I think one of the great delights in life is to travel. (Not to mention, my academic discipline is missiology, and how much credibility would I have if I haven’t seen the world?) The great travesty is that the majority of Americans don’t have passports! One of my favorite quotes is by Mark Twain: “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” I’ve been to 45 countries, and I find such joy in exploring new cities, experiencing new cultures, meeting new people, and trying new types of food. However, whenever people find out how much I travel, the inevitable question is, “How can you travel all the time?” Or, some people ask more directly but less tactfully, “How do you have the money to afford traveling all the time?” Just so I don’t have to repeat myself over and over, I am writing this blog to answer this question.
First of all, let me offer a caveat: some of the following advice is pertinent to all people who want to travel cheaply, but some of it is unique to my own personal situation so it may not be applicable to you.
Secondly, let me qualify: this blog is about how to travel cheaply, it is not a blog on how to travel with no money. You must have some money to travel the world, but I’m trying to share advice on how to travel without burning a hole through your wallet.
I’m going to break it down into four major expense categories: transportation, food, accommodation, and sights.
So, let’s begin:
Transportation:
-You must have a job. Even when I was a grad student, I had a job to enable me to fund some of my traveling. But even more so, you must have a job that is flexible so you can avail yourself of great travel deals. For example, some of the best deals on airfare are only during off-peak months (e.g. winter) or off-peak days (weekdays). Having a teaching job is especially nice because we get three months off for summer, a month off for Christmas vacation, and a week off for Spring break. So there are plenty of opportunities to travel, at least in terms of time.
-A corollary to the above is when and where you go: during our winter (i.e. off-peak times), travel to the Southern Hemisphere to take advantage of cheap rates during their summer. Remember, their seasons are the opposite of ours. So, if you are living in New York and are sick of your cold January, book a flight to South America instead of Europe! It’ll be cheaper because you are purchasing a winter fare, but it is summer down there and you can hit the beaches!
-Above all, avoid traveling during holidays or peak summer times if at all possible—that’s when airlines make a killing off of you. Remember, it’s a war of attrition between you and the airlines: basic economic laws of supply-and-demand mean that you want the airlines to be begging you to fly, rather than you begging to get a seat! When I was living in England, it would cost $500 to fly from London to New York in May, $750 in June, and $1000 in July and August. You could save 50% on your fare just by flying in May instead of August! Or by flying the week after the New Year’s rather than the week between Christmas and New Year’s!
-Travel geographically close to where you are. When I was living in the U.K., I mostly explored Europe. When I was living in New England, I went to visit Washington D.C. and Montreal (both only six hours away by car!). And now that I’m in L.A., I like to visit San Francisco and Mexico. You don’t have to travel far to see new places!
-Travel a lot of countries at once. Don’t take a flight to England, then six months later do a flight to France. Do them both at the same time! The majority of your cost will be to travel across the Atlantic. Once you’re on the other side, it’s relatively cheap to get from place to place. And Europe is awesome because everything is so close (London to Paris is only two hours by Eurostar train!).
-Europe: The Eurail pass is not all it’s cracked up to be. Sure, backpackers do it all the time, but there is a mistaken notion that it is “cheap”—no, it’s not cheap (you can’t get one for less than $500), but if you use it a lot, you can say that it’s good value. What the Eurail offers you is flexibility. But if you are willing to be less flexible, then budget airlines are the way to go—airplanes in Europe are, surprisingly, the cheapest way to travel (way cheaper than trains!). European airlines like Ryanair or Easyjet are super inexpensive, and they often offer sales where the ticket is free, and you pay nothing but the airline taxes! So it would end up being like $40 round trip to anywhere in Europe. I did that all the time! Saved me tons of cash, I got to see most of Europe that way, without having to pay for an expensive Eurail pass—but you can only do this if you live in Europe (or are spending a long time there) and are willing to be inflexible with your travel dates (i.e. if you can book well in advance).
-Asia: Cathay Pacific Airlines, the airline of Hong Kong, has long been voted the #1 airline in the world. It has amazing service, food, timeliness, and entertainment, with state-of-the-art airplanes. They also offer something called the All-Asia Pass. When I did this a few years ago, it was $1300 for a round-trip ticket between the U.S. and Hong Kong, plus unlimited travel throughout Asia for 3 weeks! To put this in perspective: a flight from the U.S. to Asia by itself is usually over $1000. I saw six Asian countries in three weeks and got lots of great meals in-flight, without paying more!
-Latin America: LAN, the premiere airline of South America, has a similar deal as the Cathay Pacific All-Asia Pass called the Latin America Pass, except it’s more a la carte rather than all-you-can-fly. But you can cobble together a great deal (a circular path rather than back-and-forth through a central hub) and see lots of countries in Latin America for one low price.
-Accumulate frequent flier miles. You can do that by flying a lot, or just by getting a credit card that gives you a mile for every dollar you spend. Before you know it, you will have some free airplane tickets!
-Take advantage of today’s bad economy. The economic crisis doesn’t always have to mean bad news! Airfares are lower today than ever. I just bought a plane ticket to Australia for $600 round trip, whereas usually it’s $1500!
-You must be willing to “rough it” sometimes. Here’s a general rule that almost always holds true: comfort & convenience = expensive; discomfort + effort = cheap.
If you could take a bus instead of a plane, then do it! It could save you tons of money. For example, when I was in São Paulo, Brazil, I really wanted to go see the famous Iguaçu Falls (the largest waterfalls in the world). I had the option of taking a 2-hour flight for $200 or a 15-hour bus ride for $30. You can guess which one I chose. I took the overnight bus, slept most of the way, saved myself $170 + hotel for a night (so, I probably saved more like $220), then I had tons of money left over to have a nice Brazilian BBQ (churrascuria) dinner, a boat ride under the Falls, and admission to lots of other attractions. Most people would look at me like I’m crazy to travel fifteen hours instead of two, and fork over the $250 for the flight and the hotel, but “crazy” is all relative I guess—I think it’s crazy to pay $250 when you could get by with paying $30!
-Continuing with the above, another general rule is: clean + safe = expensive; less clean + less safe = cheap. This is not to suggest that you need to put yourself in harm’s way just to save a buck! (Always be wise when traveling—be circumspect about your surroundings and your money, even in “safe” countries). But if you really want the safety and cleanliness of, say, Switzerland or Japan, you will pay a premium for it. Rather than being potentially robbed by a pickpocket, you will be definitely robbed by the economics of the country (do you really want to pay $30 for a meal that could be had in the U.S. for $10?). Choose to go to Spain or Thailand instead and your dollar could go a lot farther.
Food:
-Supermarkets can save you a lot of money. If you can prepare your own food, or even simply a sandwich, or grab a banana or a yogurt, that will give you some energy to get through the day without sitting down at a fancy restaurant for every meal! Save your money for some big expenditures, for example, in Nairobi we went to a famous restaurant called the Carnivore—but for most of our meals we didn’t splurge.
-If you are staying at a hostel, they often offer inexpensive meals, so eat there instead of eating out all the time.
Accommodation:
-Stay at hostels instead of hotels. I find one of the biggest “wastes” of money is spent on accommodation. Transportation fees are unavoidable (though you can minimize the damage); food you can get cheaply if need be; but housing costs can nearly be eliminated by staying in a hostel. If you don’t mind sleeping in a bunk bed with several other people in the same room, you could reduce your housing costs by 90%. Plus, I find it’s pretty fun meeting other backpackers—they’re usually pretty courteous and friendly, and they are really interesting to talk to.
-Take overnight transportation whenever possible—overnight trains, planes, or buses. That will save you a night’s accommodation fee! (You just need to figure out where to shower the next day). 
-Travel with other people. This way you can split the cost of a room, or of a taxi, or of a guide, or get a group rate on things. Plus, it’s more fun to share your experience with others!
-The best option is to stay with people you know. Of course, this means you must know people in places you travel to. I often plan my vacations by thinking, “Hmm, in which countries/cities do I know someone?” and that may heavily influence my decision to go there. Plus, your hosts can be “insiders” into showing you the best restaurants and off-the-beaten-path things that your Lonely Planet guidebook can’t tell you about! I happened to study in a seminary (Gordon-Conwell) which sends missionaries around the world, and a university (Oxford) that had many international grad students, so I now have friends all over the world who I can visit. Plus, it’s way more fun (and reassuring) to see a familiar face in another country, especially if they’re a local!
Sights:
-That being said about guidebooks, the Lonely Planet or the Rough Guide can still be your best travel companion. They offer invaluable advice, e.g. if you want to see the baby elephants at the David Sheldrick animal orphanage in Kenya, they’re only open one hour, from 11am-12pm, every day, otherwise you may miss them! And knowing about such things in advance can also afford you good deals on things, such as the fact that many museums are free on the first Sunday of every month, or some places offer a pay-whatever-you-want-after-5pm deal (like the LACMA in Los Angeles).
-That’s a nice segue into… Do a lot of pre-planning. This will save you the hassle of having to find last-minute airfare, housing, or whatever… and last-minute usually = really expensive. Also, if you want to see something like Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Last Supper” painting (which is painted on the walls of a church in Milan), it’s usually booked out a week in advance. So to avoid disappointment, pre-book so that you don’t arrive in Milan and be deprived of one of the greatest works of art ever!
-If there is any sort of all-inclusive tourist pass, such as the Paris museum pass, do it! You can pay €50 for a week-long pass and see dozens of museums and monuments in Paris (the Louvre, Musee d’Orsay, Rodin Museum, Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle, Arc de Triomphe) all for one set price. That’s a deal! And if you are a Bank of America customer, just show your BofA ATM or credit card and you can get into most museums in the U.S. for free on the first weekend of every month! (Most BofA customers don’t know about this—google “Museums on Us” for more information).
-Student I.D. card: if you are a student, don’t leave home without your I.D. card! Most tourist attractions offer reduced admission rates for students. You can save a load of money just by whipping out your student I.D. card at every possible opportunity.
-Find out what you can do for free. I’ve perfected the “London for free” tour after living in England for a while. All you have to do is buy an all-day Tube pass (about £5) and you’re golden. Take advantage of the fact that all museums in England are free all the time. If you want to see Westminster Abbey or St Paul’s Cathedral, go during Evensong when you don’t have to pay admission. Visit free things like taking a tour of Parliament, or walking through the many beautiful parks, or window shopping at Harrod’s, or seeing the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Avoid expensive things that are not worth it, like the London Eye or Madame Tussaud’s.
Conclusion:
As a professor, I have the advantage of being able to present papers at conferences and having my university foot at least part of the bill. Whenever I travel somewhere to present a paper, I try to see some of the local sights—after all, how sad it would be to remain in the conference hotel the whole time!
And finally, because I am single, have no mortgage, no spouse or children to support, but I make a full-time salary, that affords me not only the flexibility but the money to travel more widely. If it costs me $500 to fly somewhere, it would cost a family of four $2000 to make the same trip! Huge difference. I’m not trying to gloat, I’m merely stating the facts. I know that if/when the Lord blesses me with marriage, I will not be able to travel as much as I currently do, and that’s fine with me. I’m sure being married with kids is more rewarding than seeing the world. But until that time, I’m taking full advantage of my freedom of time and finances to travel far and wide.
Hey, if you are savvy and do some pre-planning and are willing to put forth a little effort and can tolerate a bit of discomfort, you can travel the world for relatively cheaply! I daresay I’ve probably been able to see twice as many places as most people (for the same amount of money) by following all of the above rules. I hope they help you too!
