Central America in six weeks; you'll have a much more vivid (and economical) experience if you limit yourself to a country or two.  Similarly, don't plan to "do" Asia in six months; instead, aim to see a part of it, like the Northeast, the Southeast, or India. And — even if you have a year to play with — trying to cram five continents into a single travel stint is a sure path to jadedness and exhaustion.  Long-term travel shouldn't be approached like bulk shopping: The value of your travels does not hinge on how many stamps you have in your passport when you get home — and the slow, nuanced experience of a single country is always better (and more affordable) than the hurried, superficial experience of forty countries.

3) Patronize the local "mom-and-pop" economy

A great way to save money and have an enhanced travel experience is to sidestep international hotels and tour companies.  Instead of luxury chain hotels, seek out clean basic, hostels and local guesthouses.  Instead of flying from place to place, take local buses, trains, and shared taxis.  Instead of dining at fancy restaurants, eat food from street vendors and local cafeterias.  Within the local economy, one can take a train from one end of China to the other for what it costs to gas up an SUV back home.  For the cost of a home-delivered pepperoni pizza, one can eat great meals for a week in Thailand.  For a month's rent in any major American city, one can spend a year in a beach hut in Nicaragua.  Moreover, even the industrialized parts of the world host enough hostel networks and camping opportunities to make long-term travel affordable.

This principle also applies to day-to-day life on the road.  Shop for food in local farmers' markets instead of continually seeking out processed supermarket food and restaurant meals (you'll end up healthier for the experience).  Moreover, shopping and sleeping in local economies will help you understand how local residents live.  Not only will this understanding make you aware of local prices and procedures, it will give you cultural pointers on everything from haggling for bargains to dealing with beggars.

4) Learn from your travels, and be flexible

No matter how intricately you've planned and budgeted your travels back home, what you learn from your first two weeks is far more valuable in the long run.  Thus, be prepared to adjust your itinerary and reconsider your budget as you make new discoveries.  Keep open to advice from locals and fellow travelers alike.  The reason long-term travel is so appealing is that it promises to show you the destinations and experiences you've dreamed about — but the reason it's so addictive is that, joyfully, you'll never quite find what you dreamed.  Money aside, the most memorable travel experiences usually find you by accident, and the qualities that will make you fall in love with a place are rarely the features that took you there.  So be ready to shift your plans as you learn new things.

5) Work or volunteer on the road

Just because you're out having new travel experiences doesn't mean you constantly need to be on the move.  One of the best perks of long-term travel is the opportunity to stop in one place and get to know it better.  And a great way to do this is to find work locally (teaching English, dive-mastering SCUBA, contracting IT work, tending bar, etc.), or volunteer locally (formally through an agency, or informally as the need arises).  

For more information on inexpensive volunteer opportunities, read my earlier column, Overseas volunteering on a budget.

Next: Swapping your guidebook for a good map

Previous: On the road and on the wagon

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