Who doesn’t want to travel the globe? Travel is super exciting and fun. But the fun requires funding. In fact, it’s not uncommon to see people bothered about travel expenses. Some of my friends have often asked me about travel expenses, time management, etc. Let me share some of the tips on traveling. You can use these suggestions to optimise your resources for globe-trotting. 🙂
Travel the globe, even if you are a common man
I agree that travel requires money – but you don’t have to be a millionaire in order to travel 5-6 countries per year. So if you start travelling at 25, in a couple of decades you might cover nearly 100 countries. However, if you are waiting to be a millionaire to start to travel the globe, wish you all the best. The best time to travel is now! Get up and get going!
Find a part-time job
Travelling with a full-time job can be quite challenging. You’d rather get a part-time job. Find a good one! It gives you a decent amount of money with good enough free time. You may not be rich, but you won’t be poor either. In fact, you’d be “reaching” – somewhere, always! If money is too precious, you can probably work out a good mix of full and part-time job. For example, I found a part-time job for one year, and then I decided to get a full-time job. This is just a thought, you guys gonna do whatever you want.
Jobs – Switch continents, not just countries
Keep changing your country of job to the different parts of the world. The idea of working whole life in one country is quite “old school” of thought. For a rich travel experience, you may focus on the countries around your job location. As an example, if you work in Singapore for a few years, you may have ample of opportunities to explore not just South-East Asia, but other parts of Asia as well. I was in Singapore for 5 years, and managed to travel across all the 10 ASEAN member countries.
Keep a simple and healthy lifestyle – important tips on traveling
Stop poor lifestyle habits. For example, quit smoking now. Stop going on unnecessary, expensive dates – invite them to your place. 🙂 Man! A simple lifestyle with no smoking, no alcoholic drinking, etc. saves a lot of money! If you adapt to a healthy lifestyle, you may not require visiting a doctor often. Having a good health gives you healthy mind and soul.
A simple flight search would let you know that the Singapore-Melbourne flight fare is around SG$200 (one way, by Scoot Airlines). I know lots of people around me who spend SG$200 per month on smoking, drinking, etc.
Book hotel online, in advance
It’s very convenient to work out a good hotel accommodation online for a reasonable price. For example, you can book a hotel with free cancellation policy. You are likely to pay hotel rent during your actual stay. That means, in case the trip gets cancelled, you won’t incur any housing expenses. This happened to me quite a few times. It’s better to compare prices on a few websites before finalizing your booking. Some of the popular hotel/hostel booking websites are Booking.com, Hostelworld, hostelbookers, etc.
Get your trip sponsored
A significant component of your travel expenses are spent on flight fare and housing. To reduce burden of such expenses, sometimes you can try to get a few trips sponsored (at least partially). For example, you can apply for a job in a foreign country and they may call you for an on-site interview while providing you free boarding/lodging. You can also go abroad for an internship, lab visits, workshops, and conferences. Ask them humbly to sponsor your trip.
Student’s mind-set
If you are studying, travel like a student. Fly with budget airlines, if available for your selected routes! Backpacking can also be resorted to if you absolutely have to save money.
Traveling solo
I would suggest you to travel solo. You can safely plan everything about a trip on your own. Travelling in a group often times turns out to be too much democracy. We often end up worrying too much about a fellow traveller’s priorities rather than enjoying the travel. Moreover, if you are solo, you can book hotel (or hostel) as per your budget. You can opt for a budget airline. But if you travel in a group, not everyone may be looking for a cheap hotel or flights.
Avoid travel agencies
If you want to grow up in life as you travel the globe, avoid using travel agencies, until absolutely necessary (e.g. an official team bonding tour). The agencies would obviously charge you an extra amount. You’d rather plan everything on your own.
International travel insurance
Do I need to emphasise about travel insurance? Apply for international travel insurance before you hit the road to travel. In fact, your airline may also offer you international travel insurance. Don’t miss that! You can also buy an annual travel insurance plan. For cheap ski travel insurance, you may refer to Wintersport & Ski Travel Insurance.
That’s it for now about travel the globe. I will be writing more about tips on traveling. You can find my general articles on international travelling. You may also want to refer to my articles about different countries. You can also find more about me!
I would love to see your comments and suggestions for tips on traveling!
Happy exploring the world. 🙂
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Wish you all loads of wanderlust!
Rock on!
Last updated: Monday, October 30, 2017